Been a long time...

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I've posted, but I guess time flies when your keeping busy. The semester is past half over and there's roughly 6 weeks to go until the much anticipated Christmas break. It will be great to relax and do as little as possible.

This past week has been crazy but it's been a good kind of crazy. I got back my 2nd MT History & Ethics exams and I scored A's on both. It feels good to have my studying pay off and hopefully I can finish out the semester strong.

I met with my advisor last week so I could lay out my spring 2009 schedule. I'll be taking American History, Beginning Reporting, Radio Production, and a Geology lab. It's exciting to finally get into some Journalism classes and see how things will go. This spring I'll apply to the Journalism School and if I get accepted, I would start next fall. The competition will be tough but I plan to give it the best shot I can.

A couple weeks ago, our Pug Cari gave us a bit of a scare. Theresa came home one evening and noticed a lime-sized bulge on Cari's belly. It was after 5 p.m. on a Friday so we ended up taking her to the emergency vet to get things checked out. The vet examined her and promptly diagnosed her with a inguinal hernia. He needed to operate on her that night and it was hard to go home and worry about what might happen. She was a trooper and the surgery went just fine. The vet told us to keep her quiet for a few days but that doesn't happen when the patient is a headstrong Pug :-) Cari quickly returned to being her bratty self and all seems to be back to normal.

On Saturday we went to the wedding of our friends Rebecca and Mandy. We had a great time celebrating their day with them and the weather couldn't have been better. I want to wish them all the best and may you guys have many years of happiness together.

I want to remind everybody to get out and vote next Tuesday. We will be helping poll watch at our local precinct and I'm hoping the turnout will be heavy. That night we plan on watching the returns at one of the election parties in town. It should be a night to remember and I can't wait.

That's all for now and hopefully I'll have another update before another 3 weeks have gone by.

Peace...Mark

Good Times

Wow it's hard to believe that October is here and I'm into my 6th week of school. School has been great but it's been hectic journey so far. More on that shortly.

I had a great time when my parents recently came out on their fall visit. The weather was perfect and we sure took advantage of it. My parents attended their first Griz football game and what a wild afternoon it was! The Griz played Central Washington and at one point we were down by 14 points. Montana came back and it was a seesaw battle until the very end. The crowd of 25,000 roared as the Griz kicker punched through a 45 yard field goal as time ran out. It was a great victory for a very young team.

The rest of weekend was relaxing and it was a great break from school. We bummed around Missoula on Saturday/Sunday and went to one of my favorite restaurants. Time always goes by so fast and before I knew it, they were on their way back home.

My mom had the joy of helping me pug sit on Thursday (9/25) when Theresa & Dustin were in Helena. They were pretty good except for little Cari AKA Miss Mouth :-) She's a little squirt and is never shy about expressing herself. Even though she's a brat, she entertains us and makes us laugh. I wouldn't have her any other way.

I've survived my first round of exams and have come through in pretty good shape. My Math exam was a little disappointing with a score of 75 but I'm working hard on improving on the next exam. The bright side of things was getting A's on my MT History & Ethics exams. I'm happy with these scores but there's much more work ahead and several key exams yet to take.

There isn't much else going on besides school but I wanted to get an update up before this week was over. Stay well and I'll catch you sometime next week.

Peace...Mark

Homecoming 08'

It's been a busy week and I finished the last of my first 3 exams yesterday. I think they went good but we'll see when I get the tests back.

Here's a few pictures of last week's Homecoming game along with one of a recent Pug pile. The Griz came from behind and pulled off an exciting victory over UC-Davis. Hopefully they can keep things rolling this week when they host Central Washington.

Sorry for the quick update but I'll return sometime next week.

Peace...Mark

Lungs gone wild

Wow it's been a little while since I've posted but man school's been keeping me occupied. More on that latter but first some other news of what's been going on as of late.

I've been having a bit of a breathing issue and hopefully it's coming under control. A few weeks ago I ended up in the E.R. with breathing difficulties. My breathing was causing some high pressure issues with my vent and after a steroid treatment I was sent home. The issue got better but I continued to have flare ups. We visited with the RT and after consultation it was decided that my lungs were having compliance issues. This made me chuckle but then I had ask what the heck does non-compliant lungs mean. It basically means that my lungs have lost some of their elasticity. They aren't sure why this happened but at least it doesn't sound too serious. My pulmonologist added a new breathing treatment and we're starting to see some improvement. Hopefully things will keep getting better.

This past Tuesday night I went to the university to hear the riveting story of Hiroshima bombing survivor Shigeko Sasamori. She was 13 on the fateful morning of August 6th, 1945 when the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Her story was one of the most powerful that I've ever heard. How she survived is a true miracle and hearing something this makes you realize the pure evil that man can cause. The debate over the decision to drop the bomb will continue to rage on but when will mankind realize how pointless war is. Ms. Sasamori's story is a cautionary one in this age of continuing atomic expansion. You can click here to check out the story of Ms. Sasamori's visit to UM.

School has been good but this semester is my busiest yet. Math has been a drag but I keep telling myself that it will all be over soon :-) We have our first exam on Wednesday and it doesn't sound like it will be too bad. Montana history has been good and the lectures have been pretty interesting. I'm almost finished with the first book for this class and that makes me pretty happy. We have our first exam for this class on Wednesday too. It will be a two question essay and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Lastly, my ethics class has been pretty tough and it takes effort on my part to stay on task with the reading. The professor is awesome and it's the highlight of my day to attend his lectures. They are certainly never dull! We have our first exam on Monday and I'll be spending the weekend getting ready for it.

It's homecoming week on campus and we were fortunate enough to snag 3 tickets for this Saturday's game. The stadium had renovations over the summer and they now have room for over 25,000 rowdy fans. I'm looking forward to my first homecoming game and it should prove to be a memorable experience.

My folks are making a fall visit to Missoula next and I'm so excited. It will be great to hang out for a few days and we will be taking in a Griz game while they are here. Will be a nice break from the craziness of school.

Take care for now and if you missed the start SNL last Saturday, I've included it for your comedic pleasure.

Peace...Mark