Summer update

Hello Blog World,
I hope you all have had a beautiful summer thus far. I am living at PLNU doing research with the chemistry department. For any future students, I highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity. I work a 40 hour week and in return, I get to live on campus for free and I get a decent stipend. I love all the people I work with and my supervisor, he is really laid back and extremely helpful for all research needs. Unnecessary info: my work has mainly involved reacting fluoronated alkenes with chlorosulfonyl isocyanate to try and get the beta-lactam product.

Here are some of my favorite things of the moment:
~The Farmer's Market in Hillcrest on Sunday mornings, it's spectacular. I have discovered a new love for cheese as a result (Vanilla Quark is life changing).
~My new dresses from Anthropologie! They are both super comfy.
I can't copy the pictures, but here are the links Tasseography Chemise and Mixed Print Chemise
~Netflix! Best $8 I spend every month.
~Skim boarding, I just learned so I suck, but it's entertaining.
~ Transformer slurpee cups at 7/11 AND Transformers: The Rise of the Fallen!!! If you liked to first movie, then it's essential you see the second. You won't be disappointed.
~ My rice cooker, I get the fluffiest, most perfectly done rice with little effort.
~ My bouquet of peonies and hydrangeas
James and I are planning a trip up the coast of California, Oregon, Washington to Vancouver, Canada. Does anyone have any advice for restaurants, things to do, etc. in San Francisco and/or Vancouver? I would really appreciate any suggestions that would make our time there unforgettable.

XOXO.
Kelli Renee

WCBSUR, Wedding, Wolverine (X-Men)

The WCBSUR was a big hit! I got to see a lot of interesting research being done by undergraduate students all over the United States. I also received some Molecular Biology extra credit for going which made it all the more sweet :-)I also got the go see Peter Grimes while it was at the San Diego Opera. I didn't like it as much as Tosca, but it was still very enjoyable to hang out with my lovely friends Sarah, Megan and Andie and some of those crazy music majors. Extraordinary Desserts followed which was, as always, extraordinary.

If you were wondering I did get all of my classes for next semester. The two I'm most excited for is Beginning Surfing for P.E. and Islamic Civilization. Surfing will be interesting, but I'm REALLY excited to learn to surf while I live here AND Sarah is taking it with me so we can look like complete dorks together.
My sister's wedding was this past weekend! Congrats to Lauren and Josh, I love you both. Here are some pictures I took...
Lauren and Josh got to see one another before the ceremony to take pictures
Josh's family
Wedding Party
My family
Father-daugther dance, my Dad picked the song, "I loved her first" by Blake Shelton (or Heartland... I'm not sure which)James and I at the wedding

Finally, I will conclude this blog of epic proportion with X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Stephen and I saw the midnight showing and I thought it was fantastic! Hugh Jackman is a wolverine after my own heart. I highly recommend it.

Only one week left of school and then finals week!
Until then...

xoxo
Kelli Renee

Has it been two weeks already?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Benefit of going to PLNU... we got Thursday, Friday and Monday off to celebrate Easter.
Direct consequence... spending approximately 11 hours of those three days off driving from San Diego to Phoenix and back.
All in all... it was well worth being home!

The only other PLNU related activity worth speaking of is the weather.
Last Sunday it was beautiful enough to lay out on Coronado island and get burnt to a crisp. Today, I arrived back at campus to find total cloud cover and light rain :-(.
I hope the weather makes up its mind soon.

Look forward to...
WCBSUR Conference through the Biology Department at PLNU (If you live around PLNU and you like biology you should try and come!)
Going to see Peter Grimes at the San Diego Opera this Saturday
I'm going home for Lauren's wedding in two weeks (which means I need to go shoe shopping)
Class registration on Friday

xoxo
Kelli Renee

I'm prejudice against all green colored ice cream.

I don't know why, they just look weird.

Last week Healer's Hands went to Rady Children's Convalescent Hospital to do arts and crafts with the children and the trip was a huge success! We had 23 Loma students go and most of the kids loved it... some of them were a bit overwhelmed with the amount of people, but overall it was a good trip. Most of the children we encountered are severely hanicapped; some of deaf and/or blind and they do not have control of their motions. However, these kids still deserve an overwhelming amount of love and we provide this for them by talking with them and keeping them company. It is incredibly rewarding to see the smiles on their faces throughout our time there.

The past two weeks I have also:
Gone to a concert of Karnatak Music (classical Indian music)
Began my position as a Lab Assistant for Physical Science (a GE science class)
Went with Stephen, Sarah, Dana, Sam, and Krystal to Miguel's for dinner (yummy cheese dip)...
and then to Ghiradelli's downtown for dessert
Got lost downtown and then ran into a giant cupcake
Had dinner with Hannah and Karissa at Pizza Nova...
and then walked on the pier in Ocean Beach
Watched Twilight and DID NOT become addicted (I actually really like Stephen King's opinion on the movie/books; mostly because I love JK Rowling)
Finally... it's class registration time again and it's stressing me out!!!!!

xoxo
Kelli Renee

P.S. I'm very sad that Blaire and Nate are back together :-(

Back at Loma!

Happy St. Patricks Day!
Today the Caf did a St. Patty's themed meal and I realized why the Irish drink so much... because their food is just plain awful. I mean I'm sure corned beef and cabbage is better when it's not cooked on a massive scale for an entire school. However, the meal consisted of turkey/corned beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and some rice thing (which may not be the Irish, but either way it's not good). In true Caf fashion, you could either have this meal in regular servings or soup form.
Done.

Anyways, I had a fantastic spring break and now I'm back at Loma. The best thing I did over spring break was go to Las Vegas! No, I did not break the "covenant" for those of you who are PLNU nazis. But, I did have a really good time just walking around, people watching, and of course eating amazing food. I also went to the Penn&Teller show; I love watching psychotic magicians. Other than that I just hung out with the fam in Good Ol' Gilbert.

Other moments of "relative" significance:
~I FINALLY brought my car from Arizona! I love that I don't have to bum rides anymore :-)
~Upon returning to campus, I found that our heater broke over break and left a giant water puddle on our floor (although ours wasn't as bad as other peoples... their rooms essentially flooded and they still stink).
~and I had one more thing, but I forgot it so I'll add it in later if I remember.

xoxo
Kelli Renee

The Quick and Dirty

~ Nease Hall Yoga, Granola, Yogurt morning went beautifully
~ Valentine's Day at home was amazing! James and I ate at Cyclo which is a Vietnamese restaurant in Chandler, Arizona.
~ I had my pre-med interview (see the post below)
~ I am becoming one of the co-leaders for a ministry on campus called Healer's Hands (if you would like to know more... just ask)
~ I was offered a position to do research this summer with the chemistry department!! Opportunity galore.
~ I went to the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown San Diego. It is a small museum, but the pieces were definitely interesting and it's free for anyone under 25.
~ Chipotle offered free burritos today for all PLNU students; I went twice :-)
~ This week is mid-terms and everyone I know is super stressed.
FINALLY....
~ I found out yesterday that I'm going to Las Vegas for part of spring break! I'll of course let you know how it goes.

I'd like to leave you with this image because it's sitting in my fridge right now and it's anxiously awaiting lunch time tomorrow :-)

Kelli Renee

Reflection on Pre-Med process

Here at Point Loma, the professors are dedicated to helping students pursue their future academic endeavors. Over the past week, the Pre-Medical board met with all sophomore students to have a mock interview. During this interview, the professors give feedback on personal statements, test our knowledge of the healthcare system, tell us the areas that need improvement, and really get a feel for who we are as students and our motivations for going into the medical field. These interviews (one sophomore year and another during junior year), help the professors write letters of recommendation for when we actually start applying to medical schools. Some students were asked difficult questions such as, "What do you think is the biggest contributor to the state of our healthcare system today," or "What three skills do you think a doctor should possess?" These are difficult questions that will prepare us for medical school interviews during our senior years.
My interview turned out not to be as bad as I thought it was going to. Most of what I talked about was why I wanted to be a doctor and how I was going to get there. I got A LOT of feedback on my personal statement; essentially some parts are good, but there are many areas that I could work on. I am grateful for these professor's opinions and I will definitely take them to heart as I begin the next draft of my personal statement.

For any future pre-med students here at Point Loma, this is one of the BEST undergraduate programs to be a part of. The staff really takes the time to make sure you are fully prepared for the rigors of medical school. This is evident in the fact that about 90% of the students from Point Loma that apply to medical related graduate programs, are accepted.
If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Kelli Renee