Amazing weekend recap

So this weekend was one of full of excitement: friends, fun, and triumph!

As always, I was ready to start the weekend on Monday, but alas, it didn't come until Friday. After having put together a research presentation of electroporation and the GAL4/UAS gene reporter system for Tuesday, I was ready to coast for the rest of the work week. Sadly, that never happens. And Friday was no exception either. Friday brought an afternoon of drama in the lab, but thankfully, things have settled down since then. At least it's always good to have a multi-department happy hour at 5pm on a Friday - thank goodness for SNEEB.

After enjoying a beer and some pizza, I headed home to relax for a bit and eat a small dinner before heading out to play Smash with Mike. He usually PWNs me, but it was different this time around. I went with a strategy of just picking 'cute' characters, and it worked! My success rate was ~80%. I'm awesome. I later headed home victorious.

Saturday was a day to look forward to as well. This was the Saturday of the infamous Ithaca Downtown Chili-Cookoff and Winterfest. I have been meaning to go to this for 4 years, and I'm glad I managed to make it down there before leaving good ol' Ithaca. I went with Matt and Corey to enjoy delicious chili and wings - Taste of Thai had some pretty good chili. Who'd have thought? We also met up with Sharona and friends and enjoyed their company in the glory of yet another Ithaca festival. After some tasty food and laughing at people sing during Chili Idol, we went home, and Corey and I prepared for a Murdery Mystery party at Sharona's. Lethal Luau was the name of the game, and we had to figure out who the murderer was. If you've never done one of these, I highly recommend them. They provide the opportunity to dress up like retards, talk the entire night with a funny accent, and have a great time with your buddies. Check out pictures on Facebook (coming soon, right S?!) and get an idea of how awesome a time it was. Tired and laughed out, Corey and I headed home. I ended up staying up later than expected, and managed to finally finish two books I've been reading: The Life of Pi and The Warrior of the Light. I'll make a post about books and my readings as of late sometime in the near future. I then drifted off to sleep content with my literary accomplishments, and woke up the next day ready for a long-overdue haircut.

Woke up around 10.30am on Sunday and made an appointment for a trim at 11.30am. Took a shower, went there, got my hair cut immediately, paid (satisfied with my shortened hair), left, went to Starbucks, bought a soy caramel macchiato (mmmmm ^_^), and walked back home. I then decided to check the mail just because I hadn't since Thursday. That's when the day changed forever!

Aside from some flyers in our mailbox, I discovered a cardboard envelope on the floor of the mailbox room that said UPS Next Day Air. Curious as to who it was addressed to in the building, I reached for it and soon saw the From and To. From: Stony Brook School of Medicine, To: Tomas A. Lazo. HOLY SHIT. I recalled reading in the info packet that acceptance letters were mailed express mail to the applicants, and thus, I set off on a mad dash for my apartment.

I ran from the mailroom to the side of the house, up the deck of our apt, and fumbled with my keys until I unlocked the door. I almost died running up the icy stairs, and managed to save my coffee before throwing my jacket, hat, scarf and other mail onto the living room couch. I tore open the envelope and a bunch of paper fell out, the top one reading,

Dear Mr. Lazo. On behalf of the Committee of Admissions, it is my great pleasure to invite you to join the 2009 freshman class of the School of Medicine, Stony Brook University.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!1!!1!1!

That, accompanied with many gasps, "Oh my God"s and "holy shit"s, was my response. I immediately dialed my mom's cell phone, but no answer. Turns out my parents were in church at that time, 12.05pm, and were out of phone's reach. Luckily, I was able to talk to my sister, first, and then my brother about it all, and they were both extremely happy for me. Long story short, it took me an hour before I could talk to my parents and share the good news. Everyone was extremely proud and ecstatic, and thus, the hours between 12pm and 3pm were used for various phone calls and conversations with family and friends. I'm gonna be a doctor!!!! :D

The rest of the day was spent food shopping, going to church to give many many many many manyyyy thanks, and DotA with Simon, Corey and Matt. Then, I went to Taste of Thai at 9pm for dinner with Corey, Matt, Simon, Don, and Sharona, and they all lovingly treated me to dinner and wine. Sharona then went home, and the rest of us went back to my place for more DotA and champagne, courtesy of Matt and his awesome mommy.

So, dear readers, if all goes well, by mid 2013, I WILL have my MD and formally be a doctor! I'm still planning on going to my Drexel interview in April, and I have yet to hear back from NJMS, but Stony Brook is my top choice for schools I've interviewed with, so I'm as happy as can be. Today and yesterday was full of heartfelt congratulations, hugs, and well wishes. The future looks bright, everyone. Dreams do come true when you put your whole heart into them. Thank you all for your thoughts and support. I couldn't have made it this far without you, and onward I go!