Because I'm a Contributor, Too

Well I've been reading Hannah's posts every week since she left for Costa Rica three months ago, but it wasn't until recently I remembered this is OUR blog. And though my semester wasn't full of beaches and rainforests and monkeys and "pura vida," it was still a semester worth talking about. So now I'm gonna talk about it.

My last post was August 3rd, at which point I was only halfway through my internship with Medtronic! The last 6 weeks wrapped up really well; I successfully completed my projects and delivered solid presentations to both my department and all the other interns, hiring managers, etc. On my last day the internship coordinator informed me that they'd like to bring me back for another internship next summer! In fact, they were hoping I could continue part time during the school year, but unfortunately I couldn't accept that due to my overwhelming workload at school.

As it turns out, I won't be working for Medtronic at all next year. Though they did come through with an offer, it wasn't in the department I'd been hoping to move into. And, conveniently, after more than 5 hours of cumulative interviewing, I also had an internship offer from Stryker (another medical supply company based in the Phoenix area). Stryker's offer was in their research & development department, which is an area I've always wanted to go into because it means I'm more likely to be doing "cutting-edge" work. Plus, they offered me more money than Medtronic, and it's a good opportunity to "try on" another company before I finish school! So I accepted Stryker's offer, and I have to say, it feels good to already have something secured for next summer heading into my last semester of undergrad!

The last four weeks of my Medtronic internship overlapped with the first four weeks of school, meaning I was more busy than I'd ever been in my life for that month. Thankfully my class schedule was pretty conducive to working during normal hours. Still, I often got to work at 6 am (sometimes earlier) and didn't get home from class until 6:30 pm, only to begin hours of homework that kept me up past midnight. It was exhausting.

Just two weeks after I cleared that hurdle, I was rewarded with a trip to Costa Rica to visit Hannah! She and her family and I had an awesome time, even though I could only stay for a few days. We visited the beach, ate delicious food including some cool fruit I'd never seen before, took a day trip to the cute little city of Arenal, and [most of us] went zip lining and rappelling! Yeah, I broke my arm on the first zip line and had to climb my way out of the forest through pouring rain, but you've heard all that before. Once they pumped painkillers in through the IV and gave me a bottle of oxycontin, I was good to go. Overall, it was a really neat trip. I loved what I saw of the country, and I hope I get the chance to go back some day and give zip lining another try! Best of all, I got to see Hannah for a few days amidst her twelve weeks abroad.

It was easy to keep a positive attitude while I was experiencing a foreign country, but once I got home, reality set in. I was gonna have to get through the rest of the semester with only one fully functional arm - and not even my dominant one. Thankfully my family and friends really stepped up to make it easier for me! At home, my parents made all my meals for me, and at school, my friends took notes for me in all my classes. Still, it's been really challenging and frustrating at times, dealing with my injury. I can't practice trombone, I can't exercise except for the stationary bike at the gym, and just about everything else simply takes more time than it normally would. I'm desperate to get my brace off so I can start PT and get back to normal life, but last Friday I learned it'd be at least another month before that happens.

It's tough to keep my spirits up, but good things have come out of it. I've gotten a lot better at accepting help from others, I've developed gratitude for my normally healthy physical condition, and - best of all - I'm basically ambidextrous now! Just two nights ago I bowled a 122 using only my left arm!

In other news, I've been keeping busy at school working on my senior capstone project - the culmination of my engineering degree - and my honors thesis. For capstone, my friends and I have teamed up to design and prototype an automated pill dispenser that we hope could bring a lot more independence to folks that would otherwise require 24-hour in-home care. It sure sounds good, right? I hope we can pull it off! And for my thesis I'm studying the aerodynamics of baseballs. So pretty cool stuff, but I'm definitely looking forward to completing both this spring.

In the end, it was probably my most challenging semester to date. But I ended up with the grades I wanted, so I think I handled the challenges well! And grew a lot more because of them.

And now there's less than 48 hours till Hannah gets home! Saturday is gonna be amazing. Star Wars at the IMAX theater in the morning, then we pick up Hannah at the airport, and then we celebrate an early Christmas with Hannah's family since Brian and Terrisa are leaving for Georgia the next morning. It'll be a great way to celebrate her return.

Here are some pictures to highlight a few other things I didn't already mention:

Nathan's and my Halloween jack-o-lantern. I'm quite proud of it, as you can probably tell.

A Star Wars music concert performed by the Phoenix Symphony. It was Brian's idea and a very fun evening!

The ASU vs UA game (aka Territorial Cup), which ASU dominated! #NoPityForTheKitty

The annual Warren-Hobson Thanksgiving Hike up Usery Mountain.

A picture that sums up my weekend in Beaver Creek, CO, with Hannah's family. I couldn't ski because of my arm, but I clearly still made the most of my weekend.

Said "so long" this week to Heather, a close friend of mine since junior high. She just finished her electrical engineering degree and is headed back to the east coast to start law school!