Chris Evans

It is beginning to look a lot like finals.

2011-12-10T14:14:00.001-08:00

As I sit at a starbucks in sunny San Diego, I hear over the radio various Christmas anthems including "Baby it's cold outside." Ironic.

Finals week has commenced and I am feeling anything but motivation to study for finals. The only thing that has lifted my spirits as it relates to classes is the discovery of a life-changing pandora radio station called 'Avatar film score.' This station is incredible. It is a continuous station that has the most epic soundtrack from movies such as Avatar, Lord of The Rings, Gladiator, Da vinci Code, etc.

Listening to such music makes studying thermodynamics and chemical kinetics almost bearable. In the least, it makes it seem like I am doing something more important that differential equations. (even though I'm not).

Although I don't have elaborate explanations for the photos below, I thought I would still share as they are random fragments from my life the last couple weeks.

A John Muir quote at the museum of photographic arts in balboa park, san diego.

Luke, Doug, and I after receiving the Molecular Science Award.

Only a class like Pchem could make me do this on a saturday morning.

Until next time.

San Diego and fake winters.

2011-11-15T22:20:00.001-08:00

So I like to act like San Diego actually has seasons. It doesn't. I'm pretty sure I like the idea of seasons, but I don't really know if I would like the whole shoveling snow bit. Nonetheless, every year about this time, which coincidentally is when classes get the most crazy, the weather gets slightly colder and if we're lucky we get San Diego's version of snow; really cold rain. Saturday was one of those days.

On Saturday, Julianna and I being hiking enthusiasts, decided hiking would be a good way to celebrate her birthday. We thought it only acting like it was going to rain, but we were wrong. We got to the halfway point of a 7-mile hike and the floodgates opened and it started pouring. Once at the top, the only thing that could be more romantic than a picnic/hike, would be trying to eat the aforementioned sandwhich as fast as possible before it became soggy. Overall a great success (although my trunk still has wet hiking boots in it).

This computer screen....

2011-11-08T22:01:00.000-08:00

This computer screen tells me I am officially registered for my last semester of classes at PLNU. I know you cannot see the actual classes, but one of them listed is outdoor adventures. Now that is what I call a liberal arts education.

Medical school here I come.

2011-10-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

This is the way Fridays should always start:

Breakfast burrito and latte.

This weekend we have fall break which I'm still trying to figure out why we even have fall break (not that I am complaining). For the past several weeks I have been traveling to medical schools around the country, most of which in the midwest. The trips have been exciting, exhausting, and surprising all at the same time. It has been really interesting visiting new places and realizing that my time at Point Loma is coming to a close in the next several months. Very strange.

But all of that to say, I am excited to finally have a weekend to spend in San Diego. So here is to quite possibly the most beautiful city in the united states.

Also, more related to school, I got my first acceptance to medical school this past Monday. It is surreal knowing that I will actually be a medical student come next fall. I am grateful that all the hard work has paid off and am incredibly lucky to have had the support of family, friends, and Point Loma professors and classmates through this crazy process of preparing/applying to medical school. This is where I shamelessly plug the PLNU pre-med program. It has been absolutely amazing, and would love to talk to any prospective students about it, even if pre-med only sounds remotely interesting to you.

Until next time.

The craziest two months so far.

2011-10-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

So I am back at Point Loma.
I am a senior.
I am engaged.
I am interviewing at medical schools.

Pretty packed two months eh?

Most importantly, I am engaged. Besides being shocked she said yes, I am absolutely ecstatic. After much planning and preparation, I proposed to Julianna. I had asked her if we could go on a date, and told her I'd pick her up at 3:00pm. When it was almost 3:00 I left flowers and note saying I was running late and asked her to meet me at a huge tree on campus (which is where I first told here I loved her). Then when she got to the tree there was a bunch of black and white photos mounted on black matte board. On the outsides of the tree were photos of things that have been significant to each of our journeys separately, such as study abroad, missions trips, summer jobs, etc. As the photos got closer to the center of the tree the photos were of us together and experiences we have shared. Once she had looked at all the photos there was a laptop sitting on the nearby bench that had instructions to watch the video on the desktop. The video was of me cutting, mounting, and organizing all the photos as I am narrating why I had chosen certain photos and the significance of the tree. The last line of the video asked her to turn around because I had a question for her. (You can probably guess what question that was)

The definition of nervous wreck.

Let the wedding planning begin.

In the midst of my blog absence, I made my way back to the US from Costa Rica in August. Just in case I haven't said it before, if it is even remotely possible to study abroad during your time in college; DO IT. Such an amazing experience. Below is the photo with my host family the night before we all left.

Costa Rica Recap

Costa Rica from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

Lastly, I have started interviewing for medical schools, actually I am writing this blog from the airport waiting for a flight to my next interview. It is crazy to think I will be living in a new place in less than a year.

That was confusing.

2011-09-28T23:17:00.001-07:00

So after two months of a blog account login mishap, I finally have access to my own blog again. Victory.

I promise the next entry will be worth the wait. At least I hope. In the mean time, watch this video of Bon Iver. Hands down the BEST concert I have ever been to. Unreal.

Close your eyes.

2011-07-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

"Close your eyes this time
Cause trust is all we have tonight
But trust will be forever
Safe your dreams will be
Cause trust will be the light tonight

So close your eyes this time"

-Future of Forestry

I sat on a ferry by myself heading for Montezuma, Costa Rica. Through the faint music provided by my iPod I could hear those around me. Behind me was a German family, in front a group of friends from Sweden. To my right, newlyweds from Brazil. In front of them, a family from Mexico. All of them were speaking different languages.

During my time in Costa Rica I have also been applying to medical schools. I have been writing essays about anything and everything, trying to articulate the characteristics about myself that would make a medical school want me. It is quite exhausting doing such introspection, not to mention slightly intimidating. In writing these essays to great medical schools all around the country, I easily start to think "well what if I actually got into this or that place?" Then I starting thinking through the pro and cons of those. As the gears of hypothetical thought get going, they halt to a stop as I remember there is so many unknowns before that. I have found great comfort in the song by Future of Forestry listed above. Sitting on ferry with these people going to a new place for the weekend, and metaphorically new stages in life the next couple years, I put back in my headphones and closed my eyes to listen to the song once more.

After getting off the ferry (and taking another bus), I finally arrived in Montezuma, Costa Rica. Montezuma is a little beach town near Mal Pais. It is super small, but well known for good surfing, waterfalls, and earth loving people (who occasionally have drum circles till 2am). After a little bit of confusion, I was finally able to meet up with the friends I was going to be spending the weekend with; Caleb and Carli.

Caleb and Carli before we went hiking.

We found a super cool hostel, which wasn't really a hostel. It was a family that owned a coffee farm who had some extra rooms and put a sign out in front of their house that said they had rooms available. But it turned out to be great. We had a sweet kitchen table and a upstairs loft with a hammock that overlooked the ocean.

Below are some of the photos from around Montezuma. A small city, but still has much to offer.

yes please.

Although I only spent two days in Montezuma, it was a gem. We then started heading back to San Jose (using the ferry we got there on).

I wonder if that was the "old ferry?"

Before getting back into San Jose, we stopped off at a fruit stand at the side of the road. Mangos for days.

Until next time.

"Close your eyes this time
Cause trust is all we have tonight
But trust will be forever
Safe your dreams will be
Cause trust will be the light tonight
So close your eyes this time"

-Future of Forestry

Shades of Green.

2011-07-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I have ever seen so many shades of green. The past two weekends I have visited two must see places in Costa Rica; Volcan Arenal and Monteverde Cloud Forest.

Volcan Arenal is just outside of a town called La Fortuna. It is an active volcano that supposedly erupted about this time last year when a different group of study abroad students were visiting (comforting right?). Thankfully, we had a not so dramatic experience with the volcano. The trip involved an unbelievable amount of rain, staying at an amazing hotel, and canyoning, or rappelling down waterfalls in the rainforest. Another highlight was buying some fresh coffee beans from a coffee roaster called "Down to Earth." Supposedly, this coffee is the rolls-royce of Costa Rican coffee, at least thats what the guy said (and I believed him). I'm not really sure how coffee can be compared to a car with a six digit price tag, but I'm assuming that means the coffee is good. Time will tell I guess.

Before leaving for Arenal, I learned how to make Arroz con Leche; muy rico.

Welcome to Volcan Arenal.

Crocodile. No big deal.

Does the color mean they are poisonous?

The following weekend we went to Monteverde Cloud Forest. This time we didn't have that much rain, and we didn't rappel down waterfalls. However, we did do the coolest zipline course I have ever seen.

(I forget the exact measurements, but this zipline was roughly 600 meters long and 100 meters tall.)

At the very end of the zipline course there was Tarzan swing; which essentially consisted of free falling until a bungee caught you, followed by swinging back and forth. I walked out on the sketchy bridge really slowly, and finally was greeted by the two guides at the end. They clipped me in asked me to hold onto a certain part of the rope and then asked "Are you nervous?" Before I had time to reply, one said "Bye-bye" in a tico accent and forcefully pushed me off. I dropped like Tarzan would if he were real. I didn't get any pictures of me doing it, but below are some of lance.

For the rest of the weekend, I got a little bit of hiking in, an awesome sunset, and sat on the balcony of my hotel room taking in all of the sounds. The sounds of likely thousands of insects and frogs, all of which seemed to make the clouds and stars come alive.

Until Next time.

Tropical bungees, rains, and slightly awkward moments on foreign beaches.

2011-07-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

Being in a new city is a strange thing. With the exception of my walk to the university, the grocery store, and the basketball courts that we play futbol on, I really don't know how to get anywhere. Whenever I "venture out," I take a taxi and I magically appear at whatever I told the taxi driver. I wonder if that will ever not work. But none the less, it is quite a surreal feeling getting into a daily rhythm in a place you don't know. You notice all the cars that pass you as your walking to class and quickly remember that this is a real city with people that are late for work, people who are exhausted, and people who are singing spanish songs at the top of their lungs. It makes one realize how small they are in comparison to a bustling city.

I've almost been here two weeks now. People are not lying when they say summer is the rainy season in Costa Rica. Almost everyday, with the exception of maybe two, there has been copious amounts of rain. The mornings are usually sunny, but like clockwork once it hits about 12:30 or 1:00 the floodgates open. The first two weeks have been great. I have loved the feeling of being sort of unplugged from everything (ironic that I say that as I am typing a blog). Not having a cell phone is quite a nice change from normal life.

This is my house.

This is my host family and my housemates. It was Juan Carlos and Gley's 20th anniversary so all of us guys decided such occasions call for a cake (or queque depending on language preference. )

Bungee jumping has always seemed absolutely ridiculous to me, so when I heard we could go I quickly signed up.... to go watch. And watch I did. Every once in a while I regret I didn't do it but then I look at the following pictures and quickly forget such regrets.

Mark, Me, Lance, and Dan before they jump.

Clearly Dan is not too stoked he signed up for this.

This is about the time that bungee jump staff guy tells Dan this was his first day working there. We're still not sure if he was joking.

Just in case you still thought it didn't look that high.

After getting back from tropical bungee, we packed up our stuff for the first weekend excursion. We were going to Playa Tamarindo, a beautiful beach with a super nice resort. After a 5 hour bus ride that turned into a 6 hour bus ride because of traffic we arrived.

Guacamole + Steak.

Saturday we had a free day to either go on optional tours or just hangout around the beach. Most people with our program went on a catamaran ride for the day, but I opted for a massage on the beach (rough decision, I know). Since, I had never had a professional massage before I didn't really know what to expect. Conveniently, the hotel we were staying at had massage tables right out on the hotel beach. So there I was, laying on a table right in front of the ocean getting a massage by a Costa Rican who didn't speak any english, as tourists walked the beach right in front of me- kind of awkward but after like 5 minutes I got used to it. (see picture below, you can see the massage tables if you look close enough).

After my massage, I did something I do often:

wandered around aimlessly and took pictures of things.

Playa Tamarindo at Sunset.

Until next time.

Ignorance and Tico coffee.

2011-07-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

In the chemistry department that I have been doing research in this summer, there is a white board that has quotes from a chemistry professor. One of my favorites says:

"Ignorance is not an option."

While it is funny if you know the professor, the quote is actually very appropriate for my two days in Costa Rica so far.

Today we had a oral placement exam. Sounds really fancy, but it essentially consisted of me sitting across from an interviewer who asked me very basic questions in spanish. You know, the basics. After barely being able to say my name, where I am from, what I study, and how many siblings I have (and even messing up that), I resorted quickly to one of two response. After she would finish a question, repeat the question, and then there was still the awkward silence I would say either: no se (I don't know), or nervously laugh. I'm not sure which one is worse. As the conversation continued, the room temperature either got hotter or I got more nervous; sweating commenced.

Needless to say, it was a humbling experience and I placed into the beginning class. (Which I knew would be the case)

After this interview, or lack there of, I met up with a friend of mine who has been at Veritas University for the past month. We went to a local coffee shop and he shared stories of his time here so far. Moral of the story is I found a good coffee shop and got to catch up with a good friend.

Dustin Punches everyone.

Cappuccino (empty).

Classes start tomorrow!

::Pura Vida::

2011-07-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

I have officially arrived in Costa Rica.

In being here one day:

I have already made myself look like a fool by fumbling through the little spanish I know. I have already remembered what it feels like to be in a new place, with new people, in a new culture...... something I think one can never get completely accustomed to (although some do so better than others.) And most importantly, I have felt welcomed. The people, and my host family in particular, have made it very clear that they hope I become a part of their family for the next five weeks.

I was initially planning on getting some photos of downtown San Jose, but we didn't have time to make it down there today. It was also raining pretty hard, so that also contributed to the lack of photos. But to no avail, I have three photos to share.

This is my room. Right next to the bathroom which means I can wake up at the latest possible time, roll out of bed, get into the shower, and still make it to breakfast on time. victory.

These are my roommates. Nothing like a little foosball (futbolito) during a rainy day.

My safety lies in this dogs hands. Meet brownie. Although he may look innocent, he is fierce... I mean look at that power stance.

Until next time.

birthdays.airports.finals.graduations.science.weddings.baseball.

2011-06-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

I am a senior. Weird.

The past couple weeks have been crazy busy, as it always is at the end of the semester. I know everyone says this but it really does feel strange thinking I only have a year left at point loma. Since I have yet again waited much too long to give a post I have several photos to update with.

My dad turned 50 over easter break. To celebrate this landmark, almost all of his brothers and sisters and their families flew out to Arizona to surprise him. He had absolutely no idea.

My brother Steve and I have joked around for the past year that we should get my dad a bounce house for his 50th birthday. I mean what else could be better to celebrate turning 50 than a bounce house?

That joke became a reality.

Julianna, my super cool girlfriend, has been studying abroad for the past semester in Florence, Italy. After a semester of adventures, she made her way back to the United Stats on May 6th. What she didn't know was that I was going to surprise her in the San Francisco airport when she landed. I was excited. She was excited and surprised. Win win situation.

After celebrating Julianna's homecoming, I flew back to down to San Diego. Starting to study for my finals the night before.... not the greatest idea. But it was oh so worth it.

Graduation. T-minus one year.

Apparently, James was cold , so he wore a scarf.

Todd graduated, and then a couple days later was on a plane to backpack europe. Jerk.

Since graduation and finals ending, I have been working as summer researcher in the chemistry department. Just another day at the office.

My good friend, Chris Reid, got married. He asked me to be one of his groomsmen, which meant I got to wear a bow tie. boom.

Padres tickets= $7. Thank you for having cheap tickets.

Last but not least, BBQ for memorial day. Lemon garlic chicken. I'm becoming a culinary prodigy.

Summer is coming.......

2011-04-15T22:22:00.001-07:00

First and foremost, I am DONE with the MCAT. (pending my scores). It feels weird knowing I actually took the real test after studying for so long and taking so many practice tests. Now I have to wait a couple more weeks to get my results.

The best parts of being done with the MCAT are:

-Getting burritos with friends. California burritos, amazing.

-Sleeping in on Saturday mornings. This is easily the best part.

-Starting to rock climb again.

-Going on weekend adventures.

-Falling asleep on the library couches and not feeling guilty for it.

-Playing guitar again. (or at least trying since I haven't played in so long)

Adal's California Burritos at their finest...

Shortly after finishing the exam, I went up to San Clemente for an RA retreat..... at a sweet beach house.

Doug explaining the meaning of life.. and Jeff not listening.

Now things are relatively back to normal. We only have a couple more weeks of the semester, which is crazy because that means I will be a senior. I just registered for the Fall semester. So weird.

Below are some random pictures from the past couple weeks around campus. Enjoy.

Wiley Hall

Immunology Lab

I had no idea why there was a chinchilla in there, or that chinchillas were even real....

Kenny. Ping Pong. Play.

This is Nick. He is going to be my roommate next year. He's a physics guru.

::Planes, Trains, and Italy- Spring Break 2011:: Day 2-10

2011-03-13T12:07:00.001-07:00

Initially I had planned on posting daily blogs (or at least every two days) while in Italy for spring break. By day 2 I had realized how ambitious this goal was. First, free wifi is hard to come by in Italy. Second, when there is so much to see in Italy, it is hard to make yourself sit down and write. So with no further explanation here is the recap of my trip to Italy.

::Day 2:: Travel

Tren Italia.

::Day 3-5:: Cinque Terre

Welcome to Cinque Terre, Italy.

Cinque Terre is a group of five cities along the coast of Italy. There are hiking trails that connect all of the little towns, along with great restaurants, and breathtaking views. The town above is called Manarola. If you ever go to Italy, you MUST go to Cinque Terre.

This is where the train drops you off at. Not too bad of a first impression.

Riomaggiore

Pesto that I had for three different meals.... I may or may not of liked it.

Manarola at night.

Hostel Cinque Terre. Such a cool place. With great views (see below)

Local carnival in Manarola.

Probably one of the coolest things about the Cinque Terre area is all the hikes you can do. We were only able to do a couple of them, but they were unbelievable. Seriously.

Vineyards galore.

A great view to end a four hour hike.

An old church we found just outside of Manarola.

::Day 5-8:: Firenze (Florence)

Ponte Vecchio and the Arno river.

Most of our time was spent in Florence. Since Julianna has been living there for about two months, she knew all the local spots. I felt like I wasn't one of those "american tourists"..... even though every Italian that saw us knew we were Americans. dang.

Street market.

The Duomo

(candid expression)

Florence from above.

Amazing pizza. Spicy salami= bliss.

Apparently Hipster coffee shops aren't unique to the United States.

Picnic in the Boboli Gardens.

All the cool Italians ride a vespa.

The outside of Boboli Gardens.

The David. (The fake one, but still)

There is no shame in eating McDonalds while in Firenze.

Firenze at sunset.

:: Day 9:: Assisi, Italy

During my last full day in Italy we took a day trip to Assisi to see the Basilica of St. Francis.

::Day 10:: Travel home

After nine jam-packed days, it came time for me to go back to the Airport. Italy was unbelievable, and because of this trip I am now an advocate of traveling as much as possible. Even if it is only for a week. The flights home were super long, but oh so worth the jet lag considering how awesome it was to see Julianna and to see such a beautiful place like Italy.

Also here are couple reasons why I liked flying with Air France:

-Free french baguettes

-Free Haagen-Dazs ice cream

-Flying over Iceland while I was listening to Sigur-Ros.

Until next time.

::Planes, Trains, and Italy- Spring Break 2011:: Day 1

2011-03-03T14:02:00.001-08:00

I'm writing this while sitting at San Diego International Airport. I'm going to Italy!

My travel itinerary to Florence is:
-San Diego to LA
-LA to Paris (Freaking long flight)
-Paris to Pisa
-Pisa to Florence (train)

My girlfriend Julianna is currently studying abroad in Florence, so I am going to visit and see what its like to be a international students (at least a week of it). She has been blogging for the Point Loma Study Abroad office.... check her blog out here:

http://mansionofbeautifulthoughts.blogspot.com/

Here is to 18 hours of travel!

Cheers,

Chris

A new year.

2011-01-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

So I have been miserably failing at keeping this blog up to date, and for that I am sorry. I have officially started what may be my toughest semester at Point Loma, and honestly I am unsure of how it will go.

My classes for the semester are as follows:
-Immunology
-Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (The title alone sounds interesting)
-Continental Authors
-World Civilizations II
-Art

But more importantly than the classes, I will be taking my MCAT exam in about two months. The MCAT is a medical school entrance exam that essentially dictates (or at least has a huge influence) if and where you get accepted to medical school. I have been studying for it for the past two months (this is where I shamelessly provide an excuse for being behind on blogging), but I still have a ways to go before my actual test. So this semester academically (At least the first half) should be interesting as I balance classes and test prep.

So now that I have gotten the boring stuff out of the way, this is some stuff I have been doing since my last post:

-Went hiking on the Sonoma coast.

-Visited a sweet cave in Southern Arizona called Kartchner caverns.

-At at the best restaurant in Phoenix. Oregano's Pizza Bistro.

-Beat my older brother in Xbox 360 NCAA football. (If you knew my older brother, you would realize why this is so noteworthy.)

-Made a lot of stovetop popcorn. Once I switched from microwave to stovetop, I never turned back.

-Played Xbox Kinect at Dr. Choung's house for a chem club party.

-And last but not least, I got to see a replica renaissance castle winery in Napa Valley, California.

Broke college student purchase of the month. round #1.

2010-11-30T20:32:00.001-08:00

So I decided to start something new for the blog.

Being a broke college student, there is something great about finding a random item for a great price. So for the inaugural post of this hopefully ongoing tradition.... I present a great mug I found from Goodwill.

$.97 had never been spent so well. This is a quality coffee mug.

(just for the record, I've never been to Chicago. or at least I don't think so, but based on this mug, I would love to go.)

This is Quinn, and he is showing what studying after thanksgiving break looks like.

Gospel Choir. & Bounce Houses.

2010-11-09T22:06:00.000-08:00

::Gospel Choir::

Point Loma has a sweet gospel choir. This is from their concert. Maybe one day I will have enough soul.

These shirts are amazing.

::Bounce House::

After 20 years of living on this earth, I still enjoy a quality bounce house. Here is evidence:

I call this one crouching tiger.

I meant to do this?

Staches unite.

Chicken Alfredo, Jai Ho, and Costa

2010-10-16T00:10:00.001-07:00

A longer post is in the making but in the mean time, I have three very important things to let you know.

1) Last blog post, I was promoting the sale aisle at Fresh N Easy (the grocery store closest to campus). To show proof of why Fresh N Easy is the best grocery for a poor college student:

2) While I was on a Loveworks trip to India this past summer, most of our time was spent in the hospital. But in our down time we got to learn how to Bollywood dance from a Bollywood choreographer. This past week was Loveworks chapel, which is pretty much a chapel where PLNU students can hear about last years trips and also how students can sign up for future loveworks trips. So naturally, this chapel was the perfect opportunity to show Loma how to dance Indian style.

3) I got accepted to the Costa Rica Study abroad program for this next summer!

Upperclassmen?

2010-09-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

I am a junior now.

It feels weird thinking that I am starting the second half of my time at Loma. We started classes two weeks ago and for the week and half before classes started I was on campus for Resident Assistant (RA) training.

In the first two weeks of my junior year I have learned a couple things:

1) I'm getting old. I can't stay up past midnight anymore.

2) Fresh N Easy is the best grocery store for a broke college student. (especially the sale section where you can find some of the best grocery store sushi for $2.)

3) General education classes are way cooler than what people make them out to be.

4) I really want to figure out a way to study abroad. I mean look at Costa Rica:

This year I'm stoked to be an RA in Wiley Hall. Wiley is a sophomore/junior guys dorm. I personally think Wiley has the biggest rooms on campus but I may be a little biased. All the guys who live in my units are great guys so it should be a good year. To introduce you to the RA staff for the year here are some photos:

This is Chris and his bow tie.

Doug the resident scientist.

Mark. The cowboy from...... Orange County?

Matt the cooking machine.

Some other guy.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, these two bands are absolutely amazing.

And while we're on the subject of pop culture, I read a book over the summer called Moutains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. If you haven't read it, do it. It is about a medical anthropologist who works in Haiti (and many other countries). Even if you have no interest in being a doctor, this book is unbelievable.

Last but not least, here is a random video from my Advanced Biochemistry Lab. These are the kind of things us science majors get excited about..... (I give you permission to make fun of me.)

Summer Update Part 2.- Everything besides India.

2010-08-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

Summer Job

After getting back from India, I spent most of the summer working for the biology department as a part of the undergraduate research program. The best parts of working on campus for the bio department during the summer is:
1) Getting to know your research professor better. They're great people.
2)Free bagels everyday. I love bagels.... So that's what I call work benefits.
3)Wednesday= free lunch
4) Last but not least you get to live with this view all summer for free.

The Big 80

My grandpa turned 80 during the summer, so naturally I flew out to Ohio to meet up with the rest of my family to bring in the big day with him. Even though I spent most of the weekend in Airport lobbies, coffee shops, and on the plane rather than Ohio, it was still a sweet trip.

Some random bus out behind grandparents house.

The Man of the hour.

The whole crew. I personally thought it was a cool gazebo.

Colorado
Me and my roommate wanted to go on some sort of an adventure once we finished our summer jobs. So we originally were gonna go to Costa Rica, but then we realized it was so dang expensive so we settled for a close second..... Backpacking in Colorado.

I had only been to Durango once so I had no idea where to go. After talking to an employee at the local mountaineering store, we found an awesome place to go backpacking for a four days. Easily one of the coolest and most spontaneous trips I've ever done. If you ever have the chance to randomly drive to Durango, go talk to Jeremy at Pine Needle Mountaineering and he'll hook you up.

Before:

A peak we failed to summit. Dang elevation.

Tomorrow morning I head back to Loma for RA training.... Loma round 3.

Summer Update Part 1.- INDIA

2010-07-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Considering there is only a couple more weeks of summer left, I should probably start giving some updates. So far this summer:
-I have gone to India for a little over 3 weeks.
-Spent the summer working with the Biology department
-Visited my family in Phoenix for a weekend.
-Attended my grandfather's 80th birthday part in Ohio (It was a bumpin party)

Since this is a lot of ground to cover.... I thought I would just give a recap of India in this post.

Welcome to India

For the first three weeks of summer, I went to India as a part of a Loveworks trip. Loveworks is a short term missions program run by PLNU, that sends out several teams every summer to almost everywhere.... well almost. The trip to India was a medical group composed of 14 people (9 Nursing students, 3 Pre-Med students, and 2 Leaders) and we spent 3 weeks in a rural Indian hospital called Reynolds Memorial.

Below is a slideshow a just a couple of pictures from India.

While I knew I was going to be experiencing things I wouldn't see in the states, I had no way of knowing how profound of an impact India would have on me. Obviously my world view has been rocked after experiencing such poverty. The phrase pain and suffering, which is discussed much on any university setting, takes on a whole new meaning after India. I never thought I would find myself in a 100+ degree hospital room with burn patients, watching surgeries, and learning how to play the notorious sport of cricket all in one trip. Throughout my time in Washim, and since returning, I have realized that an experience like the one in India is something that drastically changes the way one thinks of medicine, and more importantly the world. I am deeply grateful for the way that the Loveworks program has given me the opportunity to not only try to comfort the patients in Reynolds Memorial, but also give me a glimpse into the reality that is the world.

I'll never forget the time I spent in India, the smells of the hospital, and most importantly the loving and welcoming nature of the Indian people.

Salaam.

Studying for finals... what does that even mean?

2010-05-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

Despite all my desires to postpone finals, finals week is upon us. Some of you may be wondering what it means to "study for finals?" When I came into college freshmen year a whole week of studying seemed a little excessive so that is the purpose of this blog. Here is what studying for finals consists of.... well at least this year.

Finals week_dancing. from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

A little explanation for what happened in this video.
-4 minutes and 55 seconds of a random dance party on the 3rd floor of the library.... during finals week.
-After the song was over everyone went back to studying. no big deal.

Point Loma's Pump Wall.

2010-05-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

As I have gotten more interested in climbing, I have learned of the places the local guys go to get some climbing in. About a mile down from campus is a retaining wall that people refer to as "Pump Wall." It is right on the ocean (which makes it ten times cooler), and a great place to work on footwork, technique and really scrape up your hands. haha.

Quite possibly one of the best ways to take a break from studying...

Caleb being a chief, even without climbing shoes on.

Only 5 weeks.......

2010-04-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

5 More weeks until finals, And essentially till I'm done with my sophomore year here at PLNU. I know it's really cliche to say, but I cannot believe how fast it has gone by. I know for anybody who is in the process of making the decisions about college choices that this time leading up to your freshmen year can be somewhat stressful. (At least it was for me two years ago).

I wish you the best in this decision and hope that whichever instituition is the best fit will become clear in the next couple weeks. If any of you have any questions concerning my experience as a PLNU students I'd be stoked to chat with you. My email is cevans001@pointloma.edu.

On a completely different note, I just got back on campus from being home with my family for Easter. It was nice to chill for a couple days and not do any homework. Here is a picture from a hike we went on in Sedona, Arizona.

And yet another completely unrelated subject, here is my music recommendation for the week:

Artist: Paper Route
Album: Absence

Spring Break...... in Oregon.

2010-03-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

After over 2100 miles of driving...... our road trip to Oregon is over.

For spring break I went all the way up to oregon with these three guys:

The Drive

Apparently this is the most comfortable sleeping position Mark could find.

James being a creeper with his stache.

caught.

Stopped for gas in Weed, California. no big deal.

Hiking

big ol' waterfall.

I thought you were supposed to go off of the trail somewhere?

Downtown Portland
A few things about our day in Portland:
1) It rained the whole time. Which was actually pretty cool.
2) Portland has the sickest public transportation system I've been on..... (Which I've been on two other cities but still it was sick.)
3) Powell's Bookstore is hands down the biggest bookstore I have ever been to.

Max all day pass= $4.75

Stumptown Coffee=better than starbucks.

Powell's City of Books- You really do need a map to get around this place.

Greasy pizza place across from Powell's.
Proof of the grease:

Pioneer Square: Downtown Portland
good thing he has an umbrella.

conquering moutains, Julian with Julianna, expensive haircuts & tests.

2010-02-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

Conquering Mountains
Up until coming to Point Loma I never really had been rock climbing before. About a year ago I went for the first time with some super rad guys that are involved in the Point Loma outdoor program called great escapes. If you curious about what great escapes is here is a link tho their website:

http://www.pointloma.edu/CampusLife/Recreation/Great_Escapes.htm

Anyways after going climbing outdoors for the first time I'm so stoked any time I get to go. It's a sick hobby for poor college students like me (despite having to buy the gear at the beginning). But a couple weeks ago, I got invited by my friend Caleb to go with him a and two other guys climbing at El Cajon Mountain (30-40 minutes from PLNU).

This is Caleb. I refer to him as the climbing guru.

And this is the climbing guru actually climbing:

Trying to climb up what Caleb just did.

Dustin and Caleb
The whole crew (Dustin, Me, Jared, & Caleb)

Hiking in Julian.... with Julianna.
For valentines day Julianna and I went hiking near a town called Julian, which is about an hour and half from campus. (It took us about 2 hours and 15 minutes cause I got lost) Anyways, It's crazy to think that there is such crazy changes in terrain in such a short distance. For almost the whole day we went hiking at Three sisters falls... which ironically has three waterfalls....

Haircuts on a budget:

Considering its Friday afternoon and I haven't been able to sleep much this week, so I'm thinking its about time for a nap.

Cooking and such.

2010-01-31T00:10:00.001-08:00

Now that it is three weeks into the spring semester, it's time for a serious update of this blog. I realized that I had a lot of ground to cover but here it is........

India

I found out a little bit before Christmas break (I know that's a long time ago now)..... but I'm going to be going to India as a part of the Loveworks medical team this summer. It has not really hit me yet that I am actually going there but the past couple weeks I have been thinking about it a lot and I'm sooooo stoked to get to go. A group of us will be helping at a hospital for 3 weeks at the end of may. Several other Loveworks teams comprised of other PLNU students will be going all over the place, literally all over the world. It'll be cool to experience these things alongside other students as some of my friends are going to Thailand and the Congo.

Cooking Escapades

This semester I only have the meal plan with 8meals/wk in the caf plus 100 bucks for PBC credit. (for those of you who don't know what the PBC is, its a cafe sort of place that serves coffee, burgers and sandwiches). With such few meals a week, I have had to start learning how to cook........... But the grocery store Fresh n' Easy which is right off campus has made this challenge a little bit easier.

Before:

After:

All for less than 5 bucks. booya!

Other than that there isn't too much going on besides finally getting in the swing of things with classes and trying to catch up (already) on homework. Since my updates have been sparce I figured I would post some random photos:

Random Photos:

Theodore the snowman.

The most intense blanket ever.

?

San Fran

Another plug for how good the sunsets are at Loma.

2010-01-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

This seriously never gets old.

6 Hours.

2010-01-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

It's begining to look a lot like..... finals?

2009-12-15T19:12:00.000-08:00

2 Finals down. 2 to go.

But more importantly I have some updates concerning my No Shave November experience. I looked into what my competition was and I found that there is a legitimate mustache competition. It's called the "World Beard and Mustache Competition". Needless to say I have come to grips with my inability to grow facial hair considering this guy won a previous competition:

http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/

Besides this, there has been a lot happening since my last post. So here it goes.

Thanksgiving/Family picture:
For Thanksgiving I made the drive home for a couple days to hang out with the family and get some good eats. Along with eating we took our annual family picture (even though I don't recall taking this picture for the past couple years).

The Perfect Storm
About a week ago there was a gnarly storm that hit the Point Loma area and power went out for about six hours on the whole campus. I got lucky and was outside of Wiley when the storm was coming in.

Wiley Hall Christmas Gala
Every year in Wiley Hall we do a big Christmas party where all of the units (or most of them) decorate their rooms with some sort of themed Christmas party. So naturally my first choice for decorating my room was the Wiley hall retirement home.

It has begun.

2009-11-17T20:49:00.001-08:00

No Shave November is well under way. I'll be the first to admit that I have a far ways to go, but I assure you the will is there.

November weather?

2009-11-11T22:29:00.000-08:00

Its starting to get cold, and when I say cold I mean like 60 degrees. but none the less we are well into November now.

I have a couple of random unrelated updates since my last post, so I figured this would be a great time to share.

San Diego

LoveWorks.

I applied for the school program called Loveworks. This summer program is a rad opportunity to travel around the world and serve in these communities in different capacities. I applied for two different trips, one to Washim, Maharashtra, India, and the other in Tanzania. The India trip is a medical team that will be helping in hospitals and the Mwanza, Tanzania team will be doing HIV/AIDS ministry & training and church construction. In the next couple weeks I should be hearing back if I got placed on a team so I'm pretty stoked.

Halloween:

Free Chipotle on Halloween:

If you dress up as a burrito on Halloween, ie any aluminum foil, then Chipotle gives you a free burrito.

Class Registration Already?
This past week we registered for classes. Here is what next semester looks like for me:
Organic Chemistry II
Analytical Chemistry
Molecular Biology
Physics II
Philosophy
New Testament

gross coffee.

2009-10-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Just for the record.... we threw away this coffee maker after the shooting of this video.

Tennis, tests, and food.

2009-10-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

This week I had two pretty big tests in Organic Chemistry and Physics, which coincidentally fell on the same day. So despite studying a lot, I found a new way to have fun around campus.

I still haven't mastered the serve.... but it's a work in progress.

Other highlights from the week, was that I was able to make it to Time Out for the first time this semester. For those of you who don't know Time Out is a Wednesday night chapel option that is held in the rec room. Pretty rad environment.
And last but not least. Here is my current favorite places to eat around San Diego.

Top 5 (if I'm paying since I'm a poor college student)...
5)Del Taco
4)Fiji Yogurt
3)In-N-Out
2) Santanna's
1) Chipotle

Top 5 (if someone else is paying i.e. when my parents come to town)
5) Chipotle
4)Olive Garden
3)Pei Wei or P.F. Chang's
2)Pizza Nova
1) Chipotle

*** Notice that chipotle shows up three times between the two lists.... simply because its just that dang good. *****

Sunday Afternoon.

2009-09-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the library.....

Middle of September..... Really?

2009-09-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

One month down in my sophomore year. Things are finally starting to get in the swing of things as all of the "beginning of the year" craziness slows down. Classes are quite a bit harder than last year but I'm loving it so far (but not loving spending so much time in the library).

So far this year there has been some sick stuff that has happened around campus so I figured I would yet again post up some random photos from random stuff around campus thus far.

enjoy.

Loma Sunset.

Ocean Beach.
Denny Moody. Shelter Island.
Shelter Island

Wiley Hall Bienvenidos 2009Wiley Hall Bienvenidos 2009

FlexStock Cov Group Leaders Retreat- Catalina Island

Back at Loma.

2009-08-20T13:19:00.001-07:00

It's an understatement to say that the past 3 weeks have just been crazy busy. Its hard to look back and realize that I have finished up the summer tour, visited Julianna up in Northern California, visited my family, and been back at school for a week of training, all within a matter of a couple weeks.

Since so much has been happening I figured I would kind of summarize each of these events with a little section.

Summer Travel Ending
After finishing up 10 weeks of traveling around leading worship at youth camps, we headed back to Point Loma for a debriefing of the summer. To say the least, this summer has been one of the best experiences I have ever had. Most importantly, I learned what it looks like to be a part of a body who lives out a lifestyle of worship, regardless of whether music is involved or not. On a little less serious note I learned a couple of other things during my time traveling:

That I am by no means a good hair dresser.

Dodgeball, is still and will always be the go to game for camps of any kind.

Even if you have a bloody nose, that is no excuse to not go up and play a set..... (its hard to see in the picture but I have a wad of toilet paper in my nose considering I got a bloody nose right before we played.)

Kayaks that are only supposed to fit one person, can really fit two.

And there is no better way to end a summer of travel than by eating at Pizza Nova.

Trip to San Fran/ Santa Cruz.

The day we finished debriefing at Point Loma, I got on a plane and flew up to Julianna's house in Fairfield, CA. It was so great to finally be able to see her after being apart for so dang long (most of which we had very little contact via phone or internet).

It was super windy in San Francisco...... windy.

Definition of Happiness.

And if the weather could be any more polar opposites of each other, the next day in Santa Cruz was like this......

Home Sweet Home
Back home in Phoenix, I got to relax for a couple days. I got to finally see my family who I had seen very shortly throughout the summer. Besides that I didn't do a whole lot besides pack up my stuff for school.

And Here I am.....
And now I am back in San Diego, sitting in my new dorm in Wiley Hall. For the past couple days we've been training and preparing for the formely called Covenant Groups or Res Hall Bible studies. I'm stoked to see how this role in the hall plays out as it will be just as much of a learning experience for me as the guys who come. Through these couple days of training we've had the chance to read a book on what it looks like to be a Christian Leader, such as a Covenant Group Leader. This book by Henri Nouwen has literally rocked my world on what it means to be a leader on this campus.
In closing, while reflecting over the past couple months, and what is to come in the next couple months, I have come to see how much I have learned. Through that learning realizing the hope I have been given by seeing people that are truly following Christ. I'm excited for what's going to happen this year in classes and around campus, and it really is hard to believe I have only been around this place for a year. Until next time.

Grace and peace.

:: Two Months of Travel ::

2009-08-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

We just finished our last camp of the summer.

And since it was our last camp of the summer..... I decided to post a video that roughly resembles what my summer of traveling has consisted of :

* Setting up/ Tearing down the sound system
*Finding great amusement in the simple joys in life ( such as the hatching of a dino)
*Playing music with some great friends, and having the chance to lead some rad kids in worship.

Untitled from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

Since most of my posts have been relatively vague........ Here is where we have traveled this summer:

May 31st- June 12th :: Point Loma- On campus training.
June 14th- June 26th :: Prescott, Arizona- AZ Sr/Jr High Camps
June 28th-July 3rd :: Nevada City, California- Sacramento District Sr/Jr High Camp
July 4th- July 8th :: Coolidge, Az- Coolidge Nazarene Church
July 8th- July 11th :: Retreat – Albuquerque area
July 12th- July 18th :: Ruidoso, NM- New Mexico Sr/Jr High Camp
July 20th-July 25th :: Springville, CA- Central Cal Sr. High Camp
July 26th- July 31st :: Big Bear, CA- So Cal Sr. High Camp
August 3rd- August 8th :: Springville, CA- Central Cal Jr. High Camp

About halfway through the summer, I started getting really interested in photography. To check out some of the photos from this summer check out my flickr.

Click here to go to my Flickr profile.

Big Bear.

2009-07-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Untitled from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

Diesel, Diamond Arrow, Chinese food in Coolidge.

2009-07-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

We're currently in Coolidge Arizona hanging out before going to play some ultimate Frisbee. We have been here for a couple days hanging out and playing at Coolidge Nazarene Church.

We had an interesting time in the Mojave Desert on our way to Sacramento Camp. In short, what happened was we put 30+ gallons of unleaded fuel in a Diesel only Bus. So in the middle of nowhere we siphoned out 30 gallons of unleaded fuel so we could make it to a diesel gas station. If you'd like to hear the full story go check out Garret's Blog.

He has the whole story over there: http://garrettandrew.blogspot.com/

This is Chuck. He helped us out big time.

Gas Guzzling.

Fuel Filters.

Fresno Hotel
Apparently this is how I sleep.
Sacramento Camp

Garrett Eating Chinese Food.

Two things.

2009-06-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

This book is so solid, check it out. Like a modern day Mere Christianity.

Secondly, I got some new sunglasses from Walmart.
Gotta stay safe from those UV rays.

One more day in Az.

Camp numero dos.

2009-06-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

It’s been forever since my last blog. I know I mentioned earlier in my blogs about being a part of worship band for point loma that travels around to jr/sr high youth camps. We are three weeks into the summer now and are well on our way into our summer travels. Here is a picture of our group, who is already starting to become like family.

We have been super busy traveling and I unfortunately haven’t had the chance to do any updates. But nonetheless here we are at the start of week 2 of camps. Last week was the first week of actual camps in the Arizona Nazarene District. It was a sick camp and we’re all stoked to be starting another week.

Here is a couple pictures from our first couple weeks including our training time at PLNU and our first camp in Prescott, Arizona.

Gila Bend, Az
Todd is a driving machine. Well at least in Gila Bend.

Prescott, Az

Arizona Sr. High Camp

Grace and peace,
Chris

P.s. Album Leaf is changing my life. They're music is amazing.

Last Weekend of being a Freshmen.

2009-05-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

I am still in denial of the fact that this is the last week of school for my freshmen year..... This year has flown by, and I have definitely learned a lot about myself and others. But before I get all reflective, this is how I spent my last weekend of the semester here at Loma:

My girlfriend and I (Her name is Julianna and she's super legit) went to the Birch Aquarium up in La Jolla Cove. It was super cool, and nice to just get away and do something that did n0t involve studying.

Large tail.

Seven Pounds?

Just a friendly reminder to use hand sanitizer.

Then later that night we went to a bonfire, which is always fun.

2 Finals down, 2 to Go.

Grace and peace,
Chris

almost there.

2009-04-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

So we're under a month left of the semester which is absolutely crazy. I registered for classes for next semester. Here's what it looks like:

Genetics
Organic Chemistry
Physics
Weight Training
And last but definitely not least..... Tennis.
Is it weird that I'm so stoked about tennis?

Since the semester is about to come to a close, homework/studying is getting pretty crazy. But I figure it's all about balance between homework and ocean.... or both.

And I got to check out my new room tonight over in Wiley Hall. Im super excited to be moving over there. I have the chance to lead covenant group in Wiley next year, which will be an awesome experience.... (Covenant group is a hall Bible study that is optional to students and is lead by a fellow Loma student... I highly recommend it and not only because I'm leading one. haha. )

Here is where I'll be living next year:

Until next time,
Grace and Peace.

Chris

hometown friends.

2009-04-05T23:13:00.001-07:00

So this weekend my good friend Tyler came out to San Diego to visit and hang out and what not. It was so sick to get to chill and have fun for a weekend. Here is the weekend wrapped up in three really quick points.

Dinner Friday Night.

Rock Climbing.

Got an amazing deal on an used guitar at this guitar shop. It's all the way in Carlsbad, but it is worth the drive.

Besides this being a really good weekend, a lot of stuff has been happening in the past couple weeks. Finals are approaching which is always fun......(slight sarcasm). and also I have found out that I will be traveling with a solid group of guys and gals from point loma all summer. We will be going around and leading worship at jr/sr high camps for a total of 10 weeks. We have started training and getting to know each other in the group and I'm already stoked about what the summer will hold. I will make sure and fill ya'll in on the details as they come!

Until next time. Stay Classy.

Grace and Peace.
Chris

Birthday wishes from Yuma.

2009-03-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Beatriz in Yuma,Arizona. Hope it's a good one.

Spring Break.

2009-03-12T10:41:00.001-07:00

Spring Break has finally arrived. So far my break has been amazing!

Fist things first..... check out this Arizona Sunset.

So far this break I have just been hanging out relaxing. My girlfriend came back out to Phoenix with me to meet my friends and family and all that jazz, so it was a blast to have her out here for a little while. Here is a quick breakdown of what we did while she was in az:

Went to a friends wedding. Which involved doing the chicken dance at the reception... several times.

Mariners spring training game with some family friends who have the most legit little boys.

Hiked Camelback Moutain.

On a completely different note, and quite a sad one at that; my roommate Jon Runion (if you don't know who I am talking about scroll down to the family portrait blog and you'll see) he got incredibly sick the week before spring break. Long story short he had to get emergency surgery. Because of this invasive surgery he will not be coming back to point loma this semester. He is going to be recovering for the next couple weeks until he has a another reversal surgery. So if you guys could pray for him as he is going through this it would be greatly appreciated.

Until next time grace and peace.

Those french and their coffee.

2009-02-22T22:15:00.000-08:00

Purchase of the week.

French press coffee maker from target.

I apologize, these kind of things are exciting when you need to stay up and write a paper.

Grace and Peace.

beach pizza and conquering mountains and giant rainbows.

2009-02-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

In the past two weeks sooo much has happened. First of all this past week I had a chem test, bio test, and paper for old testament. So now that it has finally reached the three day weekend I am super excited.

A couple weeks ago I got the chance to go rock climbing with some of the guys who go pretty frequently here at Loma. I think in that day alone I became a man. seriously check out the pictures.......

">The guys I went with are part of the outdoor recreation group of club called great escapes here on campus. Its a solid group of guys and girls so if any of you guys come here make sure and check their trips out.

Next on the list of events was a little thing called valentines day. Since it was supposed to rain in San Diego, I had to be creative. My girlfriend and I ended out going to San Clemente and hanging out at the pier up there. Right by the pier they had the best pizza place ever. Which I have come to the conclusion that pizza places by the beach are always the best.

Last but Definitely not least is the rainbow sandal factory. It has the best sandals at super cheap prices.

we are family.

2009-01-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

I realize I have apologized for being so late on the last couple blogs, but I promise you I had a good reason this time. In the creation of this blog, it took a little longer then the norm. So here you go:

Untitled from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

Besides our family portraits. Here are some sweet pics from the past couple weeks being back here at Loma.

Over MLK my older brother Steve and his wife Sally came out to visit good ol San Diego. So that weekend Julianna and I hung out with them and went hiking at probably one of my favorite places in San Diego- Torrey Pines. Its super chill place to hike and it is absolutely beautiful there.

On monday since we had school off a bunch of went to south mission beach to chill. Where else can you go to the beach to hangout in January and not freeze? haha.

and of course you still gotta do your homework on beach days..... just kidding... but seriously. p.s. todd clayton is a chief.

On an ending note, I have become very very fond of daytime naps. I think it should be required for all college students.

grace and peace.

Back to the real world.

2009-01-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

We're almost done with the first week back for spring semester. This week has been super exhausting after not doing anything for three weeks over break. My classes are gonna be pretty hard but it should be good.

Here is a really quick overview of my Christmas break:
1) Sleep.
2) Eat.
3) Spend quality time with the fam.
4) Got to shadow an ER doctor. (sick)
5) Once past steps 4 go back to steps 1-3 and repeat as needed.

On a serious note though. I noticed a couple things after coming back for break after finishing my first semester at PLNU. First things first is after moving away from home for college you realize how much family and really close friends mean to you. Its hard to understand until you don't live with them anymore. Secondly, In a short time span of just a semester you change drastically in the way you think and how you percieve the world you live in (hopefully for the better). And lastly you learn really quick that school isn't something you just check off your list. If your really passionate about your major, it is fun and challenging to be in a place like this- even if that means waking up for 730 classes... haha. And trust me if you would of told me I was gonna say this 6 months ago I probably would of laughed.

I need to go get dinner before it gets too late, so until next time grace and peace..........

p.s. here are some pics from the drive home to Phoenix for Christmas break. Jake is a friend of mine who goes to sdsu who let me hitch a ride home with him.

Back to the casa.

2008-12-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

Untitled from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

Here we go......

2008-12-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

So we only have one more week of classes, then finals week and then we're done for Christmas break. These next two weeks are going to be exhausting, but it'll be so nice to be done with homework for a couple weeks over break. It's really is insane to think that my first semester here at Loma is almost over. It was crazy to see preview students here this past friday, cause that was me last year and it seems like yesterday. If you were a preview student, let me know what you thought or if you have any questions or anything!

As the semester is coming to an end I would give a couple pointers as a freshmen just finishing his first semester. These are absolutely essential to being successful as a freshmen here at Loma:

-Watch the office every single week, and if for whatever reason you miss it watch it on hulu.com.

-Learn down to the minute how long it takes you to get ready in the morning. In my case for my 730 classes I wake up at 712.

-Be aware that people have strong opinions on what place has the best burritos in the point loma area. When really anybody that has normal taste buds believes santanna's is the only choice..... none of this adal's stuff.

-Go to AMVETS for shopping. Its the sickest store on the planet.

-Go up and hug Carl Wright for no apparent reason. It'll make his day.

These are just a couple pointers. Many more to come.

Total change of subject but, going home for Thanksgiving was amazing. It was really nice to see family and friends since I was really missing home. Over break I had some pretty good times. Here are a couple pictures:

I got to see my brother and sister-in-law. The picture is from my brothers fire academy burn exercise.In a random chance I got to see Coldplay back in Phoenix. It was hands down the best concert I have ever been to. And then I got to chill with some friends.

peppermint mocha.

2008-11-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

Im in the airport in San Diego, waiting for my flight home to Phoenix. Its going to be so sick to finally be able to go home. But this is just a short post, just wanted to hope ya'll a happy thanksgiving!.....

p.s. Starbucks has the Christmas cups out which is pretty dang cool.

Free Food & Cactus.

2008-11-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

Sorry for such a long break in between updates here. In the past couple weeks some pretty epic stuff has gone down. Luckily in a week from today I'll be flying home to Phoenix for the first time since school has started. I'm really looking forward to a break and a chance to catch up with some friends and family. Last weekend my parents were out here at Point Loma for parents weekend. Which meant two things....... quality time with mom and pops, and lots of free food. The first night they came we went to olive garden and from that moment I could tell it was going to be a real good weekend. Besides all the amazing food, it was really cool to get a chance to hang out with the parents... (note to future freshmen- you will learn how much your parents mean to you your first semester away from home).

On the same saturday morning I had a environmental community service project for Biology. Our class went to Tijuana Estuary to help them out with some projects around the park. I think I was more excited at the fact that I could wear a huge straw hat for this trip. (see below).

Changing the estuary one new cactus at a time.

Now back to the subject of free food. Last night I heard that there was free chicfila sandwiches at the midnight madness dunk contest. I was planning on going before this news, but after such great news I had to go. Here is a video from the dunk contest/ free food session. Enjoy.

Untitled from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

Picking up groceries in Hummers.

2008-11-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

First things first I found the biggest sombrero I have ever seen. It was in a little store in old town. simply amazing.

I have for the most part figured out my schedule for next semester. Which by the way is a little more challenging than I thought it would be.

OK now on to some other stuff. Like I said in the last post I have been reading a book called Jesus Wants to Save Christians by a guy named Rob Bell.

Here are my thoughts on the book..... and I apologize in advance if this is boring. This book I wouldn't consider Bell's best book, but it is still pretty legit. I think the back cover's description is very good so here that is to give a little context to the book:

“It's a book about faith and fear,wealth and war, poverty, power, safety, terror, Bibles, bombs, and homeland insecurity. It's about empty empires and the truth that everybody's a priest, it's about oppression, occupation, and what happens when Christians support, animate and participate in the very things Jesus came to set people free from.

It's about what it means to be a part of the church of Jesus in a world where some people fly planes into buildings while others pick up groceries in Hummers.”

This book deals with how we got the place we are at today, instead of trying to fix a massive global issue. I saw this as somewhat refreshing, since most books I have read from Christian authors have either just made the reader feel guilty or upset. It really illustrates how a series of events has caused so much destruction, and how those events of oppression have been relapsing throughout history all the way back to the old testament. This book completely changed my perspective on what poverty means to me, and how I can be more conscious of it. But once again Bell tackles this issue at a completely different context than usual.
He says:

"If the system works for you, it can be quite hard to understand the perspective of people who have the boot of the system on their neck. If you have the power, it can be hard to understand the voice of those who have no power." (p.130)

I can do all the research I want about poverty (or insert any of the global issues) but until I have experienced it and asked the hard questions of why are people going through this? rather than how can I fix it, I simply wont' understand it. Bell really makes me think of what it means on a personal level what it means to be an American, and what kind of impact my life in all of its power of this country means in the global sense. He says that "Americans spend more annually on trash bags than nearly half the world spends on all goods." He follows this by saying America being an empire of accumulation has a rapidly growing rate of depression amongst it citizens......

I really don't mean for this post to have a negative feel to it, but this book really did shape how I view consumerism, patriotism, and what role the church is supposed to have in issues, and how me being a part of such an economy of excess is essentially fueling the system of world injustice.

All in all I would recommend this book, but be aware that it is the kind of book that will probably frustrate you, and its all good if you don't necessarily agree with everything he says.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Scrums and such.

2008-10-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

Alrighty here we go. Its been awhile because I've just been pretty busy. So I'll try to give you guys a little more in depth update.

The past week or so has been a intense school week. Had a couple midterms in Animal Bio, and Chem and a two speeches that I presented for Communications. but for the second comm speech I had to dress up like michael from the office...... so that made it worthwhile..... - which by the way I don't know if you guys have been watching the office this season but its super funny.

This picture made my day.

So after this past week the phrase time management has a whole new meaning. Despite the packed week of tests and what not, I feel like I'm really getting in the groove of living here and what not.

Alright lets fast forward to yesterday (Saturday).....

I woke up and went to a Point Loma Rugby game. If you ever have a chance go check one out! A bunch of guys from my hall play on the rugby club.

Here are some pics from the game.

Scrum.....

Eric put his game face on.

*** note Birds' (guy with the hat) dirty stache. ****

Then Saturday night we went to an event called samedi gras. Which was a halloween type party here on campus. It ended out being legit. A band from here on campus called family wagon played a concert and they're guitarist is ridiculous. straight up jimi hendrix stuff.

Here is their myspace. www.myspace.com/familywagonmusic

Now completely changing subjects I have been reading a book called Jesus wants to save Christians by Rob Bell.... Its turning out to be great. Im pretty sure I will be talking of the book in the upcoming posts so you guys should go get the book and read it as I am!

Late nights..... and surfing.

2008-10-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Its Tuesday Night, and Im taking a break from studying for my chemistry exam tomorrow. This upcoming weekend is fall break so it'll be nice to have a extra day off to relax and such. Most of my friends are going back home for the weekend so I plan on catching up on some sleep.

Here is whats been going on in my life:

This past friday I had my first surfing experience. The video explains how that went so check it out.

Untitled from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

Copeland, one of the greatest bands ever came out with a new cd today.

I highly recommend checking it out.

swap meet. switchfoot. and pneumonia.

2008-10-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

The past 2 weeks in photos:

Here is a quick recap of three things:

1) Swap meet. There is a sick swap meet every saturday morning down at sports arena which is prolly one of the coolest things I've ever been to. This is the prime spot to buy cheesey shirts that say california on them.... or like in the pictures huge straw hats.

2) Really short version of my Wednsday night is at 1230 in the morning, well I guess this is a story about Thursday morning but anyways. at 1230 I got really bad sharp shooting pains in my stomach and chest so I had to go the ER. Once I made the glorious trip to the ER they couldn't figure out what was going on, so I had a ultra sound, CT scan, and chest xray. It ended out being pneumonia. I got back to campus around 7am thursday and was still pretty out of it from the medicine in the ER, but still decided to go my chemistry lab. There everyone including my proffessor thought I was quite entertaining since I was still on pain killers. So just over a month into living here at college I have my first ER trip.

I now owe my RA Carl Wright a California Burrito for taking me to the ER and waiting there for six hours for me.

This is Carl:

3) Switchfoot Concert. I cant say any words to say how amazing this concert was. I would urge you to go right now and see them.

Pretty crazy span of about 10 days.

We will miss you so.

2008-09-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here in Hendricks a man by the name of Man Ching Wong moved in late. He literally changed our lives. He likes to go by "Christopher" so I better mention that.

This is Man Ching (Christopher):

Man Ching (Christopher) was from Hong Kong but had been going to school for the past couple years in the UK so it makes for an interesting blending of accents. In Man Chings short time here at Loma we all learned so much from this man, which included, but not limited to:

-There is in fact a Chinese version of "we will rock you" (which I highly recommend)

-In the UK there is no such thing as bath robes.... they are called dressing gowns.

-Dressing gowns will in fact be a fashion trend here shortly.

-Drinking hot tea when somebody present has a British accent makes it ten times better.

-Watching Batman with Chinese subtitles for some reason makes it that much more epic.

-It is possible to sing a Daniel Powter song while creating your own Santana's burrito.

When the men of Hendricks 2nd South found out that Man Ching was moving to Ireland to go to a medical school, with good reason we felt like somebody had run over our dog. So naturally to celebrate the glorious 3.25 weeks we had with Man Ching we had to throw him a going away party. and wrote a song to accompany it.......

so me and my roommate Jon took it upon ourselves to write a song for Man Ching.

Untitled from Chris Evans on Vimeo.