So, here we are. Well into my third year of medical school, and so much to talk about.
First of all, I got married. Which was and is awesome. No matter how bad my day is, it gets better when I get to come home to my best friend. Plus, now there's only one rent to pay. More money for fun things! Or, you know, "savings."
Carlisle and I did well on the STEP (thank you for all the prayers and encouragement!) and have completed one clinical rotation. We both enjoyed family medicine, spending a little time in the hospital and the clinic. For family you have to leave the Jackson area (unless you have a really good excuse, like newborn baby or single parent of 8), and we went to stay at my family's cabin in Water Valley, with him commuting to Batesville and me to Oxford. We had good experiences and saw the colorful world that is outpatient care. The best is when a patient brings in produce from their garden/orchard. Fresh peaches are the bomb.
However, we quickly left the comfy, relaxed world of family medicine for the way more intense surgery. I'm currently working in pediatric surgery, and Carlisle is doing acute care services (ACS). On surgery you spend four weeks on a general surgery service and four on a subspecialty. ACS, general A, and VA (which I'll have next half) are general, and there are several specialties to choose from (Carlisle and I both got pediatrics). Everyone on the rotation also has to take 4-5 days of 24-hr trauma call. Carlisle is currently at the hospital doing that, while I have the first break of more than a few hours that I've had since we started on Monday. So I'm blogging and watching Merlin and stalking Duchess Kate's fashion choices on the Internet. He's probably taking out a spleen or something.
My first trauma call is tomorrow, so I opted to work this weekend. This morning I watched as the attending surgeon and a resident took out an appendix and drained an abscess-like thing. I used the scissors to cut suture! (you take what you can get)
I've actually found that I enjoy procedures. I don't think the surgery lifestyle is for me, but I haven't passed out or even really come close to it, which is good. It gets a little messy, and I've already seen some rather horrifying things (pulling bowel out through the anus, anyone?), but it's really pretty cool. And in the end, the little baby generally feels better. I've really enjoyed working with kids so far. They're so resilient and cute. Today I asked to add a little baby to my patient list purely because I want to hold them every day. It's tricky because they can't talk to you, but they're so fun. And the ER at Batson is so colorful that you can't be sad there.
I'm very lucky to have great residents to work with every day. It's a long rotation, but it could be so much worse. So, all in all, I'm enjoying myself, even though I'm perpetually sleepy. And I don't know what it is about surgery, but I find that I'm hungry ALL THE TIME. I don't know why. I have to keep granola bars or crackers in my white coat, which I often share with those less prepared. So if you see me in the hospital and you feel like you're about to fall out, I'll hook you up.
In other news, I took up knitting a couple weeks ago. I haven't progressed very far, but I really like it! I learned how to knit cables (as in, cable knit sweaters), and now I just need to work on my consistency. Anyone want a slightly imperfect sweater or blanket or scarf so I can practice? Anyone want to pretend to want a slightly imperfect sweater or blanket or scarf? Also, I only currently have this light aqua yarn, and who knows when I'll be able to make it back to the store. So that's what color it will be. Any takers?
Last night we celebrated my grandfather's NINETIETH birthday, which is next week! Isn't that fun? He is so boss. I love my Papaw, that crazy man who only takes tiny pieces of his cholesterol medicine and works outside or in his shop all day, non-stop, and models his church clothes for us on Sunday mornings. He was a Marine in WWII and a civil engineer for years and years, and he has never really stopped being either of those things. I heart him.
So, what else is going on?
Reading: What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, a FASCINATING book about life in 19th-century England
Following: @HonestToddler - seriously, I find myself skipping over every other tweet to get to these
That's all the news I have for now, I believe. Until next time, I hope you're enjoying the Olympics. U-S-A! U-S-A!
cheers
Erin
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
spring fever
So, since we last spoke, I've gotten engaged!
Yes, it was a long time ago, but here's the skinny.
Our last day of the fall semester was December 20. We had a micro test that morning, then we were free. Carlisle and I had planned Christmaspalooza (because all celebrations ending with "-palooza" are more fun), one of our infamous Erin and Carlisle's Days of Fun. We made fudge that we took to friends, baked sugar cookies, and watched Christmas movies. He made me wait until after dinner to open my presents, which did not please me one bit. But when we got back from dinner at Babalu, we opened presents. I was all excited about the satchel I got him for next year (because backpacks with white coats look ridiculous), but he totally upstaged me! I opened my big present, but inside I found two boxes. He instructed me which to open first. It contained an Ariel ornament! I love Ariel. When I was little, I had an Ariel doll, bath towel, wash cloth, and pillowcase. I have an Ariel ornament on the tree at home. And I've seen The Little Mermaid, oh, 3874 times. So I was really excited about my ornament! Then I opened the second box, and lo, it contained two more boxes. When I opened the first, it had an MSU ornament in it. It was stained glass and looks so pretty on my tree. And it was a big gesture from my Ole Miss-alum fiance. The next box once again contained two boxes. Incidentally, there had been a lot of tape to cut through and a lot of bubble wrap up to this point. I think he bought out the packing supplies at the store. The first of these boxes held a silver bell ornament with "Christmas 2011" engraved on it. The last box just had one little box inside it. Inside that was a ring box. And inside that was my ring! And its beautiful and perfect. I still like to stare at it sometimes, and it's coming up on four months now. It's very distracting.
Since then, quite a bit has happened. Once we worked out the plan for our rotations next year and figured out when we could get married, a tornado of planning (in the form of my mother) worked its way through Starkville. In 16 days, we had the church, reception, photographer, florist, organist, preacher, caterer...it was rather impressive. I did very little of this because I was trying to study (more on that later), but Mama is incredible. Currently, I have my dress, planning is pretty much done, invitations have been ordered, and we're just wrapping up details. We're less than two months away, and my excitement continues to grow. Unfortunately, there are a few things I have to get through before any of this can happen.
Let's talk about this semester. First, the Step. Or perhaps I should say, The Step. The STEP. I don't have horror font on this blog, but that's how you should read it in your head. Because THE STEP is Godzilla. It eats unsuspecting medical students and spits out their lack of knowledge in a scene of carnality worthy of Tarantino's worst nightmares.*
*Secret? I don't think it's going to be that bad. I mean, we've been preparing for it for two years. The contents tested take up a little over 500 pages of the review book of all review books, First Aid for the USMLE Step 1. It's doable, as evidenced by the fact that thousands of people do it every year. It's really not the big scary monster it's made out to be. At least, I don't think it is. Maybe you should check back with me later..
But let me explain. In the path to medical licensing, there are many tests. Our life is milestoned (I don't think that's a word, but just go with me) by standardized tests from elementary school, and in the medical profession it never stops. The Step 1 is the first of three tests you must pass before you sit for your license (board? I don't really know what it's called) in whatever specialty you choose. You take #1 after your second year, 2 after third year (and 2 involves two parts, a written and a practical, which is fun), and 3 after your first year of residency. There's a little wiggle room as to when you actually take them, except for 1. We have to take it before we start rotations for third year, which is June 4. Carlisle and I are taking it on May 23, which is rapidly approaching.
This semester, we have had to study for the Step. Step scores are very important in determining residency placement, so this is kind of a big deal. But on top of this, we have our regular school load (maybe lightened a bit). There's a lot to balance. But somehow, you just make it work. And yes, I still manage to have something resembling a life. I recently reread Pride and Prejudice, and I'm thinking of taking up knitting.
Speaking of hobbies, earlier this semester I became obsessed with sleep hygiene. I realized that maybe there was a way NOT to lie awake for long periods of time before going to sleep. One thing that helped is that I've never put a lamp beside my bed since I've lived here, so my long history of reading in bed was nixed. But I replaced it with reading twitter and playing games on my phone, and that light is no bueno for sleep either. So here's what I started doing. I'm a night-showerer, so I would finish all things electronic before I took my shower. That means after I prepared for bed, no phone, no laptop, no TV. I would read in my living room (not bed) with my lamp on the lowest of the three brightness settings while drinking a glass of water. Then I would go to sleep. Let me just tell you. This was amazing. Sleep is nice. But I definitely got to where I couldn't not sleep. My body was so happy with the 8 hours I was determined to give it that it wouldn't let me do any less. I've since let my sleep hygiene fall by the wayside (obviously, because I need to be asleep right now but instead am blogging and watching Jeopardy! with my lamp on at least the second setting), but I do miss it. Part of the problem is that I stay home to study and don't see people, so my time between showers has, shall we say, extended. For instance, I'm about to go put some dry shampoo in my hair, take off my makeup, and sleep in the shirt I'm wearing. Though on further reflection, perhaps my mother would not want me to put that on the internet. But the simple rules to sleep hygiene are thus: take time to wind down, don't expose yourself to bright light before bed, and keep the bedroom for sleep and sex. I also really like having that glass of water before bed, but if you already have to get up in the night often, maybe skip that part. Because the sleep part is pretty important, too.
Another hobby of mine? Almost passing out at school. You should know that I have a history (and family history...) of this behavior. Sometimes things just catch me off-guard, or affect me strongly, or just really freak me out, and I get all light-headed and sweaty and hot-cold and miserable. I've never gone all the way out, but I've had some unfortunate moments. Well, it's happened twice this semester. The first was a cancer patient that I encountered in my preceptorship. Without going into detail, it was really sad, I'd had about 5 hours of sleep, and I had to go sit down. The resident brought me juice. It was pitiful. Then, recently, Carlisle drew my blood in our venipuncture lab but missed a little. Then I bled, and it hurt, and I had to bend over and try not to fall off my stool. I'm not sure why this is happening to me lately, but it does often make me think about which aspects of medicine I prefer, or feel like I can handle. Then I remember that this is what I feel God has called me to do, so I pray a lot and remind myself that He doesn't give me anything I can't handle. It's when I forget this that I struggle, so I just have to keep it in my mind all the time. Hopefully that will keep me off the hospital floor. I bet good sleep hygiene would help, too (I mean, is it a coincidence that these moments were before and after I instituted those practices? I think not.).
Here are some other things that have been going on with me.
I bought this mug (in red) in which to drink my tea and/or coffee, and it makes me sublimely happy. I've considered getting another to keep safely in storage in case something happens to this one.
I spent my first Easter without my family this weekend, and it was sad. But I made Easter dinner for Carlisle, and we dyed eggs and watched the Masters (okay, so, I took a nap while he watched the Masters because golf makes for good sleeps), and somehow made it without the parents. I missed them a lot, though. And I really want some Coca-Cola ham.
I now use Cetaphil (okay, the equate version) as shaving cream, and my legs thank me for it. Also, the Nivea Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs lotion is pretty awesome (I bought it last year, but it's probably still out there).
A few current faves:
iPhone app - Where's My Water? and Draw Something
Movie - Australia (I'd forgotten how much I loved it until I watched it again the other day. Fantastic.)
Bedtime read - A Rather Lovely Inheritance (part of a series stolen from Dr. McCarley) and Gone With the Wind
Clothing - Shorts of any kind
Show - New Girl (the Dermot Mulroney [aka "Fancyman"] episodes are genius)
Thanks for checking in, peeps. I hope you had a lovely Easter and that your springtime allergies are receding. Now go outside and plant something.
cheers
Erin
Yes, it was a long time ago, but here's the skinny.
Our last day of the fall semester was December 20. We had a micro test that morning, then we were free. Carlisle and I had planned Christmaspalooza (because all celebrations ending with "-palooza" are more fun), one of our infamous Erin and Carlisle's Days of Fun. We made fudge that we took to friends, baked sugar cookies, and watched Christmas movies. He made me wait until after dinner to open my presents, which did not please me one bit. But when we got back from dinner at Babalu, we opened presents. I was all excited about the satchel I got him for next year (because backpacks with white coats look ridiculous), but he totally upstaged me! I opened my big present, but inside I found two boxes. He instructed me which to open first. It contained an Ariel ornament! I love Ariel. When I was little, I had an Ariel doll, bath towel, wash cloth, and pillowcase. I have an Ariel ornament on the tree at home. And I've seen The Little Mermaid, oh, 3874 times. So I was really excited about my ornament! Then I opened the second box, and lo, it contained two more boxes. When I opened the first, it had an MSU ornament in it. It was stained glass and looks so pretty on my tree. And it was a big gesture from my Ole Miss-alum fiance. The next box once again contained two boxes. Incidentally, there had been a lot of tape to cut through and a lot of bubble wrap up to this point. I think he bought out the packing supplies at the store. The first of these boxes held a silver bell ornament with "Christmas 2011" engraved on it. The last box just had one little box inside it. Inside that was a ring box. And inside that was my ring! And its beautiful and perfect. I still like to stare at it sometimes, and it's coming up on four months now. It's very distracting.
Since then, quite a bit has happened. Once we worked out the plan for our rotations next year and figured out when we could get married, a tornado of planning (in the form of my mother) worked its way through Starkville. In 16 days, we had the church, reception, photographer, florist, organist, preacher, caterer...it was rather impressive. I did very little of this because I was trying to study (more on that later), but Mama is incredible. Currently, I have my dress, planning is pretty much done, invitations have been ordered, and we're just wrapping up details. We're less than two months away, and my excitement continues to grow. Unfortunately, there are a few things I have to get through before any of this can happen.
Let's talk about this semester. First, the Step. Or perhaps I should say, The Step. The STEP. I don't have horror font on this blog, but that's how you should read it in your head. Because THE STEP is Godzilla. It eats unsuspecting medical students and spits out their lack of knowledge in a scene of carnality worthy of Tarantino's worst nightmares.*
*Secret? I don't think it's going to be that bad. I mean, we've been preparing for it for two years. The contents tested take up a little over 500 pages of the review book of all review books, First Aid for the USMLE Step 1. It's doable, as evidenced by the fact that thousands of people do it every year. It's really not the big scary monster it's made out to be. At least, I don't think it is. Maybe you should check back with me later..
But let me explain. In the path to medical licensing, there are many tests. Our life is milestoned (I don't think that's a word, but just go with me) by standardized tests from elementary school, and in the medical profession it never stops. The Step 1 is the first of three tests you must pass before you sit for your license (board? I don't really know what it's called) in whatever specialty you choose. You take #1 after your second year, 2 after third year (and 2 involves two parts, a written and a practical, which is fun), and 3 after your first year of residency. There's a little wiggle room as to when you actually take them, except for 1. We have to take it before we start rotations for third year, which is June 4. Carlisle and I are taking it on May 23, which is rapidly approaching.
This semester, we have had to study for the Step. Step scores are very important in determining residency placement, so this is kind of a big deal. But on top of this, we have our regular school load (maybe lightened a bit). There's a lot to balance. But somehow, you just make it work. And yes, I still manage to have something resembling a life. I recently reread Pride and Prejudice, and I'm thinking of taking up knitting.
Speaking of hobbies, earlier this semester I became obsessed with sleep hygiene. I realized that maybe there was a way NOT to lie awake for long periods of time before going to sleep. One thing that helped is that I've never put a lamp beside my bed since I've lived here, so my long history of reading in bed was nixed. But I replaced it with reading twitter and playing games on my phone, and that light is no bueno for sleep either. So here's what I started doing. I'm a night-showerer, so I would finish all things electronic before I took my shower. That means after I prepared for bed, no phone, no laptop, no TV. I would read in my living room (not bed) with my lamp on the lowest of the three brightness settings while drinking a glass of water. Then I would go to sleep. Let me just tell you. This was amazing. Sleep is nice. But I definitely got to where I couldn't not sleep. My body was so happy with the 8 hours I was determined to give it that it wouldn't let me do any less. I've since let my sleep hygiene fall by the wayside (obviously, because I need to be asleep right now but instead am blogging and watching Jeopardy! with my lamp on at least the second setting), but I do miss it. Part of the problem is that I stay home to study and don't see people, so my time between showers has, shall we say, extended. For instance, I'm about to go put some dry shampoo in my hair, take off my makeup, and sleep in the shirt I'm wearing. Though on further reflection, perhaps my mother would not want me to put that on the internet. But the simple rules to sleep hygiene are thus: take time to wind down, don't expose yourself to bright light before bed, and keep the bedroom for sleep and sex. I also really like having that glass of water before bed, but if you already have to get up in the night often, maybe skip that part. Because the sleep part is pretty important, too.
Another hobby of mine? Almost passing out at school. You should know that I have a history (and family history...) of this behavior. Sometimes things just catch me off-guard, or affect me strongly, or just really freak me out, and I get all light-headed and sweaty and hot-cold and miserable. I've never gone all the way out, but I've had some unfortunate moments. Well, it's happened twice this semester. The first was a cancer patient that I encountered in my preceptorship. Without going into detail, it was really sad, I'd had about 5 hours of sleep, and I had to go sit down. The resident brought me juice. It was pitiful. Then, recently, Carlisle drew my blood in our venipuncture lab but missed a little. Then I bled, and it hurt, and I had to bend over and try not to fall off my stool. I'm not sure why this is happening to me lately, but it does often make me think about which aspects of medicine I prefer, or feel like I can handle. Then I remember that this is what I feel God has called me to do, so I pray a lot and remind myself that He doesn't give me anything I can't handle. It's when I forget this that I struggle, so I just have to keep it in my mind all the time. Hopefully that will keep me off the hospital floor. I bet good sleep hygiene would help, too (I mean, is it a coincidence that these moments were before and after I instituted those practices? I think not.).
Here are some other things that have been going on with me.
I bought this mug (in red) in which to drink my tea and/or coffee, and it makes me sublimely happy. I've considered getting another to keep safely in storage in case something happens to this one.
I spent my first Easter without my family this weekend, and it was sad. But I made Easter dinner for Carlisle, and we dyed eggs and watched the Masters (okay, so, I took a nap while he watched the Masters because golf makes for good sleeps), and somehow made it without the parents. I missed them a lot, though. And I really want some Coca-Cola ham.
I now use Cetaphil (okay, the equate version) as shaving cream, and my legs thank me for it. Also, the Nivea Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs lotion is pretty awesome (I bought it last year, but it's probably still out there).
A few current faves:
iPhone app - Where's My Water? and Draw Something
Movie - Australia (I'd forgotten how much I loved it until I watched it again the other day. Fantastic.)
Bedtime read - A Rather Lovely Inheritance (part of a series stolen from Dr. McCarley) and Gone With the Wind
Clothing - Shorts of any kind
Show - New Girl (the Dermot Mulroney [aka "Fancyman"] episodes are genius)
Thanks for checking in, peeps. I hope you had a lovely Easter and that your springtime allergies are receding. Now go outside and plant something.
cheers
Erin
Saturday, November 19, 2011
pumpkins and pygmy hippos
You know on Friends when Joey is trying to like Janice for Chandler's sake and endures "Joey and Janice's Day of Fun!"? Well, every once in a while, Carlisle and I take an afternoon off from studying for "Erin and Carlisle's Day of Fun!", only we actually enjoy ourselves. Here are a few of our adventures together.
A little before Halloween, we decided to take off one Friday afternoon, which culminated in us carving the greatest pumpkins this world has ever seen. Are you ready? I don't think you are.
First, Carlisle chose some pumpkins. Beautiful specimens.
He began to carve.
I was a little more aggressive.
Carlisle might have failed Circle Day in kindergarten, but it gets the job done.
We both enjoy cleaning out the pumpkin brains, though.
It took some time for us to decide what we wanted to carve. We considered classic jack-o-lantern, decorative fall things like leaves, and other poor ideas. But then, we went to the Internet.
We both wound up finding examples that we liked, but we didn't bother printing off templates. Oh no. That's for amateurs. We took dry erase markers and free-handed our designs based on some pictures. Little did we know that we were unleashing an artistic force upon the world. We also chose images that represented significant portions of our childhood. Here is the finished product.
We're pretty proud of ourselves. I like to think Ariel would be, too. When asked which ninja turtle was represented on his pumpkin, Carlisle responded, "I'd like to leave it open to individual interpretation. He can be whoever the viewer needs him to be." He's so deep.
Unfortunately, the pumpkins had mostly dried out before actual Halloween night. I went to Carlisle's to talk through the material for our test the next day, but since the pumpkins couldn't be lit, we had not bought candy to give to trick-or-treaters. So here's what happened. Carlisle accidentally left his porch light on. Trick-or-treaters show up at his door. Carlisle wants to give them granola bars. Erin says, "No! They will spit on you! Kids hate granola bars, especially when they're expecting Snickers. Don't talk or make any noise." Carlisle freezes in the kitchen, then wants to give them Pop Tarts, broken up so there would be enough to go around. Erin whispers, "No. Shh." Children go away disappointed, but not as disappointed as they would have been had they gotten granola bars.
A couple weeks ago, I was feeling homemaker-y and decided I'd like to try cooking steak in my cast iron skillet. Once again, to the Internet! I read about how you make the pan really hot, test it with a couple drops of water, then throw the steak on and leave it. What I did not read, however, was that this method would produce COPIOUS amounts of smoke. Like, seriously. Smoke filling the apartment. We opened the balcony doors, the front door, turned on fans, and popped the battery out of the smoke detector (which disturbingly only beeped once, but I was comforted because I had just received an apartment handout saying they would be checking the batteries that very week). Another source of concern was the fact that the fire department was rather nearby, so I just prayed the the smoke that was surely billowing out of my apartment did not alert them. Once I had committed to this style of cooking, I carried it out for the one steak, but I chickened out on the second. It was a rather disconcerting five minutes that probably took five years off my life. Or at least five months. It was traumatic for reals. Incidentally, this method of preparing steak is recommended for outside cooking.
Yesterday, Carlisle and I had another Day of Fun!. After lunch we went to the Jackson Zoo! I was super pumped about this. It's a small zoo, but it has some cool stuff, like peacocks walking free (I really want a pet peacock; I hear they're good guardbirds). A lemur fight most definitely went down while we were there. In the Wetlands Habitat Building, there is a beaver exhibit with this little cave-type thing you could go in that had bubbles in the ceiling. It's hard to describe, so here's a picture of Carlisle peeking up at the beavers.
The mama and baby beavers walked right by my face! It was neat. I like their tails. Their teeth, however, are grody.
When we went into the African Jungle exhibit, there was a habitat for a pygmy hippo. We could not find it, which made us sad. I called to the hippo, asking her to come out to play. After we finished our circle through the jungle, past Chimpanzee Island and a lot of monkeys, we wanted to go back to find her. We got distracted by the carousel on the way.
Carlisle rode a mountain lion, which he named Frank. You may also notice he has a mustache. Yes, Movember is upon us! It's a happy time of year. I rode an ostrich that I named Eleanor. Anyway, we went back and found the hippo! She was hiding in a corner. I named her Henrietta (she was too cute not to have an alliterative name), and she looked sad. She looked right at us in a mopey, hurt kind of way, so we tried to talk to her nicely and give her some encouragement. I think it worked because she was holding her head a little higher when she started walking away.
You may have noticed that I like to give things older names. This is not the first instance. I have a wooden bird named Millicent, and I named my friend's nameless cat Winnifred (or Winnie, for short).
After chatting up Henrietta, we were almost done with the zoo, but we made a pit stop in the Discovery Zoo for Carlisle to hang out with his leopard friends.
After the zoo, we went shopping for ornaments for my Christmas tree! Mama has kindly offered to donate our old tree to my apartment, so I thought to myself, "That money I would have spent on a tree can go to more ornaments, right?" "Right!" I don't know if I bought enough, but I'll evaluate, shop some more, and show you a picture when I finish it. But after much ornament/angel for the top/tree skirt shopping, we ate at Soulshine Pizza (so yummy) and came back to my place to make wreaths. I had bought ribbons and pine cones and berries, so I hot glued all these pieces onto empty wreaths for Carlisle's and my apartments. They turned out well, so I'll share a pic with my tree. It was an exhausting but happy, happy day.
By now you're probably thinking, "Hey, Erin. Have you dropped out of school? Tell us a funny medical school story!" Well, I hate to disappoint, but I spend a good portion of my time at school studying in the library. This is not a situation conducive to much humor, except for when you see someone just give up and put their head down in defeat (sad, but funny). We have, however, started our preceptorship, which is a huge deal. A pair of students gets a preceptor who teaches them how to take a history and do a physical on a patient, the most critical portion of medicine. I'm really excited, partly because I have an oncologist as a preceptor, so I get a closer look at what they really do. Plus we sometimes get to see cool stuff.
The best thing about school right now is that next year my dearest friend Katye will be here! Katye and I have known each other since we were seven, and we're still going strong. I think I'm more excited about her coming than I was about my own acceptance. She has an incredible heart, a dog named Baxter, and will be a magnificent doctor. You can read about her future adventures here.
The biggest thing on my horizon at the moment is my first year of two Thanksgivings! That's right, TWO. Are you jealous? You should be, because it's going to be amazing.
If you can get over your overwhelming jealousy, please accept my thanks for all your prayers and support. Medical school is hard, but God is good and has blessed me with the greatest set of friends that encourage me and laugh with me and keep me sane. So thank you. I love you all very much.
Now, go laugh at this.
cheers
Erin
A little before Halloween, we decided to take off one Friday afternoon, which culminated in us carving the greatest pumpkins this world has ever seen. Are you ready? I don't think you are.
First, Carlisle chose some pumpkins. Beautiful specimens.
He began to carve.
I was a little more aggressive.
Carlisle might have failed Circle Day in kindergarten, but it gets the job done.
We both enjoy cleaning out the pumpkin brains, though.
It took some time for us to decide what we wanted to carve. We considered classic jack-o-lantern, decorative fall things like leaves, and other poor ideas. But then, we went to the Internet.
We both wound up finding examples that we liked, but we didn't bother printing off templates. Oh no. That's for amateurs. We took dry erase markers and free-handed our designs based on some pictures. Little did we know that we were unleashing an artistic force upon the world. We also chose images that represented significant portions of our childhood. Here is the finished product.
We're pretty proud of ourselves. I like to think Ariel would be, too. When asked which ninja turtle was represented on his pumpkin, Carlisle responded, "I'd like to leave it open to individual interpretation. He can be whoever the viewer needs him to be." He's so deep.
Unfortunately, the pumpkins had mostly dried out before actual Halloween night. I went to Carlisle's to talk through the material for our test the next day, but since the pumpkins couldn't be lit, we had not bought candy to give to trick-or-treaters. So here's what happened. Carlisle accidentally left his porch light on. Trick-or-treaters show up at his door. Carlisle wants to give them granola bars. Erin says, "No! They will spit on you! Kids hate granola bars, especially when they're expecting Snickers. Don't talk or make any noise." Carlisle freezes in the kitchen, then wants to give them Pop Tarts, broken up so there would be enough to go around. Erin whispers, "No. Shh." Children go away disappointed, but not as disappointed as they would have been had they gotten granola bars.
A couple weeks ago, I was feeling homemaker-y and decided I'd like to try cooking steak in my cast iron skillet. Once again, to the Internet! I read about how you make the pan really hot, test it with a couple drops of water, then throw the steak on and leave it. What I did not read, however, was that this method would produce COPIOUS amounts of smoke. Like, seriously. Smoke filling the apartment. We opened the balcony doors, the front door, turned on fans, and popped the battery out of the smoke detector (which disturbingly only beeped once, but I was comforted because I had just received an apartment handout saying they would be checking the batteries that very week). Another source of concern was the fact that the fire department was rather nearby, so I just prayed the the smoke that was surely billowing out of my apartment did not alert them. Once I had committed to this style of cooking, I carried it out for the one steak, but I chickened out on the second. It was a rather disconcerting five minutes that probably took five years off my life. Or at least five months. It was traumatic for reals. Incidentally, this method of preparing steak is recommended for outside cooking.
Yesterday, Carlisle and I had another Day of Fun!. After lunch we went to the Jackson Zoo! I was super pumped about this. It's a small zoo, but it has some cool stuff, like peacocks walking free (I really want a pet peacock; I hear they're good guardbirds). A lemur fight most definitely went down while we were there. In the Wetlands Habitat Building, there is a beaver exhibit with this little cave-type thing you could go in that had bubbles in the ceiling. It's hard to describe, so here's a picture of Carlisle peeking up at the beavers.
The mama and baby beavers walked right by my face! It was neat. I like their tails. Their teeth, however, are grody.
When we went into the African Jungle exhibit, there was a habitat for a pygmy hippo. We could not find it, which made us sad. I called to the hippo, asking her to come out to play. After we finished our circle through the jungle, past Chimpanzee Island and a lot of monkeys, we wanted to go back to find her. We got distracted by the carousel on the way.
Carlisle rode a mountain lion, which he named Frank. You may also notice he has a mustache. Yes, Movember is upon us! It's a happy time of year. I rode an ostrich that I named Eleanor. Anyway, we went back and found the hippo! She was hiding in a corner. I named her Henrietta (she was too cute not to have an alliterative name), and she looked sad. She looked right at us in a mopey, hurt kind of way, so we tried to talk to her nicely and give her some encouragement. I think it worked because she was holding her head a little higher when she started walking away.
You may have noticed that I like to give things older names. This is not the first instance. I have a wooden bird named Millicent, and I named my friend's nameless cat Winnifred (or Winnie, for short).
After chatting up Henrietta, we were almost done with the zoo, but we made a pit stop in the Discovery Zoo for Carlisle to hang out with his leopard friends.
After the zoo, we went shopping for ornaments for my Christmas tree! Mama has kindly offered to donate our old tree to my apartment, so I thought to myself, "That money I would have spent on a tree can go to more ornaments, right?" "Right!" I don't know if I bought enough, but I'll evaluate, shop some more, and show you a picture when I finish it. But after much ornament/angel for the top/tree skirt shopping, we ate at Soulshine Pizza (so yummy) and came back to my place to make wreaths. I had bought ribbons and pine cones and berries, so I hot glued all these pieces onto empty wreaths for Carlisle's and my apartments. They turned out well, so I'll share a pic with my tree. It was an exhausting but happy, happy day.
By now you're probably thinking, "Hey, Erin. Have you dropped out of school? Tell us a funny medical school story!" Well, I hate to disappoint, but I spend a good portion of my time at school studying in the library. This is not a situation conducive to much humor, except for when you see someone just give up and put their head down in defeat (sad, but funny). We have, however, started our preceptorship, which is a huge deal. A pair of students gets a preceptor who teaches them how to take a history and do a physical on a patient, the most critical portion of medicine. I'm really excited, partly because I have an oncologist as a preceptor, so I get a closer look at what they really do. Plus we sometimes get to see cool stuff.
The best thing about school right now is that next year my dearest friend Katye will be here! Katye and I have known each other since we were seven, and we're still going strong. I think I'm more excited about her coming than I was about my own acceptance. She has an incredible heart, a dog named Baxter, and will be a magnificent doctor. You can read about her future adventures here.
The biggest thing on my horizon at the moment is my first year of two Thanksgivings! That's right, TWO. Are you jealous? You should be, because it's going to be amazing.
If you can get over your overwhelming jealousy, please accept my thanks for all your prayers and support. Medical school is hard, but God is good and has blessed me with the greatest set of friends that encourage me and laugh with me and keep me sane. So thank you. I love you all very much.
Now, go laugh at this.
cheers
Erin
Thursday, September 29, 2011
still here
So, I'm alive. But I feel really bad about not posting in several months. But here's what happened.
Cruise.
Observership.
School.
Tests.
Oh, you wanted more? Well, fine.
So, in June, went with the fam and friends on a cruise to Mexico. It was wonderful and relaxing and I came back all tan and stuff. Oh, and I got a some of those feathers in my hair right before we left. And it was amazing. I've never seen water so blue and uninterrupted by anything but our boat. Sometimes Creation is overwhelming in its beauty. We also really enjoyed our excursion inland to see Chichen Itza. We learned a lot about the Mayan culture and their activities, standards of beauty (consanguinous deformity was hot!!), and beliefs. But it rained. A lot. And we were very wet.
I took off the whole month of June, which was an excellent decision. Besides the cruise, I spent my time lazily - shopping, cooking, reading - and watched TV at night with Carlisle like the old people we are. It was wonderful.
Then in July I started my observership, which is basically like job shadowing that you get paid for. I was lucky enough to be in Med/Peds (internal medicine and pediatrics) with the top dog in that program, who is an amazing doctor with whom I was very blessed to work. I spent most of my time either at the hypertension clinic or at a med/peds clinic. Both were interesting and very different. I enjoyed the environment at the hypertension clinic, and I preferred working with adults there. But then I would go to the med/peds clinic and do well-baby checkups (so cute!) and be really sad when my next patient was a grownup. So what does that mean? I want to do oncology and show support and love to dying people. I just don't know how old I want them to be. Maybe I can decide next year on rotation. Maybe.
There were two weeks between observership and school, most of which I spent at home. Then I came back a few days before class started to get all situated. I love buying school supplies. Pens, pads of paper, highlighters, index cards, notebooks, colored pencils...
When school started back, it was a bit overwhelming. Basically, all our time spent in gross lab last year has been replaced by lecture hours. There is a lot of information. Most people stop going to class second year because the lectures are podcast and transcribed, so the attendance dwindled significantly after the first couple days. I'm actually at home now. It's fun. The other major difference between the scheduling first and second year is the testing. So, first year the tests are scattered. They were mostly on Mondays for us, and we would have three or four in a day. Those were not happy days. Then we would do it again in a couple weeks. Now, all the tests are given in one week every six weeks. So, five weeks of class, then last week we had just tests. One test a day for five days, like finals week in college. The good thing about that is that each day you just study for whatever you have the next day or maybe the day after that. The bad thing is that you have to study each day after taking a test. It is an exhausting week. I haven't yet decided if I prefer having one bad day every couple weeks or one bad week followed by a really awesome two weeks or so. But we're making it. The first test week went well, so that bodes well for the year.
The best thing is that this year we learn what goes wrong and a little about how to fix it. My motivation to study and learn is greatly boosted by how relevant and useful the material can be. Hopefully that will be enough to get me through studying for the Step 1 exam at the end of the year. But I won't think about that today. I'll think about it tomorrow.
It's shaping up to be a great year. Carlisle and I have been visiting First Baptist Jackson, which we've enjoyed. Several college friends have moved down here now. It feels so...settled. Which is nice. And now the weather is slowly but surely transitioning into my favorite season. I will be watching lots of football and painting my nails in muted earth tones.
I feel like this post is not very long or entertaining. But maybe now that I've remembered I have a blog, I will do better. Maybe? Well, here's a little info to tide you over.
Reading: Beowulf, October Vogue, and The 17 Day Diet
Watching: The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Pan Am, and Modern Family
Listening to: soundtracks to Wicked, West Side Story, and Hairspray
Things Carlisle and I will be doing in the near future: going to the gun range, playing putt putt golf, and going to the zooMy new favorite thing: my Farrah Fawcett bangs
Procrastinating: cleaning
About to: make lunch (it's late, I know)
Want to: take a nap
But must: look at microbiology
Until next time,
Erin
Cruise.
Observership.
School.
Tests.
Oh, you wanted more? Well, fine.
So, in June, went with the fam and friends on a cruise to Mexico. It was wonderful and relaxing and I came back all tan and stuff. Oh, and I got a some of those feathers in my hair right before we left. And it was amazing. I've never seen water so blue and uninterrupted by anything but our boat. Sometimes Creation is overwhelming in its beauty. We also really enjoyed our excursion inland to see Chichen Itza. We learned a lot about the Mayan culture and their activities, standards of beauty (consanguinous deformity was hot!!), and beliefs. But it rained. A lot. And we were very wet.
I took off the whole month of June, which was an excellent decision. Besides the cruise, I spent my time lazily - shopping, cooking, reading - and watched TV at night with Carlisle like the old people we are. It was wonderful.
Then in July I started my observership, which is basically like job shadowing that you get paid for. I was lucky enough to be in Med/Peds (internal medicine and pediatrics) with the top dog in that program, who is an amazing doctor with whom I was very blessed to work. I spent most of my time either at the hypertension clinic or at a med/peds clinic. Both were interesting and very different. I enjoyed the environment at the hypertension clinic, and I preferred working with adults there. But then I would go to the med/peds clinic and do well-baby checkups (so cute!) and be really sad when my next patient was a grownup. So what does that mean? I want to do oncology and show support and love to dying people. I just don't know how old I want them to be. Maybe I can decide next year on rotation. Maybe.
There were two weeks between observership and school, most of which I spent at home. Then I came back a few days before class started to get all situated. I love buying school supplies. Pens, pads of paper, highlighters, index cards, notebooks, colored pencils...
When school started back, it was a bit overwhelming. Basically, all our time spent in gross lab last year has been replaced by lecture hours. There is a lot of information. Most people stop going to class second year because the lectures are podcast and transcribed, so the attendance dwindled significantly after the first couple days. I'm actually at home now. It's fun. The other major difference between the scheduling first and second year is the testing. So, first year the tests are scattered. They were mostly on Mondays for us, and we would have three or four in a day. Those were not happy days. Then we would do it again in a couple weeks. Now, all the tests are given in one week every six weeks. So, five weeks of class, then last week we had just tests. One test a day for five days, like finals week in college. The good thing about that is that each day you just study for whatever you have the next day or maybe the day after that. The bad thing is that you have to study each day after taking a test. It is an exhausting week. I haven't yet decided if I prefer having one bad day every couple weeks or one bad week followed by a really awesome two weeks or so. But we're making it. The first test week went well, so that bodes well for the year.
The best thing is that this year we learn what goes wrong and a little about how to fix it. My motivation to study and learn is greatly boosted by how relevant and useful the material can be. Hopefully that will be enough to get me through studying for the Step 1 exam at the end of the year. But I won't think about that today. I'll think about it tomorrow.
It's shaping up to be a great year. Carlisle and I have been visiting First Baptist Jackson, which we've enjoyed. Several college friends have moved down here now. It feels so...settled. Which is nice. And now the weather is slowly but surely transitioning into my favorite season. I will be watching lots of football and painting my nails in muted earth tones.
I feel like this post is not very long or entertaining. But maybe now that I've remembered I have a blog, I will do better. Maybe? Well, here's a little info to tide you over.
Reading: Beowulf, October Vogue, and The 17 Day Diet
Watching: The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Pan Am, and Modern Family
Listening to: soundtracks to Wicked, West Side Story, and Hairspray
Things Carlisle and I will be doing in the near future: going to the gun range, playing putt putt golf, and going to the zooMy new favorite thing: my Farrah Fawcett bangs
Procrastinating: cleaning
About to: make lunch (it's late, I know)
Want to: take a nap
But must: look at microbiology
Until next time,
Erin
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
survival
Okay, dear ones, I'm back. It has been two months, but I'll try to make up for it with a long one. So take a deep breath. Here goes.
When last I wrote, I had just started neuro and psych. The sheer volume of information I had to learn between then and the end of school is still overwhelming to me. It's amazing how much we know about the brain without knowing anything about it at all. We don't know how it works, or how we think, but we know what some stuff does and we make a lot of guesses. It's complicated and beautiful and weird and awesome. At the time I did not think so, but I'm really glad we had to learn all that junk. Here's a video of Pinky and the Brain naming the parts of the brain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5nMsXg1Lk. It covers about a tenth (maybe) of what we were expected to know for the first test. Also, they inaccurately include the diencephalon as part of the brainstem. But whatever.
We'll take psych again for real next year, when we learn all the drugs and criteria and stuff. This year it was more like an introduction, so basically we focused on neuro and physiology for the last six weeks of school. And now I'm done! Done done done!!
People often ask, "How was your first year?" and, "How does it feel to be finished?" Well, the answer to the latter is, "Awesome." The former is a little more complicated. Sure, there were times when I lay on the floor in my apartment in the dark and stared at nothing for an hour and a half because my brain didn't want to do any more that day. Sure, I could never fully enjoy TV or books because there was always an underlying layer of guilt over my not studying (but I kept trying, of course...because I didn't want to study). And sure, I spent many hours beating myself up over my lack of discipline/motivation/focus to the point where I started to doubt my ability to do this and loathed my own weakness (gracious, I can be melodramatic). But, in the end, the answer is, "Awesome."
I learned a lot this year. I learned about the human body. I learned about some other stuff that seemed not that related to the human body. I learned that even when I bombed a test beyond all recognition, I could dust myself off and move on. I didn't study as much as I should or could have, and at times I clung to the class average like my life depended on it. But I survived. I made good friends. I learned cool stuff. I met a cute boy. I bought a dry erase board. All in all, it was a good year.
Next year will be more of the same, only different. The scheduling is different, but we'll still mostly be in class. Clinical skills start to phase in, then we take the Step 1. After that, we start rotations at the beginning of next summer. But for now, I'm an M2, enjoying the heck out of my summer.
What have I been doing, you ask? Before school ended, I got to go to Sarah and Tray's wedding, which was wonderful and lovely, and I got to see lots of Starkville friends. Once I left that last test, I didn't have anything to do, so I did just that. For a few days I watched episodes of The Big Bang Theory on DVD, ran small errands, hung out with friends passing through town. I've been watching movies with (and occasionally cooking for) Carlisle, working out with Denise Austin, and, as of yesterday, spending time at the pool until there was a righteous sunburn on my back. Oh, and I went to Fresh Market for the first time Sunday.
Let me tell you, that place is awesome. I'm in love with the probiotics snack mix, but I took it to the pool yesterday, and the chocolate and white chocolate on the chocolate- and white chocolate-covered bits, respectively, melted in the heat. So I now have more of a snack lump, which, as it turns out, is still delicious.
this past weekend I went to Water Valley to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of my cousin Danny with his adorable fiancee Ashley. Danny is coming to UMMC in the fall, and I'll be his M2 buddy. I'm so excited about getting to see him (hopefully often) next year. It was also really fun to see most of the extended family this weekend, since I missed family Christmas last fall in order to study. The party itself was a good time. Fun band, great food, and a lot of people I love. What could be better?
My plans for this week include cleaning my apartment, shopping for me and the aforementioned apartment, gardening with Carlisle, trying to keep my own neglected plants alive, and hopefully revisiting the pool. I'm liking this new lifestyle. It doesn't suck.
For some reason, I just felt inspired to go back and look at the first post I put on here. And then I laughed and laughed. Man, I was so stupid. But, live and learn, my friends. Live and learn.
I think that's all, folks. Until I post again, I hope you're having a lovely summer. Go outside! Play!
cheers
Erin
When last I wrote, I had just started neuro and psych. The sheer volume of information I had to learn between then and the end of school is still overwhelming to me. It's amazing how much we know about the brain without knowing anything about it at all. We don't know how it works, or how we think, but we know what some stuff does and we make a lot of guesses. It's complicated and beautiful and weird and awesome. At the time I did not think so, but I'm really glad we had to learn all that junk. Here's a video of Pinky and the Brain naming the parts of the brain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5nMsXg1Lk. It covers about a tenth (maybe) of what we were expected to know for the first test. Also, they inaccurately include the diencephalon as part of the brainstem. But whatever.
We'll take psych again for real next year, when we learn all the drugs and criteria and stuff. This year it was more like an introduction, so basically we focused on neuro and physiology for the last six weeks of school. And now I'm done! Done done done!!
People often ask, "How was your first year?" and, "How does it feel to be finished?" Well, the answer to the latter is, "Awesome." The former is a little more complicated. Sure, there were times when I lay on the floor in my apartment in the dark and stared at nothing for an hour and a half because my brain didn't want to do any more that day. Sure, I could never fully enjoy TV or books because there was always an underlying layer of guilt over my not studying (but I kept trying, of course...because I didn't want to study). And sure, I spent many hours beating myself up over my lack of discipline/motivation/focus to the point where I started to doubt my ability to do this and loathed my own weakness (gracious, I can be melodramatic). But, in the end, the answer is, "Awesome."
I learned a lot this year. I learned about the human body. I learned about some other stuff that seemed not that related to the human body. I learned that even when I bombed a test beyond all recognition, I could dust myself off and move on. I didn't study as much as I should or could have, and at times I clung to the class average like my life depended on it. But I survived. I made good friends. I learned cool stuff. I met a cute boy. I bought a dry erase board. All in all, it was a good year.
Next year will be more of the same, only different. The scheduling is different, but we'll still mostly be in class. Clinical skills start to phase in, then we take the Step 1. After that, we start rotations at the beginning of next summer. But for now, I'm an M2, enjoying the heck out of my summer.
What have I been doing, you ask? Before school ended, I got to go to Sarah and Tray's wedding, which was wonderful and lovely, and I got to see lots of Starkville friends. Once I left that last test, I didn't have anything to do, so I did just that. For a few days I watched episodes of The Big Bang Theory on DVD, ran small errands, hung out with friends passing through town. I've been watching movies with (and occasionally cooking for) Carlisle, working out with Denise Austin, and, as of yesterday, spending time at the pool until there was a righteous sunburn on my back. Oh, and I went to Fresh Market for the first time Sunday.
Let me tell you, that place is awesome. I'm in love with the probiotics snack mix, but I took it to the pool yesterday, and the chocolate and white chocolate on the chocolate- and white chocolate-covered bits, respectively, melted in the heat. So I now have more of a snack lump, which, as it turns out, is still delicious.
this past weekend I went to Water Valley to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of my cousin Danny with his adorable fiancee Ashley. Danny is coming to UMMC in the fall, and I'll be his M2 buddy. I'm so excited about getting to see him (hopefully often) next year. It was also really fun to see most of the extended family this weekend, since I missed family Christmas last fall in order to study. The party itself was a good time. Fun band, great food, and a lot of people I love. What could be better?
My plans for this week include cleaning my apartment, shopping for me and the aforementioned apartment, gardening with Carlisle, trying to keep my own neglected plants alive, and hopefully revisiting the pool. I'm liking this new lifestyle. It doesn't suck.
For some reason, I just felt inspired to go back and look at the first post I put on here. And then I laughed and laughed. Man, I was so stupid. But, live and learn, my friends. Live and learn.
I think that's all, folks. Until I post again, I hope you're having a lovely summer. Go outside! Play!
cheers
Erin
Monday, April 4, 2011
brains, brains
So, since Spring Break, I have taken two tests worth 47% of my physiology grade, started two new subjects, revisited the smell of formalin, and become obsessed with Sister Wives. It's been busy.
After (and during) our little round of tests (biostatistics final, respiratory physiology test, phys cumulative final, and phys board), I took as many breaks as I could. One night I watched TV with some friends, and we were flipping through the channels and discovered Sister Wives, the greatest show on television. It is fascinating. A little disturbing, but fascinating. We like to learn about the intricacies of the multiple marriages and the relationships between the wives and children. And we have a lot of questions about their living situation (Does each mom have a section of the house? A kitchen? Surely there are separate bedrooms. How big is this house? How much milk must they go through? OMG KODY'S MOM AND SECOND WIFE JANELLE'S MOM ARE MARRIED TO THE SAME MAN!! [but never fear - they're not half siblings, so it isn't weird]). So now I'm glued to the TV every Sunday night. Hopefully my new classes won't interfere.
Speaking of which, we started neurobiology and psychiatry last Thursday and Friday, respectively. The amount of information is a little overwhelming, but it's really interesting. The brain is like a big puzzle, and I like figuring it out. Innervation was one of my favorite things about gross anatomy, as well. I love reasoning out which nerve must be injured based on muscle or sensory deficiencies. Nerdy, yes, but fun.
I know I briefly mentioned our nursing home patient before, but I never told you how it went! We've gone to visit our patient three times now, and they are just wonderful. So sweet to us! It's been fun to go visit, so Savannah and I intend to keep in touch even after our assignments are over. Today we practiced administering a mini-mental status exam to our patient, and they passed with flying colors. We were really lucky to get a mentally sound, very friendly patient, so we have had a good time.
I had a very eventful weekend the last couple days. First, my friend Sarah got engaged to this wonderful boy who is taking her away from me to work at the University of Florida. Then I saw one of my very oldest friends (think age 2) marry another close friend of mine in a beautiful, simple ceremony. Definitely got emotional at that one, but was soon distracted by working the oh-so-chaotic punch table. Then I spent some time with family and an assortment of Starkville friends. It was a good time. Then, of course, Sister Wives last night. That goes without saying.
Today I managed to stay out of the Tornado Death Storm and made it home about a half hour before the sirens went off. Those stupid things make me skittish like a horse. I do not care for tornadoes. I was holed up in my little hallway with some ginger ale, Wheat Thins, laptop, phone, and remote control. I'm actually still sitting in my hallway, even though the tornado warning ended thirty minutes ago. But I survived. I saw that the field meteorologists for the Weather Channel were in Starkville today, which is terrifying. But Jim Cantore wasn't there, so things were good. In case you didn't know, he is always where the worst of the storm is. Always. If you see him, you may feel the need to ask for an autograph. But resist. Run in the opposite direction, because that spinning vortex of doom is headed right for him. This is the kind of thing you learn when you watch the Weather Channel every morning like an old lady. That's right, I play mah jongg, too.
I have some sad news. My first fish that I got from Savannah last semester (Steve the girl fish) died. Amarillo (second fish) went a little nuts for a few days, but after a two-week mourning period, we were happy to welcome Rasputine into our little family. They seem to be best friends now, so everyone is happy. Especially Savannah, who is dealing with a guppy population growth problem and is always looking to hand out a few fish.
Okay, loves, that will have to do for now. Going to fight the Hottentots.
cheers
Erin
After (and during) our little round of tests (biostatistics final, respiratory physiology test, phys cumulative final, and phys board), I took as many breaks as I could. One night I watched TV with some friends, and we were flipping through the channels and discovered Sister Wives, the greatest show on television. It is fascinating. A little disturbing, but fascinating. We like to learn about the intricacies of the multiple marriages and the relationships between the wives and children. And we have a lot of questions about their living situation (Does each mom have a section of the house? A kitchen? Surely there are separate bedrooms. How big is this house? How much milk must they go through? OMG KODY'S MOM AND SECOND WIFE JANELLE'S MOM ARE MARRIED TO THE SAME MAN!! [but never fear - they're not half siblings, so it isn't weird]). So now I'm glued to the TV every Sunday night. Hopefully my new classes won't interfere.
Speaking of which, we started neurobiology and psychiatry last Thursday and Friday, respectively. The amount of information is a little overwhelming, but it's really interesting. The brain is like a big puzzle, and I like figuring it out. Innervation was one of my favorite things about gross anatomy, as well. I love reasoning out which nerve must be injured based on muscle or sensory deficiencies. Nerdy, yes, but fun.
I know I briefly mentioned our nursing home patient before, but I never told you how it went! We've gone to visit our patient three times now, and they are just wonderful. So sweet to us! It's been fun to go visit, so Savannah and I intend to keep in touch even after our assignments are over. Today we practiced administering a mini-mental status exam to our patient, and they passed with flying colors. We were really lucky to get a mentally sound, very friendly patient, so we have had a good time.
I had a very eventful weekend the last couple days. First, my friend Sarah got engaged to this wonderful boy who is taking her away from me to work at the University of Florida. Then I saw one of my very oldest friends (think age 2) marry another close friend of mine in a beautiful, simple ceremony. Definitely got emotional at that one, but was soon distracted by working the oh-so-chaotic punch table. Then I spent some time with family and an assortment of Starkville friends. It was a good time. Then, of course, Sister Wives last night. That goes without saying.
Today I managed to stay out of the Tornado Death Storm and made it home about a half hour before the sirens went off. Those stupid things make me skittish like a horse. I do not care for tornadoes. I was holed up in my little hallway with some ginger ale, Wheat Thins, laptop, phone, and remote control. I'm actually still sitting in my hallway, even though the tornado warning ended thirty minutes ago. But I survived. I saw that the field meteorologists for the Weather Channel were in Starkville today, which is terrifying. But Jim Cantore wasn't there, so things were good. In case you didn't know, he is always where the worst of the storm is. Always. If you see him, you may feel the need to ask for an autograph. But resist. Run in the opposite direction, because that spinning vortex of doom is headed right for him. This is the kind of thing you learn when you watch the Weather Channel every morning like an old lady. That's right, I play mah jongg, too.
I have some sad news. My first fish that I got from Savannah last semester (Steve the girl fish) died. Amarillo (second fish) went a little nuts for a few days, but after a two-week mourning period, we were happy to welcome Rasputine into our little family. They seem to be best friends now, so everyone is happy. Especially Savannah, who is dealing with a guppy population growth problem and is always looking to hand out a few fish.
Okay, loves, that will have to do for now. Going to fight the Hottentots.
cheers
Erin
Monday, March 7, 2011
here, there, everywhere
I would like to share with you the great Mustard Debacle of 2011.
Carlisle, Chandler, and I went to Subway in the hospital, as we so often do when we're at the school studying. Let's just say that the A-Team Subway Staff was not there. This was like the H-Team. It turns out that mustard was their downfall.
Chandler asked for honey mustard on his sandwich. This seems to have been quite the request, but the (obviously new) girl picked up approximately 18 squeezy bottles, and more than once picked up the honey mustard. Finally, she had her selection narrowed down to 2: honey mustard and spicy. She looked at the honey, then promptly put spicy on the sandwich. Chandler looked like someone had kicked his puppy. It was a really sad face.
After Carlisle and I had recovered from laughing at poor Chandler's misery, it was Carlisle's turn. He asked for yellow mustard. This, too, was obviously misguided. Because he, too, got spicy. Then, supposedly because the guy in front of us with the purse (yes, an actual purse; not a satchel or man bag or European carry-all, but a white vinyl purse, no accompanying woman in sight) had requested that more mayonnaise be put on his sandwich, dude fixing Carlisle's sandwich said, "You look like you need some more mayonnaise," but then proceeded to put yellow mustard on the sandwich. Which was confusing as all get out.
Okay, so Sex Talk with The Hoff (what I now affectionately call our professor, who is female) was not as entertaining as I had hoped. Apparently she used to give these lectures wearing a leather skirt and boots and carrying a whip, but, thankfully, someone dropped the "professionalism" bomb on her to make that stop. She was blunt, though, which helped me get over most of my discomfort in discussing boy parts. Studying in mixed company probably helps, too. But I no longer feel the urge to cover my face and run away at the mention of "ejaculation," so a battle has been won. However, I will try to remember that everyone else may not be there with me and will thus refrain from engaging you in an awkward sex conversation. What can I say? I'm a giver.
I have something to confess. I have recently been obsessed with Charlie Sheen's recent sojourn down the road of insanity. I wasn't really interested until he got a twitter account, and suddenly I was hooked. But it was short-lived. I watched the live broadcast, and it depressed me. His life is a little sad and a lot crazy. Carlisle said, "That man needs Jesus and a lot of professional help." Amen, my brother. But the occasional picture of him doing things like "playing Pong" with the DirecTV screensaver bouncing around his television is still entertaining.
We had a long day of tests today, so my brain is a little tuckered. But after the histology board on Friday, it's Spring Break!! It is probably safe to assume that I will not post again until after that, but maybe I'll have good stories. Until then, live healthy so you don't get polycystic ovary syndrome. You heard it here first.
cheers
Erin
P.S. If you look up polycystic ovary syndrome on Wikipedia, I urge you to refrain from clicking on the article about hirsuitism. It is not safe for work/school/public/innocent eyes.
Carlisle, Chandler, and I went to Subway in the hospital, as we so often do when we're at the school studying. Let's just say that the A-Team Subway Staff was not there. This was like the H-Team. It turns out that mustard was their downfall.
Chandler asked for honey mustard on his sandwich. This seems to have been quite the request, but the (obviously new) girl picked up approximately 18 squeezy bottles, and more than once picked up the honey mustard. Finally, she had her selection narrowed down to 2: honey mustard and spicy. She looked at the honey, then promptly put spicy on the sandwich. Chandler looked like someone had kicked his puppy. It was a really sad face.
After Carlisle and I had recovered from laughing at poor Chandler's misery, it was Carlisle's turn. He asked for yellow mustard. This, too, was obviously misguided. Because he, too, got spicy. Then, supposedly because the guy in front of us with the purse (yes, an actual purse; not a satchel or man bag or European carry-all, but a white vinyl purse, no accompanying woman in sight) had requested that more mayonnaise be put on his sandwich, dude fixing Carlisle's sandwich said, "You look like you need some more mayonnaise," but then proceeded to put yellow mustard on the sandwich. Which was confusing as all get out.
Okay, so Sex Talk with The Hoff (what I now affectionately call our professor, who is female) was not as entertaining as I had hoped. Apparently she used to give these lectures wearing a leather skirt and boots and carrying a whip, but, thankfully, someone dropped the "professionalism" bomb on her to make that stop. She was blunt, though, which helped me get over most of my discomfort in discussing boy parts. Studying in mixed company probably helps, too. But I no longer feel the urge to cover my face and run away at the mention of "ejaculation," so a battle has been won. However, I will try to remember that everyone else may not be there with me and will thus refrain from engaging you in an awkward sex conversation. What can I say? I'm a giver.
I have something to confess. I have recently been obsessed with Charlie Sheen's recent sojourn down the road of insanity. I wasn't really interested until he got a twitter account, and suddenly I was hooked. But it was short-lived. I watched the live broadcast, and it depressed me. His life is a little sad and a lot crazy. Carlisle said, "That man needs Jesus and a lot of professional help." Amen, my brother. But the occasional picture of him doing things like "playing Pong" with the DirecTV screensaver bouncing around his television is still entertaining.
We had a long day of tests today, so my brain is a little tuckered. But after the histology board on Friday, it's Spring Break!! It is probably safe to assume that I will not post again until after that, but maybe I'll have good stories. Until then, live healthy so you don't get polycystic ovary syndrome. You heard it here first.
cheers
Erin
P.S. If you look up polycystic ovary syndrome on Wikipedia, I urge you to refrain from clicking on the article about hirsuitism. It is not safe for work/school/public/innocent eyes.
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