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
Monday, April 4, 2011
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.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
i cut my tongue last week
Okay, so here's what happened.
When I moved here back in July, I did not have a dining room table. I never saw anything I liked, and then I had no free Saturdays throughout the semester to go furniture shopping. I didn't really see this as a problem because I was content eating on my couch. Then two Fridays ago I was eating rice on my couch, and I had some soy sauce. As I was shaking soy sauce onto my rice, some of it went flying onto a cream-colored pillow next to me. After I was done yelling, "No! No! No!" at the pillow, I decided I would be getting a table the next day. I went to Pier 1, saw a table and some pretty chairs, liked them, and bought them.
Pier 1 does not deliver, and I do not have a truck, so I could only get the chairs to my apartment that day. I then promised my friends Carlisle and Pharmacist Ryan that I would feed them lunch one day if they would move my chair out of the Pier 1 and into my 3rd floor apartment. They happily agreed, and I offered to make them turkey tacos. Well, I had the turkey and black beans and taco seasoning, but I needed tortillas and other toppings. I went to Fancy Kroger, and it was there that I remembered I was running low on hummus. Fancy Kroger was once again out of the Classic flavor except in the form of these little individual snack-sized cups. Here's where things got interesting.
These cups had foil over the top like applesauce. I wanted a snack the afternoon after the table delivery, so I grabbed a cup. I took the foil off the top, but not all of it came off in one piece, and I decided I did not feel like trying to pry tiny bits of foil from the surprisingly sticky plastic rim. Then, I wanted to get the hummus that catches the inside of the rim where the pita cannot reach, so I licked it off. The foil got me. I spent the rest of the night trying to keep my tongue sticking out of my mouth because it hurt less. There was a hole in the front of my tongue that generated pain disproportionate to its size and bled quite a little bit. My friends were surprisingly unsympathetic.
Unfortunately, I think that is the most exciting news I have to share. School really has gotten lighter, except for yesterday, when I had to spend four hours learning CPR from a video in which the narrator told me that if I save someone's life I won't be a hero because as a healthcare professional, saving lives is "just what I do." This week, Savannah and I are going to visit our nursing home patient. The whole class divided into pairs, and each group has a patient to visit four times throughout the semester. We're pretty excited about it, but we did hear one unfortunate story from yesterday.
Our friend Lindsay went to see her patient, but the poor person had both a respiratory disorder and some form of mild dementia. Needless to say, it is difficult to interview such a patient. At one point he bade them fetch him some coffee and more Kleenex, but the best part was when he said, "If you're lucky, I'll even let you shave me." I can only hope our patient does not feel this sort of benevolence.
This post has been full of weirdness, but such is my life. Enjoy this nice weather! Here's today's health tip:
When I moved here back in July, I did not have a dining room table. I never saw anything I liked, and then I had no free Saturdays throughout the semester to go furniture shopping. I didn't really see this as a problem because I was content eating on my couch. Then two Fridays ago I was eating rice on my couch, and I had some soy sauce. As I was shaking soy sauce onto my rice, some of it went flying onto a cream-colored pillow next to me. After I was done yelling, "No! No! No!" at the pillow, I decided I would be getting a table the next day. I went to Pier 1, saw a table and some pretty chairs, liked them, and bought them.
Pier 1 does not deliver, and I do not have a truck, so I could only get the chairs to my apartment that day. I then promised my friends Carlisle and Pharmacist Ryan that I would feed them lunch one day if they would move my chair out of the Pier 1 and into my 3rd floor apartment. They happily agreed, and I offered to make them turkey tacos. Well, I had the turkey and black beans and taco seasoning, but I needed tortillas and other toppings. I went to Fancy Kroger, and it was there that I remembered I was running low on hummus. Fancy Kroger was once again out of the Classic flavor except in the form of these little individual snack-sized cups. Here's where things got interesting.
These cups had foil over the top like applesauce. I wanted a snack the afternoon after the table delivery, so I grabbed a cup. I took the foil off the top, but not all of it came off in one piece, and I decided I did not feel like trying to pry tiny bits of foil from the surprisingly sticky plastic rim. Then, I wanted to get the hummus that catches the inside of the rim where the pita cannot reach, so I licked it off. The foil got me. I spent the rest of the night trying to keep my tongue sticking out of my mouth because it hurt less. There was a hole in the front of my tongue that generated pain disproportionate to its size and bled quite a little bit. My friends were surprisingly unsympathetic.
Unfortunately, I think that is the most exciting news I have to share. School really has gotten lighter, except for yesterday, when I had to spend four hours learning CPR from a video in which the narrator told me that if I save someone's life I won't be a hero because as a healthcare professional, saving lives is "just what I do." This week, Savannah and I are going to visit our nursing home patient. The whole class divided into pairs, and each group has a patient to visit four times throughout the semester. We're pretty excited about it, but we did hear one unfortunate story from yesterday.
Our friend Lindsay went to see her patient, but the poor person had both a respiratory disorder and some form of mild dementia. Needless to say, it is difficult to interview such a patient. At one point he bade them fetch him some coffee and more Kleenex, but the best part was when he said, "If you're lucky, I'll even let you shave me." I can only hope our patient does not feel this sort of benevolence.
This post has been full of weirdness, but such is my life. Enjoy this nice weather! Here's today's health tip:
If you feel the desire to inject yourself with growth hormone (I'm looking at you, Barry), don't.
kisses
Erin
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
cheers
You know, you'd think that a lot of excess free time would mean my productivity would skyrocket. Well, you obviously don't know me very well.
First, let's discuss productivity. I have been incredibly productive in my reading. It's just that my reading has more to do with the fictional lives of Londoners or Mississippians than the anti-natriuretic properties of aldosterone. But I'm settling into this semester, developing a rhythm for school work vs. other stuff, so I'm staying on track. It helps that only one class is very challenging at the moment. I'm sure it won't last.
This past Saturday I volunteered for the first time at the Jackson Free Clinic. It was so fun to do some hands-on clinical work and see the effect it has on people. The clinic does great things with limited resources. The most interesting part is that it is completely student-run! My adorable friend Savannah just got a position on the board, and it's a great way to make a difference while doing something for which you have a passion. And it was really fun to see classmates that had been there before "doctoring" on people. I definitely will be going back.
On Sunday I went to the Salvation Army Souper Bowl with precious Angela (she wrote about it on her blog, here). So I was feeling very charitable, thinking, "Man, I would be an awesome Trophy Wife Philanthropist." Then I realized that wasn't the best attitude, and my big head shrunk quite a bit. So now everything is back to normal.
In other news, I am the new face of Lancome cosmetics. Lancome just doesn't know about it.
Also, I bought some of that light yogurt in those dessert-y flavors they advertise as replacement for cake, and, as it turns out, it still tastes like yogurt. Boston Cream Pie is far superior to Boston Cream Pie-flavored yogurt, in case you were wondering. Just like butter is way better than margarine (Charitable trophy wife material and able to make a Mitch Hedberg reference? Jump back!).
I discovered Monday night that if I wash my hands with the fancy soap by the sink in my bathroom, then try to run my fingers through damp hair washed with this super-cleaning shampoo that I use once a week, the combination develops into this tacky, gluey substance on my hands that is somewhere south of awesome. That was a fun time.
At school we have started down the slippery slope that leads to the reproductive system. Yesterday in histology we went over the male, and I really needed my male professor to stop using the word "we" because it was weirding me out. Fortunately a different professor that doesn't make me uncomfortable will go over female next week. I have heard that when it comes time for reproduction in physiology next month there will be lots of giggles. So at least I have that to look forward to.
This afternoon another round of White Death is supposed to fall on us from the sky. Last time, the sleet starting falling in earnest just as we were leaving school, and my feet lost most of their feeling by the time I got to my car because I had chosen cute shoes over practical shoes. But I'm inside now, safe from the coming Storm o' Doom. I hope you are too!
Cheers
Erin
P.S. I've decided that I'm going to start saying, "Cheers." I would really appreciate your support.
First, let's discuss productivity. I have been incredibly productive in my reading. It's just that my reading has more to do with the fictional lives of Londoners or Mississippians than the anti-natriuretic properties of aldosterone. But I'm settling into this semester, developing a rhythm for school work vs. other stuff, so I'm staying on track. It helps that only one class is very challenging at the moment. I'm sure it won't last.
This past Saturday I volunteered for the first time at the Jackson Free Clinic. It was so fun to do some hands-on clinical work and see the effect it has on people. The clinic does great things with limited resources. The most interesting part is that it is completely student-run! My adorable friend Savannah just got a position on the board, and it's a great way to make a difference while doing something for which you have a passion. And it was really fun to see classmates that had been there before "doctoring" on people. I definitely will be going back.
On Sunday I went to the Salvation Army Souper Bowl with precious Angela (she wrote about it on her blog, here). So I was feeling very charitable, thinking, "Man, I would be an awesome Trophy Wife Philanthropist." Then I realized that wasn't the best attitude, and my big head shrunk quite a bit. So now everything is back to normal.
In other news, I am the new face of Lancome cosmetics. Lancome just doesn't know about it.
Also, I bought some of that light yogurt in those dessert-y flavors they advertise as replacement for cake, and, as it turns out, it still tastes like yogurt. Boston Cream Pie is far superior to Boston Cream Pie-flavored yogurt, in case you were wondering. Just like butter is way better than margarine (Charitable trophy wife material and able to make a Mitch Hedberg reference? Jump back!).
I discovered Monday night that if I wash my hands with the fancy soap by the sink in my bathroom, then try to run my fingers through damp hair washed with this super-cleaning shampoo that I use once a week, the combination develops into this tacky, gluey substance on my hands that is somewhere south of awesome. That was a fun time.
At school we have started down the slippery slope that leads to the reproductive system. Yesterday in histology we went over the male, and I really needed my male professor to stop using the word "we" because it was weirding me out. Fortunately a different professor that doesn't make me uncomfortable will go over female next week. I have heard that when it comes time for reproduction in physiology next month there will be lots of giggles. So at least I have that to look forward to.
This afternoon another round of White Death is supposed to fall on us from the sky. Last time, the sleet starting falling in earnest just as we were leaving school, and my feet lost most of their feeling by the time I got to my car because I had chosen cute shoes over practical shoes. But I'm inside now, safe from the coming Storm o' Doom. I hope you are too!
Cheers
Erin
P.S. I've decided that I'm going to start saying, "Cheers." I would really appreciate your support.
Monday, January 24, 2011
porcine morality
Of late, UMMC has been at the center of certain ethical controversy. A physicians' group has filed a complaint about the university's treatment of pigs in a lab for medical students. The day the article was on clarionledger.com was the day before I was supposed to do said lab. Now having done it, let me just say, IT WAS AWESOME.
On the day of, I was freaking out. I have a tendency to get light-headed around certain medical procedures, usually weird things. I thought I was partly over it, since I was fine all last semester, but some friends were talking about drawing each others' blood for practice at the Jackson Free Clinic last weekend, and somewhere between "she didn't stabilize her hand" and "I thought the needle would poke back through the skin," I had to leave the room. So it wasn't looking good for the pig lab. All day long, I went through waves of panic and self-encouragement. I prayed quite a bit.
Right beforehand, I'm getting calmer as the physiologist that ran my side of the room was explaining what would go down. Then we walk in and the barn-like smell wasn't as intense as I was expecting, but my legs were feeling a little like Jell-O. The first cut on the pig, and I have to look away. The room only spun a little, though, and I recovered quickly, but I'm thinking to myself, "This is not good. This is just the beginning."
But once I came back, I was fine for the rest of the lab. I'm pretty sure it was the praying. My apprehension went away completely, and I'm pretty sure nervousness was the only reason I got dizzy in the first place. From then on, the lab was just really interesting. I got to feel life under my hands! A beating heart, breathing lungs - these cannot be replaced by a simulator; lungs are really mushy. Also, I prefer that my first go-round with a defibrillator and heart massage be on a pig rather than a person. That's all I have to say about the legal issue.
The best thing to come from this lab is the fact that I'm no longer concerned about surgery rotations in my 3rd and 4th years. Now I know I'll be fine. God is good.
In other news, our school days have been considerably shortened without dear old gross lab. Today, I only went from 10-12, so I intend to buy some curtains this afternoon before settling in to study.
Before I go measure my windows, I would like to share this week's handy-dandy tip.
If you knock out a tooth (or your child, because they lead with their faces), pick up the tooth, rinse it off with water (do NOT brush it), and shove it back in. Then get to a dentist. If you don't get the tooth in within an hour, the connection between tooth and gum starts to break down, so it won't heal as strongly.
Happy Monday!
Erin
On the day of, I was freaking out. I have a tendency to get light-headed around certain medical procedures, usually weird things. I thought I was partly over it, since I was fine all last semester, but some friends were talking about drawing each others' blood for practice at the Jackson Free Clinic last weekend, and somewhere between "she didn't stabilize her hand" and "I thought the needle would poke back through the skin," I had to leave the room. So it wasn't looking good for the pig lab. All day long, I went through waves of panic and self-encouragement. I prayed quite a bit.
Right beforehand, I'm getting calmer as the physiologist that ran my side of the room was explaining what would go down. Then we walk in and the barn-like smell wasn't as intense as I was expecting, but my legs were feeling a little like Jell-O. The first cut on the pig, and I have to look away. The room only spun a little, though, and I recovered quickly, but I'm thinking to myself, "This is not good. This is just the beginning."
But once I came back, I was fine for the rest of the lab. I'm pretty sure it was the praying. My apprehension went away completely, and I'm pretty sure nervousness was the only reason I got dizzy in the first place. From then on, the lab was just really interesting. I got to feel life under my hands! A beating heart, breathing lungs - these cannot be replaced by a simulator; lungs are really mushy. Also, I prefer that my first go-round with a defibrillator and heart massage be on a pig rather than a person. That's all I have to say about the legal issue.
The best thing to come from this lab is the fact that I'm no longer concerned about surgery rotations in my 3rd and 4th years. Now I know I'll be fine. God is good.
In other news, our school days have been considerably shortened without dear old gross lab. Today, I only went from 10-12, so I intend to buy some curtains this afternoon before settling in to study.
Before I go measure my windows, I would like to share this week's handy-dandy tip.
If you knock out a tooth (or your child, because they lead with their faces), pick up the tooth, rinse it off with water (do NOT brush it), and shove it back in. Then get to a dentist. If you don't get the tooth in within an hour, the connection between tooth and gum starts to break down, so it won't heal as strongly.
Happy Monday!
Erin
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
knowing things
Knowing things is my favorite. And now, if you bring me your EKG, I should be able to tell you what's going on. That's right. I know stuff. Or, at least, I should.
This weekend I did not study very much, but instead chose to hang out with Mama at home. There were cookies involved. I did get to go to my first basketball game of the season, and since Auburn is not very good, it was a good one. I got to see State friends too, which is always a plus.
In Dr. Manning vacation news, we did not go to Utah. I was looking forward to Utah. I've never been to Utah. But in the next lecture, he had skipped a few pictures. We went to Japan and Hawaii that day. They were quite beautiful, but I still want to know what Utah looks like. Now I'll never know. We currently have a different lecturer in phys, but Manning comes back on Friday, so maybe I'll get to see Utah then. I can only hope.
Tomorrow starts Biostatistics. I do not know what that means. I only know it's at 8:00 in the morning, so I'd better go if I'm going to Zumba, shower, and go to sleep by 10. Ciao, bella gente
This weekend I did not study very much, but instead chose to hang out with Mama at home. There were cookies involved. I did get to go to my first basketball game of the season, and since Auburn is not very good, it was a good one. I got to see State friends too, which is always a plus.
In Dr. Manning vacation news, we did not go to Utah. I was looking forward to Utah. I've never been to Utah. But in the next lecture, he had skipped a few pictures. We went to Japan and Hawaii that day. They were quite beautiful, but I still want to know what Utah looks like. Now I'll never know. We currently have a different lecturer in phys, but Manning comes back on Friday, so maybe I'll get to see Utah then. I can only hope.
Tomorrow starts Biostatistics. I do not know what that means. I only know it's at 8:00 in the morning, so I'd better go if I'm going to Zumba, shower, and go to sleep by 10. Ciao, bella gente
Thursday, January 13, 2011
i'm alive, i promise
You would think that with two weeks off from school and an extra day for the Ice Apocalypse that I would have updated you, but there really wasn't much to say. I went home, slept, watched TV,read normal books, spent a couple days at the cabin, slept, watched TV, read more books, saw friends when State went back to school. Neither super-eventful nor super-productive, but wonderful. Friends, family, food, reading, sleep...these are the things I needed. I had a great Christmas with fun presents, as always, and I hope you did too. But we now return you to our regularly-scheduled programming.
Physiology is the name of the game now, which is wonderful. It's an engineering class! There are graphs and charts and vectors, things that are comfortingly familiar. We're studying the heart and cardiovascular system right now, topics I learned under Dr. Cathcart in bioengineering. If I saw him in the near future and it were socially acceptable, I would kiss that man. The only reason my brain isn't already on overload is his teaching. It helps that I really like the subject, but I think that's thanks to him as well. Plus, our current teacher, Dr. Manning, is precious. He takes 1-2 minute breaks in the middle of each lecture to show pictures from his vacations so we can rest our brains. And today we went along the Columbia River gorge, down which our family drove during our trip to Oregon when I was in high school. He showed a picture of the bridge over Multnomah Falls and I got really excited because I've been on that bridge!
Unfortunately, these trips through Wyoming, British Columbia, Washington, Nevada, etc., make me extremely jealous. But tomorrow we're venturing through Utah, so I'm looking forward to that.
Have I told you about my Spanish class? There is a group called La Sociedad de Español Médico (Medical Spanish Society), and of course I was all over that. I joined the advanced class since I have a Spanish minor from State, and it has been so fun. We had several meetings last semester, and last night we met to review the things we learned. Basically, we've gone over how to interview a patient. Not having known how to do this in English, I've learned way more than just Spanish so far. I feel like I now have a pretty good grip on what to ask of a patient in both languages now, so hopefully I will be more comfortable with that M3 year. The club recently received a grant to turn it into an actual class, including an opportunity to do a rotation in a Spanish-speaking country, which is really exciting.
In other news, I've apparently lost all ability to keep food upright. Monday, my Diet Dr. Pepper flew right off my tray onto the cafeteria floor, spilling on both tray and floor, and generally causing problems. The food remained untainted, however, unlike today. Today, we were trying to fit too many people around the table, and my tray was hanging dangerously far over the edge. Soon thereafter, said tray flipped over said edge onto ME. There was gravy involved. And more DDP (that's what we call Diet Dr. Pepper on the street). Fortunately I had on a cardigan-type garment that I used to cover up this little mishap. I hope I haven't developed some sort of nervous condition. Maybe that will be a symptom when we get to psychiatry. "Dangerous around food. Do not let patient use cafeteria trays." Maybe next week will be better. Incidentally, that's how I view all symptoms of any illness I have. I go all Scarlett with my, "I won't think about that today. I'll think about it tomorrow."
I just realized I've missed fifteen minutes of Friends! It's a miracle I can watch it on my $5 cable, so I try to take every opportunity so they don't take it away from me. Until next time,
Erin
Physiology is the name of the game now, which is wonderful. It's an engineering class! There are graphs and charts and vectors, things that are comfortingly familiar. We're studying the heart and cardiovascular system right now, topics I learned under Dr. Cathcart in bioengineering. If I saw him in the near future and it were socially acceptable, I would kiss that man. The only reason my brain isn't already on overload is his teaching. It helps that I really like the subject, but I think that's thanks to him as well. Plus, our current teacher, Dr. Manning, is precious. He takes 1-2 minute breaks in the middle of each lecture to show pictures from his vacations so we can rest our brains. And today we went along the Columbia River gorge, down which our family drove during our trip to Oregon when I was in high school. He showed a picture of the bridge over Multnomah Falls and I got really excited because I've been on that bridge!
Photo: multnomahfallslodge.com
Unfortunately, these trips through Wyoming, British Columbia, Washington, Nevada, etc., make me extremely jealous. But tomorrow we're venturing through Utah, so I'm looking forward to that.
Have I told you about my Spanish class? There is a group called La Sociedad de Español Médico (Medical Spanish Society), and of course I was all over that. I joined the advanced class since I have a Spanish minor from State, and it has been so fun. We had several meetings last semester, and last night we met to review the things we learned. Basically, we've gone over how to interview a patient. Not having known how to do this in English, I've learned way more than just Spanish so far. I feel like I now have a pretty good grip on what to ask of a patient in both languages now, so hopefully I will be more comfortable with that M3 year. The club recently received a grant to turn it into an actual class, including an opportunity to do a rotation in a Spanish-speaking country, which is really exciting.
In other news, I've apparently lost all ability to keep food upright. Monday, my Diet Dr. Pepper flew right off my tray onto the cafeteria floor, spilling on both tray and floor, and generally causing problems. The food remained untainted, however, unlike today. Today, we were trying to fit too many people around the table, and my tray was hanging dangerously far over the edge. Soon thereafter, said tray flipped over said edge onto ME. There was gravy involved. And more DDP (that's what we call Diet Dr. Pepper on the street). Fortunately I had on a cardigan-type garment that I used to cover up this little mishap. I hope I haven't developed some sort of nervous condition. Maybe that will be a symptom when we get to psychiatry. "Dangerous around food. Do not let patient use cafeteria trays." Maybe next week will be better. Incidentally, that's how I view all symptoms of any illness I have. I go all Scarlett with my, "I won't think about that today. I'll think about it tomorrow."
I just realized I've missed fifteen minutes of Friends! It's a miracle I can watch it on my $5 cable, so I try to take every opportunity so they don't take it away from me. Until next time,
Erin
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