Thursday, April 30, 2009

Strange

I just worked 2 sets of practice questions and got the exact same amount of questions right (if you're an optomist) or wrong (if you're a pessimist) in each set. Maybe these tests are predictive...

Yet Another Reason We Love Kris

*He hung a bug zapper in the backyard 2 days ago - now we don't get eaten alive by mosquitoes every time we go outside*

**Mega reason - he surprised me with a 1 hour massage appointment as a gift for finishing up 2nd year**

Counting my blessings

Where's the pause button?

While everyone else is studying for step, I'm going to take advantage of the next few days before the craziness ensues. My plans for today and the next few:

Today
*make vet appointments for Meery Bob and Penelope - spaying and shots, respectively
*do some form of exercise besides running
*contact a plumber to repair our garbage disposal
*laundry x 4
*dishes
*make haircut appointment
*make a STEP study schedule
*dinner with my "M2 buddy" - should I call her my M4 buddy now?
*recover from the ridiculous sunburn I got at the pool yesterday

Friday
*start studying!
*9 mile run with A - probably going to lie on the couch and die afterwards

Saturday
*study
*some form of exercise - maybe; perhaps just stretching
*attend cousin's wedding

So that's how things are shaping up for now. Right now is one of those times when it would be nice to still live at home. I hate how distracted I can become by laundry, dishes, menu planning, etc... It would be nice to have all that covered for the next month.

On an exciting note - yesterday was fabulous! All except for that little Pharm board we took in the morning. It was AWFUL. Sometimes I would look at the page and not know if I got a single question on it correct. Oh well. Maybe I scraped by. After that I went to the pool and caught up with my friend A. (just realized I've got lots of friends that have A names) We might have forgotten to put on enough sunscreen and we might have had a few cold beverages. Anyway, it was great. I haven't laid out in the sun since the honeymoon. After that I met K for some very healthy and delicious food at KFC. Yeah... To be fair though, they do have a really good buffet full of veggies. I only had 2 fried things on my plate. I had a tennis match at 7:30. Our captain made it aware to us that if we won this match, we are guaranteed a spot at the State championships. Wahoo!!! Well, we won! I won my match, and my sister won hers. The girl I played was the most challenging opponent I've played all year. The score was 6-4, 6-4. (If you don't know what that means, it means I won 12 and she won 8). I wish we had video though, we were both making crazy shots that neither one of us could believe. Once the girls on the court beside us got distracted from their game watching us! Insane. I was so exhausted afterwards I just came home, laid in bed, and watched Mad Men for about 3 hours. What could be better?

Off to do all the chores on my list - hope everyone's "weekend" is fabuous :)

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

1 More!!!

3 boards down, 1 to go. Grades from the ones we took last week have started rolling in, so hopefully we'll have all of our final grades within the next week or two. It'll be nice to close the chapter on this year. It still hasn't hit me that it's almost over. Everyone keeps asking if I'm excited, but I know we're not out of the water yet. The only time I'll be able to breathe is mid-July when our STEP scores come in - IF I passed. If not, oy, life's gonna suck...

Sad thought - tomorrow is the last day our class sits in the classroom together. It's the last time we'll all be in a room together until June 9th.

Runner's Log

3.0 miles, 30 minutes, 292 calories burned

How to get indigestion while running:
Go to Cups - drink a large coffee
Go to Jo's Diner - split cheese fries with husband. Then eat an entire chicken wrap with baja chicken soup as a side. THEN split a chocolate milkshake with husband.
Rest for 30 minutes.
Run 3 miles - burp the entire way! Gross, but funny.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Runner's Log

6.55 miles; 1'09"; 635 calories burned

Quarter Marathon? Or a Half Half Marathon? Either way, it just about made my legs fall off and wiped me out for the rest of the night. How the heck am I going to run 13.1 miles in June? Also, it was slightly embarrassing because our neighborhood is kind of small and one set of neighbors was outside having a crawfish boil. I swear I ran by them 10 times and they thought I was crazy!

Party Recipes

I had a few requests for the recipes from the puppy party. They're both super simple:

Spiked Sweet Tea Punch

4 tea bags
2 cups boiling water
7 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 tube frozen lemonade
1 tube frozen orange juice
2 cups whiskey**

Boil 4 tea bags in two cups water. Let steep for 10 minutes. While that's brewing, boil 7 cups water and add 1 frozen tube of lemonade concentrate, 1 frozen tube of orange juice concentrate, 2 cups of sugar, and 2 cups of whiskey. **I didn't have whiskey, so I used 1.5 cups of lemon rum and .5 cup of firefly sweet tea vodka. Add in the 2 cups of tea now. Place it all in a gallon freezer bag and let freeze overnight. Will be slushy. The recipe recommended adding Sprite when serving, but I liked it without. Also, not sure exactly why it's necessary to boil 2 separate sets of water, but I didn't want to screw it up, so that's what I did.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 blocks cream cheese
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup hot sauce
1 can chicken
1/2 cup ranch dressing (or bleu cheese if that's preferred)

Essentially you just throw it all in a crock pot. Takes about 1.5 hrs on high or 3 hrs on low. Serve with celery and tortilla chips/crackers.


After the party Kris and I were a little bored and I sure didn't want to study, so we went to the movies. We saw The Soloist. I wasn't very impressed, but I think that's partly because the atmosphere was ruined for me. I had Tuberculosis Sally sitting directly to my left and Snoring Sam sitting right behind me. No lie, this guy started snoring 5 minutes into the movie and continued throughout the ENTIRE thing. His wife nudged him 2x and within minutes he was snoring again - very loudly. He was a heavy set gentleman, so I'm sure he has sleep apnea and she didn't want to interrupt the sleep he was able to get. Everyone in the theater was talking about it when we left. I *almost* asked him if he enjoyed his nap, but I decided not to. Surprising, I know...

Tuberculosis Sally just loved coughing throughout the entire movie, but that didn't stop her from eating her popcorn or talking the whole time. She didn't have much of an interest in covering her mouth, which resulted in me burrowing my head in Kris's shoulder and inhaling deeply to avoid all the organisms she was spewing about. I wish I could say med school has done this to me, but those who know me well know I've always had a germ issue. My best friend J likes to remind me of the time our school bus was behind a vehicle that was spewing a lot of black smoke and I held my breath the whole time. Didn't want to "pollute my lungs." What can I say? I'm a little obsessive.

And here's some pictures for your enjoyment:


Friday, April 24, 2009

Hooray for Puppy Parties!

The party was a success - or so I thought. Not only did people show up, they had fun! Never much of a lack of conversation, lots of good food and drink, and entertainment in the form of Penelope and A's dog, Tucker. Of course we had to indulge in discussing a few of the idiosyncrasies of fellow classmates. But, that happens pretty much anytime a big group of us gets together so I guess it's to be expected.

As for the psych/behavioral science board this morning, I'm really glad I didn't study more than 20 minutes :) Here's a sample question:

A patient of yours with long-standing hypertension comes in 3 months after you've subscribed blood pressure lowering agents and their blood pressure is 160/100. What do you say?

A) A lot of people have problems remembering to take their medications. Do you ever have problems like that?

B) Your blood pressure is still high. Have you been taking your blood pressure medication?

C) Your blood pressure still isn't under control. Do you ever forget to take your blood pressure medication?

Then there were 2 or 3 other responses that were clearly wrong - or so I thought. Call me crazy, but aren't these all saying the same thing? Wouldn't it all depend on the tone you used? Now do you see why I'm glad I didn't study any longer?

I can already tell it's going to be a great weekend. My house is the cleanest it's been in months - maybe ever? So no distractions on that front. Lots of running and studying in the forecast. Hope everyone else's weekends are fabulous :)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Bad Call

Eating peaches & cream whipped yogurt and looking at pictures of brain abscesses. Disgusting.

Surgery Preferences

We got an e-mail from the surgery department yesterday to set up our schedules. Guess I'm really becoming an M3, although I feel they're jinxing us by attempting to get us set up for rotations next year. Whatever though, here's my picks:

We do general surgery the first 6 weeks, then get 2 weeks in 3 different specialties.

Rotation 1: Peds, Transplant, Vascular
Rotation 2: Cardiothoracic, ENT, Ortho
Rotation 3: Plastics, Urology, Neurosurgery

Sometimes

I wish I wasn't interested in so many things. Then it would be so much easier to sit in the library and study 12 hours every day. Since our test last Friday I've been doing nothing but indulging all those interests. I've run, played piano, watched movies, gone shopping - A LOT, spiffed up the house a little, and attempted to cook some new things. But, we have a Path board tomorrow, and I'm about to try something crazy... Going to Cups WITHOUT my computer/without and endless source of distraction. Just me, my Path BRS book, and some yummy coffee. It's nice when everything you need to study is in one concise little book instead of spread out among several study guides, old tests, Powerpoints, and random pages of notes.

*Note to the future M2s out there: You'll hear nothing but praise for Goljan's Rapid Review of Pathology. While the audio is great to listen to, I am not impressed by the actual review book. It does have great color illustrations, but it's much denser than BRS and has bullet points instead of you know, REAL sentences. I guess I'm a little partial due to the fact that I like real sentences with subjects and verbs instead of seemingly random bits of information.

Boards left: 4
Days 'til STEP: 38

Friday, April 17, 2009

Runner's Log

46'42" 4.50 miles 436 calories burned.

Now it's off to watch Marley & Me!

*Thank Goodness*

Tests are over. The weather is beautiful. I got to take a nap this afternoon, complete with post-nap drunken haze for about 10 minutes. At 3:00 when I woke up I realized I hadn't eaten all day, so I made a beeline for the nearest Mediterranean restaurant, Petra on Old Canton Rd. They had gone out of business. So I made a beeline for the next nearest Mediterranean restaurant, over by Hancock Fabrics. They weren't coming back until 4:30 for dinner. Then I went to the next one, Luna Negra, and they had also gone out of business. What the heck? I really wanted some falafel and hummus. Yum. Anyway, headed to the nearest Chinese buffet and it was okay. The exciting part is that I stumbled upon an antique shop on the way and decided to check it out. Here's what I found:




*a silver trivet with "B" engraved on it which you can't really see in the pic
*3 antique wine glasses that are so dainty and perfect
*a little picture stand

I got all this for just $22! I also really wanted this antique sugar shell that had "A" engraved on the handle, but it was with a little cheese spreader that had an "O" and the lady didn't want to split the set. I wasn't about to pay $18 for 2 pieces. 'Cause I'm cheap like that :)

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!!

{zombie}

I've now completed my last ever all-nighter, can't believe I pulled 2 this week. Very, very bad student. Future med students, if you're out there reading, don't be like me.

Planning on stopping by CUPS for a shot-in-the-dark (dark coffee + a shot of espresso) before the test at 9. Here's to hoping I don't fall asleep halfway through the danged thing. This one's 100 questions, of course...

You Know What's Weird?

When you pull an all-nighter or stay up longer than 24 hrs and then try to take a nap. Well, that's not weird, but the feeling when you wake up is. One of my study buddies and I have both experienced this. We feel almost "drugged." Anybody else with us on this?
The other day I woke up from my 4 hour post-test nap and proceeded to stumble around the house for a good 15 minutes before I was good and awake. I couldn't hear very well, making Kris repeat things several times before they finally got through to me. What can I say? Residency is gonna be FUN :)

T minus 7 hours until the last UMC test.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

So Excited

I've just been brimming with excitement lately. Here's what all the fuss is about:


*taking the last UMC test tomorrow
*watching Marley & Me with my sis and cousin tomorrow night - a girly movie night
*going home Saturday to pick out music to play at the dinner next week
*the dinner next week
*the puppy party!

Picked up the couch today and love it. The leathers got some scuffs and scratches, but I kind of like it that way. Adds character :) Interesting story - the owner is a cousin of one of the members of The Black Crowes and apparently the couch used to belong to the Black Crowes guy. Don't think it was on the tour bus though - thank goodness! frylime probably still won't sit on it with her crazy eye herpes phobia. Ha ha ha ha

Bringin' Home This Lovely Today:



How's that for retail therapy? I decided it's time for a proper couch in this little house of ours. Our current one was free - was my sister's mother-in-law's. I made a slipcover for it that took me 2 weeks. Also had to make a makeshift cushion because one flew off while they were moving it. That cushion's always been a little smushier than the others. Nice...

As for this new couch, she's a little masculine for my tastes right now, but I'm planning on making a slipcover for the seat portion in a nice neutral color - one with a zipper that can be taken off and washed when needed. So convenient. Of course I'll be making pillows to go along with it as well. Just gotta go get some fabric. I might switch out the feet as well. The possibilities are endless.

Oh yeah, and I guess I have to take my last UMC test tomorrow - wahoo!!!

Countdown:
UMC Tests left: 1
Boards: 4
STEP: 1

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Tennis = Best Study Break Ever

So glad I got to play tennis tonight. I had to play doubles, which was weird. I ALWAYS play singles. I've played doubles once in the last year, and it was with my sister, so that doesn't even count to me. The reason I don't like it is because you have to worry about upsetting your partner every time you miss a point. With singles, you just play your game. Whatever though, it was fun and as an added bonus - we won! Wahoo!

Muy Interesante

Studying up on some Path for the test Friday and here's the 1 really interesting thing I've learned so far:

Kids with retinoblastoma (a cancer of the eye, the retina to be specific) have white eye reflections instead of red. Check it out:


Taking Bets

Who wants to bet we get our Pathology grade back before any of our other grades?

For those not in the class: (Path test is on Friday. We had all the others Mon-Wed)

Anybody Got a Piano???

I'm playing at a fancy dinner for the big money donors to UMC over the last year and can't think of anywhere to practice. Bet I could use one of the churches around here. Does UMC have a piano besides that big one in the union? Don't know about having a public jam session...

Back to study land now.

5 down, 1 to go!!!

What to Do?

I'm equal parts extremely sleepy and extremely hungry. Hmmm... Think I'll go to sleep and eat when I wake up. Night night everyone!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

My New Aasics

make me feel like I'm running on pillows - awesome!

No, Really

Today this question was on our Preventive Medicine cumulative final:

What is the percentage today (2007) of VRNG (vancomycin resistant Neisseria gonorrhea) in Mississippi?

a)6%
b)12%
c)18%
d)32%
e)50%

This would be a perfectly valid question if we'd had a lecture that stressed this. I don't ever remember seeing a slide on this, though I'm pretty sure if I had, I would have forgotten it. This whole class was full of lectures that were full of slides with percentages on them. They really think I'm going to remember some measly percentage like one of those? Those aren't even impressive. Whatever though. When in doubt I've learned to go to one extreme or the other on the answer, so I went with 50%. It's probably wrong.

It reminded me of some advice the M3s gave us the other day at a lunch meeting regarding the attending surgeons:

"If you keep answering their questions correctly, they'll just keep asking questions until you eventually get one wrong. One time they asked me how much sodium was in the bag of saline."

Runner's Log

3.00 miles; 29'36"; 292 calories burned.

Should've done more, but it got a little too dark outside for my liking. Safety first!

Can't Wait

After our 2nd test of the day I'm going to go home, take a nice long nap, then wake up and take a nice long run (as long as the sun's still up). Hurry up and get here 1:30!!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Cuteness Overload



That's my little cousin at Easter holding Penelope. He barely let her out of his sight the whole afternoon! He was very careful with her and I was impressed.

That's your happy for the day. I'm off to Biostats land.

You Know It's Bad When...

in the middle of the test, on the bottom corner of a page, you average all your test grades so far in order to calculate the how many you need to get right in order to just pass the class, not the test.

0%

The chances that I'll sleep >3hrs tonight. LAST all-nighter ever though!!! Wahoo!!!

p.s. i HATE pharm and don't understand how it takes me >12 hours to go over 6 tests when it doesn't even take me that long to take them!!!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Lunch

We had a "non-traditional" Easter lunch today. My cousin Amy and I were the masterminds and I gotta say we did pretty good. It's probably the healthiest holiday meal we've ever had and all the flavors meshed really well. The men didn't complain either. Here goes:

herbed grilled chicken breasts (and pork chops for my uncle who doesn't eat chickies)
pasta salad (not the heavy creamy kind, just a little touch of olive oil in this one)
corn salad (with cucumbers, tomato, and green onion)
grilled asparagus
zucchini and squash bake (with lots of mozzarella and ricotta -yum!!!)
grape salad (with brown sugar and pecans)
pumpkin brownies with chocolate icing
the infamous Easter bunny cake***

***This is a cake my Aunt B has made nearly every year since she had kids. It's a white cake with coconut flake topping, jelly beans, the whole nine yards. It's cut in the shape of a bunny with ears and decorated accordingly. Last year she made it for the first time in a while (for all 3 of her grandsons) and her own son had the nerve to say how nice it was and that he'd never seen a cake like it before! He was serious. Aunt B got a little miffed that he didn't remember all the years she slaved over the Easter bunny cakes. It was hilarious.

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

So Nice

to have a best friend who'll help you chop grapes without complaint and bring her niece-puppy toys.

Lucky me :)

Just Kidding

***Un-Mark your calendars!!!***

The party isn't cancelled or anything, but we do have to change the date. I informed Kris of the date last night and he casually mentioned that his family is having "Easter" next Sunday. Guess we'll change it to Friday the 24th since that's the next available date. How about 4:00? That should give everybody plenty of time after our Psych board.

In summary:
New Date: Friday April 24th
New Time: 4:00

Hope everyone has studied more than I have this weekend!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Mark Your Calendars

Sunday the 19th wins! Any preferences on times? With all the food it sounds like we're going to have I don't think it'll matter if we have it during normal dinner time hours. I think we'll manage to fill up. Y'all feel free to bring food, but you certainly don't have to. I'll be sending out a groupwise invite to everyone with directions to our house and time details once I get it sorted out. So far planning this shindig is far more interesting than studying this weekend :) Can't wait!

Poll

So, when do you guys want to get together for the puppy party? Here's our options:

Sunday April 19th - after our last test week and before boards
Friday April 24th - after our Behavioral Science board and before ICM and Pharm boards
Saturday April 25th - ditto
Thursday April 30th - after all tests and boards are over with

Here's what I'm thinking of cooking up so far:

Rum Slush (tea, frozen o.j., spiced rum, frozen lemonade)
buffalo chicken dip with veggies and chips
apples with caramel dip
cocktail wienies - or maybe I could convince Kris to grill out?
something sweet - maybe some cupcakes E?

I can't wait! I hope everyone (or at least a few people) can make it. I haven't hosted a party since I planned a Valentine's Day party in 3rd grade and NO ONE showed up. I had even made heart shaped cakes and a streamer with hearts all over it! Then I cried all afternoon. So please, please show up - unless you want me to cry all night :( Ha ha ha

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Runner's Log

2.58 miles; 25'55"; 250 calories burned

Puppy Party

Due to the number of requests to see Penelope in all her puppy glory, I think we shall have a puppy party - some time after this round of tests, maybe involving some baked goods. Maybe we'll make it a Group 5 pre M3 year-party. (But frylime, you're invited too)

Reasons I Love Kris

Upon finding a mouse stuck to one of those sticky traps in his store last week he took it outside and let it go.

Backstory: The sticky traps were in place before Kris took over the store. We both think they're inhumane. The poor little mouse's nose was bleeding from where he'd gotten it stuck and ripped himself away. He was tiny and making little whiny, squeaky noises :(

My Conversation with Doreen

So, I play tennis on a league. I'm one of the youngest players. Most of the women are in their late 20s, 30s, or 40s. They're all generally nurses, realtors, bankers, or stay-at-home moms. Last night I played Doreen, a very nice 40ish loan officer. This is how our conversation went:

Doreen, between games: So, what do you do when you're not playing tennis?

Me: Well, I'm in medical school, so I mostly just study.

Doreen: Oh, where do you go to school?

Me: In Jackson, here at UMC. (I'm AMAZED how often people ask me this. There is only ONE medical school in our entire state. The nearest one is hundreds of miles away in a neighboring state. Is guess this isn't common knowledge? Should've told her I went to school in the Caribbean but flew in for my weekly tennis match.)

Doreen: Wow, so what kind of doctor do you want to be?

Me: I'm not really sure yet.

Doreen: But a medical doctor, right?

Me: Uh, yeah.


Oh well, I guess it's better than the last lady who asked what I did. I told her I was in med school and she said - "Oh, so you're going to be a teacher?" What?!?! I wish I had a dollar for every time I said "No, I'm going to be a REAL doctor."

(Please don't take this as a mean/negative/I'm better than you post. I just think it's pretty funny the range of reactions you can get when people find out what you do - especially if you're a girl.)

Penelope, ftw

I've been meaning to let everyone know we finally gave the pup a name - Penelope!!! I know it wasn't even in the running, but as soon as Kris said that one I knew it was right - just enough sweetness and just enough spunk.

I can't get over how much smarter girl dogs are than boy dogs. This pup is tiny - 9 weeks old - can be held with one hand, and has already learned to walk over to the door when she needs to go outside to potty. AMAZING.

Also, I'm not sure if it's just because she's still a puppy and growing, but I love how you can plop her down on her big doggy pillow/bed and she'll just cuddle up and go to sleep without protest. Puppies = awesome.

P.S. - Mama, mark your calender for September 1st - September 25th. I'll be working with Dr. Holdiness (score!) and eating up all the good food you're going to cook for me and entertaining you with crazy patient stories. :)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Hmmm...

To go to class, or not go to class? That is the question... 2 days left. I've got to go to school anyway tomorrow to set up my family med rotation. Woot! So I'm guessing I'll go to class tomorrow since I'm already there. I'm not making any guarantees for Friday though.

Here's what today was like:
7:30A - drag out of bed after 5 hrs of sleep
8:30A - leave house
9:30A - delivered brownies and chocolate chip pecan bars to the genetics and pharm departments. Maybe good karma will get me good grades - or at least passing grades? It's always worked before :)
10:00A - Path lecture on surgical path, I think. He kind of rambled
11:00A - last Path lecture ever - only 20 minutes long; it was all about autopsy but not interesting. Strange, because I was looking forward to it all year and thought it would be.
12:00P - was going to go to Family Med Interest Group lunch and get free pizza but I was still stuffed from huge breakfast so I went home.
1:00P - muddled through some Biostats
2:00P - still muddling through Biostats (am probably going to fail cumulative pharm test because I'm spending hours muddling through Biostats)
3:00P - watched the NOVA documentary Doctors' Diaries on PBS.com. Harvard Medical school is scarily similar to UMC. The cramped halls, lockers, confusion, neurotic students, crackheads in the ED. It all looked familiar.
4:00P - napped (hey, I only got 5 hrs last night, no judgement!)
5:00P - napped/left for FMIG meeting
6:00P - FMIG meeting
7:30P - tennis match at Parham Bridges; I won!!! 6-2, 6-1. Woot!
9:00P - back home and back to muddling through Biostats.

Just another day. I'm really going to miss the ability to nap in the afternoon and make my own schedule next year. I doubt I'll miss much else though.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Runner's Log

6.27 miles; 1:04'9"; 607 calories burned

I didn't know how far I was running when I did this. I set out to do a 10k but had no idea exactly how far that was. Looked it up when I got in and apparently it's 6.27 miles. That's my math lesson for the day I guess.

Off to eat up all the calories I just burned :)

Derm, Really?

So, I took the same aptitude test my friend E over at frylime.blogspot.com did and here's my top 12 results:

Rank Specialty Score
1 dermatology 46
2 pediatrics 44
3 ophthalmology 44
4 plastic surgery 43
5 emergency med 41
6 gastroenterology 41
7 neurosurgery 40
8 rheumatology 40
9 pulmonology 40
10 anesthesiology 40
11 radiology 40
12 radiation oncology 40

Guess where family medicine ranked? Dead last... (Amy, I know you're smirking right now) I definitely don't want to/wouldn't even be able to if I wanted to do derm, so that's out. It's kind of funny peds is 2nd on the list because lately I've been swaying in that direction. I get WAY more excited about the younger patients that come to the family med clinic. Plus, they usually don't have HTN or diabetes yet, and if they do there's time to change it - or at least the severity of it.

Mother, I'm sure you and Auntie are excited about #8. :)

Gotta go give my last busy work presentation of the year. Wahoo!!!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Names for Consideration So Far:

Sassy
Busy
Idgy (Fried Green Tomatoes y'all)
Zooey (we both like Zooey Deschanel, the actress from Elf and other things)
Chloe

She really is very sassy. Our 1.5 yr old niece was at our house earlier and you should have seen them playing!

La la la la la

Finishing up busy work so I can get on to actual studying. Grrr....
Just finished the Prev Med presentation and now I'm working on typing up my last H&P. Ready to get this mess over with.

By Popular Demand

I walked into class today to a chorus of 6 friends saying, no not saying, DEMANDING to see pictures of the puppy. Little do they know I haven't even printed off a picture since I got my camera 3 years ago. It's pretty bad. Don't know what the aversion is. Anyway, y'all should feel very good about your peer pressuring abilities because here they are:

Sunday, April 5, 2009

i LOVE group projects

Can you sense the sarcasm? Actually it's not that bad I don't guess. I had all guys in my group this time and it went really smoothly. Except for the fact that that's all I've done this entire weekend because I had to put in 6hrs just for my part and now I have the wonderful job of compiling everyone else's info into a Powerpoint. Not sure how we're going to get through 30 slides in 10 minutes. I guess we'll just read them like our professors do. Ha.

In other exciting news - wait for it, wait for it...

We got a new puppy today! She's a black cocker spaniel and she's already christened our house with poop. She's 9 weeks and really playful. Surprisingly she hasn't cried or barked yet. I think we're going to get along just fine. Pictures and updates to come. Not sure what we're going to name her, but I'm hoping for "Sassy." All suggestions in the comments section will be considered.

Meeting with my group and getting the dog took up most of my day today. Yesterday was filled with working on my part of the group presentation and sleeping 'til noon. Friday I went to my uncle's retirement party and looked at a lecture or two. So all in all it's been a fun weekend, but not a productive weekend. I know I keep saying it, but I've GOT to get serious.

Oh yeah classmates, guess what I got to (had to?) do with my preceptor Thursday?
If you guessed a digital rectal exam, you guessed right. Fortunately it was on a female to check for occult blood so I didn't have to worry about feeling for the prostate. It wasn't nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. (I was REALLY dreading doing one of those.) Here's all the awkward "procedures" I've done so far:
*venipuncture (as of Wednesday)
*digital rectal exam (as of Thursday)
*Pap smears/bimanual pelvic exams (several during the summer with family med)
*stapled an inebriated man's huge scalp laceration (probably 4-5") back together (during the summer in the ED).

GET EXCITED:
5 more days of class
5 more tests (UMC)
4 more national boards
1 giant STEP

Friday, April 3, 2009

Busy Friday

I did end up playing tennis last night. I can't believe it didn't rain after all the forecasts said it was going to be a torrential downpour! The good part is the lady I played was really nice and easy to play with. I won 6-2, 6-2. I even aced her a few times! I really think it was due to the wind helping me out though so I can't take full credit for it.

Anyway, on to today. This morning I woke up late - surprise... (R, I think I need to borrow your clocky) I was supposed to be in lab at 8:00 and didn't get to school until 8:20, but I had yummy treats for the Pathology department :) I made cow piles. (I'm sure you've all had these - they're just those chocolate, oatmeal, and PB drop cookies) They looked so authentic since I used chunky peanut butter - ha ha ha. Pretty gross, but appropriate for Pathology. Anyway, went to the 9:00 session, no big deal.

I also left my phone at home this morning in the rush. My preceptor partner and I are supposed to meet with our preceptor and have our last H&P (history & physical) today. It's witnessed and we do it all ourselves. Should be interesting. I'm not sure if my partner even knows to show up. I've e-mailed him a few times but he usually doesn't check that and without my phone to text him, who knows.

After I get finished with that at 5-ish I get to drive to Durant for my uncle's retirement celebration dinner. He's worked for Rowan for a long time. They were about to move his rig to Mexico and he decided it was time to call it quits. I'm planning on taking champagne - half for the celebration and half to see the look on my mother and grandmother's face when I show up with it. (Love y'all - ha ha) After that I need to come home and get serious about some work! We've got so many little projects and online things to get done, not to mention studying for tests and oh yeah, STEP... So I need to get cooking on all that. Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Interesting

*** 1 alcoholic beverage per day lowers blood pressure, increases HDL (the good cholesterol) and decreases LDL (the bad cholesterol).

*** 1.5 alcoholic beverages per day increases your risk of breast cancer 1.4x.

I guess everything in moderation is true, huh? These stats are for women. Men can have 2 drinks/day to lower BP and LDL and raise HDL.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Is It Bad if...

I hope it keeps raining so our tennis match for tonight gets canceled? My arms HURT!

Want





Rivers is a very happy, playful young pup who was rescued from the side of a highway. he is full of energy, loves other dogs and children and is crate trained and working on understanding basic commands. he needs a fenced yard and a family who is committed to having him as an integral part of the dynamic. he needs people and love, in fact he craves it.

Pretty please???

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Things That Make Me Happy

* We've had our last psychiatry lecture ever.

* I just took my last pathology quiz.

* Our class learned how to draw blood today (by practicing on each other).

* This was the first year no one fainted.

* Getting stuck wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be. Guess I'm used to the big needles from giving blood :)

* I'm typing up my last transcription tomorrow.

* I had fun playing tennis tonight (even though I lost!)