Anatomy studying!

I spent my entire day today studying anatomy in the anatomy labs pretty much. Now I'm eating some dinner and then we have an IM inner tube water polo game in an hour and a half! My parents also got to Germany today. So jealous they are traveling! Their pictures are so beautiful and I wish I was there too. Follow them at Web on the Move if you want to learn about their trip down the Danube from Germany to Hungary. Tomorrow is the anatomy practical and some time this weekend I will take the written final, but probably not until Saturday this time around. 

It's finals week again

It's that time again, time for a sequence final. Tomorrow our MSK final opens and Friday is our big practical with oh so much to learn. This week has been a weird mix of still feeling like I'm on break, and random sort of unnecessary stress. We got to scrimmage at polo practice on Monday which was nice, and today I didn't have any class since I was not in the dissecting group which was great because I stayed home and got some work on on my two essays that are due on Friday. One of them is basically done and the other one is awful and the root of much of my stress. I thought I was done writing essays on books before college even ended! Guess I was very wrong. It doesn't even have to be that long, but I'm totally out of things to say after a half page. hopefully with some time I can figure it out. My final is more important right now.

In more fun news I got to go to a prenatal appointment yesterday and meet the mother I will be following through her pregnancy through the Prenatal Care Project group that I signed up for. She was really nice and everything is going great! Today I met with my peds mentor at the NICU and got to see a bunch of little babies. I saw a roughly 500g baby who was so crazy small! The NICU was quite interesting and was very calm while I was there, making it a little difficult to imagine the intricacies of working with such sick babies! It was cool and my mentor is awesome.

Now I need to get back to the grind. Learning some anatomy and going over things from before break so I can ace my final (hopefully)!

Back in Michigan

Yesterday I got up early to shower and pack before heading to my grandparents house to watch the Michigan-Ohio game. Michigan played kind of sloppy, but at least we are going to a bowl game while they are sitting at home and watching us. After the game it was time to head to the airport to fly back to Michigan. I got to Oakland Airport and through security with no problems and flew to LAX and on to DTW. One of my classmates happened to be in the row in front of me on the second flight which was really random. I ended up buying an internet pass for my phone so I could at least read about the Stanford-UCLA game during the flight, and Stanford won!! We are going to the Pac-12 Championship and playing UCLA again on Friday night! So exciting. The flight was uneventful and I got a lot of reading for class done and got back to my condo around 12:45AM. It is definitely cold here, but there was no snow when I got home. When I woke up, however, I saw my first snow of the winter, though it all melted away by noon. I did get a picture though! Today I unpacked (can't believe I did it so soon, it usually takes me WAY too long to unpack), watched Hook, finished my book, and I still have most of my day to go! I think I'll go get some groceries and some Christmas decorations for my apartment so it can be festive for the holidays.

Uneventful Black Friday

This morning dad was golfing and mom was working so I pretty much just hung around and did some reading. I took an hour long nap on the couch with the pups too which was lovely. We attempted to go shopping in the afternoon but I was pretty uninspired and only ended up getting some socks at REI (but I really did new some warm socks). We've otherwise just been watching more sports and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. Tomorrow it's back to Michigan where I hear it snowed today. Guess I'm going back to the beginnings of the real winter. Can't believe it's time to go already, so fast! At least I have lots to look forward to in the next month: Toronto, NYC, and back home for Christmas! Can't wait!

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving I am thankful that I was able to spend my day with my family even though we don't always agree on what kind of mashed potatoes we should have (the answer is always homemade by the way haha). I had a great meal with great people and it was a lovely day overall. Lots of football, Macy's parade (which my sister got to go to, so jealous), cooking, and more. Can't beat a day like that, thank goodness it comes around every year!

Time off

It has been so nice to have some time off this week, though the things I need to do (like read a book and write an essay on it for school) are still lingering in my head a bit. I got my flu shot on Monday (not so fun) and went sailing on Tuesday (fun), and went to Stanford today to visit with an old friend (also fun). Going back to Stanford is always so strange because there is always a new building that pops up here or there. I was thinking about what Stanford looked like my freshman year and how many of the current building didn't exist then and it's absolutely astounding to think about! Besides all that stuff I've done I've spent some time relaxing at home and just hanging out. Can't wait for Thanksgiving tomorrow and our ridiculous 20-lb turkey for the five of us (I guess my dad was very insistent that we have left overs, haha).

Me and Hendry (Tanzanian ER resident) on the sail

Home at last!

Yesterday I finally got home to CA for Thanksgiving break! I started my day by extensively cleaning my apartment and doing my laundry so I had a nice place to come back to on Saturday. I also had lunch with one of my friends in downtown Ann Arbor, followed by some delicious froyo. I decided to drive to the airport since the bus back to Ann Arbor doesn't run when I will arrive back in Michigan and it all went very smoothly. I had one layover at LAX before I arrived in Oakland and drove with my mom and puppies back to Walnut Creek. It's so nice to be at home and it definitely doesn't feel like I've been gone for three and a half months! There are no lights outside my window here and it is amazing!

Koa

Sleepy Max

STANFORD!!!

Stanford WINS!! We beat the Ducks and are leading the Pac-12 North Division! Super pumped for the UCLA game next week now. I hope my airplane has TVs!

Final game in the Big House 2012

Today was the final home game of the season. I woke up much too early I think and sat around until it was time to get ready to walk to the Big House. It was a noon time start so I left around 10:45 and walked to the stadium. I found a $2 hotdog outside the stadium so I took that opportunity to not pay move that twice the price for something to eat inside the stadium. We easily beat Iowa and the weather was nice, so it was a fun afternoon. After the game I walked back home and then watched the USC/UCLA game. UCLA won so no matter what happens Stanford never has to play USC again this year. That's great news because that game has been historically close and I don't need it to go the other way if a Rose Bowl berth was on the line! I fell asleep for much of the second half because I was beat from standing all afternoon and walking 4 miles roundtrip to and from the stadium, but I woke up to see the last five minutes. Now it's time to start getting ready to head to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Stanford-Oregon game with my friend who went to Oregon and a few other classmates. Woo! I'm also all checked in for my flight tomorrow! Can't wait!

Fall Ball

Yesterday was a great day for many reasons! It started out really stressful, because I had a lot to get done and I wasn't sure I was going to have time for it all. I began my day by going to a mandatory small group session for our musculoskeletal sequence. It wasn't too bad, but finding the room was for some reason incredibly difficult. It was way off in a part of the school that we never go.

After small group I had to get ready for my visit with my FCE family. It was our second visit of the year, and now that it's done it means I can write my essays for it over Thanksgiving break (that is one a happy point). I also have to write and essay analysis of a book for FCE over the break. I though English class was over, boo. Anyways, our FCE visit was great, I really like the couple we were paired up with. They had us come to their company and gave us a tour and served us lunch and it was so nice of them. They also gave us a lot of different handouts and a book which was really nice of them as well.

After our FCE visit I went home and got down to business studying. Quizzing on Friday was the one thing yesterday that I wasn't sure I would actually be able to fit in, and because today is football Saturday I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to quiz until Sunday. I studied all my anatomy, histology, and lectures from the week and ended up being ready to take my quiz by 4PM! They opened the quiz two hours early this week because of our Fall Ball, which was awesome and I definitely took advantage. This was one of our shorter quizzes, but I got a 100% so it was a great way to end the week of school and start Thanksgiving break!! This was definitely the point in the day that it because totally awesome :)

Once I got home from taking my quiz I got ready for Fall Ball, which is a med school event where we all dress up and there is dinner and dancing and stuff. We had a really great time and I'm really glad I got everything done I needed to for the weekend so I could enjoy myself and not think about quizzing!! We tried to go out to the bars after Fall Ball, but all the lines at the places we wanted to go were crazy long (which I don't really get because this is Ann Arbor, not NYC) so eventually three of us got bored and decided it was a better idea to just go home and go to bed, and might I say that was a great decision. I got to get to sleep at a semi-reasonable time and now I am all ready for football in the Big House!! We are playing Iowa at noon today and it's our last home game of the season. Should be fun! I also plan to watch the Stanford-Oregon game tonight with one of my good friends who went to Oregon, so today is looking to be another great day of Thanksgiving break!

Also, the M2s are very jealous of our week off since they didn't get the week off last year, and they don't get the week off this year and have to go to class Monday-Wednesday. I must say that I am super happy we lucked out and get this break and I plan to enjoy it to its fullest extent because I am not expecting to get it again next year! ONE day until I am home in California and I cannot wait to see my family. So excited and so happy!

Long anatomy lab

Today was another crazy one. I got up before class and studied the anatomy for today's lab and then went to lecture and our weekly career seminar, which was on pediatrics this week. We then had anatomy small group and lab, which isn't atypical at all. Little did we know what we would be in for today. Our small group session was normal and I felt like I had a decent grasp of the material. We got to lab and started our dissection and it ended up taking four and a half hours so we were there forever. I am so appreciative of the donors, but sometimes I think it would be nice to just have a break. My hands and back were so tired and hurt really bad, but we finally finished around 6:05PM.

I had a few minutes after class to run home before I had to be back at school for two hours for another TweetChat. We always have fun at those, so it was nice to be hanging out with people and answering questions on Twitter. Now I really need to be doing a million things and it's quite overwhelming, but I just need a break for a bit. I had to miss practice tonight because I am so tired, but luckily tomorrow I don't really have to be at school at all, so I have time to catch up on a few things that I really need to get done.

And as to the countdown, FOUR days! 

This week feels too busy!

Today was pretty long. I was basically gone all day and it drives me crazy when I don't have any downtime. I feel like there is way too much going on this week, but I guess all things will get done eventually and then I have a week off finally. Just gotta get through the week! FIVE more days!

On an unrelated note, I made muffins and they are delicious and dangerous because I just want to keep eating them. I can't decide if it was a bad call or an amazing one.

The countdown is ON!

Only SIX more days until I am at home snuggling with my puppies and chillin' with my fam. I am so excited to give my brain a full week off and lounge at home. This week feels really stressful because I have some things I need to get done and I just don't want to start them, so I have kept putting them off. It's amazing how fast things creep up on you. I had water polo today, which was good, really just a swim workout though. I meet the synchro coaches here and I'm pretty sure they though I was crazy for just walking up to them after their practice. Its weird watching synchro practice and not being a part of it, even after four and a half years. I can't say I want to be a part of it, but there are some things I miss. Basically anything not boring and not hard, haha. I would love to just mess around and do some rocket and elements, and maybe a little bit of routine, but not enough that I want to join a team again. I wish one of the show groups was around here, but alas I live in the middle of nowhere when it comes to productions. Of course they start up a norcal and NYC group as soon as I move to the midwest. Anyways, I need to get to bed, but I'm not tired at all so this is a problem. Guess I'll just have to do my best so I can get through tomorrow's craziness (and the next four days of craziness after that!). Night!

Sunday quizzing woes

Today was my second Sunday quiz and I was again reminded of why I do not quiz in Sundays. I basically spent most of my day studying and the. I took my quiz around 5pm this evening. The few hours after the quiz were pretty stressful. I got to my water polo game and realized I forgot any form of ID to check in so I had to drive all the way home to grab it and attempt to get back in time. Luckily I made it, but after the game had begun. A bunch of people didn't show up so we played the whole game down two people (we played 5 vs. 7), and we ended up loosing which was sad.

After the game a few of us got some froyo and a sandwich to go. When I got home I rented a movie on demand (Bachelorette) and relaxed with a blanket on my couch. Just one more week now until thanksgiving and my first time home since July!!

Football Saturday

Today was another great college football Saturday! I didn't get to go to the Michigan game today because my friend was in town and she didn't want to go to the game, but I still got to watch some of the game. Michigan ended up winner a thriller in overtime which was awesome. Now we just need to win out and hope Penn State stays up over Nebraska and we can be in the championship game! Stanford also just won over Oregon State in another really good and really close game!

Besides football I showed my friend around Ann Arbor today and we walked around school, central campus, and downtown. We stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the end of the Michigan game and to have an appetizer, which was fun as well. I hadn't seen a lot of main campus either so it was nice to see (though I'm sure it made me a terrible tour guide when I could barely name any building). 

The rest of the night will be spent with friends, and tomorrow is a study day since I still need to take my quiz this weekend.

Happy Birthday Molly!!

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was gone most of the day, so a great big HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY to my sister yesterday! I hope you had a fantastic day and I hope my card came in the mail for you too! Can't wait to go Christmas shopping with you in NYC next month, and hope there aren't too many more storms out there after the hurricane and blizzard this past week. Love you!

MSK

Yes, our current sequence and I share initials! Clearly we were meant to be. We started the musculoskeletal sequence on monday and it's made for quite a hectic week. We have had anatomy three times in the last four days (all involving the arm) and there is just so much to learn! I think I am finally getting the brachial plexus down, so the arterial supply to the limb is up next. Other than anatomy we are learning some muscle physiology and metabolism. So fun to be learning glycolosis and the citric acid cycle yet again (can you sense the sarcasm there). Basically there is a lot more memorization of information this sequence so it's a little different than our other three thus far.

Besides school I have been doing my normal stuff. An M4 led a clinical case for us on Monday night that we talked about, and I had water polo on my normal Monday and Wednesday. I watched a mixture of the election and a movie on Tuesday night, and my friend stayed with me last night and will be back again tomorrow night after her interview in Rochester Hills. Tonight I'm hosting an applicant interviewing here. Fun times.

Just over a week until I get to visit CA for a week! Can't wait to see my family and my puppies!!

Happy Birthday Christine!

A big happy birthday to my cousin Christine who is out in Scotland! Miss you and hope you had a fantastic birthday! Can't wait to see you at Christmas!

Emergency Medicine Day

First of all I successfully passed the cardiovascular/respiratory sequence, including a 100% on my anatomy practical, woo!

This morning I went to the hospital for EMIG Day (EMIG stands for Emergency Medicine Interest Group). It's a day put on by the interest group and people in the emergency department at UMich to get some exposure to the field and get some hands on practical experience. The beginning of the day started with a short lecture about emergency medicine and then we split off into groups to go to different stations.

My first station was IV. I was basically freaking out from the very beginning because I hate needles going into me and we would be practicing on each other. I lucked out however and got paired with an M4 who didn't need practice and my arm was spared from pain. This did not make it an easy station for me however, as I hit some unexpected obstacles. I felt really bad to begin with because I felt awful putting a needle into someone who didn't need it just for practice. Silly, I know, but I felt bad anyways. I then very successfully placed the IV on my very first try, yay! During the placement I started feeling a little light headed and hot, and by the end of the placement I felt like I was going to puke, pass out, or both. Luckily I did neither and after putting my head down on the table for a bit and a cup of water I was fine again, but the feeling was awful. I am definitely going to need to get over that in the near future!!

Out next station was ultrasound, and that was pretty cool. We got to do some ultrasound on each other to look at our hearts, livers, kidneys, bladders, etc. I even got to see my inferior vena cava change diameter with each breath to determine if blood was flowing properly which was cool. After ultrasound we went to a wilderness medicine activity where we learned about assessing a patient in the wilderness and did a little simulation in which I was the victim of falling out of a tree. We then got to tour the Survival Flight helicopter, which was really cool! It's a huge and very high tech helicopter and the things Survival Flight is able to do are awesome. After that we went to another station and learned about backboards and neck collars and intubation. I think practicing the intubation on the dummies was my favorite part of the day.

So I had a really cool morning and I'm glad I went (and extra glad I didn't get an unnecessary IV this morning). Now it's time for football!! Michigan is beating Minnesota at the half and Stanford plays later today. Go Blue and Go Card!