Chugging along

This week was pretty normal as far as life as a student goes. I went to class a lot and went to practice and didn't do much of anything else (well I spent a lot of time researching Africa, but I need to buy my plane tickets really soon). On Monday I went on NICU rounds with my Peds mentor, which was really interesting. I missed all my classes though so I am currently watching those lectures so I can study for my quiz and take it! The rest of the week was just lectures, anatomy, neuroanatomy, and there's SO MUCH INFORMATION! I think I am comprehending it okay, but you never really know I guess until you are taking the exam. I finally had a physical this week and I like my new doctor. I also set up an appointment for a few weeks from now to get all the shots I need for Africa this summer.

Sorry (Mom) for not blogging much lately. I will try to be better about it again, even if it is just a sentence. You and Molly visiting made my weeks a little more hectic and I had less time, but I'm glad you came!

Also, its currently 53ºF and sunny!! Yayyyyyy! Too bad I'm inside studying because it looks like a great day to enjoy some nicer weather. Maybe I'll sit outside on my balcony later while I do some more studying.

Here's a cute picture of a pomeranian in a swing that I found on the internet this morning. It makes me happy.

Still here!

Sorry I havent blogged in a while, but life has been crazy. Last weekend I had a great weekend with my sister who was here checking out the architecture school at Michigan. I only wish I didnt have to study and that we had more time together! Other than that we are now in our central nervous system sequence. It's our last sequence with anatomy and I only have one more dissection which is crazy! We also have a 50º in the forcast this week! Woo hoo! Spring is coming!

Fun weekend with Mom

This weekend Mom was in town and it was so great to spend time with her! We mostly did a lot of shopping and decorating my bland apartment! It looks so much more homey now and a few things are still in the works. I also took her to Detroit (her first time in the city!) and we had a great dinner at Small Plates and then saw The Book of Mormon. It was a crazy hilarious show and I definitely recommend it. The best part was it mostly tok place in Uganda! We joked a lot about how the happenings in the play are definitely going to be exactly like my experiences this summer, haha. We drove up to Troy yesterday to go to Somerset, which is a huge mall with a ton of really high end stores. So we (well I) drove a lot, shopped a lot, enjoyed our time together, and that's about all. I drove her to the airport, came home and took my CFM exam, and now I have nothing for the rest of the day.

Charity Bash

Yesterday I had class from 10am-7pm (with two short breaks) and practice until 11pm, so needless to say I was exhausted today during my 8am-3pm class! It all went well though, and we learned a little about multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis, the mental status examination, and the neurology physical exam. I am happy to report that I have great reflexes and everyone is amazed that I can open my mouth wide enough that people can view my epiglottis without a tongue depressor of any kind.

After class I watched the Biggest Loser from last night (I kind of adore that show), did some laundry, took a short nap, and then went to AMWA Charity Bash! It was such a fun event! For $5 we got dinner which was homemade buy some of our amazing classmates, desserts that were also homemade, and an ice skate rental! We skated for a while and then played a faculty vs. student game of broomball! There weren't enough faculty, so I joined their team with two of my classmates and we played with them which was really fun. It was a ridiculous game and so much fun, except for the one time I fell (you're on the ice in normal street shoes so it's not so hard to fall) and now I'm developing quite a lovely bruise on my right thigh. Oh well :) I had to leave just before the game ended since I had practice, but we were winning when I left, so I'm just going to go with that. Practice was good, but felt more tiring than usual. I'm not going to be able to go again until Monday though so now I get some resting time.

Most importantly my mom leaves on her flight tomorrow night! Well, its technically tonight here now, but still tomorrow for her! I can't wait until she gets here so we can do fun things!

Done!

A few hours late, but I'm officially done with my Immunology sequence and have the whole day off tomorrow! I can't believe that we've completed so many of our sequences for the year already! All we have left is CFM (one week now, and two weeks at the same time as embryo), Central Nervous System, Infectious Disease and Histopathology, Embryology, and finally Growth and Development. Then it's time for summer! Just under three months left of first year! 12 weeks exactly and counting :) Eight of them will be our hardest yet, but bring it on!

Immunology finals

This weekend is another exciting finals weekend yay. I had my practical yesterday (neck anatomy) and I passed. It wasn't my best practical (hard to do that when I've gotten 100% on two of them), but I also didn't feel as prepared this go around so I wasn't too surprised. I will have to get back on track for the next sequence because it is our last three weeks of anatomy ever! It's amazing to think that we are almost all the way done with anatomy this year. Anyways, today I plan on heading to the library or the LRC and studying all day, so life won't be too exciting. Mom comes in less than a week and then Molly comes the week after! Yay!

Adios old couch!

The old couch is gone and I have my dining area back, hallelujah! So nice to have space and be able to walk around again.

In other news, my old application for the Uganda program that was "not accepted" was officially changed to "accepted" today! I can't wait to spend the summer in Africa, and I still get to go to the beach!!

Life otherwise is same old same old. Had class today, and a clinic visit with my FCE couple that went very well. Tomorrow is the last day of Immunology before the exam opens. The practical is Friday so we have a practice practical tomorrow. Good times.

Arizona

Over the weekend I was in Arizona for a water polo tournament at Arizona State. It was a crazy whirlwind weekend, but so much fun! I flew to Vegas on Friday night after my quiz and stayed at the Paris on the strip. I only wish I had actually gotten to explore a little bit while I was there! After a few hours of sleep in my nice hotel room I headed back to the airport and flow to Phoenix. My flight arrived early and I got my rental car with no problems and headed to the hotel to meet my teammates who all arrived the day before.

On Saturday we played San Diego State and UC San Diego. We beat SDSU by one goal, and then beat UCSD in the second quarter of sudden death over time (the fourth quarter of total overtime). It was a crazy game! In between our games we also watched the ASU-UCLA varsity game and ASU beat UCLA for the first time ever. It was quite an exciting game. When all our games were over for the day we relaxed at the hotel for a bit and then all split up in cars to go get dinner. My car had Fatburger, which was delicious.

Sunday morning we started out with a hard fought game against Arizona State. W were tied through 3, but kind of fell apart in the fourth and ended up loosing by 4, which was awful. W didn't play that well, but life goes on. We played University of Arizona after that and won by two and I scored two goals in that game! After the games we went to In N Out for lunch, then hung out at a park for a while, did a little shopping where all I bought was candy (oops), and then had Whole Foods for dinner. I hung out at the hotel with my teammates until it was time to get to the airport and then returned the car and got on my red eye, which I miraculously slept the entire time on (I was dead tired).

When I got back to Detroit it was freezing (12 degrees as opposed to the 80 degrees it was in Arizona) and I was definitely not dressed for the weather. I scraped the ice off my windshields and drove myself back to Ann Arbor all before 7am. I was, of course, extremely tired at this point so I took a nap and got to class by 11am for histology.

Overall I had a great and very warm weekend! It was fun to play some new teams too. I also missed playing outside, but I don't really miss dealing with the sun in my eyes during games. Now it's onto the final week on immunology and then CFM is next week, which means Mom comes to visit a week from Thursday! So excited to see her, just wish I could see everyone else and the pups too. At least I will be in CA in August for my birthday and the beach!

Oh yea, and my summer plans fell into place on Sunday too! The director of the program I wanted to do this summer emailed me because one of my friends decided not to go and now I will be spending the summer doing work in Uganda! I'm really excited to be getting a new experience and to go to a new country and continent. Yay!

My team!

Basking in the Arizona sunset before I flew home

Immuno week one in the books

The first week of our two week immunology sequence is complete! I inished my quiz this evening after stressing all day about whether or not I had time to adequatly prepare, but I ended up doing quite well, woo hoo! Last night I stayed up until around 1:30am studying since I knew I would be tight one time today. After a short sleep I got up early and got ready for my day, packed some of my bag for the weekend, and headed to school early so I could get a little more studying in. We had three lectures today, and I basically kept studying in between each one. Really exciting stuff. After lecture I went home and you guess it, I kept studying! Once again someone was supposed to come but my couch and disappeared from the face of the earth suddenly. So angry. Anyways, I studied until around  2 something when I got ready to meet with the couple my classmate and I are paired with for our Family Centered Experience. We had a nice meeting with them and then my classmate dropped me off at the LRC where we take out quizzes and I finished studying and took my quiz. I even had enough time to actually eat dinner and finish getting my things together!

After I was ready and packed up I headed to the airport. The traffic was light and I parked and got to the terminal quickly. I even walked straight through security with no line! We boarded on time, but then sat for a long time because some part of the plane was broken and they needed to replace it and then fill out the paperwork. We eventually did take off though and now I'm on the plane using the free Internet I got a code for! Yay for saving $8! Not that I would have spent it to eat Internet anyways. So I'm getting into Vegas quite late and have a quick turnaround in the morning. I just wish I got to enjoy the fact that I'm staying on the strip for a few hours tonight! After a quick sleep I go back to the airport and fly to Arizona for my tournament! It's going to e a fun and exhausting weekend, but most importantly I will again be WARM! Can't wait!