Ta-Da!

I'm back! Long hiatus this time, huh? Well it's been a long month.

I'm finally done with year one! I'm now 1/4 of a doctor, although I feel like a lot less. The last three weeks of class were intense but actually really satisfying. We were finally learning things that are directly applicable to the practice of medicine, which was a nice feeling. Drugs, diseases, clinical diagnosis, that sort of thing. The exam was a bitch though. Three and a half hours, 39 effing pages! I'm still having stress dreams about it, which is just silly.

After a night of celebratory partying, a day of recovery and bbqing, and a day of packing, I set off for New York with two cats and a car full of crap. It was a long trip but actually very relaxing. It's a beautiful drive through Alabama, Virginia, etc, and it's not often that you get 20 hours to just think, listen to music, and catch up on phone calls.

I got lost trying to get to Brooklyn, of course. It was inevitable. But I finally found my way to the apartment and, even though it's teeny tiny, I'm thrilled! I certainly wasn't picky while Andrew was looking for a place to live this summer, but he hit the nail on the head! We're living in Park Slope, which is a cute little neighborhoody neighborhood in Brooklyn. It's full of families, babies, dogs, cute shops, and most importantly, about 130 restaurants within a 20 min walk. Oh baby. And the apartment is a tiny little studio with a tiny little kitchen, but there's tons of sunlight and bookshelves and closet space. Pictures to come.

So now I'm here, and I spent last week decompressing and being daunted by the thought of New York spread out all around me. Meaning I vegged. Lots of The West Wing and sleeping and wandering around, trying to remind myself that I don't actually have any money, and the tiny amount I have does not need to be spent in all of the boutique-y shops that stretch for blocks and blocks. I'm so happy to be here for two whole months with Andrew, and I hope I don't drive him crazy (and broke) dragging him to all sorts of restaurants and shows around the city. This weekened Andrew and I drove up to Stamford, CT for my girlfriend Kathleen's BIG WEDDING BLOWOUT and had a wonderful time. The weekend deserves an entire post with pictures, so I won't go into it just yet. But suffice it to say that it was huge and tons of fun.

I know this has been a long and not incredibly interesting post, but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. I just wanted to get the nitty gritty updates out of the way, so now we can move on to more exciting things, with interesting stories and pretty pictures.

Until then, how about some nice shots of Romania? Vic over at Lost went on vacation, and even though it sounds like she had mixed feelings about the trip, the pictures are breathtaking.

Ok you beautiful people, I'm off to do something with my life. Or at least brush my hair. Let me tell you, after a day of being polished and poufed by hair and makeup people (being a bridesmaid definitely has it's perks) and feeling like a movie star, going back to jeans and my normal messy hair is kind of a let down. But I'll try to pull myself together. Hope it's sunny wherever you are!

Trout

I know this is a cop out. Where have I been all your lives, right? It's the home stretch kids. Less than a week and I'll regain a little time and sanity (hopefully). I know I keep saying this med school thing is a piece of cake, but at this point in the game, it's burn out time. I promise to write a beautiful, eloquent post summing up my first year and all of my feelings blah blah blah...

But right now, after eight solid hours of studying, and a bottle of wine to forget it all, I wish that I was here:

Trout fishing in Tierra del Fuego. Anybody want to join me?

The new Boy Scouts

Training to fight terrorists. What happened to Swiss army knifes and building campfires? Read about it here.

POD snippets

A few good ones from the NY Times' pictures of the day. My favorite:

Note the camo-clad accordian player. He looks none too happy, although he does have a very serious job to attend to, so I guess it's forgiveable.

Well that one's just adorable. Sweet dreams folks.

Bowie

Hi y'all. How's everyone's Thursday going? Tomorrow's the end of neuro, and instead of studying, I'm drinking beer and watching Northern Exposure. I know it's cliche, but I just can't get enough of the medical shows. And I must be absorbing something useful, right? Something that will help me on my exam tomorrow?


Instead of writing something of substance, thought I'd share a little vintage Bowie with you. Isn't his hair awesome? Photo via the fabulous bitches over at fabulon.

Distractions

Hey guys! Two more days until the end of neuro (hence the absence)! It's been a long couple of weeks, let me tell you. Weeks, months, year. But our test is Friday, and then we get a whole weekend before we start our second year classes. Two measly days. I guess we'll just have to make them count.

I'm deeply absorbed in things like visual pathways, the frontal lobe, the auditory system, etc, and as such I don't have much space in my brain for any other types of thinking. My internet wanderings are basically restricted to pretty pictures and bright colors these days, but let's see if I can dredge up anything of interest to share with you guys.

• The nation's first face transplant patient showed the world her new face yesterday! Isn't medicine exciting?

• There's a pretty sweet sale going on over at LAMA for the next week. If I had two well-placed trees in my backyard I would buy one of their bitchin' hammocks.

• This adorable cat needs a home! Anyone in the DC/Baltimore/Philly area have one for her? Karla, this means you.
  

• Bulgarian soldiers get to wear sweet hats.

• Y'all know about FML, right? Vaguely funny, but not nearly as hilarious as texts from last night. It reminds us that we're not alone in our embarrassing drunken debauchery. A classic: "(703): I wish I could be a nicer person. Or a more sober one."
  

• Looking for a new way to waste time on the internet? Here's a word game for you. Not as good as crosswords, but still maddeningly distracting.

Well there you go! Hope it provides you a little distraction from the important things in life.

Shortage

Good morning folks! Thought I'd share a story with y'all while I wait for my bagel to toast.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/health/policy/27care.html?_r=1&hp

Not enough docs (old news), so lots of talk about bumping up enrollment in residency programs, increasing medicare payments to GPs, and expanding the National Health Service Corps. Good news for you and me Nick!

Ok, have a great day. Watch out for swine flu!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! Yes, it's a totally hippied-out, made-up holiday, but it's a good one! In honor of the day and our lovely planet, take a few minutes to cogitate on your favorite place on Earth. Anybody want to share? Here are a few of mine:

The pond back home in the summer--including dogs and friends.

Hot tub with a beautiful view of the canyon.

The log house up at the ranch. (photo credit to David!)

On the road going anywhere, especially with Laurel in the other seat.

Shelter Cove, and anywhere on the Pacific Coast really (up North, anyway). (photo credit to David)

In the air.

Eating breakfast with my family on the porch.

And last but not least, my new backyard. With Andrew sitting next to me, drinking drinks and smoking a cigar, in the evening with the fairy lights lit overhead (and plenty of bug spray).

Where's your favorite place to be?

Green Porno

Oh my goodness, hold on to your seats. Instead of studying neuro, I've been learning all about insect sex from Isabella Rossellini. Have you heard about her new project, Green Porno? Basically, she acts out the mating habits of various critters--earthworms, spiders, flies, whales, limpets--in one to two minute videos. You can read a bit about it in this New York Magazine article, and I have to tell you, it's the best thing I've seen in a while. For one thing, who hasn't been in love with Isabella Rossellini for years? She's gorgeous, talented, an amazing actress, raises seeing eye dogs and is an all around wonderful person. These movies raise her to a whole new level in my book. She somehow manages to make even earthworm sex sexy.



Make sure you check out the earthworm and snail videos, and the death scene at the end of the bee. And the whale. Oh jeez, just watch all of them! You'll learn so much. The first "season" is mostly insects (it's the best!), and the second delves into the wide world of sea creatures.



Watch them all here. See? My blog is so educational!

Slow Loris

I'm having another one of those days people. Lackluster, unmotivated, blargh. I made potatoes gratin and it failed in a very real way, so I decided to watch Dead Poets Society to cheer myself up. Big mistake. Have you guys SEEN that movie? It's so happy-go-lucky for an hour and a half, and then BLAM! What gives?

Luckily, none of that matters a teeny tiny bit. Because the wide reaches of the internet have provided once again. The heavens opened up and sent down this video to shoo all my cares away.




I know, I know, it's too good to be true. That, my friends, is a slow loris, the strangest, cutest little prosimian you'll ever see. And he likes to be tickled. My day is made.

(video found via petunia face--she always comes through)

Borneo

Oooo....check out this beautiful slideshow about Borneo over at the nytimes.

I can't tell you how badly I wish I was tromping through the Borneo rainforest looking for monkeys right now, instead of trying to settle down and study. Stupid med school.

Oysters

I had a really vivid dream the other night about eating tons and tons of oysters, and now I can't stop craving them! Does anybody know the best place to get oysters in New Orleans?

(fresh steamed oysters, via flickr)

Cats and brains

My goodness. Want to hear about my day? Yes, I'm sure you would be THRILLED to hear me complain for a while, and being the lovely obliging girl that I am, I'll indulge you!

I spent four hours studying today after class. Four hours! What a good student, right? I was feeling very proud of myself as I drove home, thinking about how nice it was that I would just get to relax all night since I'd gotten my studying out of the way early. So I pull up, and there's Conrad (scroll down for a picture) waiting on the sidewalk. Nothing new there. But when I got out of the car and leaned down to pet him, I realized that he had a HUGE GAPING HOLE on the very TOP OF HIS HEAD!! Blarg!! The fur was all matted down with gooey pink cloudy stuff around the cavernous wound, and I immediately thought of brain juice. Brain juice. Even though I've been poking at brains for two weeks and learning all of their ins and outs and know perfectly well that there is not, actually, any such thing as brain juice.

But my suspicions seemed confirmed when I (irrationally) thought that he was acting funny, and started trying to figure out exactly which of his gyri were leaking out of the top of his head to make him so loopy. Panic time!

Clearly I had to rush him to the hospital, which I did. I was hoping that my favorite vet would be there to give me a price break, but you can't worry about these things when you have a cat leaking brain juice all over your car seat! So off we went (I figured I could get there faster than an ambulance), trying to keep myself from bursting into tears. I know he's technically just a stray, but he's fabulous! He's always around to get some lovin', even when food isn't involved. He needs me.

I managed to keep the waterworks back long enough to talk coherently to the ladies at the front desk, who seemed, if I may say so, a little too calm for the gravity of the situation. But they were very quick, and soon we were in an exam room being fussed over. Whew. Turns out it wasn't brain juice (the doc was kind enough not to tell me I'm an idiot), but it was definitely a bummer of an injury. Once he got it all shaved and cleared out, it looked like a gigantic...well, hole in his scalp. The lady at the front desk said she thought a mocking bird must've swooped down and pecked him (?), to which the vet said "Yeah, or maybe it was Somali pirates" (insert "you're looney toons" look here).

But the best part is that the wound needs to be flushed twice a day. I figured, no big deal! Just squirt a little sterile shit on it and you're good. But when I asked him to show me, he stuck the syringe INTO THE HOLE and wiggled it around. We're talking between scalp and skull. Should be a fun morning.

Anyway, home I came ($60 lighter) to put the invalid to bed in the laundry room (his customary home). I filled up his food and water bowl, but when I went to turn off the hose, it would not. turn. off. At all. I know I'm not the butchest little blonde around, but I know how to turn off a damn hose, and this spigot was having none of it. I twisted, I pried, I pliered, all to no avail. And then my pliers broke. This was clearly not my afternoon. Luckily my landlady came to the rescue (she was there in ten minutes--how awesome is that?) and saved the backyard from being completely flooded by working magic with tools that I've never even heard of.

I decided to end the night by eating as much of a large peperoni pizza as I could and guzzling beer, which has worked wonders for my psyche. What is it about highly processed pork products that always puts a smile on my face?

Thanks for listening. You were a very satisfying audience. Here's a picture that a) always cheers me up and b) reminds me why I never mind spending lots of money on vet bills to keep my kittens kickin'.

(via you-know-where)

ee cummings

I woke up this morning to an poem in my inbox from Laurel. One of my very favorite ee cummings poems! How did she know? Must be a sister thing. I thought I would share it with you.

since feeling is first

since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
- the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for each other; then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

e. e. cummings

Egg Roll

Just wanted to share a little more Obama love with y'all! Have you checked out this picture from the White House Easter Egg Roll?

By far my favorite picture of the day--the rest is just a lot of bad news. Apparently all of the microphones cut out on the Pres, so that's him trying to speak into the Easter Bunny's ear. Isn't he cute? The transcript of the first couple's remarks is pretty great too. Yoga? Dancing? Healthy food? The White House is suddenly yuppie central. Isn't it super?

'Sup

I know this was SO last week, but did y'all see the picture of the Obamas with Queen Elizabeth?


The mighty Obamas TOWER over the itsy bitsy Queen of England...wahaha!!! Not only does this picture make them look like giants, but don't they look uncomfortable? You get the feeling that the Obamas are very chilled out and groovy, and they're chaffing a little at the stuffy Queen and her prim manners. Also, the Queen is a hands-off kinda gal, it turns out. No hugs for her.

What's everyone up to this weekend? I spent the day scrubbing the shit out of my house so that I can finally relax in it. I was putting it off until after my exam (which went pretty well, by the way), so I went crazy today. Why is house cleaning so calming?

The high seas

Just stopping in to say hello--big neuroanatomy test tomorrow morning, and then free at last, free at last. Should be a doozy, but I'm almost studied out so there's a bed in my near future.

How riveting has this story been? It reminds me of that scene in The Life Aquatic, when the pirates take over the Belafonte and kidnap the bond stooge (although I imagine things unfolded a little differently in this real-life adventure). Check it out if you haven't already!

Back in black

Whew, I'm back! Sorry about the hiatus folks. Last week my computer died. DIED. Wouldn't even start. It knew I was unhappy with it, and it just flipped me off and shut down. So it took a much needed vacation to the Toshiba factory in Kentucky, where they whipped it back into shape and sent it home. All in less than a week! Amazing. I would've been completely lost without a computer all that time, but my dear friend Matthew came to my rescue and lent me his. What a guy!

Anyway, back to the ol' routine, thank goodness. Brand new classes though! Yesterday we started our six week neuroanatomy course, and my oh my. I'm glad for the change of pace, but wow-ee do we have a lot to learn! Did you know that each one of those little brain squigglies has a name? Yes it does. And a number. Good times.

So blogging my be spotty for a while (not that that's anything new). Also, Andrew's visiting this weekend! I'm dragging him to a huge garage sale Saturday morning and to Med Prom Saturday night--never thought I would have to relive prom, but at least there's an open bar at this one. Should be a kick. And Sunday is the strawberry festival, for strawberry shortcake and fun in the sun. Anybody else have fun plans for the weekend?

Here are some great pictures of David Bowie way back in the day to put smiles on your lovely faces.

(via fabulon)

Wasn't he pretty?

Wild things

Hey all! Guess what! This is the 100th post on my blog. Pretty cool, huh?

I'm having a lazy study day here in rainy New Orleans. I woke up around 3am this morning to a vicious thunder storm--little Stevie was none too happy, never having heard thunder before. She curled up close to Stokely, who stayed fast asleep through the whole thing. It's still raining off and on today, with more thunder likely this afternoon, which makes it a very nice day to stay in and study for my exams tomorrow. And after that...no more histo and physio! Woohoo! I need a change of pace, and even though I know neuro is going to be a bitch, I'm looking forward to it.

In other news...the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are is finally up! Check it out:



I am so excited! I can't believe we have to wait till October, but the movie looks like it'll be completely worth the wait. See some beautiful stills from the movie here.

Another one

I'm having a real day, let me tell you. Can't put my finger on what's wrong. My fuse is very short, and I think I need a change of scenery, at least in the metaphysical sense. Do you ever get tired of thinking the same thoughts every day, walking down the same mental roads? I don't like where my mind is taking me today. Time for a change, people.

(photo via lolita)