Sunday, August 31, 2008

That's a lot of crap

Recent quote from a classmate in regards to learning Physiology:

"I feel like I'm trying to cram 1000 pounds of shit into a 10 pound box."

And that's just for one class.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Anatomy Lab

I had my first Anatomy Lab today (well, we did meet on Monday, but only to vaseline and wrap our cadaver-to make sure it didn't dry out). It's weird. They don't really look human. They are very gray, and kind of shriveled. But I couldn't help but think how this was someone's mother or grandmother (my group has an older female). And she let us use her body so we could learn. It seems so cruel to be cutting her open like we are, but at the same time it seems so amazingly generous on her part that she signed off before death to let us do this. I don't know that I would want someone to cut into me or one of my loved ones like this. Because we're not just cutting. We're digging and tearing to find the different muscle groups and various nerves and arteries that run to them. There is nothing gentle about what we do.

We will be having a ceremony to honor those who have given their bodies for our education later in the year. I will definitely be going.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Silver Lining*

Although I do suppose that by the time I get to do rotations a few grays might make me look a little older and wiser (and help detract from my baby face), and thus give me a boost when dealing with patients.

*And yes, that pun was totally intended.

Found:

Four more gray hairs this week alone.

I'm gonna be totally gray by the time I graduate, I just know it.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

My Apartment

So several of you have requested that I put up some pictures of my apartment, and being that it is past 11pm and I do not feel like reading up on various cell transport mechanisms, I will gladly oblige!

Here are some facts:
It is approximately 650 square feet.
I have it all to myself. No crazy roommate stories here.
While I do look out onto another housing building, I also get a partial view of a little pond and pavilion. The pond has koi, ducks, swans, and I even spotted a young heron there last week. I'll add pictures if I ever leave my apartment and remember to take my camera with me.

Here is the floor plan:

And now for some pics!

My kitchen is so small that all the cupboards are full of plates and glasses and baking stuff (okay, so maybe it's not that small- I just have a lot of kitchen stuff). Anyway, I had to convert part of my hall closet to the pantry so I would have somewhere to put non-refrigerated items.

This is looking from the front door into the living room. The kitchen is on the left and the hall closet is on the right (not visible in picture). The door that you do see on the right is to the heating/cooling unit.

This is from the same position, just looking more into the kitchen. Notice the drawers I had to buy from IKEA since the kitchen only has two, and they are tiny.


They're hard to see, but there are red arrows pointing to the two drawers I mentioned. They are not even wide enough to put a cutlery organizer in. Sheesh.


In the kitchen looking toward the living area.


My study area. The desk seemed a lot bigger before all my crap was on it.


Printer, stereo, wooden monkey...the usuals.


The couch and tv as seen from near the study area.

A better shot of the dining area. Actually, more dining goes on in front of the tv, and more dumping off of the books goes on here. Oh well.


The living area as viewed from the corner I shoved the tv into. The door between the kitchen and study area goes into the boudoir.


Into the giant bedroom....


Seriously, it is quite large. Almost as large as the living area. I don't really know what to do with all the space.



Down this hallway is the bathroom on the left and a closet on the right. The door directly in the back houses a little area in case you want to add a washer and dryer. There are some down the hall that work just fine, so I added a tension rod and made it into more closet space.


My little bathroom. This room had no drawers at all (clearly not designed by a woman), so I had to add that little plastic monstrosity you see under the counter. Not very pretty but it gets the job done. Kind of.

Some other stuff about the apartment...
It is on the third floor of a five story building.
There is a patio on the next floor up that I still have yet to check out.
My floor has study rooms, so I don't have to go all the way over the library if I need a quiet study space.
The school is right by a Navy training base, so I here the recruits during the day chanting things. I also here bugle calls and canons firing on occassion.
There are also Army and Marine posts (posts? offices? I'm not sure really, I've just seen Army and Marine signs around, too), so I am pretty much surrounded by the US Military. I'm either really safe with all this protection or really vulnerable because this would be an excellent place to attack. I prefer to think I am safe. I'm sure my parents prefer that as well.

Chicago Botanic Garden

One of the first things I did when I had free time before Orientation was visit the Garden with my mom. I thought we might be there for a couple of hours but we ended up staying the entire day! The place is huge, and beautiful. Mom was nice enough to get me a membership so I can come back and see the gardens at different times of the year or even plop myself out on one of their many grassy knolls and do some reading while the weather is still nice. Here are some of the (way too many) pictures I took that day.












(Do you see the armadillo?)













Sunday, August 17, 2008

White Coat Ceremony

After several days of Orientation we had our White Coat Ceremony. Below are a few clips from the evening.



We had to state our name and one word on what we would bring to medicine. Of course there was one guy who said "sexy back". Of course.



The hippocratic oath.



Ending remarks.


And in 200 weeks I will be a doctor. Yikes!

Getting Settled

Here are a few pics of my apartment after moving in. It pretty much looks like a disaster. Good thing Dad is handy with the tools.





His knees looked even more red in person from kneeling all day putting together furniture! Thanks Dad!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Day 4: Dixon, IL to North Chicago, IL

We slept in on the last day since we only had about a two hour drive left. I let Dad do the driving since we would be going through city traffic and he has more experience pulling a trailer.

We rolled up to school at about 10am. My move-in appointment wasn't until 3pm, but it was so quiet they let me move in immediately. We spent the rest of the day moving in and unpacking boxes. Boy do I hate moving. You never realize how much crap you have until you have to move it.

My kitchen as seen from the living area.




The living area as seen from the kitchen.



My empty boxes.


Looking back toward the kitchen and the front door (on the left). The bedroom door is on the right.


Looking into the bedroom.


The bedroom as seen from the bathroom hallway.


Poor dad. I think I tuckered him out.


Looking toward the bathroom hallway.


I'll try to post a video once everything is completely finished. I still have some pictures to hang and a few other things to do.