Recon mission

Just a little thing we med students do that adds to our obsessive pre-test compulsiveness. This morning Mel and I staked out a pbl room to study in. The only problem is that they don't put out the lists for what is going on during the rooms during the day. These are study rooms often have meetings, classes, etc going on during the day at random times. The jackpot is when you find a free pbl for the entire day. We were studying this morning, waiting for the lady to come put up the sheet outside the door to tell us if our room was free. It wasn't. We waited a little while to give her a few minutes to put up the signs in the other doors and then.... reconnaissance mission.

That's what it felt like anyway - or maybe that's just my nerdiness coming out. Anyways, we gathered a few things so we could stake our claim if we were lucky enough to find a free room. Mel with her gigantic purse and coffee mug, and me with my half empty backpack and binder. We leave and as any good scouting mission should proceed - it was understood that we would go in opposite directions and meet at the other hallway, hopefully with one of us being successful.


An example of pre-test studying. Not from today though.

Freeze

Freeze....hold it right there. I love those moments in life when you just want to stop time, for that moment and hold on to that feeling a little bit longer. A feeling of freedom or uninhibited laughter, or being wrapped in a blanket of love or the sun on your face the windows rolled down and the music blarring in the background. The moments where it doesn't really matter what happened in the past and it doesn't really matter what's going to happen in the future. Just this moment matters - right now, this feeling, this place, this person. It's a blessing to have these moments no matter how fleeting.

Here

Do you ever have those moments, where you step out of body for a minute and look at yourself from an outside perspective and wonder... "How did I get here?"
I had that distinct experience 2 times in the past few days. Both while driving in my car, sitting next to two of my best friends here. The thought passed through my mind of what had to happen in our lives to bring us together to this point in time. There are so many decisions that could have gone differently and yet somehow we both made the decisions we did and ended up here together.

Two separate life streams that ended up colliding here in Hershey, PA of all places. Not only that, but if you had asked me last year if I would be close to some of the people I am close with now - I would have told you that you were crazy. Yet I have learned some valuable lessons, laughed, and cried with these special people. I guess that's part of what makes life so beautiful and scary at the same time - you never know where you are going to end up.

I'm not suggesting that all of our fates are predetermined and that we have no say in what happens in our lives. I certainly believe that we do, but there is a level of fate or density that I think is present in our lives. We are presented with certain opportunities or introduced to certain people and it's our job and free will to make of it what we will.

Neuticles

I learned yesterday from my facilitator (a radiologist at the med center) in pbl about Neuticles.

(pbl is a small group class that we have a few times a week. There are about 8 people in a group, with a facilitator and we work through cases similar to how we would someday in practice. We get sheets that say - patient presents with pain on urination, shortness of breath, etc. Then the following pages give us a history, physical exam findings, etc. It is our job as a group to work through the diagnosis. We make "learning objectives" about the disease process, risk factors, treatment, etc and then next time we meet we discuss these objectives and then start a new case)

What are Neuticles you ask? Well neuticles are testicular implants for animals (dog, cat, horse, bull) of course. www.neuticles.com

I'm serious! We love our dogs, but I'm sorry I would not drop a couple hundred for my neutered dog to have fake balls implanted. Not sure if it's for the dogs psyche or what.
There are many different varieties. Different consistency/ firmness of the implants, different sizes, and of course different models. You can pay more for the deluxe version and have a fake epididymis too!


There you go. That's what I learned yesterday in pbl. That and I got an ab work out from laughing so hard. :)

morning

There's something about the morning that I love. A different feeling permeates the air. People are nicer, friendlier. Good mornings always seemed to be exchanged as you pass. The entire day is ahead of me. What will it hold? There's hope in the morning that is not found at any other point in the day. The opportunity is there to seize the entire day to make it something special and a wonderful day. In reality this rarely happens, but the possibility is there. The day can be anything I want it to be or not to be - in the morning. Stress is less, emotions aren't as labile, and the crisp cool air is always refreshing.
Me, alone with my optimism. The possibilities are endless :)

life

Hope, Harmony, Heaven.

Thank you

This post is dedicated to all of you who have listen to me babble on for hours, laughed with me, and cried with me. To those of you who have helped shape me into the person I am today. I'm still growing and changing - and hopefully that will be a lifelong process, but know that I will carry pieces of you with me, always. Thank you for being the wonderful individuals that you are and thank you for being a part of my life. You are my support system and you are mighty - even if we do not keep in touch that often I hope you know I'm there for you, just as I know you are there for me. It's a blessing and a curse to have my support system scattered around the globe. It makes it hard when you want that person right there to call and go grab a cup of coffee.
Two more years here and I move on again, hopefully. I'm ready to be settled for a little while - to know that it's not another 4 years and someone else will decide where I end up next. But regardless of where I end up or how it all goes I know I have all of you. That will never change.
Much Love!
I know I'm lacking some pictures, but I still love ya!