1st week of surgery done!!!

Well, my first week of surgery at Coney Island Hospital is done. That also included my first call night which was Friday. So far, it is going well. There is alot to know and learn and I am trying to keep up with all of it. We are asked questions constantly and if the answer is not known, then we here the following "Go home and read about it". It seems everything ends with those words. Unfortunately for me, I can read it a hundred times and it doesn't stick, but if I do it then I'm fine. So I try to keep my ears open and volunteer for everything I can just so I can learn better.

Here is a quick re-cap of my week: In SICU (surgery intensive care unit), we saw some patients get better and others that did not. We have 2 patients on the medical floors with diabetes that need amputations. One is scheduled for next week, the other is still waiting on insurance to cover the procedure. I had clinic this week; vascular and ulcer, surgery I, plastics. All went okay. I am still trying to learn the computer system which has been a little frustrating at times but I'm hoping I figure it out by the end of the rotation. I was assigned one patient who came in for small bowel obstruction. She was in SICU. Fortunately, she has not needed surgery. When I left yesterday morning she was feeling much better and they were thinking of discharging her. Also, we were scheduled clinics (suture, respiratory, scrub training) and we had 2 lectures...one on aneurysms and the other on acute appendicitis (which was very beneficial to me considering my first case on call was just that).

Call was okay. The night started off slow and there wasn't much to do. Our resident sent us to the call room around midnight. I slept a little, then I got up at 3:30am just in time for the action. A young 27 year old came to the hospital with pain in his abdomen. After talking with him, and after a CT scan he was told he had appendicitis and his appendix needed to be removed that morning in surgery. Because it was our case, we got to go into surgery and watch. They did the procedure laparascopic. Before the surgery though, we did have one trauma. A 29 year old male who was drinking went swimming with his girlfriend and drowned. Everything was tried to no avail. He died 45 minutes after arriving to the ER.

In terms of procedures, well only one was learning this past week. Before doing the surgery in the ER a foley catheter had to be inserted. I got to do it....actually I volunteered to do it. So now, I can put one in anytime!!!

The only downside to surgery is the tiredness. I was fine pretty much all week. I was going to bed early and eating healthy. Even call was not bad. It has been the 2 days after call that has been kicking my ass. I got home yesterday morning at 10am and slept until 5pm, then had dinner and watched a movie, then slept from 9pm until 7am this morning and for some strange reason.....I'm still tired. And I absolutely hate that feeling. So, that is the only bad part to this rotation. Hopefully I adjust as the weeks move on.

Okay, I have to go and do laundry. I hope everyone has a great day!!! Stay tuned for week #2!

First Day of Year 3

Today starts my first day of Year #3 in medical school. I'm starting with surgery!! One of the hardest and most intense due to the call schedule. I'm actually happy that I am doing it first. I'm hoping that my excitement for starting 3rd year will carry me through this rotation :) Plus, I enjoy surgery, so it should be fun. Here is what my schedule looks like for the next year:

Surgery 5/26/09-8/14/09
Medicine 8/17/09-11/6/09
Pediatrics 11/9/09-12/18/09
Ob/Gyn 1/4/10-2/12/10
Psych 2/15/10-3/26/10
Emergency 3/29/10-5/7/10

I am hoping that my blogging will be slightly better than in Grenada. I know, it really has to do with the blogger (that would be me). I just get so caught up I forget but I will try to blog about interesting things on each service.

And of course, I will also blog about the city!!! Speaking of which, this past weekend, Laura came to visit me and we had a nice little adventure. We went to NY Aquarium, Coney Island for some cheap beer, Little Italy and a Pub on Broadway for some not so cheap beer, shopping all around 34th street, Central Park, Prospect Park (Brooklyn), and we ate at 2 cute little places in Park Slope: Ginza, a Japanese Hibachi restaurant, and Fritters, a burger and fries type of place. Both were very good. And lets not forget Bergen Bagels on Monday morning!!!!

Did I mention that Laura kissed Oz!!!! It was so cute! And smelly (he had wicked Tuna breath that was all over the side of Laura's face :)

Alright, I have to get ready for my big day. Need to iron and look my prettiest. Good luck to me!!

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone is having a great Easter. In a few short hours I will be munching on Ham, real mashed potatoes, carrots, rolls and later.....cheesecake.....YUMMY!!

Well, I got my test score back. I found out Wednesday March 25th, 3 weeks to the day I took my exam. Before the drumroll begins, let me just say the following: I decided to set a "range" of scores that I would be happy with. My range was 230-240. I knew that if I could land in this range, then no residency that I was interested in would be out of reach. Now to the drumroll: I got a 230!! And I was extremely excited!! Yes it was the minimum of my range, but still within it. Could I have scored higher?? Who really knows. Could I have studied longer and gotten a higher score?? No. As I explained before, I really feel that I studied too much. It does make me wonder would I could have scored had I taken the exam in February when I wanted to. Unfortunately, I will never know, but in the end it doesn't matter. I scored what I wanted and I am very, very happy.

Now that I have my score I am much more relaxed. No crazy dreams about scoring too poorly, or dreams where I did exceptionally well, only to be told I needed to re-take the exam because I performed "too well". It is nice to know that the effort and time you put in was not wasted, and that you achieved something you wanted.

A few of my friends have taken the exam, and some are still waiting to take it. I wish everyone the best of luck with it.

Have a great Easter and I will talk to you all soon! :)

Long time no see.....

Good morning!! I was reading Valuemd.com and quickly realized that I have not posted in a while (who would have guessed?). So I decided an update is in order. When I last left all of you, I was about to take my test February 18th. Well, that didn't work out too well. Some personal issues came up and I didn't feel prepared. So, I rescheduled it for March 4th.

To be honest, I wish I would have taken in on the 18th. I figured the extra 2 1/2 weeks would help. It didn't. I think by then I was just too studied out. I couldn't concentrate on learning anything new. I would do a few blocks of questions and then my brain would go blank. It was hard to focus. So, about a week before my test date I decided to do less. I stopped reading First Aid and all my review books. I instead just tried to do as many Uworld questions as possible. I wasn't at all nervous on the days leading up to the test. In fact, test day I wasn't nervous at all.

The test: Not bad. My first two sections were extremely hard. After them, I took a 10 minute break and told myself not to worry. It's okay. I still have 5 more sections. Then I went back in and to my surprise, blocks 3-6 were so easy. I flew through them with hardly any trouble. My last block was medium in comparison, doable definitely. And then I was done. And driving back home to get drunk :)

So here I sit, 2 weeks and 1 day out of my test. Results are released 3-4 weeks after the test. So, next wednesday I may be a happy....or sad. We just have to wait. And of course, I thought studying for the beast was the hardest part. Everyone have a great day!!!

Can't......study.....any.......more.....

I have been studying for too long. How do I know?? Because I start to focus on something important like enzymes in the body that need thiamine as a co-factor, and next thing I know, I'm on the internet looking up thiamine....where does it come from?? What other creatures in this world need thiamine?? Can my cat have thiamine deficiency?? Wait, I need to go check the cat food to see if it is fortified with thiamine. Do mice have thiamine? And this is just with thiamine!! There are other water soluble vitamins needed by our bodies to function properly. And don't get me started with the fat soluble ones!!

So my test date is February 18th. I can't wait for this day. Studying, for the most part, has gone well. There are things I definitely know, and there are things that I quickly forgot. This week has been focused study on those areas I quickly forget. Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about what I'm studying because I have already forgotten.

Today is very snowy and cold in central NY. It is days like this I wish I was in Grenada. But then I remember that I am going for sushi tonight for dinner (it will cost me less than $12 for 3 rolls instead of 1) and then maybe to a movie.....or to walmart.....or wherever else I want to go, and then I don't miss Grenada so much. Did I mention no "hooting or hollering"!! That is a plus :)

Which has me thinking lately. Maybe I will do my residency in a warmer area of the United States. Any suggestions out there as to where?? I'm thinking arizona....maybe south carolina.

Alright, back to studying. Purine salvage deficiencies here I come!!!

History is made

I'm supposed to be studying for Step 1, but I had to take a much needed break to watch history. Barack Obama becoming the 44th President of our country. I did not vote for him (mostly because my absentee ballot was not mailed on time), but I am very happy that he was elected and I only hope that he can unite people, to inspire everyone in this great country to be the best, and to make change happen. Good luck Mr. President.

I'm home!!

I arrived safely yesterday morning at the train station in Utica, NY. And was I excited, not so much to be in Utica, NY but to be in the states and not in Grenada. The flight went well. A little delayed (45 minutes) at the Grenada airport, but smooth flying to JFK. The plane was only 1/2 full, so I had 3 seats to myself. We landed around 1am and I made it through customs really quick. Then it was off to Jamaica station to get the LIRR to Penn Station. Waiting for the train for 7 minutes outside in the cold at 2am was brutal. I couldn't sleep in Penn Station, so I stayed up all night. Then at 7:15am, I boarded the Maple Leaf to Utica, NY and arrived at noon.

First thing was food....I had a chicken and roasted red pepper panini at the Boulevard Diner. Then I came home to play with my puppy (and got rabies kisses!!). Then I just relaxed and watched movies and tv and went to bed really early.

So today I have alot to do. Unpack my summer clothes and pack them away in bins. Get out the little winter clothes I have. See what I need to buy in the next few days. Oh, and study. Let's not forget about the big test I have coming up!!

I hope everyone has a great day. 4 more days until christmas!!!! :)

The end is near...

Tests are over!! I never have to take another test here in Grenada again, and I can say that with confidence because I already have my scores back. A in pathophysiology, B in pharmacology, and in clinical skills....well, they are still working the final grades out but I can't get less than a B (considering that is what the site shows right now). So, overall this term I did fairly well. Considering I was also studying for Step 1 at the same time as the above classes.

So, the last few days have been crazy and hectic, but REALLY FUN. So lets recap shall we:

Thursday: After pharm, a little celebrating and drinking on campus..

Then to old school for a little more drinking....
Friday night: The best party ever, hosted by Sej!! YES I'm in a DRESS!!

Then, back home to change and off to Dr. Groom's for the end of year party....

Stayed for like 2 minutes (I was really tired and decided to go home and sleep)..

Saturday: Lunch at BB's....one last crab back experience..

Hash with Ishie....my first and last...I had SO MUCH FUN....

Sushi w/friends and saying goodbye....

So, I have 5 more days of sun to enjoy and then I'll be leaving Grenada. In some ways I will miss it here, but in more ways I am so happy to finally get home!! Take care everyone. See you really soon!

Where the hell have I been????

This is something I have heard alot lately. The other is....why have you not posted to your blog since September?? Oh shit....has it been that long?? It has, as I found out about 5 minutes ago. So, there is alot to catch up on and I better type quick considering I have my finals next week and I need to study for those. Here we go:

The first pathophysiology test was horrendous. Averages were really, really low (1/2 the class failed). We had a huge meeting with the directors of the course as well as the other courses, the Dean of Students, the Provost of the school, and so on....after about 2 hours of student complaints we were told the course would be curved.....good thing?? Who knows, all I know is I'm doing just fine and I haven't studied for pathophysiology since this first test and I stopped going to lectures back in September. I have been watching Kaplan videas and doing questions and studying my ass off for Step One. On the second test I did even better. So no worries here.

Speaking of which....Step One. I decided to not take a Kaplan course like many of my fellow students. I couldn't see spending $3,000 on a course for 6 weeks. Not to mention I would have to sit in lecture for 7-8 hours per day for 6 days a week. My attention span would not hold. So, back in July I decided to use this whole semester as my study time. So far its working really well. Once I get back home, I will do some practice tests to judge my weaknesses and strengths and then study my butt off for 6 weeks. I'm hoping to take the test the end of January which is much earlier than most of my friends (who will be taking it in March). I guess I'll have to see how my plan works.

Mit, Marie, Dy, Shelly, and Laura all came to visit me. YAY!!! They all came on November 8th and stayed for a week. I was so excited....its nice when friends or family can come to visit. We had a great time. We went on a hike, and river tubing, and on a sailing trip. And we went to the beach alot!! Here are some pics for you to enjoy:

Did I mention that the boat trip above had all you can drink alcohol. :)

My internet is SO slow right now....so, i'll have to end here for now but I promise I will write again soon....and besides I have to post pics of me in a dress!!! What??? A dress?? You heard it....come back for more real soon!! Have a good night!!!

Beach time!!

So, hell week is over. My last exam was yesterday in pharmacology. It went okay. It is so difficult to study material that has no meaning, at least not now. I'm sure once we get into clinical years, and we see patients with varying degrees of infections, diseases, and such...we will become more familiar as to the standard treatments and drugs of choice. But for now, we must memorize, memorize, and memorize some more and then hope to hell we remember something when trying to answer 3rd and 4th order questions on which drug when given IV causes ototoxicity....or what generation of this family of drugs will treat a Pseudomonas infection...AHHH!!

Also yesterday, our class was graced with our scores from pathophysiology. Lets just say when the class average is 64 (passing grade is 70 don't forget), it says there is definitely something wrong with the class....something we have been bitching and moaning about for 5 weeks. Remember, we are not new here. We are 2nd year medical students and I think by now we have come to know what to expect from our courses. When a class does this poorly it reflects not on us or our learning style, but on the course, professors, and total lack of planning. This is the first year for this supposed revamped and renewed Pathophysiology class...and it totally shows. Not getting handouts or lecture slides in a timely manner (sometimes weeks after the lecture), no clear objectives as to what will be on the test, telling us to post our questions on a class forum and then having no one from the department answer our questions. And then the department posting notes saying please bare with us during this time of adjustment bull****. At least the course director, in an uncharacteristic way, decided to give everyone 20 extra points for the 1st test...so our morale would not be shot for the rest of the course. Why thank you....how generous of you. Now, why don't you FIX THE CLASS!!! Of course, this is a one time shot of extra points and there will be no such curve on the remaining 2 tests. I can't wait to see what those averages look like!!

So last night I watched the debates. McCain really looked good compared to Obama. I'm really sick of questions be asked to Obama and he skirts around them. Just answer the question. What are YOU going to do?? I think the moderator last night asked Obama the same question, re-worded 4x and he still didn't answer it. Right now, I'm leading towards McCain....but, Palin scares me a bit.

Today I am off to the beach to soak up some much needed sun, followed by some lunch sushi. And later tonight I am baking cookies....peanut butter....yummy!! And dinner is meatball subs (something I have been craving for weeks).

Before I go...2 very funny things I have seen this week:

www.nakedclowncalendar.com - this is pretty hysterical if you ask me...i may just get one

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26892950/wid/11915773?GT1=31037 - what is wrong with PETA....this organization is seriously crazy!!

Alright everyone. Have a great weekend and I will update you all soon!! :)

I am at a loss for words, and therefore cannot even come up with a suitable title for this blog.

Tomorrow starts our first found of tests for term 5/6. I have pathophysiology at 1pm. Am I excited? scared? nervous? feeling like I will rock it? NO....none of the above. This is actually the first test in medical school that I have no feelings. And maybe that has alot to do with this department. See, this is an old class with a new look. The school decided to change it up a bit....which is great...change is always good. But in typical SGU fashion, they did it without a plan in place. And because of that, no one knows what to study, where to study from (lecture handouts, books, wikipedia), or really what is going to be on the test. These last 5 weeks have been extraordinary vague and we typically get the following response from the department: "please bare with us and be patient as we are new at this too and we are trying to work out the kinks". Great!! Thanks....and while you are doing that...you are playing with MY FUTURE AS A DOCTOR!! So, needless to say I really don't know what to expect for tomorrow's test. I'm just going to go in and do the best I can and know in the back of my head that I have 2 more tests this semester to make up for this one if I bomb it!! :)

Then wednesday is clinical skills....this class is funny. We have to come in and take a midterm that only counts 8% of our total grade. No, you didn't missread that one.....8%. What a waste of time and not to mention paper. I will definitely not be studying for this one.

No...all my time after pathophysiology.....from monday night until friday at 1pm will be towards pharmacology which happens to be the biggest bear I have encountered in grenada. Now, i hate to memorize with a passion which is why classes like parasitology and microbiology gave me such trouble. This class however, takes the gigantic 5 tier wedding cake. The amount of absolute bull**** and minute details we have to "memorize" and "know" is mind boggling. I thought once we get into the hospital we have PDAs....oh, and those wonderful people that go to school for 5 years straight knowing ONLY medications....hello pharmacists!! So, i will be spending my entire weekend cramming info into my incredibly shrinking cranium only to forget about it next week.

Although I must mention that the season premiere of Grey's is thursday for 2 hours!!! So excited!! I will definitely be taking a much needed break for that.

Alright, well before I go let me fill you in on some of the things that have happened over the last few weeks:
- IGA has no ice cream (bastards)
- IGA has no soy milk (AHHH)
- Union made up of security guards, bus drivers, and other ancillary staff went on strike last week...from my perspective, this was kind of funny (only because I live off campus and have a car)
- My headphones broke (but I learned from term 2 and had a spare pair....i'm too smart!!!)
- I stopped working out for 1 week (tweeked my back)
- OBGYN prof pronounced "centimeters" as "sontimeters" (and she said it ALOT in regards to the dilated cervix and the size of the baby's head....9.5 sontimeters)
- Tom Brady got hurt (BOO FRIGGIN HOO.....little whiner)
- Farewell Yankee stadium (just tonight....how sad)

Alright....i'm off to bed for some sleep before the big day of fun tomorrow. Have a great night.

wow.....

Was July 21st really the last time I posted??? Holy POOH!!! Well, I have alot to say, so lets get started:

Happy Birthday Randi!!! I'm not too happy that you and the fam get to enjoy Coalyard Charlie's without me tonight.....we will definitely have to go when I get home in December.

My dog, in his true golden retriever fashion, chased a skunk, bit into it, and proceeded to get a chunk taken out of his nose. He won of course....skunk down. But, he did not have an up-to-date rabies shot and the skunk tested positive. Now has to be quaranteened until mid February. Poor pup!!

This semester is really crazy and hectic; even worse then last semester. Pharmacology is really kicking my butt since it is all memorizing, and that is my weakest area. Pathophysiology has a new director this term and therefore has no direction. I have no idea even how to prepare for that test. Clinical skills (for the first time) is actually really good. We have hospital visits this term and so far, all of them have been wonderful experiences. And of course, because my parents have not won the lottery yet and I can not take extra time off to study for the all important Step 1 exam, I have to incorporate my studying for that beast of a test throughout this semester. So crazy and hectic is a real understatement!!!

Picture time!!!!

Well, I will stop now so I have more to talk about next time I blog (maybe sometime in October) :) Everyone have a great night!!

Who knew....

On friday I ventured out to Rochester NY to visit Alana. Of course, one mention of Rochester and my step-dad was begging to come along. I, being the nice one I am, said yes...and he took the day off from work to drive out with me. While he was out walking the locks of the old Erie Canal, Alana and I saw the new Batman movie....which should be called "That movie with Heath Ledger". After the movie, Alana, Fur and myself headed over to TGIFs for dinner. It was almost 8pm and Fur and I were planning on leaving when he asked if we could see the old railroad tracks in the city. Always up for an adventure, I said yes. I lived in Rochester for almost 2 years, yet I had never really appreciated the history or architecture within the city itself. It was really beautiful and I am happy I went. Of course I had to listen to Furry's stories (he thinks he is a huge history buff regarding the Erie Canal :) :) Here are some pics:







Aren't I cute??



Furry never smiles...only smirks....

Everyone have a great night!!

:) :)

So, what does one do on a tuesday night in good ole Utica, NY. Why, attend the roller derby event at the Auditorium!!! Mit was gracious enough to call me up and invite me to this most amazing event. I remember seeing roller derby on TV as a kid, but I vaguely remembered...plus, I had never seen it up close and so personal. It was like being in a foreign country. Who knew there were soooo many die hard followers and fans. It took Di a few times to explain to me what the hell was going on....but I finally understood. So, I will try to explain....in my own words....

So you have 2 teams who roll around on this oval track. When I say roll, I mean on roller skates. Remember those?? I remember being around 10 and my mom dropping me off at Midstate to skate on a friday/saturday evening. I also vaguely remember getting my own pair of skates as a present, but whether or not I had a big poofy ball on the skate boot I can't remember (or maybe I blocked it out). Anyway, back to the derby....so you have 2 teams on this oval track. Each team sends out 5 players. There are blockers, and a pacer....and the jammer. The jammer is the person who scores points. Each round lasts about 2 minutes, and the jammers for both teams try to circle the other players scoring points as they pass. Its up to the blockers to prevent the other teams jammer from scoring by knocking her down. They aren't supposed to use their hands but there was plenty of that last night (which apparently the refs were not paying attention to). If a player does do something illegal, they are sent to the penalty box and must sit there until they can rejoin the action. Overall, the game was fairly interesting. No injuries to report, which totally saddened the Doctor in me.....especially when Dy told me about the girl who broke her ankle weeks back, and bones were sticking out....I want to see BONES!!!

After the derby, we stayed to see some of the National Roller Hockey Championships. Very interesting sport as well. Its like field hockey on roller skates. Very fast paced. Honestly, I don't think I could do it....not having spent most of my time on ice hockey skates/roller blades!! :)

My last exciting news is that I ate at Panera Bread last night for dinner. I think I only ate there once before, when I used to work at the Pharmacy and my weekend warrior companions wanted to order out for dinner. I was surprised on how good it was...and how packed it was. I had the grilled chicken asian sesame salad. Very, very good. I was tempted to try a latte, but I really didn't need the caffeine at 6pm....maybe some morning I will try it. I also had a bit of Mit's chocolate chip cookie....and as she said, it was very good!!

Alright, I have some work to do today. Car is getting new tires, I need to go for a run, and do some studying. Everyone have a great day!!

:)

Well, I have officially been home for a week and so far everything is going well. I spent the weekend in Saratoga with the family. I really love that town...very busy...and beautiful....lots of things to do. I just wish it was racing season because I love horse racing. I haven't been in years :(

This week I am slightly busy. Have to take the car in to get its 60,000 mile check-up....also needs 2 new tires and a front end alignment. I have some pharm work to do (need to get a head start so i have more time to study for step 1).

Other than that, I am working out....trying to maintain my new figure, and just enjoying home. 5 more weeks and then its back to the grenada grind. Everyone have a great day!!

Rain, rain, rain

So I leave rainy Grenada to come home to rainy Upstate NY....AHHHH!! Actually, I don't mind because one of my favorite things to do is run in the rain, and this morning it poured!!!

So, my flight home was not very fun. Here is the story: I decided to get to the airport around 2pm, check my bags in, and then hang out at home until my 6:10pm flight. I found out the flight was postponed until 9:30pm. So, I went back home, took a nap, played on the computer and then around 6:30pm, I decided to walk to the airport because a large, dark cloud was rolling in. Then, I waited, and waited, and waited some more until 11:15pm when we finally boarded the flight. Funny short story....I got to my seat to find a Grenadian sitting in my seat. I said "Excuse me sir, you are in my seat" and he responded by saying "It took you long enough to get on the damn flight so you gave your seat up". I looked around....hardly anyone was on the flight yet because they were still back in the terminal (I was one of the first 25 to make it to the plane). Anyway, I decided not to be nice....I told him to get up out of my seat or I would make a huge scene.....he moved.....of course, he grumbled the entire time and was not very pleasant, but I slept most of the way to NYC anyway.

Landing in New York at 5:30am was great!!! Then I made my way to the Jet Blue terminal, checked into my flight, had some coffee and breakfast, and waited for my flight....which was also delayed, but for which I could care less because I was stuck in an American airport with Dunkin!!

Home has been really nice so far. I have gone to all my favorite places....Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Marshall's.....and, I had really good sushi Monday night!! Spicy tuna and an avocado vegee roll....:)

Today I'm heading out with the family to Saratoga for a nice relaxing vacation. I'll be sure to take some pics and post them next week. Everyone have a great day!!!

:)

Well, after waiting the entire week I finally got my path grade. My final for the course: 88.68. I was 0.32 points away from an A :( It was SO close.

So the rest of the week has been hell here...and by hell I mean really boring. I did nothing on tuesday, although I was supposed to be studying for clinical skills. I would start to study and then decide to do something else, like watch a movie, or take a nap. Wednesday's lab practical was funny because I arrived at my designated time slot and was assigned to a room only to find it was the same Doctor I had for my midterm....who happens to be very nice and fair. Then I walked down to the many pieces of paper face down with our practical exams and guess what I picked?? The same patient exam I picked for midterm. So, I told the Doctor I would do it again for her but I would really like to be tested on something else. So, I got to re-pick. So, I had to perform a respiratory exam, plus 2 minors....check for meningeal irritation and palpate the thyroid. My exam went really well, and I got an A. Then, I did nothing for the rest of Wednesday....studied a tad bit on thursday for the written. Took the written test yesterday and then.....

I saw a cricket game!!!!! Kate was nice enough to invite me to my first game and it was awesome....I had a great time. I watched Australia play the West Indies and it was really like watching a professional football team play a prison team. West Indies was okay....but Australia blew them out of the water. The only unfortunate part was I totally forgot sunscreen and I BURNED!!! My face, arms, knees.....so, i'm hurting a little today. I had a great sushi dinner last night and then went out with friends to Prickly Bay to celebrate. Had a few drinks...came home..slept for a few hours....brought Layne to the airport at 3:30am... hung out for a few hours....came home and went to bed.....got up at 9am...ate breakfast and here I am now!!

Today will be a fun and lazy day of packing and relaxing. If the sun comes out I may go down to the beach. Tomorrow I have laundry to do....some more packing....then, my fluffy butt gets on a plane at 5:30pm and I'm off to NYC!!! Can't wait to get home....play with my puppy....have some real sushi....and relax!

It's Over!!!!!

So, Pathology is now a distant memory. I officially finished the 3rd and last test at 12:08pm today. YAY!!!!! Overall, I thought the test was fairly easy and predictable. The questions were not 10th order like in previous tests. Also, the questions seemed to be alot more generalized...no testing of ridiculous details that none of us would remember in 10 minutes. I actually finised with almost 40 minutes left. And, since Pathology is the only class that will not allow you to leave the test early, I spent the rest of the time re-reading and looking over the questions on the one topic I had the least knowledge of....Male pathology!! How appropriate, right?? :)

Anyway, so....now I am just enjoying the moment of not having to study Path. Of course I have a stupid everlasting grin on my face. I think I will watch a movie now.....Baby Mamma is calling my name. And tomorrow morning, I get to spend the whole day cramming for my clinical skills practical. Everyone have a great day!!!

P DAY!!!

Today has arrived. The last Pathology final. :)

AHHHHH!!! Ready......set......

June 19th!!

Today is National Hurricane Awareness Day in Grenada. And I know this because of a neat little feature that is available to us here in Grenada. Something that I never had at home. Text messaging courtesy of your cell phone provider. Anytime there is a contest, or a chance to buy double the minutes for one low price, or a national event (like today) my phone makes its customary "I have a new text message awaiting your viewing" noise....and I look...and there is my message from Digicel updating me on the current news, events, and promotions. Verizon NEVER did that for me. So I guess being here has some nice perks to it.

In other news, I have been busy studying for the final Pathology test which will occur at 9 am sharp this monday. Am I prepared??? Well, I think I am. The better question is, am I prepared to answer insanely long, 10th order questions from professors who find it amusing to test us on disorders and diseases we will probably never see as physicians. Case in point.....we are constantly bombarded about this one disease called Goodpasture's which causes bloody urination and bloody cough/sputum (ask me about the pathogenesis on this one when I'm home because I know it!!). Anyway, today while I was trying to gain better insight into this disease through my search on wikipedia, I found out that Goodpasture's accounts for only 1% of ALL renal diseases. 1%!!! What?? The only doctor that will ever see this on maybe a yearly basis is a nephrologist and I know I won't be going into that field. But, we need to learn about it. Thanks Path for inundating my already swollen brain with useless material.

So, I had the opportunity tonight to try another Grenadian restaurant. We went to The Ocean Grill in St. George's. It was good. I just had a drink and appetizer....coconut shrimp and a pina colada. Yummy!!! Long story on how I ended up going out on a night when I should have been studying, but lets save that and just say that the food was very good and I definitely want to go back for lunch. If not this term, definitely next.

Well, plans for tomorrow are the following: Get up at 5:30am, make coffee and breakfast, drink coffee, wrap up breakfast, go to school, study, study, eat breakfast, study, study until 11am, workout for an hour, come home and eat lunch, shower and small nap, study, study, study, eat dinner, study, study, study, study, bedtime at 10:30pm.

Unless something really good happens this weekend (and you never know), my next post will be monday after the monstrousity. Have a great night. :)