Friendlies

I honored my vow to never attend a Clinical Skills lecture again today, but apparently I missed out. Not on good information, but on great quotes and horrendous pictures of STDs. It was Dr. Eddy's last lecture of the semester, and he went out with a bang. He referred to STDs as "friendlies" and urged the class to stay away from them. For some reason, this invokes memories of grade school presentations over topics such as oral hygiene with mascots named "Mr. Cavity" or something to that effect. I conjured up an image of a "Mr. Friendly" mascot - you wouldn't think he was so friendly if you viewed some of those images. So deceiving, those friendlies. It would, however, be amazing if he could make an appearance for next year's MSI class.

On another note, I'm attempting to reduce my caffeine intake and drink more water, mainly due to the fact that my body probably thinks Diet Dr. Pepper is water right now. As a result, I've had a monstrous headache all afternoon. I laid down after dinner, Aaron snuggled up to me, and we (he) accidentally snoozed for a bit. I am so looking forward to summer, when I can take a nap at 7 PM, or any other time for that matter, and not worry about having to wake up the next day. I will deserve it, especially after memorizing the mound of bacteria for Thursday's exam...WITHOUT CAFFEINE.

"Hardly" Studying

Last week turned into a good weekend. After taking the Renal Physiology exam Friday morning, Aaron and I headed home and I took a much needed nap. I then made a study plan for finals and got ready for my parents to arrive that afternoon...let's be honest, I'm lucky if I brush my hair the morning of an exam.
My mom arrived with a cooler full of frozen meals - chicken lasagnas, homemade meatballs, chicken tetrazzini, - chicken croissants, salad, leftover chocolate cake from Rick's Bakery (aka heaven), and a pecan pie made especially for my sweetie pie. When she had time to cook all of this, I don't know. I'm just so grateful that I no longer have to cook the entire week of finals, when every second counts.
We watched a matinee of Hanna. It turned out not as expected and a bit depressing, but was still an enjoyable treat.

We caught up on all things Tahlequah, church Easter plans, and family happenings over dinner at Abuelo's. It was a bit of a new experience for us, as my parents eat out with the elderly. We're talking wait for the doors to open, Early Bird special early. It was weird to be handed a buzzer and stand in a huge group of waiting people, only to be reminded by my parents that this is exactly why we eat at 4:30 on a Friday in Tulsa. Gotta love 'em. 
The guys played board games last night while I stayed home and attempted to tackle the mountain that is Bacteriology. That's the downfall to marrying a genius - I need to study when he's playing board games...or video games, or computer games, or watching Netflix. Yes, your future Radiologist/Cardiologist is often occupied with these activities instead of studying at all waking hours. He's just that good.
We both agreed that it was very nice to study so little for our exam last Friday - and then laughed when we realized that 6 hours is now our definition of hardly studying. Oh, how things have changed in less than a year!

Cookbook Love

What a week it has been. Our third Neuro exam was on Tuesday. I've been struggling in that class on top of having issues with one of the professors, and my confidence had been shaken. As my mother so aptly put it, the devil doesn't wear Prada...she teaches Neuroanatomy. However, I shook the anxiety and bias and ended up making a vast improvement on my lecture score. It was a huge victory for so many reasons, and I couldn't be more thankful. It's easy to get bogged down in the pressures of medical school, but it only takes a few incidents or experiences to sway my perspective as a whole. My neuro results definitely started the pendulum swing, but a few other happenings made this week refreshingly positive.
Aaron and I met up with our group of friends at Blue Rose on the river after our Neuro exam was after. Aaron dropped me off to try to find a parking spot, which was nearly impossible due to the perfect weather and sunshine. I told the three hostesses (training?) that we had a party of 6, and spent the next 5 minutes watching them try to solve the puzzle of which tables to put together. Later, the waitress asked Alyssa and I if our eyelashes ever itched. After a 4 hour mentally exhausting exam, I felt smart again. Is that horrible?
Good company, good conversation, and some good laughs helped ease the tension of the past few days.
I received a very special package in the mail as well. Aaron and I worked at a bookstore in Fayetteville during college, and they employed him during the year we took off to enjoy new marital bliss. We have very fond memories there, and many of them involve the amazing owners and employees. Sara, the accountant/merchandise director (add 20 more titles for completion) sent me The Pioneer Woman cookbook. I LOVE cookbooks and have amassed quite the collection. Recently, I discovered Ree Drummond's blog and tried a few of her recipes and have developed a fascination. The cookbook has caught my eye during many trips to Barnes and Noble, but we try to watch our budget. Sweet Sara bought a copy for me.
I am a huge gift giver. It's one of the ways in which I express love. I light up like a little kid when I receive surprise presents, and this was no exception. Even more special, however, was the handwritten note inside explaining her reasons for thinking of me and the similarities between the Pioneer Woman and myself (red hair!!). This cookbook will be going on the shelf with my most prized collections, complete with the note tucked away safely inside. The gesture made my week. It makes me wish I had more time to do the same for others...

Sacrifices

Our third Neuroanatomy exam is this upcoming Tuesday afternoon. It is by far the most difficult class we've taken (and will take from what we hear), and as such, completely consumes our time in the days preceding each test. 40% of the class failed the lecture portion of the last exam, which has put us all a little on edge. I studied the note packets and powerpoints for 6 hours yesterday and I've already logged 3 today (with about 7 to go). It's difficult for those not going through this process to understand the toll it takes on us. Today, I'm a bit down contemplating all of the things Aaron and I miss out on because of the time commitment medical school demands.
My mom and dad come to Tulsa fairly often to take us out to dinner and spend some quality time with us. I so look forward to these evenings, and was sorely disappointed when I had to let my mom know for the first time this year that we would be too busy (and stressed) this weekend to see them. She understood as always and we rescheduled for next weekend, but I need my mommy now. Does anyone else ever feel like that? I don't think I'll ever lose that feeling, no matter what age I am.
Adding to the gloom are Facebook status feeds from our friends. Attending concerts. Road trips and vacations. Shopping excursions. Time spent with family and friends. Even time spent watching copious amounts of television and the occasional movie date make us jealous. When finding the time to go grocery shopping because your fridge is empty is difficult, these activities that others seem to take for granted seem like luxuries.
I know our future accomplishments will be worth the sacrifices we're making today. We are paying now to play later, so to speak. However, sometimes it's difficult to see beyond the present. It would be wonderful to have a crystal ball in which I could stare into my (amazing?) future. Since that's not realistic, it's back to the limbic system for now.

The Little Things

The weather is growing more beautiful every day, finals are quickly approaching, and motivation is dwindling. My mom sent me an encouraging email this morning (as she does every morning - amazing) that reminded me to not miss out on recognizing a single blessing that God has granted me. So here's a few things this week that have put a smile upon my face:

 Grilling weather. Shrimp, mushrooms, zucchini, and onions (blech to the onions!) w/ a baked potato. Yum.

 The smell of freshly mowed grass.

 Surprise twinkies! These two are going to be amazing physicians one day.

 The name alone of our school softball field makes me grin. Practice for the upcoming faculty vs. student softball tournament - my embarrassing performance = a great reprieve from studying

The new vending machine with which Aaron is obsessed. The little robot hand that snatches and delivers your beverage of choice is fascinating to watch - like the cool gumball machines when we were kids.

It's the little things, when you recognize them, that remind us why life is so good!

Awkward End of the World

Last Thursday, our awesome Microbiology professor for this unit gave us a unique assignment for our weekly lab. One of the things that makes him awesome: he finished his material in the allotted lecture times and had nothing additional to present; instead of creating a pointless lecture, he sparked a brainstorming session of sorts concerning the realistic possibility of bioterrorism using the viral agents we've discussed in class. However, he gave us creative license to design a method of destroying a country/the world and then a way to save it from our impending doom.

We divided up into the same groups we had for Microbial Jeopardy (you all remember Team Herpes, right?) and put our evil thinking caps on. Our group met at Chipotle on Cherry Street for a lunch gathering of the minds. I suggested the best place to disseminate a viral agent would a large airport such as LAX or JFK. Sean has a crush on Anthrax, so we dabbled in that for a bit. An exploding plane over the ocean set to destroy sea life. Airplane blankets laced with smallpox, for which our generation no longer has immunization (interestingly enough, another group came up with this same idea).
We finally decided to mix the HIV virus with an adenovirus, imparting spread through respiratory droplets, and like the common cold, a rate of mutation that would make a successful vaccine impossible. Take over a vaccine development company - I will not state the means by which we suggested doing this - and insert the virus into the annual flu vaccine. We named it "Turbo AIDS." Mwahahaha. Here's Aaron explaining the gist of our plan:

After Aaron presented the idea, the professor commented, "Wow. That's pretty evil." And it was. The majority of the class really capitalized on the creative aspect and came up with some humorous ideas. It was all fun and games until the class was coming to a close and a lone girl raised her hand, teeming with urgency, indicating that she had something to add. What followed was unexpected: several groups were called out on the infeasibility of their plans, complete with wind vector data to support her counter. Didn't see that coming, and we definitely didn't know how to react. It got awkward, really fast. Obviously some individuals did not get the memo that this was for fun. Medical school students. We're intelligent, but sometimes our social skills are lacking.
All in all, it was a lab to remember, and I can't help but think that if we came up with these ideas over lunch, what horrible plans have true evil minds crafted? Makes me shiver...

"Woo" Girl

Though I wouldn't have imagined it at the start, last week culminated in a very interesting couple of days at school. I'll cover the SNMA Potluck and Silent Auction in this post and the Hoe-Down and awkwardness that defined our Microbiology lab in those that follow.
We had an OMM practical that afternoon and Aaron and I finished very early. I figured I needed to seize the rare opportunity to do one of my favorite things: BAKE! I tried two new recipes: beer bread and a chocolate bundt cake. Both turned out delicious - I even got a, "That's a keeper!" from Aaron on the cake, and he's not a dessert fan. After a plate of yummy food that reminded me of simpler church potluck days, Ranelle surprised us with door prizes donated by Deb, the manager of the campus bookstore. We found out why she was laughing and sarcastically thanking Deb when we saw the 'prizes.' Let me preface this by saying that I never win anything. Ever. That night was my lucky night, however, because I became the proud recipient of a faded (vintage?) navy leather bookmark circa 1998. Oh, yeah.

Suppress your jealousy, please. Even better was a homemade wooden snowman door hanger - lucky girl, that Janel. These 'gifts' that were so graciously donated reminded my of my dear Aunt Francis. Every family has one - the very elderly family member that comes round once a year, pinching cheeks and doling out gifts that remain in your closet until the next summer yard sale. Aunt Francis has spasmodic dysphonia, which makes her difficult to understand and scary to children. Macee and I would hide when she came by the house around Christmas, later to discover the treasure trove that she obviously collected from dusty shelves around her house and the Dollar Tree. Paper clips. 2 liters of Mountain Lightning. Partly-used hotel toiletries. Thank you, Deb, for bringing back those lovely memories. It truly is the thought that counts.
As for my embarrassing moment of the evening (there's always at least one), I was possessed by the spirit of the "Woo Hoo" girls for a short period of time. We all know them, and chances are, can spot them instantaneously. Intelligence and class do not come to mind as synonyms for these ladies, although they can be a lot of fun to watch. I'm not sure if it was all the excitement over finally winning something or perhaps a sugar high, but i began to "Woo" for my fellow gift recipients. And then it happened. Ranelle thanked everyone for their contributions and complimented the beer bread. "Woo Hoo! Me!" I shouted. Aaron: "Did you just "woo" yourself?"
As soon as the words were out of my mouth I was desperate to catch them and stuff them back in. Apparently I wanted to toot my own horn for that beer bread. It's moments like these that keep me humble...
On the plus side, I won a $50 gift certificate to a waxing studio that I bid on for $35. You're just out of my reach, Mexico.