Today A.J. and I went out to eat and we went to St. Charles.
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Visit to Garden Ridge:
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And look… I’ve got video!
Here I am waving a flag!
Out and About
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Category Archives: General
Relaxation
I got a cute new shirt today from the "Life is Good" people (you can see their other stuff at www.lifeisgood.com). This is what my shirt has on it:
Aussies and New Year’s and Flying – Oh My!
So much to tell for so few passed days…
Late Wednesday evening (Dec 29th), AJ and I trekked out to Seatac to meet our Aussie friends Anna and Jem, just arriving in America from a whirlwind tour of Europe. After a nice slumber, we took to downtown Seattle with what else but a traditional Starbucks beginning. Our next stop was Pike Place Market where we saw flying fish, eclectic shops, fresh veggies, and the very first Starbucks ever. We took lots of pictures, especially of Rainbow Bear and Gloria (she’s a vibrantly colored gorilla travelling with Anna and Jem – and she apears to be quite taken with Rainbow Bear :-)). Then it was on to more downtown exploring along the streets and through Gameworks on our way to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Afterwards, we hopped back in the car for a jaunt up to the Kerry park lookout (and more photos), then a quick driving tour of Seattle Pacific University, Ballard, Fremont, and Lake Union on our way back to the Seattle Center. We had our trip to the top of the needle (the Space Needle, that is) and a long leisurely stay at the top with (of course) more photos. We got to the top just as the sun was setting and so were able to see both day and night views of the city. The inner part of the observation deck was beautifully decorated – leftovers from Christmas as well as anticipation of New Year’s. Following the Space Needle, we parked down at the waterfront and explored a couple of the piers. They are much more interesting in the daytime… and even moreso in the summertime… but we did play a couple of games at the Bay Pavilion and bought a pirate sword for Rainbow Bear before leaving. The final events of the evening took us back up to Lynnwood where we saw “The Incredibles” (great, great movie!!) and had dinner at Red Robin. How much more could you possibly fit into one day??
The next day (New Year’s Eve), AJ and Chris took Anna and Jem up to Steven’s Pass, straped snowboards on their feet and turned on the video camera. 🙂 I hear they had fun, and can’t wait to see the videos! Meanwhile, I accompanied my mom and sister to visit Grandma and Grandpa Thomasson at their new home… which actually is brand new. It is very beautiful and quite spacious without feeling overwhelming. There’s still unpacking to be done and some decorating to do, but it already feels homey. I’m looking forward to visiting again sometime soon (maybe when I get back in the summertime). I really enjoyed chatting over lunch, we don’t get together often enough – as is the way it often goes with families.
Once the boarders were done on the mountain, they came and met up with my family down at the Starbucks on Alki. If the Coffee Club is the answer to “Where Will I Meet You?” for Australians, I’m sure that the answer here in America – or at least in Seattle – would definitely have to be “Starbucks!” The only problem is trying to determine which one, since they seem to be ubiquitously located. After some coffee and conversation, AJ, Chris, Anna, Jem, and I headed back up north and watched the Space Needle fireworks on tv before heading off to sleep… except that I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning reading The DaVinci Code. It was fun, and something I haven’t done for a long time. I really enjoy reading for fun, especially when I don’t have much reading for study to do.
Saturday was my last day in Seattle, and I spent the morning… well I spent the morning sleeping, then in the afternoon we drove to Mukilteo to watch the ferries, walk on the beach, and eat Ivar’s fish-and-chips. We also wandered around the new part of the Alderwood Mall, then met my mom at The Old Spaghetti Factory down on the waterfront for dinner. Once back in Lynnwood, we watched “Ella Enchanted” up at the office and then it was off to bed.
That leaves me with today – the flying part of my title, since I had to head back to St. Louis this morning. I just arrived here about 5 hours ago, got some errands out of the way and am getting ready to go to bed. Tomorrow I start my OB/GYN rotation that I was looking forward up until I picked up my syllabus this evening… the schedule is so complicated and there are a lot of assignments… I think the information will be very interesting but I am already tired just thinking about the hours and the work; which I guess means I should think about getting some sleep now (7am orientation tomorrow morning!)
Merry Christmas!
I’m finally home for Christmas! I finished up with my Family Medicine rotation on December 19th with a shelf exam that was supposedly the toughest one of third year – so I’ve heard. I felt pretty good about it overall, and finished with time to spare, so now I’ll just have to wait for the results to come in. So far I’ve been doing really well on these exams, so I’ll just hope that carries over for this one as well. I just checked the website where the rotation director logs each part of our grade as it comes in – so far I have no info for my exam score (it won’t even be available until the end of next week) but I do have a recommendation for Honors from both my PBL (problem-based learning; it’s small group case-based discussions) and from my preceptor that I worked with during the month. That’s a nice addition to this Christmas day.
I get to be in Seattle just over 1 more week, then back to good old STL to finish up the last half of third year. While I’m here I’m still going to get in some good family time (some more Christmas get togethers, watching April’s kids, Sunday morning with mom) as well as a whirlwind tour of Seattle when the Aussies arrive. Anna and Jeremy arrive on Wednesday (the 29th) and will be here until I leave for St. Louis. Then they and AJ will head out to NYC for a little touristy fun before they continue on (to Florida… I think) and AJ returns to Seattle just in time to jump in the Jeep with Chris and drive it out so we’ll have another vehicle in St Louis. With me getting up at the crack of dawn (or before… or sometimes not till evening if I’ve been on overnight…) AJ really needed to have his own transportation for school. We’ve already been talking about how to get all of our stuff back home (to Seattle) once we’re done with St. Louis, that’s a trip I’m REALLY looking forward to! I can’t wait to be back in Seattle for good.. and I can’t wait to be done with school and start learning the nuances of pediatrics in my residency program.
It may sound silly, but I’m looking forward to being called “Doctor”. 🙂 And I get to have that in just a year and a half. Wow…it seems so close and so far away all at once. And as exciting as it is, it’s also kind of scary. I’ve been learning a lot from the interns I’ve been working with, and in 16 months I’m going to BE an intern. Am I really going to learn enough in that time to function adequately? I’m sure I will, but sometimes I get a little panicky when I think about being the intern on call for the ER overnight and being the first person in charge of deciding what kind of care a child needs and who to call to help with it.
BUT… all of that will come in time. And I know a lot more now than I realize.
And since it is Christmas.. I’d like to end with my favorite Christmas card from this year (Click on it to get a bigger view at Rainbow Bear’s website) :
🙂 Merry Christmas!!
It’s my birthday!!!
But of course I have to go to school, and study for exams… but all of that is just fine with me because it’s still my birthday!!! 🙂 I will have more to write later.. after school… 🙂
Party Time! Excellent!
So, last night I proved to myself that I can, indeed, remain awake into the wee hours of the morning… around 2:30am to be exact. AJ and I (and Jill, Maren, Andrea, and Tori) gathered at Matthew and Richard’s last night for an E-bay Christmas party – complete with a "white elephant" exchange of gifts procured off of E-bay, including such gems as a documentary about Mullets and the People Who Wear Them, a baby-blue flower covered VW Bus telephone, and a remote-control dancing doll.
We all snacked, watched the mullet movie, and played Trivial Pursuit – The 90’s Edition well into the night, and when AJ and I finally got home (~1am) we finished watching "Raising Helen", took in a bit of Saturday Night Live (with host Luke Wilson) and finally drifted off around 2:30am. So, yes, I can stay up late… and yes, I enjoy staying up late – but let me sleep in til at least 11 the next day! 🙂
I’ve spent the past four weeks in my Neurology rotation at Cardinal Glennon. I’m kind of sad that it’s over because it’s the end of my time at Cardinal Glennon. The rest of my third year will be spent primarily with adults, and at other hospitals. But then fourth year arrives and I can do as much Peds as I want. Neuro was fun, and quite interesting… and I’m still definitely interested in exploring a career in Peds Neuro. But I’m also interested in General Peds – so I guess I’ll just focus on getting into a residency and then figure out where to go from there.
I had my Neuro Shelf exam on Friday. Why is it called a Shelf exam anyway? I still have yet to find a good answer for that. The only suggestion I have heard is that the exams used to be kept on a shelf, so that’s what they called them. That sounds kind of silly, but I guess it could be true. I even tried to Google this to find the answer, but no real luck. Oh well. Anyway, the exam went well, I think. I finished quite early again, so I guess the bane of the time-sucking Shelf exam started and ended with surgery. And really, I still finished that one in time, just much closer to the end-point than usual, which made me anxious. But Neuro was much better. I still have no clue as to how I did, but judging from my past 2 shelf scores, I probably at least passed it.
Jill and Maren and I had a nice "vent about the rotation" session at the gathering last night. I got to hear how horrible the Family Medicine Shelf is and how the recommended texts don’t preare you at all, and they got to hear about how great Peds Neuro is and how much fun they’re going to have. It doesn’t sound much like a fair exchange to me… but at least I have a little bit better of an idea of what to expect as far as the exam is concerned. I’ve been on Google all morning trying to find advice for the Family Medicine rotation/Shelf exam and pretty much coming up empty. Although it does seem that if I study from the Internal Medicine guides, I’ll be in okay shape. I guess I’ll just do my best and let the cards fall where they may.
Today AJ and I are going to head out to Barnes and Noble (One with a Starbucks! That’s a rarity in these parts!) and browse and study and basically set up shop for a few hours in a new location. He’s been putting in a lot of study hours lately since his next round of law school finals is coming up. I really feel for him – the whole semester scrunched down into a single exam – and then to have to do it five times over within two weeks. Sometimes I think I have a more demanding schedule than him (school-wise anyway), but when he gets into finals time, his takes the cake. At least we get a mini-vacation, since we’re heading back to Seattle for Thanksgiving next week. I’m looking forward to that, and maybe I’ll get a chance to reflect on my one day of family medicine I will have had by that point. We’ll see…. until next time….
Indiana here we come, do-dah, do-dah
When was the last time you took a spur-of-the-moment road trip? Me, it was last weekend when I found out that my sister would be playing in her last college soccer game ever and it would take place only (ONLY) a five and a half hour drive from good ol’ St. Louie. Of course, I didn’t find out about the game until about 30 hours before it would happen, but that didn’t stop me!
Heather goes to St John’s University (Queens NY Campus) and plays on their soccer team. Since we, her family, all live so far away we hardly ever get the chance to see her play. Her team got into the Big East Championship Tournament this year and their first game (and decidely their last) was played at Notre Dame University (in South Bend, IN). On her way there (at a layover in Chicago) she text messaged me to dicuss the “Little Miss” and “Mr Men” series of children’s books (see the series here: http://members.tripod.com/~DaveML/mrmus1.html) since she has a friend that apparently looks just like one of the “Mr Men” men – though we never got around to figuring out which one.. perhaps Mr Brave, or maybe Mr Nonsense? Anyway, we got around to discussing her trip, and how this is her last game ever, and how it’s too bad I was still so far away from South Bend, IN so I couldn’t go see her play. Which got me thinking, is 5 1/2 hours really so far? When I haven’t seen her play in years, and haven’t seen her in general in months..? I didn’t think so, and neither did AJ – so at 4am the next morning we were cursing the alarm that started us on our way.
The mini chocolate covered donuts (definitely not doughnuts) helped ease the early morning grouchies, and a grogeous sunrise helped us along as well. But the discovery that I had led us off the wrong exit almost ruined the trip, until we figured out how to get back on track (with only an extra 20 minutes tacked onto the drive). It could have been a disasterous mistake, adding an extra 1-2 hours (and thus causing us to miss the game entirely) if I hadn’t noticed it in time. To this day I still wonder why I thought I was smarter than the Mapquest map..? “Oh, that’s funny,” I thought to myself, “Why would Mapquest put the wrong map in with these directions? I guess I’ll just go my own way.” Silly, silly girl.
A couple of hours into the drive, McDonald’s beckoned, and we responded with the purchase of breakfast value meals, complete with Monopoly playing pieces. We got Park Place. We were convinced it was our day to win millions and decided to eat at McDonald’s for the rest of our meals that day. We ended up not winning. Who would’ve guessed?
We arrived in South Bend about 1 hour before game time and showed our IDs and signed the gate list to get our free tickets. We found some good bleacher seats in the middle of the field and watched the warm-ups. Heather ran over to give me her warm coat (Thank you Heather!!) and a disposable camera.. and a hug. Then she was off to play.
The game was.. well… I had a great time cheering and shouting and encouraging the Red Storm to play their hearts out. But overall it didn’t seem to help a whole lot. The psychological threat of playing against (drumroll) NORTRE DAME was a little too much for St. John’s to overcome and they lost, which was not unexpected, but they lost big, which maybe wasn’t unexpected either, but it surprised me (and Heather too, I think). Heather had a good game though, and played hard to the end. She played the entire game – and AJ took about 300 pictures. So those plus the 5 I got with her disposable camera now give her proof that she played soccer in college.
After the game I gave Heather a birthday care package of fun things for the plane (magazines, crossword puzzles, snacks) and we got to chat for a few minutes. She showed me some flowers that her friend Justin (the one who looks like a “Mr Men” man) had sent her for “good luck in the game” and “congratulations on your soccer comeback and career”. The card, however, said something more along the lines of “Congratulations on your new career. Please come back.” It seems that the florist taking his order was a bit lacking on his grasp of the English language – but that made for an entertaining conversation piece. 🙂
After picking up some McDonald’s dinner for Heather (still no winning game iece) and chatting for a few more minutes it was time for her to head to the airport with her team, and for us to head off on our 5 1/2 hour trip back home. It was so worth it and I had such a great time. It’s one of those road trips that I will remember for a long time – and now that I’ve got it all recorded here I can remember it for even longer.
It’s Friday
Oh dear, I can’t tell you how excited I am that it’s Friday. It means I get to get up early on Saturday. Oh well, at least I can pretend that I’m a normal person on Friday night. Tonight we are going over to Matthew and Richard’s and we are going to watch Round Two of the presidential debates. But mainly we are going to eat finger foods.
That is the important part.