29 November 2009

flashing lights

It's a glorious-looking day outside. A little too warm for my tastes though. I knew if I took out my winter clothes it would get hot again.

Cramming for the chronic leukemias & myelodysplastic disorders exam tomorrow. 12 days to the end of the semester. I can't. freaking. wait.

Last night was interesting. First of all, the Coogs completely STOMPED Rice, 73-14. 59-0 at halftime. Whose house? Ruck Fice, baby.

Anyway, Chris and I were leaving his apartment to go get some dinner when two sheriff's cars turned the corner in the parking lot with their lights flashing, hauling ass. They slowed down and asked Chris if he called them, and when he said no they tore off again. When we left the cops were at the front of the complex, and we didn't see anything except some broken glass on the ground.

As we were driving down the road, we saw three more cars heading in that direction. When we got back about 20 minutes later, the street was partially blocked and there were a total of 5 or 6 cop cars right at the entrance of the apartment complex. I don't know what was going on, but I was really curious. I didn't see any news vans so I doubt there's anything in the paper. Maybe the office will distribute some kind of FYI to all the residents on Monday.

27 November 2009

Hey there

Well, Thanksgiving in College Station was fun, and I didn't even get glutened. I hope everyone had a good one.

I went to this store called Village Foods and they had a ton of gluten free stuff, so I got a few things that I haven't seen in Houston, like instant oatmeal, croutons, and gravy mixes. Too cool.

Now I have to focus on getting all these assignments done before Monday. Ugh almost over!

24 November 2009

coffee & suckage

I have decided that I suck at making coffee. Even though I follow the directions and it should not be hard, every cup of coffee I make kinda sucks. I usually only take a few sips before it's either time to leave or I'm sick of coffee.

Yesterday really, really sucked. Among the suckage was problems with a printer too damn early, dropping my entire lunch on the floor, and getting caught in traffic from the train derailment and going wandering through the ghetto to find my way back home. Although I'm sure the guy driving the train had a worse day than me...

So I'm hoping today is a little better. Sucky coffee and all.

22 November 2009

looks just like it.

I volunteered to decorate my sister Suzy's cake for her birthday, and she wanted Hello Kitty. Well, I had to decorate it inside the pan so I opted to draw Hello Kitty on the cake. This is what I was going for:

And this is how it came out:

LOL I laugh every time I look at it. It came out more like Hello BUNNY. Still festive, but not exactly what I was going for. I guess I should have had some coffee before I started on it, huh?

In other, completely unrelated news, I want to join/start a jogging photography group... inspired by Yes Man.

21 November 2009

hang in there lappy

My computer is making funny noises. Please, please make it to the end of the semester before you die.

Fibrinolysis is so boring. I look at the page and all I see is numbers and letters. Snore.

19 November 2009

NOoOooO

Oh my gosh. Today = feeling like crapola. I thought I woke up feeling better because my sore throat was gone, but my sinuses started to feel worse on the way to school. I dragged myself through the practical this morning, not even really caring if that cell was a monoblast or a lymphoblast. I flew through slides and I just wanted to get out of the lab and go eat a little something and lay down.

I ate some chicken soup that made my stomach feel funky, and then forced myself to study with Kathy for a couple hours- feeling terrible. I seriously wanted to do nothing else but lay down but instead I tried to remember that theophylline is a broncodilator and it metabolizes to caffeine. I finally took some meds and my head cleared up a little, then a little while later my stomach calmed down.

I still feel bad. Just a stupid head cold but my appetite is lame. Even if I feel sick tomorrow I'm going to take that exam. No point in worrying about making it up when I've already been studying for it. So tired...

In the mean time, my momma loves me. I love coming home to treats on the counter, which has been a lot lately. Yesterday it was a box of fruit snacks and a ton of GF granola bars. Today there was a box of Honey Nut Chex, a smoke alarm (so I don't die an accidental firey death), and a box of herbal teas which I think I'm going to partake in very soon. <3

18 November 2009

I don't think so, sickly.

Just made myself some really good chicken & rice soup. I would have taken a picture but I forgot that my camera is in Vegas.

Not feeling very well. I felt a scratch in my throat yesterday afternoon. I was so tired that I went to bed at 8 and this morning I woke up with a sore throat and crappy sinues. Other than that I feel fine, just a little tired. I can NOT get sick. I have managed to avoid getting sick all semester and I'm doing my best to avoid it now.

Lab practical on leukemias tomorrow.
Friday- exam. Reproductive hormones assignment and tumor markers quiz due by 10pm. (Then Bob Saget!)
Saturday- sticks & studying for coag.
Sunday- really figure out this coag shit.
Monday- Coag Exam

THEN maybe I can get sick for a couple of days.

Back to toxicology/ therapeutic drug monitoring. Its actually neat stuff but there's SO MUCH to remember!!

17 November 2009

lipids, phlebotomy, and frisbee.

Man, what a long day. It was a good(ish) one, though.

I woke up really early to drop Chris off at his friend's house so he could take him to the airport. His friend lives near school and it saved him a 50-mile drive. He's going to Vegas for supernationals, which is cool for him and good for me because I need some undistracted study time. I hope he wins some big money and shares it with me. ;o)

This morning we drew blood so we could run our own lipid panels. Um, yeah. Mine were not so good. It's not fair- I actually eat vegetables and whole grains and all that crap, and other people eat fast food and don't take care of themselves, and they had better lipid panels than I did. Gay.

After lunch we had some extra time and I was feeling quite blah and tired, so I pulled the frisbee out of my locker and convinced Kathy and Trish to play with me. Man, I sucked at frisbee but I got better as we played a little bit. It was nice and chilly today, and it was fun to take a break and play a game.

Then after class I decided to go get some sticks. The deadline is fast approaching and I'd only gone that one time and was only halfway done. It was hectic and it didn't go very smoothly. There were a lot of hard sticks; not just mine but everyone's. I ended up getting 5 sticks after staying an hour and a half. 18 total and 7 more to go. There were no mean people this time either. Not too bad. At least I'm getting them done.

I had more to write about, but hell if I can remember what's gone on in my life. Yesterday feels like last week, and last week feels like last month. Only a few more weeks till Christmas break!

12 November 2009

grouch

I hate getting up early.

11 November 2009

coffeemakers & curse words

I've had my coffeemaker for over a year, and this is the first time I've set the "delayed brew" function. I was always scared it would start a fire or something. I'm sure they've tested it to make sure that doesn't happen, but I vaguely remember hearing a story when I was a kid about a house that was burned down on Christmas morning because of the delayed brew function on a coffeemaker. I don't even know if that's actually what happened, or that's what my kid-head assumed happened. Anyway, I have come to equate coffeemaker timers with sudden, firey Christmas doom. Why did I finally use it? Dunno, I guess to challenge my superstition and I thought it'd be neat to wake up to the smell of coffee. No, I thought the smell of coffee might help me drag my ass out of bed. Still not any more of a morning person... I'll keep ya'll posted...

I'm eating cinnamon chex for breakfast this morning, thanks to my awesome brother and sister who brought me some back from Food Town. I went from having a little cushion to being broke once again. I took out what I normally take out in loans, but I forgot to take into account the fact that I'm not working this semester. I'm going to be barely making it by the end of the year. Everyone's getting baked goods for gifts! Unless I can get a job for two weeks during my break. God, not retail...

I have an academic advising meeting with my instructor this morning. Hope that goes well. I think she'll just tell me that my grades are ok, to finish up my sticks, and make sure I'm on track for graduation. Oh, and tell me not to curse in lab. Yesterday I spilled something during a test we were performing and I said, "Shit!" Of course she had to be standing right in front of me. Not the worst thing to happen, but certainly not the most professional. I felt like a dope either way, especially when she (jokingly?) brought up later something about her "ears being assaulted." I'm probably thinking too much about it.

07 November 2009

inner peace

You know how sometimes life just kinda swoops you away and you're going along, and all of a sudden you stop, have a moment and realize just how damn happy you are?

Yeah. Having one of those.

Been having those a lot recently. I'll be driving home from school frustrated and exhausted and I'll stop at a stoplight and the thought will pop into my head, "I'm so happy." For no reason at all.

I don't know why. From the outside looking in I'm barely keeping my head afloat in a hurricane of schoolwork. Even my dreams are anxious. I have to actively sacrifice sleep and energy to fit my friends and family into my schedule. The other day I had studied all day for a test the next day and was about to go to sleep when Luke came into my room asking for chemistry help. I was tired, and I could have snapped at him for asking so late, but instead I just said yes and we worked on it for about an hour and a half. I was tired the next day, but I didn't regret it.

I don't know why, but I have a heightened sense of appreciation lately. For the things most of us take for granted on a day-to-day basis. I've been letting go of the piddly details that would normally frustrate me, and I'm looking at the big picture. Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by cancer patients. Maybe the lack of sleep and brain strain is making me crazy. Maybe my way of coping with this strenuous schedule is thinking about how much worse it could be. Maybe I'm just aware that I'm blessed with understanding friends and an awesome family. Whatever it is, it's keeping me at peace right now.

04 November 2009

drippity drip

Take a 6-minute break and get a glimpse of what my night was like... except Donald Duck doesn't say the f-word. Good thing I figured out what he didn't- you can turn the water off underneath the sink. Thank GOD!



*UPDATE*

I'm an auntie again!! Exciting stuff!
Here's my blog shout-out to Dayna- Congrats!!!

02 November 2009

tortellini & naps

It's another gorgeous day.
I made a great score on my exam this morning.
I found some homemade tortellini in the freezer and it's delicious. I need to start writing my recipes down because I have no idea how I made it.
I think I see a nap on the horizon.
Not bad for a Monday, huh?

01 November 2009

it's hard to study today


Hope everyone had a good Halloween! It was tons of fun carving pumpkins but once again, I spent the night studying instead of dressing up and going out. I hate this crap.

I knew med tech school was going to be hard but I didn't expect to give up my entire life to it. I honestly don't know how I manage to keep cramming stuff into my head. I feel like those information overload people on the bing commercials. I'm expecting it to start leaking out of my ears in some cartoon fashion. My dreams aren't dreams. They are half-awake review sessions of everything I tried to learn that day. I don't even want to dream about that stuff; I just do! Ugh.

Remember to change your clocks! It felt good to give this sleep-deprived body some extra rest this morning.

Also, I'm addicted to these sugar cookies. I can't stop eating them. I put the rest of the batch in the freezer in little balls, so all I have to do to make more is put them on a sheet and bake them. Best idea ever? Or sugar overload self-sabatoge? We shall see. For some reason all my body wants is sugar today. I tried to eat healthy but I just want sugar. I bet it's my brain working overtime screaming for more glucose. Yeah, that's it...