30 June 2010

happenings!

  • Big smoothie for dinner. I'm thirsty, not hungry. Blueberries, strawberries, peaches, a fig, a huge handful of spinach, and cranberry juice. So refreshing. But now I have that sloshy "drank too much" belly.

  • Interview tomorrow! It's 30 minutes after I finish rotations for the day and I'm slightly worried that I'll be rushed. It's very close by, though, so I think it will be ok.

  • Blood pressure taking party tomorrow! I have 3 cuffs to finish (120 readings) by Friday. So everyone's invited over. Bring your friends! 6pm! There will be pizza!

  • Can I BE any more tired? Akhtar so awesomely posted on my fb wall today... 37 days!

27 June 2010

Privacy

It occurred to me that it would probably be a good idea to make this blog private for a couple of months while I'm applying for jobs and such.

I tried googling my name in various combinations with key words that I think potential employers might use, and nothing came up.

Still, I'm going to be on the safe side.
If I don't have your email address, send it to me and I'll add it to the "safe" list. If you leave it in a comment I'll delete it as soon as I get it so your email address isn't hanging out for the world to see.

I'm totally excited to be applying for jobs. Not that I expect to get an offer right away, but still. It's like it's real now. I'm going to be a grown up with a real career!

*dances*

26 June 2010

list-makers anonymous

Hello, my name is jacobithegreat and I am a list-maker.



I know it might not look like it, but lists make me organized. Or maybe they just make me feel organized.

Without lists, I forget what I went to the grocery store to get



or what I had to do this weekend, or what was due today

Or what projects I want to do once I get freeeee time.



When I'm trying to fall asleep and The Worries take hold and all of the things I have to do are running through my mind, I write them down on a list.


Then, I won't forget and my mind is free to think about other things. Like protein electrophoresis. I cleared off my desk today and had plenty of room to spread out and study the chemistry portion of my big ass review binder. *Sigh* crappy Saturday. 41 days are going to go by so quickly.



I am also a stack-maker, but that might be a post for another day...

I'm curious to hear about other people's "organization" quirks.

25 June 2010

job-age

Our program director just emailed us about some microbiology positions that are open.

First on my list this weekend: Finish my resume. I'm definitely applying.

~~~~~

Look! How cute!

24 June 2010

boomchicka

I could go to sleep right now (actually about 2 hours ago) and sleep allll night and not want to wake up in the morning.

I did the dishes only because they were overflowing out of the sink. Then I made pizza and created more dishes. *sigh*

I pulled up a carrot to see if they were even growing, and look!

It's so tiny, but at least they're not dried up and dead... yet. The onions are still up in the air but I read that when the top stalks dry up the onions are mature. One is starting to dry up so I'll probably get curious enough soon and pull it up.

Got a compliment yesterday. I was talking to one of the people that works in the micro lab. She actually graduated two years ago from the same program. She said that all the techs are very impressed with how good we are, and our enthusiasm.
Hellz yeah. And I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'd like to work in a micro lab. Once you're exposed to it, things start to click and sink in. It's actually really cool being able to look at a plate covered with normal flora and pick out the pathogen by how it looks.

And sometimes by how it smells. Pseudomonas aeruginosa smells like grape or tortilla. Yes, it can smell like both and it can really hit you when you open the plate. Proteus mirabilis swarms the plate and looks really cool. Haemophilus smells like ass. Not really, but it has a distinctive smell that is pretty nasty. Strep pneumo is small, and kinda caves in at the center. Eikenella smells like bleach (or semen, according to one tech lol).

I just totally went off on a micro tangent.

I have to wait for the hot water heater to do it's thing before I take a shower because I used it all up doing dishes...

22 June 2010

gah!

So Chris' mom just got me all worked up into an excited/nervous state and I'm all riled up.
It was kinda like one of those "If you give a mouse a cookie" things.

First she was all, "Southwest is having a sale and we should buy our plane tickets for his marine bootcamp graduation." (which is apparently a really big deal)

So that got me thinking about when finals are. And also thinking about how exciting it's going to be to see Chris again. And be in freaking San Diego <3.

So I checked our class schedule online. Of course finals are the Monday after the weekend of his graduation. And of course if I go I'll have to miss a day of final reviews. And not study that much for the finals- OR find time to study before that weekend, with all of our other stuff going on.

Finals got me thinking about my "worry list" which consists of finishing the management course, preparing my resume (INTIMIDATING) and applying for jobs, finishing my research project, and studying for and taking the certification exam.

Which got me thinking about how much I wanted the summer to fly by and all of a sudden there's just over a month left and there's so much to do!
Ack!

OhmygoshI'm EXCITED!

But holy shit I'm scared!

Excited!Scared!Excited!Scared!Excited!

I can't take it!

21 June 2010

my temple

I must have eaten something that my body did not like, because today it was all, "YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED" and I was like, "Owwwww" and various other forms of non-liking-age that I will spare you.

I think it's because after the 5th snicker's ice cream bar this weekend my brain made me stop even though my body thought they were so delicious and my stomach wasn't hurting at all. Now maybe my body's revolting over the healthy stuff I'm feeding it.

But I had to- I noticed the other day driving in the car that my stomach roll was sweating and popping out over my scrubs... and I still can't button my jeans.

That, and when I wore shorts this weekend my crotch tried to eat them. Sweaty, humid, riding up shorts. I was in Academy trying to do the "discreet pull the shorts out of my crotch" dance.

I know you know what I mean.

Things just don't fit right anymore and it's not fun and extremely uncomfortable. And I can't afford new clothes!

Time to hit the gym, cut back on the junk food, and tone up a little.

19 June 2010

Goings on and stuff

Punk's new food bowls. I love them. I just may take them back, sanitize them, and keep them for myself...


I just love the look of the label on this bottle of wine.


Little bitty chicken (cute!!) I made for dinner. I know, it kinda looks like a slut whore. But it was delicious lol


Cool-looking curly noodle I found when I made spaghetti earlier this week


Ingredients for a really yummy post-workout smoothie


I didn't do this on purpose, but all of these pictures involve food. I do love food...

15 June 2010

rain

There have been two times in my life where I was walking in the rain without an umbrella, and someone drove next to the curb and splashed water onto me, like in some pitiful scene in a movie.

One of those times was when I was in 5th grade and I normally walked home. When it rained I usually got picked up at some point, but that particular day mom was babysitting and there weren't enough seat belts for all the kids and they were too young to be left alone. So, I was walking home in the rain all cold and pissed off when some shitfucker purposefully swerved to splash nasty road water all over me, adding insult to injury. I was crushed and I cried the rest of the way home.

The second time was today. It's about a 10-minute walk from the hospital to the parking garage, and I got caught in a downpour without an umbrella. I had barely left the hospital but I was soaked within seconds and there was no point in turning back, so I kept walking. And yes, some fucker splashed water on me. I wanted so badly to flick him off, because you know his ass checked the rear view mirror, but I couldn't forget that I was representing Hospital A and I just let it go. Besides, I wasn't all pissed off or cold this time. It was just one of those things.

2 things to note about walking in the rain:

1. That rainwater really stings when it runs into your eyes, and the glasses situation made it horrible to see. Reason # 325 why I need to buy some more contacts.
2. I was SO thankful that I wore black scrubs today. I was soaked and they were practically glued to my skin.

Of course once I got to the parking garage it had stopped raining and it was perfectly sunny the entire way home.

Now my car seat is soaked and I'm really hoping it dries out. And my shoes are soaked too and they need a run in the dryer...

Oh, and today I looked like a complete dumbass when I was asked the most important biochemical reactions for enterics and I had absolutely no idea. For the record, they're oxidase negative, glucose fermenters, and nitrate reducing. You can bet I won't forget them now.

I'm predicting an early-ass bed time.

13 June 2010

Today

Today =

heart burn.
I'm really trying to lay off the prilosec. I think things will even out after a while. The funny thing is, there's no nausea or stomach-churning-ness. Just straight up plain old heartburn. For that I am thankful, and I think it will enable me to continue this weaning.)

bike riding

retro bike

continued studying for the BOR


sandwiches :o)

12 June 2010

shorts

Today I went shopping for shorts. For some reason all of the shorts I wore last year are too small and digging in all over the place. Muffin top? I didn't gain that much weight, so I guess I dressed much hoochier a year ago than I do now.

Anyway, shorts. Apparently there are only a few categories of shorts for sale: Skanky, Lesbian, and Hobo. Either they're way too short, way too long, or all distressed and torn up. Don't even get me started on the ones that are all bedazzled with extra hardware and crap. I couldn't find a plain pair of modest shorts that didn't cost $80.

I settled on some shorts that are slightly skanky but I did the "bend over" test and my ass did not hang out. What I really want are some mid-length, classy shorts.

Maybe something like these, except with my non-model legs, a 4-inch inseam would be just fine.

Or these

Or even something a little longer like these or these.

The problem with these types of shorts is that they're sold in the women's section, and those sizes often don't go small enough for my non-hips. Also, they tend to be more expensive. I guess all that "extra fabric" really costs a lot.

Sooo I guess the hunt for shorts is still on.

I did find a cute dress at Ross for only $10. I tried on an amazingly pretty yellow dress that was perfect except for the lack of room up top. So I sadly put it back.


How'd you like to be this cozy?

08 June 2010

micro @ Hospital H

Today was better.
My feet weren't hurting as much, and I had a better feel of what to expect.

I think I'm going to be ok as far as suppressing gags at nasty specimens goes.

When I get poo, I imagine it as dirt. So even when I have to dig into a turd, it's just a big wad of dirt.

Sputum, on the other hand, is a little harder. Nothing looks like a big wad of snot quite like, well, a big wad of snot. A lot of cystic fibrosis patients= lots of snot wads. And lots of trying not to gag.

I really hope I never get a gastric aspirate. It's basically puke. That might take a little more time to get used to.

One thing about the hospital is that it's cheerful and they try to spread the cheer. Today, I got some bubbles on a necklace. Waiting rooms are full of murals, even a few hot pink stripes within the lab. They wheel the kids around in Radio Flyer wagons. They really try to make the kids feel comfortable.

Every so often I get another reality check. Usually I try to avoid the kids running around anywhere I go and give their parents dirty looks when they let their kids be annoying, but I just can't be mean to a sick kid in the hospital, their confused siblings, or their exhausted and worried parents. Big smiles and extra patience all around. I can't imagine what they're going through.

Another cute thing: They were testing the fire alarms today, and rather than set them off for real and freak out the kids, we heard "Paging Dr. Pyro" over and over. I had a good chuckle.

06 June 2010

Weekend

  • FINISHED blood bank rotations! Woo!
  • Suzy bear graduated
  • Graduation party/ family friend's 21st birthday. Enjoyed some margaritas and jello shots
  • Up early to head to the BEACH HOUSE! A couple of detours along the way, one of which included a turtle crossing:
he was actually hauling ass for a turtle
  • Beach-ness, and I managed to NOT get sunburned thanks to my floppy hat and liberal slatherings of SPF 70. I've become more sun-conscious in the past few years, mostly because I'm remembering the near-constant sun exposure and the few blistering sunburns I had as a child. I don't want skin cancer, nor do I want to be a leathery old lady.
  • Up early again this morning because I want to be able to sleep tonight in order to be up early (530am!!!) tomorrow morning. I'm dying for a nap but I know I have to stay awake or I'll regret it tonight and tomorrow. I guess I could go crabbily run errands and do some much-needed grocery shopping. And drink some green tea.

03 June 2010

almost

WOOOOO BEACH HOUSE!!!

Wait- there's another day of rotations before the beach house happens?

Details.

In the meantime, tonight it's just me and punk, that huge review binder, a glass of wine and a snack every now and then.


I have noticed a lack of hair clippies and bobby pins in my bathroom, and was about to go blame it on Sue or Mom. When I was digging around in my desk drawers looking for a tape measure to measure my head and tell Jen how big around it is (19 inches), I found this:

Huh. Go figure.

02 June 2010

pie, tea, skype, anxiety


Pumpkin pie! Courtesy of Jen who brought over some pumpkin she had in her pantry. Many thanks!!!

My stomach is upset, and for some reason lemon tea sounded like a good idea.


I talked to my dad today for a while on skype. It took us a while to get everything so that we could hear each other, but it was really cool once we got it going. He's going to try and hook my grandma up when he goes to visit in July. She'll get a kick out of it for sure. I wish I could go!

I finally got my check in the mail today! Now I don't have to worry so much about that.

Got my head measured for my cap today. Now that it's getting closer, I'm getting less excited and more scared. Mostly about the board of certification exam. There's so much to remember and I've been studying every night but there's still SO MUCH. I'm not even through hematology.
I need to feel better about this.

01 June 2010

happenings

Sunflower action




Memorial Day cupcakes



Pumpkin's new bowls. I accidentally broke the other ones. Mom was nice and picked it up for me today. I originally wanted something a little more punchy and a little less, "This is a bowl for a cat," but my total checking and savings account balance is $49 right now so this looks great!

WHERE THE HELL IS MY STUDENT LOAN CHECK????