Congratulations to my brother for graduating college. There's no way I could ever have gotten a physics degree, or taken half of the math classes he took (I actually squirmed out of taking ANY math in college), so I can't blame him for taking his time to get through school.
I've ended up studying at the public library (they allow drinks with tops and small snacks, so that solves the have-to-eat-and-drink-while-studying problem), The Brewing Grounds coffee shop in Leonardtown, and Panera, all of which have wireless internet. All are good places to study.
Hello to one of my blog stalkers from Maryland; I heard your mother presented Paula with my pictures from her wedding at Michelle's wedding this past weekend. I have no idea who you are, but that is a really cool it's-a-small-world story.
And hello to stress making me sick. I have had an itchy ear canal for over a week now, for which I finally went to the doctor yesterday, just in case it was a weird outer ear infection or something. The doctor said it was allergies and prescribed me Nasonex, but we were told by our school advisor to not start or stop any medications in the month before boards. You never know how you're going to react, right? And I think I do pretty well on loratadine alone. Plus, since Nasonex is a corticosteroid, it's going to take at least a week before it takes full effect anyway. So that means I shouldn't have any weird reactions in the next few days, right? It also means it won't help me at all in the next few days so why not just play it safe and not start it yet? Argh.
I also have two spots of cellulitis on my arm (lesson: don't scratch with dirty fingernails) and a patch of impetigo on my nose. This is the third time I've had a staph infection on my nose since December. I think I have MRSA. Except my infections usually go away on their own, using just regular triple-antibiotic cream, so that speaks against MRSA and more to just plain old Staph aureus, right? I'm obviously a nasal carrier either way... Anyway, the triage nurse yesterday asked why I was being seen, and I told her about my ear and said, "I also think I have a little patch of impetigo on my nose," to which she asked, "And why do you think you have impetigo?" to which I replied, "Because I'm a medical student" and gave a little grin. I meant "I'm a medical student which means I'm stressed out and a hypochondriac who knows better but can't help it" but I think she thought I meant "I'm a medical student so I know everything." Which is TOTALLY not what I meant, so I felt bad, but she was mean to me after that anyway.
So the doctor told me to put bacitracin on my nose and arm, and wrote it on a prescription. I checked with the pharmacy to see if there was a prescription-strength bacitracin ointment I could get, or if I should just use over-the-counter stuff. They said it was just OTC, so then I asked if a triple-antibiotic ointment would be the same (Neosporin/triple antibiotic has bacitracin, neomycin, and polymyxin B, but some people are allergic to the neomycin so doctors tend not to advise using the triple combo). THAT put us into a whole "No, it's the not the same, Neosporin has two other antibiotics in it that the doctor didn't write for, and you're going to sue us if we tell you it's OK and you have an allergic reaction to them" / "But I already own Neosporin and I'm not allergic to it and all I'm wondering is whether the triple antibiotic combo is somehow de-synergistic compared to bacitracin alone and I'm not going to sue you, I'm just trying to have an intelligent pharmacology discussion with you over the non-allergic relative benefits of bacitractin therapy alone or adding an aminoglycoside and polymyxin to a most-likely gram-positive infection" conversation. They were not interested in intelligent pharmacology discussions.
So here's to hoping that my nose infection doesn't turn out to be MRSA (Treatment? Vancomycin or linezolid!) and that my cellulitis doesn't turn into necrotizing fasciitis or toxic shock syndrome (toxemia with bacteremia, unlike staphylococcal TSS!) or post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (nephritic syndrome: hematuria, azotemia, and mild proteinuria) and that I stop being such a huge dork (Cure? Take my test on Friday and get drunk at that wedding on Saturday!). Only two days to go!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Southern Maryland Updates
Good news: There's now a Chipotle in Waldorf
Even better news: They're building a Chipotle RIGHT HERE in St. Mary's County! When we moved here in 1999, there was a Wal-Mart and a small Lowe's. Then we got Target, which I swear was like the second coming of Christ down here. Last year they opened an Old Navy and a Petco, and life got a lot easier when I visited home. And now... Chipotle! Every time I come home! Yay! Some people may lament the big box stores and chains, but you try living an hour from the nearest mall or chain store and tell me how much you like it after all.
Not as good news: I take my test in five days. I'm glad I boxed myself in with a non-refundable vacation right after the test, because if I hadn't, today would have been the day that I called up the testing center to push my test date back. And six months ago, I would have sworn to you that I'm not that kind of person, that I don't freak out about tests, that there's no way I would ever consider changing a test date once I had set it. Yeah... good thing I boxed myself in.
Even better news: They're building a Chipotle RIGHT HERE in St. Mary's County! When we moved here in 1999, there was a Wal-Mart and a small Lowe's. Then we got Target, which I swear was like the second coming of Christ down here. Last year they opened an Old Navy and a Petco, and life got a lot easier when I visited home. And now... Chipotle! Every time I come home! Yay! Some people may lament the big box stores and chains, but you try living an hour from the nearest mall or chain store and tell me how much you like it after all.
Not as good news: I take my test in five days. I'm glad I boxed myself in with a non-refundable vacation right after the test, because if I hadn't, today would have been the day that I called up the testing center to push my test date back. And six months ago, I would have sworn to you that I'm not that kind of person, that I don't freak out about tests, that there's no way I would ever consider changing a test date once I had set it. Yeah... good thing I boxed myself in.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Medical articles of the day
Birth control pill that stops periods wins FDA approval
Forget the pseudo-controversy over whether it's safe, reasonable, acceptable, etc., to stop women's periods; I don't really have much to say on the subject. My interest in changing menstruation schedules is that it is probably one of the best examples of marketing success ever. It's always been possible to skip a cycle or two using regular pills; you just take six (or nine) weeks of active pills in a row without taking the sugar pills in week 4 (or 8). But what the makers of Seasonale did was make a blister pack with 9 weeks' worth of pills in one package, market the hell out of it, and voila! A new FDA-approved drug capable of being sold at brand-name prices and saving the company from generic competition. It makes me both mad at the drug companies and completely envious of their marketing ingenuity at the same time.
Too much to carry?
In this week's Washington Post Magazine feature, we follow women who have to face a tough situation and undergo "selective reduction," or the reduction of a triplet or quad pregnancy down to a twin or single pregnancy to ensure the safety of the pregnancy and remaining fetuses. A great look into a little-talked-about aspect of modern fertility medicine. It reminds me of a conversation I had last year with a reproductive endocrinologist, who told me that while the public and politicians debate stem cell research, designer babies, and all sorts of other reproductive issues, the reality is that most of these things are happening in doctors' offices all over the country; it's just that unless you're involved with it directly, as a provider or patient, you aren't really aware of it.
Today's blog comes to you from the Brewing Grounds coffee shop in Leonardtown, MD. Good coffee, a good selection of lunch options, and free wireless internet. If I can just resist the urge to browse the used book store and consignment shop across the street, I'll be sitting here all day, and all tomorrow, and all day Friday...
Forget the pseudo-controversy over whether it's safe, reasonable, acceptable, etc., to stop women's periods; I don't really have much to say on the subject. My interest in changing menstruation schedules is that it is probably one of the best examples of marketing success ever. It's always been possible to skip a cycle or two using regular pills; you just take six (or nine) weeks of active pills in a row without taking the sugar pills in week 4 (or 8). But what the makers of Seasonale did was make a blister pack with 9 weeks' worth of pills in one package, market the hell out of it, and voila! A new FDA-approved drug capable of being sold at brand-name prices and saving the company from generic competition. It makes me both mad at the drug companies and completely envious of their marketing ingenuity at the same time.
Too much to carry?
In this week's Washington Post Magazine feature, we follow women who have to face a tough situation and undergo "selective reduction," or the reduction of a triplet or quad pregnancy down to a twin or single pregnancy to ensure the safety of the pregnancy and remaining fetuses. A great look into a little-talked-about aspect of modern fertility medicine. It reminds me of a conversation I had last year with a reproductive endocrinologist, who told me that while the public and politicians debate stem cell research, designer babies, and all sorts of other reproductive issues, the reality is that most of these things are happening in doctors' offices all over the country; it's just that unless you're involved with it directly, as a provider or patient, you aren't really aware of it.
Today's blog comes to you from the Brewing Grounds coffee shop in Leonardtown, MD. Good coffee, a good selection of lunch options, and free wireless internet. If I can just resist the urge to browse the used book store and consignment shop across the street, I'll be sitting here all day, and all tomorrow, and all day Friday...
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Blogging from Maryland
*Paula's wedding was beautiful, and not only because she was a beautiful bride. The band was awesome, which meant the dancing was great. And the photographer was great, so I can't wait to see photos. And I fit perfectly into my dress, which was a relief and an accomplishment. Wedding photos can be seen here.
*It was great to see everyone for a whole weekend and forget about studying. It was sad to think about the fact that, assuming the bride doesn't die suddenly, I'll never see that particular group of people all gathered together at the same time ever again.
*It was not great to actually stop studying for four days. I tried to start back up again today and was only 50% successful. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
*Pre-packing for Alaska last Thursday night didn't really end up happening so much. I opened a suitcase, threw in a jacket, a new down vest I bought on clearance at Old Navy a few weeks ago, a pair of long socks, some long underwear, and jeans, and I guess I'm thinking that I can create layers out of that plus what I brought home with me. We'll see if that turns out to be correct or not. Plus, when we stopped at my parents' house on Saturday before the wedding, we forgot to take a suitcase for Eric to bring back to Kentucky with him, so I'm not really sure how the luggage situation is going to end up.
*We stayed in an awesome motel in Morgantown, WV, on Friday night. Well, it was as awesome as an Econo Lodge could be, but that still puts it up around the caliber of, like, a good Holiday Inn or something. I've stayed in a lot of budget motels on road trips, and while I can handle a bad mattress for a night or two, I hate bad showers with low water pressure. Luckily, this place not only had a comfortable bed and good pillows, but a GREAT shower. And all for only $63! Plus it was really close to lots of restaurants, including a Panera for my getting-to-be-a-necessity latte, stores, a drugstore, and a 24-hour Kroger. I'd definitely want to stay there again if we had to.
*The cats survived the weekend without us at my parents' house; the dogs didn't eat them, which is definitely a good thing. Not that they can't take care of themselves when it comes to physical defense, but their timidity around the dogs means they tend to stay in the bedroom, even though in theory they have more than triple the square footage than normal to explore.
*Studied at home today, for what little studying I did. I'm going to try a local coffee shop tomorrow, and I'm going to find out if Panera has free wireless, because if they do, I could definitely set up shop there for a whole day. The problem with most coffee shops is that they don't have much in the food department, so then I'm stuck eating a scone for lunch (yuck) or packing up and leaving to go somewhere else, and I'm not that good at starting back up studying after I've had to stop (hey, I know my weaknesses). So Panera would be great, if they have internet. Stay tuned and I'll let you know.
*It was great to see everyone for a whole weekend and forget about studying. It was sad to think about the fact that, assuming the bride doesn't die suddenly, I'll never see that particular group of people all gathered together at the same time ever again.
*It was not great to actually stop studying for four days. I tried to start back up again today and was only 50% successful. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
*Pre-packing for Alaska last Thursday night didn't really end up happening so much. I opened a suitcase, threw in a jacket, a new down vest I bought on clearance at Old Navy a few weeks ago, a pair of long socks, some long underwear, and jeans, and I guess I'm thinking that I can create layers out of that plus what I brought home with me. We'll see if that turns out to be correct or not. Plus, when we stopped at my parents' house on Saturday before the wedding, we forgot to take a suitcase for Eric to bring back to Kentucky with him, so I'm not really sure how the luggage situation is going to end up.
*We stayed in an awesome motel in Morgantown, WV, on Friday night. Well, it was as awesome as an Econo Lodge could be, but that still puts it up around the caliber of, like, a good Holiday Inn or something. I've stayed in a lot of budget motels on road trips, and while I can handle a bad mattress for a night or two, I hate bad showers with low water pressure. Luckily, this place not only had a comfortable bed and good pillows, but a GREAT shower. And all for only $63! Plus it was really close to lots of restaurants, including a Panera for my getting-to-be-a-necessity latte, stores, a drugstore, and a 24-hour Kroger. I'd definitely want to stay there again if we had to.
*The cats survived the weekend without us at my parents' house; the dogs didn't eat them, which is definitely a good thing. Not that they can't take care of themselves when it comes to physical defense, but their timidity around the dogs means they tend to stay in the bedroom, even though in theory they have more than triple the square footage than normal to explore.
*Studied at home today, for what little studying I did. I'm going to try a local coffee shop tomorrow, and I'm going to find out if Panera has free wireless, because if they do, I could definitely set up shop there for a whole day. The problem with most coffee shops is that they don't have much in the food department, so then I'm stuck eating a scone for lunch (yuck) or packing up and leaving to go somewhere else, and I'm not that good at starting back up studying after I've had to stop (hey, I know my weaknesses). So Panera would be great, if they have internet. Stay tuned and I'll let you know.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
May 17, 2007
Life updates:
Studying is going fairly well. About midway through this week, I got stressed thinking about this weekend, which made my studying not that productive, which I know is COMPLETELY counterproductive, but it happened.
Essentially, today is D-Day. My last day of studying in Louisville before packing up and driving to Maryland tomorrow. Unfortunately, it's 10 am, I still haven't taken a shower, I have to stop by the auto mechanic on the way to school, I have a doctor's appointment at 2, and I really need to stop studying by about 7 pm tonight. So I'm not going to get a lot of studying done today, I can already tell. We're driving my car back east, so I brought it into the mechanic to get some minor-but-annoying things taken care of. Like, in the entire time I've owned the car (4 years next month), the cigarette lighter has never worked, because the first owner was a smoker, I think. So they fixed it, but called me yesterday to say that the fuse was still blowing sometimes, so could I bring in the thing I wanted to plug into it so they could make sure it would work? The thing I want to plug into it is an AC adapter. It plugs into the cigarette lighter at one end, and has regular electrical sockets at the other, so you can plug in a laptop, etc. And for a two-day car trip, I need to be able to study. And the doctor's appointment is for this weird, small patch of itchy rashiness I've had on my knee for -- I think -- about two months now. Since I am overcome with medical student-itis and can only recognize serious diagnoses like sporotrichosis, I'm going to let an actual doctor take a look at it to tell me that it's nothing. And that 7 pm deadline tonight? Well, there's only about 5 hours of great television to watch tonight -- and the only reason I'm allowing myself to watch it is because I have to pack at the same time. (Yeah, right. Like I haven't been watching all of my shows this whole time. Study, schmudy.)
Which brings us to packing. I've been minorly worrying about this event for some weeks, now. Tonight I have to pack for the following:
-A wedding I'm in: rehearsal dinner outfit, shoes and makeup for the big day (since we're driving east in a packed car with cats, I sent my dress back ahead of time so the MoH is holding it for me).
-Regular clothes for two weeks. Of course, I'm going to Southern Maryland, where the weather is crazy anyway, and we are in a summer of global warming craziness, so I need both warm-weather and cool-weather clothes, in both nice and not-so-nice outfit variations.
-Study materials. Laptop, power cord, PDA, PDA charger, about 10 huge books, various papers, pens, and other assorted insanity.
-Test-taking clothes for June 1. You know, they always say to wear something comfortable that you look and feel good in, with lots of layers. I have no idea what this outfit will be, but I have to bring lots of choices so I can figure it out later.
-A wedding we're going to on June 2. No biggie, just an extra dress.
-ALASKA. This is the most stressful, because I'm packing for Alaska ahead of time, but leaving the suitcase in Louisville. When Eric flies back east for the June 2 wedding, he's going to bring this suitcase with him. We're going to need to bring our largest suitcase for Alaska, since we're going to pack our winter coats and all, but the problem is that the handle broke off of our largest suitcase the last time I used it (it was a piece of crap, not a big surprise). So this weekend when we stop at my parents' house, I'm taking one of their large suitcases for Eric to bring back to Louisville with him. So I'm going to pack up our broken suitcase with my stuff, and then he's going to repack it into my parents' suitcase. I know it's so stupid, and of course I trust the man I've been dating for six years to pack all of my stuff into a suitcase, but I'm also completely neurotic when it comes to this and it's giving me palpitations. I have to be in control. It's my biggest downfall. And this is only Lesson 1 in a series of lessons I'm about to learn in the "If you want to be a doctor, you can't keep control of every part of your life" lesson. TLC, take a cue from me. When you design your little figurine to go with my life lesson, please send one to me. I'll display it proudly, I promise. On top of my control issues, I'm also a neurotic packer in general. There's always something I throw into the bag at the last minute, and I'm not going to be able to do that. So tonight I have to pack for a trip I'm not even taking until June 3, and I don't know how I'm going to do it. Thank goodness for Grey's Anatomy AND Scrubs AND ER AND the Lost special all being on tonight to sort-of take my mind off of it.
Oh yeah. And we can't go overboard in packing (did I mention I'm also an over-packer?) because when we drive back from Maryland on June 12, we'll have all of the stuff we're taking tomorrow PLUS the luggage from Alaska. So when we pack the car tomorrow, we have to make sure there's room to put the Alaska luggage in there also. And with my small trunk and the cats and all of their traveling accoutrements and all of my study materials, I'm not really sure if it's going to happen. But we'll cross that bridge tomorrow.
So there it is. I let out all my Crazy. Now I feel better. But you probably don't. You probably liked it better when you didn't know all of that was inside me, being suppressed with every fiber of my being. I've gotten pretty good at keeping the Crazy in -- most of the time, with most people. But now you know :)
Last night we saw Spamalot, the fifth of our six Broadway shows. It was awesome. I haven't seen The Holy Grail in many, many years, but I remembered the basic plot, and Eric tells me that the majority of the dialog was exactly the same. There were definitely some updates, though, and Broadway-appropriate adaptations. "You'll never make it on Broadway (without Jews)" is just one such example. I think the reason I liked it best was because of the way it made fun of Broadway shows. For instance, the song called, "The song that goes like this" was a parody of all other Broadway shows that "go like that" -- in its first iteration, it was the boy-and-girl-sing-together-lovingly-and-romantically song; in its second, it was the girl-sings-like-a-diva-in-a-solo song; and in its third, it was the boy-and-girl-kiss-and-prepare-for-a-wedding-after-the-boy-completes- his-mission song. Pretty hilarious stuff. As I've said after each one of these shows, go see it. Not counting 12 Angry Men, since that's a play, I think I rank the shows we've seen in this order: 1) 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 2) Spamalot, 3) Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 4) All Shook Up. I've heard Lion King is good, but I really don't think it can knock Spelling Bee out, but we'll have to wait until next month to see.
There has been one thing I've noticed during almost all of these Broadway shows. Each one has at least one gay or Jewish joke, which I find hilarious, but I'm not always sure the Louisville audience does. I always feel a little uneasy when those jokes fly, and it reminds me (again) that I actually can tell on a daily basis that I'm not on the East Coast and instead am in a weird part of the Bible Belt. Oh well. Not a topic for discussion today.
So, happy Thursday to you. I hope it's more productive for you than mine will be for me. The next time I blog I'll be back home in Maryland, and hopefully studying even harder. Oh yeah, and happy six years to ESC. It feels like it's been both forever and no time at all.
Studying is going fairly well. About midway through this week, I got stressed thinking about this weekend, which made my studying not that productive, which I know is COMPLETELY counterproductive, but it happened.
Essentially, today is D-Day. My last day of studying in Louisville before packing up and driving to Maryland tomorrow. Unfortunately, it's 10 am, I still haven't taken a shower, I have to stop by the auto mechanic on the way to school, I have a doctor's appointment at 2, and I really need to stop studying by about 7 pm tonight. So I'm not going to get a lot of studying done today, I can already tell. We're driving my car back east, so I brought it into the mechanic to get some minor-but-annoying things taken care of. Like, in the entire time I've owned the car (4 years next month), the cigarette lighter has never worked, because the first owner was a smoker, I think. So they fixed it, but called me yesterday to say that the fuse was still blowing sometimes, so could I bring in the thing I wanted to plug into it so they could make sure it would work? The thing I want to plug into it is an AC adapter. It plugs into the cigarette lighter at one end, and has regular electrical sockets at the other, so you can plug in a laptop, etc. And for a two-day car trip, I need to be able to study. And the doctor's appointment is for this weird, small patch of itchy rashiness I've had on my knee for -- I think -- about two months now. Since I am overcome with medical student-itis and can only recognize serious diagnoses like sporotrichosis, I'm going to let an actual doctor take a look at it to tell me that it's nothing. And that 7 pm deadline tonight? Well, there's only about 5 hours of great television to watch tonight -- and the only reason I'm allowing myself to watch it is because I have to pack at the same time. (Yeah, right. Like I haven't been watching all of my shows this whole time. Study, schmudy.)
Which brings us to packing. I've been minorly worrying about this event for some weeks, now. Tonight I have to pack for the following:
-A wedding I'm in: rehearsal dinner outfit, shoes and makeup for the big day (since we're driving east in a packed car with cats, I sent my dress back ahead of time so the MoH is holding it for me).
-Regular clothes for two weeks. Of course, I'm going to Southern Maryland, where the weather is crazy anyway, and we are in a summer of global warming craziness, so I need both warm-weather and cool-weather clothes, in both nice and not-so-nice outfit variations.
-Study materials. Laptop, power cord, PDA, PDA charger, about 10 huge books, various papers, pens, and other assorted insanity.
-Test-taking clothes for June 1. You know, they always say to wear something comfortable that you look and feel good in, with lots of layers. I have no idea what this outfit will be, but I have to bring lots of choices so I can figure it out later.
-A wedding we're going to on June 2. No biggie, just an extra dress.
-ALASKA. This is the most stressful, because I'm packing for Alaska ahead of time, but leaving the suitcase in Louisville. When Eric flies back east for the June 2 wedding, he's going to bring this suitcase with him. We're going to need to bring our largest suitcase for Alaska, since we're going to pack our winter coats and all, but the problem is that the handle broke off of our largest suitcase the last time I used it (it was a piece of crap, not a big surprise). So this weekend when we stop at my parents' house, I'm taking one of their large suitcases for Eric to bring back to Louisville with him. So I'm going to pack up our broken suitcase with my stuff, and then he's going to repack it into my parents' suitcase. I know it's so stupid, and of course I trust the man I've been dating for six years to pack all of my stuff into a suitcase, but I'm also completely neurotic when it comes to this and it's giving me palpitations. I have to be in control. It's my biggest downfall. And this is only Lesson 1 in a series of lessons I'm about to learn in the "If you want to be a doctor, you can't keep control of every part of your life" lesson. TLC, take a cue from me. When you design your little figurine to go with my life lesson, please send one to me. I'll display it proudly, I promise. On top of my control issues, I'm also a neurotic packer in general. There's always something I throw into the bag at the last minute, and I'm not going to be able to do that. So tonight I have to pack for a trip I'm not even taking until June 3, and I don't know how I'm going to do it. Thank goodness for Grey's Anatomy AND Scrubs AND ER AND the Lost special all being on tonight to sort-of take my mind off of it.
Oh yeah. And we can't go overboard in packing (did I mention I'm also an over-packer?) because when we drive back from Maryland on June 12, we'll have all of the stuff we're taking tomorrow PLUS the luggage from Alaska. So when we pack the car tomorrow, we have to make sure there's room to put the Alaska luggage in there also. And with my small trunk and the cats and all of their traveling accoutrements and all of my study materials, I'm not really sure if it's going to happen. But we'll cross that bridge tomorrow.
So there it is. I let out all my Crazy. Now I feel better. But you probably don't. You probably liked it better when you didn't know all of that was inside me, being suppressed with every fiber of my being. I've gotten pretty good at keeping the Crazy in -- most of the time, with most people. But now you know :)
Last night we saw Spamalot, the fifth of our six Broadway shows. It was awesome. I haven't seen The Holy Grail in many, many years, but I remembered the basic plot, and Eric tells me that the majority of the dialog was exactly the same. There were definitely some updates, though, and Broadway-appropriate adaptations. "You'll never make it on Broadway (without Jews)" is just one such example. I think the reason I liked it best was because of the way it made fun of Broadway shows. For instance, the song called, "The song that goes like this" was a parody of all other Broadway shows that "go like that" -- in its first iteration, it was the boy-and-girl-sing-together-lovingly-and-romantically song; in its second, it was the girl-sings-like-a-diva-in-a-solo song; and in its third, it was the boy-and-girl-kiss-and-prepare-for-a-wedding-after-the-boy-completes- his-mission song. Pretty hilarious stuff. As I've said after each one of these shows, go see it. Not counting 12 Angry Men, since that's a play, I think I rank the shows we've seen in this order: 1) 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 2) Spamalot, 3) Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 4) All Shook Up. I've heard Lion King is good, but I really don't think it can knock Spelling Bee out, but we'll have to wait until next month to see.
There has been one thing I've noticed during almost all of these Broadway shows. Each one has at least one gay or Jewish joke, which I find hilarious, but I'm not always sure the Louisville audience does. I always feel a little uneasy when those jokes fly, and it reminds me (again) that I actually can tell on a daily basis that I'm not on the East Coast and instead am in a weird part of the Bible Belt. Oh well. Not a topic for discussion today.
So, happy Thursday to you. I hope it's more productive for you than mine will be for me. The next time I blog I'll be back home in Maryland, and hopefully studying even harder. Oh yeah, and happy six years to ESC. It feels like it's been both forever and no time at all.
Free Stuff! Update
So posting these things every time something came was making my blog look a little... well, like Wal-Mart, instead of Target. And we all like Target better than Wal-Mart, so I showed some restraint. Here is an all-at-once update from the last week:
5/16/07Wash
5/14/07
5/12/07 : Post-it samples: pop-up notes, super sticky ruled post-its, filing tabs, file folder tabs, plain flags, message flags, and arrow flags. Yay for office supplies! For some reason, when I was growing up I loved visiting my dad’s office and playing with all of his office supplies, especially the ink stamps (FILE, FAX, SIGNATURE REQUIRED, etc). When I was getting ready to go to college, my favorite part was going to Staples and buying whatever I wanted – file folders, a stapler, a three-hole punch, a cork board, envelopes, binder clips, paper clips, thumb tacks. I’m crazy, I know, but I have a special place in my heart for office supplies.
5/10/07 : Olay Definity Intense Hydrating Cream; Airborne On-the-Go Effervescent Dietary Supplement, Lemon-Lime flavor.
5/16/07
5/14/07
5/8/07: Alavert (loratadine) quick-dissolve tablets, one in the regular flavor and one in "Citrus Burst"; Hamburger Helper Microwave Single in "Cheeseburger Mac"; Kashi GoLean Crunch! Update: Hamburger Helper was not bad in the taste department, but I can't seriously bring myself to buy that ever again. I can cook actual food, people, so macaroni and cheese from a box with powder cheese is where I draw the line (it's my guilty pleasure). Why, just this week I made both chicken scallopini and steak. The Kashi was good, and its high-protein-high-fiber-ness made me go buy a full-size box for my breakfasts. I guess that's a free sample that worked.
5/2/07: (Wow, our mailman got here early today! And I got up early today -- to go to the GYM, of all places!) Dove Regenerating Calming Night Body Wash and Regenerating Night Lotion; Sunsilk Hydra TLC Shampoo, Conditioner, and 24/7 Creme (wtf?). Both are still active offers. Btw, as I descend into my month of non-stop studying (9 solid hours yesterday, not bad -- but not enough, either), I'm either not going to be blogging that much other than these short "Free Stuff! Updates" or else I'm going to be blogging like crazy, a la study weeks. Let's hope it's the former and not the latter.
5/1/07: Feline Greenies, "the original green smart-treat," "dental treats cats love!" We ordered Tempting Tuna, and yes, Moxie and Mojo snapped them up. This one does have an active offer, so go order yours (available for dogs also)!
4/28/07: Aquafresh White & Shine Berry Fresh toothpaste, 0.8 oz. Perfect for carry-on!
-A single Always sanitary pad with Clean wipe attached. Sorry if that's too personal or disgusting for you. You wouldn't believe the amount of packaging they used to wrap the thing. It was a box about three times bigger than it needed to be. If I had realized that, or the fact that it's rather embarrassing to say I requested a free sanitary pad in the mail, I probably wouldn't have ordered it...
4/26/07: Curel Targeted Therapy Fast-Absorbing Hand & Cuticle Cream and Deep-Penetrating Foot Cream The hand cream "noticeably softens hands and cuticles with just one use" and the foot cream creates "noticeably smoother, softer feet in just two nights." 0.25 fl oz / 7 mL each. Score!
4/23/07: Aveeno Positively Ageless Rejuvenating Serum and a coupon for $1.50 off an Aveeno facial care product. It retails for $19.99 for a 50mL bottle; I got 3mL free (that's worth $1.20)! After all, it's never too early to "visibly reduce signs of aging." And I love their face wash.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Movies I'd like to see...
...when I get my life back (wait -- when IS that, exactly?)
Spider-Man 3 (even though I've heard it's not that good)
Waitress
The Ex
Georgia Rule (even though it has Lindsay Lohan?)
Shrek the Third (I love the M&M commercial where Donkey and Puss in Boots are smacking on peanut butter)
Pirates of the Caribbean!
Knocked Up
Ratatouille (and while I'm at it, Meet the Robinsons) (I don't care if they've split; Disney and Pixar still go together in my mind)
Transformers (maybe)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!!!!!!!!!!! (Trailer here)
The Simpsons Movie (maybe)
The Bourne Ultimatum
Becoming Jane (Don't know, just heard of it, but I do like Jane Austen, and Anne Hathaway and so cute)
Good Luck Chuck (despite annoying Jessica Alba)
And that brings us to the end of August with release dates, and the end of my ridiculous daydreaming. Considering the last movie I saw was Pan's Labyrinth, which comes out on DVD next week, it's probably not realistic to think I'm going to get to see 1/10 of those movies. However, I will see Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter NO MATTER WHAT. I may have to wait for Pirates (May 25 falls before June 1, unfortunately), but I don't care WHAT babies I'm supposed to be delivering on July 13; I'll be at the theater.
Spider-Man 3 (even though I've heard it's not that good)
Waitress
The Ex
Georgia Rule (even though it has Lindsay Lohan?)
Shrek the Third (I love the M&M commercial where Donkey and Puss in Boots are smacking on peanut butter)
Pirates of the Caribbean!
Knocked Up
Ratatouille (and while I'm at it, Meet the Robinsons) (I don't care if they've split; Disney and Pixar still go together in my mind)
Transformers (maybe)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!!!!!!!!!!! (Trailer here)
The Simpsons Movie (maybe)
The Bourne Ultimatum
Becoming Jane (Don't know, just heard of it, but I do like Jane Austen, and Anne Hathaway and so cute)
Good Luck Chuck (despite annoying Jessica Alba)
And that brings us to the end of August with release dates, and the end of my ridiculous daydreaming. Considering the last movie I saw was Pan's Labyrinth, which comes out on DVD next week, it's probably not realistic to think I'm going to get to see 1/10 of those movies. However, I will see Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter NO MATTER WHAT. I may have to wait for Pirates (May 25 falls before June 1, unfortunately), but I don't care WHAT babies I'm supposed to be delivering on July 13; I'll be at the theater.
Wouldn't it be great if this was all you had to care about?
Check out the rest of the crazy cat shenanigans here.
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| Crazy Cats |
So it turns out that studying at home is only mildly successful. Studying at Borders is out these days, because I need the internet to do practice questions and I refuse to pay Borders for it when the block the free wireless that the city provides right outside its doors. So now it's time to find a new outside-the-home place. The past two days it's been Heine Brothers and Qdoba. I still haven't managed to make it to school (what a concept!), but tomorrow just might be the day. (And in full disclosure, I watched Moxie watching that water drip for a lot longer than the three minutes of video show... so in some ways, that WAS all I had to care about... for one evening, anyway.)
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Free Stuff! Update
5/8/07: Alavert (loratadine) quick-dissolve tablets, one in the regular flavor and one in "Citrus Burst"; Hamburger Helper Microwave Single in "Cheeseburger Mac"; Kashi GoLean Crunch!5/2/07: (Wow, our mailman got here early today! And I got up early today -- to go to the GYM, of all places!) Dove Regenerating Calming Night Body Wash and Regenerating Night Lotion; Sunsilk Hydra TLC Shampoo, Conditioner, and 24/7 Creme (wtf?). Both are still active offers. Btw, as I descend into my month of non-stop studying (9 solid hours yesterday, not bad -- but not enough, either), I'm either not going to be blogging that much other than these short "Free Stuff! Updates" or else I'm going to be blogging like crazy, a la study weeks. Let's hope it's the former and not the latter.5/1/07: Feline Greenies, "the original green smart-treat," "dental treats cats love!" We ordered Tempting Tuna, and yes, Moxie and Mojo snapped them up. This one does have an active offer, so go order yours (available for dogs also)!4/28/07: Aquafresh White & Shine Berry Fresh toothpaste, 0.8 oz. Perfect for carry-on!-A single Always sanitary pad with Clean wipe attached. Sorry if that's too personal or disgusting for you. You wouldn't believe the amount of packaging they used to wrap the thing. It was a box about three times bigger than it needed to be. If I had realized that, or the fact that it's rather embarrassing to say I requested a free sanitary pad in the mail, I probably wouldn't have ordered it...
4/26/07: Curel Targeted Therapy Fast-Absorbing Hand & Cuticle Cream and Deep-Penetrating Foot Cream The hand cream "noticeably softens hands and cuticles with just one use" and the foot cream creates "noticeably smoother, softer feet in just two nights." 0.25 fl oz / 7 mL each. Score!4/23/07: Aveeno Positively Ageless Rejuvenating Serum and a coupon for $1.50 off an Aveeno facial care product. It retails for $19.99 for a 50mL bottle; I got 3mL free (that's worth $1.20)! After all, it's never too early to "visibly reduce signs of aging." And I love their face wash.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Week 1
Week #1 of board studying is over, and I'd say that it was a mild success. I didn't study nearly as much as I should have, and then we went to NJ for the weekend for Eric's cousin's wedding. I did a really great job of compartmentalizing my brain and suppressing study anxiety for the weekend so I could have a good time, and that was a huge success. But now it's Monday and I need to get back to it. This week I'm reviewing physiology and biochemistry, and I'm sure I'll throw in some pathology here and there. It just doesn't seem like there's going to be enough time to get everything in before June 1!
Here are pictures from this weekend:
Karen's Baby Shower
Glen and Jessica's wedding, Stone Harbor, May 5, 2007
Lea!
Here are pictures from this weekend:
Karen's Baby Shower
Glen and Jessica's wedding, Stone Harbor, May 5, 2007
Lea!
Friday, May 04, 2007
Board update
I am at the end of Week 1 of Board studying. Monday was a semi-success; I read some of First Aid and went to Kinko's to get some details taken care of: chopping the binding off of FA and punching 3 holes in it to put it in a binder, and getting Goljan's notes printed (yeah, so I'm guilty of copyright fraud. Sue me now while I have no money.). Tuesday was pretty good -- I studied for a good 9 hours, which is probably a good minimum goal for me to have. Wednesday was weird, because I thought I was going to get an early start on the day by going to the gym at 8:30, but once I had driven Eric to work (his car's in the shop), picked up our alterations and dry cleaning and made a quick stop at Kroger, it was 2 pm. Yikes. Yesterday I studied a decent amount, took a nap because I felt nauseous after eating an entire bag of spinach (10 oz fresh, cooked down into almost "nothing" that proceeded to fill my stomach like an oh-so-delicious brick), and managed to complete 100 anatomy questions. Not too bad.
Week 1: Read ~300 out of 400 pages of First Aid; did 100 anatomy questions on USMLERx (50% correct, which is OK, because neuroanatomy is my weakest area by far); commented extensively on this blog, which, is tracking First Aid errors (and boy, are there a bunch of them!)
Today we fly to Philly for Eric's cousin's wedding. I'm also going to another party that might still be a surprise for the honoree, so I'll keep quiet about it. It involves me driving from South Jersey to Central Jersey very early tomorrow morning, and driving back down to South Jersey in time for the wedding tomorrow evening. Our goal is to take only carry-on items for this trip, not counting the golf clubs we have to check. So I amassed all of our travel-size toiletries and crammed them all into two quart-sized ziplock bags. Those things are stuffed full, but they closed, so yay! I celebrate the minor victories in life, that's for sure.
Week 1: Read ~300 out of 400 pages of First Aid; did 100 anatomy questions on USMLERx (50% correct, which is OK, because neuroanatomy is my weakest area by far); commented extensively on this blog, which, is tracking First Aid errors (and boy, are there a bunch of them!)
Today we fly to Philly for Eric's cousin's wedding. I'm also going to another party that might still be a surprise for the honoree, so I'll keep quiet about it. It involves me driving from South Jersey to Central Jersey very early tomorrow morning, and driving back down to South Jersey in time for the wedding tomorrow evening. Our goal is to take only carry-on items for this trip, not counting the golf clubs we have to check. So I amassed all of our travel-size toiletries and crammed them all into two quart-sized ziplock bags. Those things are stuffed full, but they closed, so yay! I celebrate the minor victories in life, that's for sure.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Free Stuff! Update
5/2/07: (Wow, our mailman got here early today! And I got up early today -- to go to the GYM, of all places!) Dove Regenerating Calming Night Body Wash and Regenerating Night Lotion; Sunsilk Hydra TLC Shampoo, Conditioner, and 24/7 Creme (wtf?). Both are still active offers. Btw, as I descend into my month of non-stop studying (9 solid hours yesterday, not bad -- but not enough, either), I'm either not going to be blogging that much other than these short "Free Stuff! Updates" or else I'm going to be blogging like crazy, a la study weeks. Let's hope it's the former and not the latter.5/1/07: Feline Greenies, "the original green smart-treat," "dental treats cats love!" We ordered Tempting Tuna, and yes, Moxie and Mojo snapped them up. This one does have an active offer, so go order yours (available for dogs also)!4/28/07: Aquafresh White & Shine Berry Fresh toothpaste, 0.8 oz. Perfect for carry-on!-A single Always sanitary pad with Clean wipe attached. Sorry if that's too personal or disgusting for you. You wouldn't believe the amount of packaging they used to wrap the thing. It was a box about three times bigger than it needed to be. If I had realized that, or the fact that it's rather embarrassing to say I requested a free sanitary pad in the mail, I probably wouldn't have ordered it...
4/26/07: Curel Targeted Therapy Fast-Absorbing Hand & Cuticle Cream and Deep-Penetrating Foot Cream The hand cream "noticeably softens hands and cuticles with just one use" and the foot cream creates "noticeably smoother, softer feet in just two nights." 0.25 fl oz / 7 mL each. Score!4/23/07: Aveeno Positively Ageless Rejuvenating Serum and a coupon for $1.50 off an Aveeno facial care product. It retails for $19.99 for a 50mL bottle; I got 3mL free (that's worth $1.20)! After all, it's never too early to "visibly reduce signs of aging." And I love their face wash.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Free Stuff! Update
5/1/07: Feline Greenies, "the original green smart-treat," "dental treats cats love!" We ordered Tempting Tuna, and yes, Moxie and Mojo snapped them up. This one does have an active offer, so go order yours (available for dogs also)!4/28/07: Aquafresh White & Shine Berry Fresh toothpaste, 0.8 oz. Perfect for carry-on!-A single Always sanitary pad with Clean wipe attached. Sorry if that's too personal or disgusting for you. You wouldn't believe the amount of packaging they used to wrap the thing. It was a box about three times bigger than it needed to be. If I had realized that, or the fact that it's rather embarrassing to say I requested a free sanitary pad in the mail, I probably wouldn't have ordered it...
4/26/07: Curel Targeted Therapy Fast-Absorbing Hand & Cuticle Cream and Deep-Penetrating Foot Cream The hand cream "noticeably softens hands and cuticles with just one use" and the foot cream creates "noticeably smoother, softer feet in just two nights." 0.25 fl oz / 7 mL each. Score!4/23/07: Aveeno Positively Ageless Rejuvenating Serum and a coupon for $1.50 off an Aveeno facial care product. It retails for $19.99 for a 50mL bottle; I got 3mL free (that's worth $1.20)! After all, it's never too early to "visibly reduce signs of aging." And I love their face wash.
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