Date:	2006-03-14 21:09
Subject:	ow
Security:	Public
Mood:	disappointed
Music:	Audioslave-Doesn't Remind Me

I hate retracting (standing absolutely still and holding the incision open so the surgeons can see what they're doing).  I did it for over 12 hours today.  I got a 15 minute break.  My arms and back hurt sooooooooooo bad.  On the bright side, I got to cauterize an artery, hold the colon and tie some knots (ohhhh, ahhhhh).  The worst part of this whole day?  I was supposed to go over to Brad's for dinner and had to hold retractors instead.  :(

So, Brad.  Brad makes me smile, he's nice and I really like hanging out with him (and he's a good kisser--that's what the big cheesy grin post from Friday was all about)... (and I'm pretty sure he's reading this, so that's all I'm going to write for now).  ;)

Date:	2006-03-11 12:32
Subject:	tonight was Friday night...
Security:	Public
Mood:	silly
Music:	Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald-Dream a Little Dream of Me

 

That's all I really have to say right now.

I'm going to bed.



(still smiling)

Date:	2006-03-06 17:57
Subject:	still alive
Security:	Public
Mood:	moody
Music:	Sitting, Waiting, Wishing-Jack Johnson

Ok, now that it's been over 6 months since my last update, I figured I should finally get around to that...

Not a whole lot else to update on.  I really need to keep in better touch with people.  So, to my friends who read this, I do think about you and wonder how you're doing, too, but I never get around to making that phone call or writing that letter.  My intentions are good, but I'm too much of a slacker.

Date:	2005-08-28 12:39
Subject:	am still alive...
Security:	Public
Mood:	bored
Music:	in the library

Today is Sunday (also known as Lisa Cortez Hendrick's birthday--but it's probably too early for me to call her and tell her that).  I'm at the hospital...I'll be here until noon tomorrow, and I'm bored out of my mind.  I actually paged myself to make sure my pager was actually working.  So, since nothing is going on, I figured I should do something semi-productive.

Updates (finally, I know):  Presented with many,  many cuts so you don't have to read a ginormous post if you don't want to.  So, here we go:

( My last few days at Fort LECOM )

( The big move )

( The Boards )

( Tammy and Wes's Wedding )

Oh!!! Am being paged!!!  Yay!!!!!

After spending countless hours on the phone, I think I've managed to get everything straightened out before I head out next week.  For those of you who want to know... I'm living in Beachwalk Apartments in Novi... right across the hall from Steph--my good friend here at med school.  I'm not quite sure how that happened, because there are 240 apartments in the complex, but hopefully it will be ok and we will not kill each other.

I took a 420 question MC test today... and get to do it again tomorrow.  Yay mock boards.  My favorite question was: "What kind of inheritance pattern is represented by the figure below?" With the figure having the following heading: "figure 2.1 X-linked dominant inheritance."  I'm pretty sure I got that question right.  Not so sure about the rest of the 419.  :P  By the last 100, I think I was just randomly picking bubbles.  Ugh.  Too much testing.

 New phone (starting Tuesday) (248) 464-0585

Date:	2005-05-04 00:16
Subject:	brain dead
Security:	Public
Mood:	drained
Music:	Punk Rock Princess-Something Corporate

Yes, finally, I'm updating... but not much.

First of all: 10 things I've done that, as far as I know, nobody else on my friends list has (stolen from Elizabeth and Jody from like 3 months ago)

1. I lived in Scotland for a semester.
2. I ate sushi in Austria.  On Easter.
3. I've worn nothing but a sports bra and shorts in class.
4. I've lived in an apartment that flooded... twice.
5. I took a train 8 hours (each way) just to take a test.
6. I joined the Navy.
7. I climbed a mountain. (Meikle Pap in Scotland)
8. I survived boot camp!  (ok, not for real boot camp, but officer's boot camp... which was close enough for me.)
9. I wore full fireman gear and put out a real (but controlled) fire, twice.
10. I trained my cat to use the toilet.

Not much else is new here.  My life has become incredibly boring... and my brain has basically ceased to function at a normal level.  I put peanut butter in the microwave earlier today.  Why?  Good question.  I found it later when I went to heat up my dinner.  I'm sure I'll find more random things in random places tomorrow.  My days basically consist of studying for boards... and then studying some more... I'll finally be done with studying on June 9th.  Then, there will be much celebrating and imbibing of alcohol. 

I'm moving to Novi in 11 days.  That means no more "amazing flooding apartment," no more possessed hot-warm-cold-hot-cold shower, no more neighbors that snore loud enough for me to hear them with earplugs in, and no more neighbors upstairs with their insanely loud sex at 4AM every night.  Yay!!!  I can't wait to get the hell out of Dreary Erie!!!   

Date:	2005-02-18 00:39
Subject:	the quarterly update
Security:	Public
Mood:	exhausted
Music:	Velvet Revolver's cover of "Simple Kind of Man"

Wow, I really need to start updating more frequently.

The last month and a half have been crazy.

First of all, there was the post office crisis. For some strange reason, the post office decided to ignore the “please hold my mail while I’m on vacation” notice that I filled out and handed to the clerk before Christmas break. Instead, they decided that since I wasn’t picking up my mail, they would decorate it with little yellow stickers that say, “Moved. Left no forwarding address. Return to sender” and send it all back. Wasn’t that nice of them? It was lots of fun calling all the billing companies and trying to explain this to them. I’m still not getting around half of my mail, so if you’ve sent me something and got it back, don’t worry, I really DO still live here.

I managed to somehow turn 24 (how’d I get so old???) in January. Of course, it snowed like mad on my birthday (because that’s what it always does on my birthday… it did get me lots of days off in elementary-high school though). I got some nice flowers from my parents and a bunch of random fun things from T, Stace and Steph.

PBL managed to kick my ass for the last test. It was all almost all neuroanatomy. Amanda+Neuroanatomy=bad. For some reason, I can NOT memorize where things go (like, the retinal cells converge to form the optic nerve, which partially crosses in the optic chaism, and extends posteriorly to the lateral geniculate nucleus as optic radiations… fascinating, I know.) Anyhow, I managed to pass the test.

Speaking of the test, I have this little theory that I’ve seriously pissed off the medical school test gods. I manage to have a mini-crisis before every test. For this test, my apartment flooded. Again. Around 5 AM on the Sunday morning before the test, I was awoken by a “SQUOOSH!” and I rolled over to find water pouring out my wall in a nice stream. Then, there was a loud “SPLAT!” as a big chunk of plaster fell from my ceiling and water started gushing down onto my bed (which I was still in, staring confusedly at the water pouring out of my wall). Then, there was much rushed rearranging of furniture, a mad dash for bowls and pans to hold some of the water and a furious call to my landlord.. In the meantime, I flipped on the light switch in my bathroom and noticed that both light fixtures were filling rapidly with water, and water was pouring out of the bathroom side of the bathroom/bedroom wall. My landlord didn’t show up until noon to shut off the hot water. By then, the flood had managed to claim the only two rooms not affected by the original September flood. Fabulouso! So, it was the day before a big ass nasty neuroanatomy test, and my bedroom and bed were not inhabitable, and because the hot water was shut off, I wouldn’t be able to shower in my apartment for at least another 48 hours. I was beyond stressed out. Thankfully, Steph let me come borrow her shower Sunday night, and my spare bedroom with the twin bed were spared. Unfortunately, wet carpets are NOT good. Even after the carpet was professionally cleaned, my room still smells like it’s inhabited by someone who hasn’t showered for over a week. I’m still sleeping in the twin bed, and bruising the hell out of myself because the bed is next to the wall and I’m a sleep-flailer (future boyfriends, beware). Anyhow, I’ve attempted to deodorize my room with every freshening method I could come up with (febreeze, carpet deodorizer, candles and plug-ins), and maybe by tomorrow, it will be again be inhabitable.

I got assigned a new OMM partner. Hottie Josh from the Navy. Steph and I call him Adonis (but only behind his back). He’s gorgeous, and a really cool guy… and married… did I mention he gorgeous?, OMM has become awkward as hell now… because for the first time, I actually know my OMM partner. Usually it’s just some random person from my class that I’ve never really met/probably won’t see again, but this time, it’s Josh. I spent all summer at Navy camp with him, and there’s a really good chance we’ll be doing our residencies in the same place. Now, we have to touch each other’s ischial tuberosities (those are your butt bones for those of you who don’t know), pubic symphisises (think pubic bone… nice eh?), and we actually have to adjust each other’s pants/shorts so that we see the PSIS (those two dimples in your back above your butt), so we regularly get to see what the brand and color of underwear the other person is wearing… and it’s really weird. Touching complete strangers is fine; touching close friends is fine (but only when you’re practicing for OMM practicals… I promise my friends and I don’t go around feeling each other up), but touching someone I know, who isn’t a close friend is really awkward. It’s done on a completely professional basis, but it just doesn’t feel right…

On a completely crazy change of subject, I’ve been having a really rough time the last few weeks. A good friend has been diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer at 24 years old. Stage IV is the worst diagnosis you can get, and the 5 year survival rate is approximately 13%. There’s a little better than a 1 in 10 chance that I’ll still have my friend in 5 years. This scares the hell out of me. Breast cancer does NOT happen to 24 year olds. She did everything right in terms of BSE’s every month, reporting that she had found a mass, etc., yet somewhere along the line, a mistake was made and everything has gone terribly wrong. I know she’ll fight like crazy, but with the odds being what they are, I’m terrified that I’m going to lose a friend and I’m very upset that this has happened. I’ve finally had a good cry about it, and I’m starting to accept that it has happened and the best thing to do is try to be there for her, but I don’t think the "something bad is going to happen" feeling in the pit of my stomach will ever go away.

Another crazy change of subject: I have lecture ADD. I CAN NOT pay attention in lecture. After 5 minutes of someone reading off their powerpoint slides in a monotone voice, I lose focus. I start counting random things (for instance, red was today’s color. There were 23 people in front of me in red tops. Black was a close second with 20 people wearing this color. Exactly 9 people that I could see (out of a class of over 200) were paying attention to the lecture. AIM seemed to be the most popular distracter. This is all very relevant doctorish material. Honest.), then I just end up tuning the lecturer out and studying for my next test. I don’t understand why lectures are mandatory. The powerpoints are available on the web. It’s not like there’s any new information added to them. All the lecturers do is read the slides word for word. I learn better on my own anyway. Geez.

I’m absolutely shattered (thank you, obscenely loud upstairs neighbors who were at it until 4 AM), so I’m going to go find my earplugs and crawl into bed. Hopefully I can get more than 2 hours of sleep tonight. I PROMISE I will try to get some real emails and letters out soon. :)

Date:	2005-01-06 23:24
Subject:	boys are dumb
Security:	Public
Mood:	confused
Music:	A Decade Under Influence-Taking Back Sunday

Yet another massive update:

Christmas was fun.  I got my digital camera!  Yay!  and a few other small things that I wanted.  The day after Christmas (my mom's b-day), we went down to Mt. Pleasant for the Ted Nugent concert.  Never, ever again will I volunteer to go to a concert put on by this man.  It was HORRIBLE!!!!  First of all, my mom and I were surrounded by people in camoflauge and hunter's orange... then Ted comes on stage in his, "Ditch the Bitch-Ted for Govenor" T-shirt and a racoon tail pinned on his ass... Then... instead of playing music, he starts in on politics... which really pissed me off.  I especially enjoyed his comments like, "Let's turn this blue state back into a red one!!!" and "Democrats can kiss my ass, gun control laws can kiss my ass, homos can kiss my ass" and "I dressed up as Santa Claus, and I went to the mall and asked the little kiddies, 'What kind of gun do you want?'"  All of this elicited major cheers from the audience... I restrained myself b/c I was afraid the big scary men in camoflauge might hurt me...  the music wasn't bad... but I just couldn't deal with being surrounded by people who were so intolerant of others...

After that, I hung out w/Beth, Jill and Amy from high school.  It was good times.  We went to the bar and had a mini high-school reunion with the "I'm better than you" kids... who really didn't talk to us, but whatever. 

The day before NYE, my dad and I drove my brother down to Detroit, and I looked at apartments.  I think I found one in Novi.  It's going to be expensive ($565/mo+$50 extra a month for Callie), but I think I can manage.  I got dropped of in GR afterwards.

New Years Eve ended up being awesome.  Definitely my best NYE by far.  Amy, Jen H, Jenn, Jenn's friend and Jenn's sister and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings b/c they had a all you can drink/eat special.  Good times.  We had a champagne at the stroke of midnight and I got new years smooches on the cheecks from some of my oldest friends.  I got really drunk... and a few times during the night, Jen decided I wasn't showing enough cleavage, so she kept pulling my tank top down.  Apparently, this is a good way to pick up boys... because that's what I did...  he was cute too!  :)  I hadn't made out with a boy since Albion, so I definitely deserved it. :)

Anyhow, the boy has my number... and I texted him a few nights ago... but I have not heard back.  Sadness.  But at least I got to kiss a cute boy on New Year's.  :)

So, now I'm back in Erie and I'm slammed with work... which I should probably get back to doing.  Stupid Neuroanatomy!

Date:	2004-12-21 23:47
Subject:	"Want a kid? I'll give you one of mine"
Security:	Public
Mood:	cranky
Music:	The Killers-Somebody Told Me

Two days, two entries. Amazing. :)

My cousin Jenny called me today. She's 21 and a half with 2 kids (Taylor is two and Cameron is a little over a month). As soon as I said 'hello,' she tried to pawn one of the kids off on me... I can't imagine being that young and having 2 kids, even if they're both super cuties. I can't imagine having two kids now at almost 24! (which my mom so kindly reminded me was the age at which she had me... and then I got, 'When are you going to have kids?') Anyhow, she managed to pawn her munchkins off on her grandma, and we went horseback riding at her parents. I think it was the first time I was ever on a horse that wasn't a pay and ride horse. She managed to saddle up two horses all by herself (I was really impressed... she's only been riding for a little over a month) Then we had to get on them. Note: When seriously bundled up (long underwear, jeans and snowpants), it is almost impossible lift one's leg high enough to reach the stirrups. I had to convince the horse to walk over to their back porch and stand still (this was difficult) so that I could stand on the edge to get my foot in the stirrup. It was actually a lot of fun... cold, but fun.

Afterwards, I visited w/my aunt and uncle... and again got the "When are you going to have kids?" question. I will also get this question when I visit my grandparents later this break... Geez people, give me a break! I'm only 23 (24 next month)... I still have 2.5 years of school left, THEN I have year of internship, THEN a residency, THEN I have to pay at least 4 years back to the Navy. And if we put in the fact that I don't have a boyfriend, and I probably won't have one until I get out of school and have some time to concentrate on something besides studying... it's going to be a LOOOOONNNGGG time. So, STOP ASKING!

Ok, that's it. :)

Date:	2004-12-20 23:32
Subject:	I can't put my arms down!
Security:	Public
Mood:	bored
Music:	Something Corporate-Konstantine

So, it's been a good long time since I've updated this thing, and since then, not much has happened. Here's a quick rundown:

My October PBL test went fantastically (100%--after the curve, hell yeah!). Afterwards, Stace, T and Steph came over for pizza and cosmopolitans and we got ready for the LECOM Halloween party. I decided to be a greek goddess this year... I even made my own toga. :) The Halloween party wasn't the greatest. Music was crazy loud and there was a verrrryyy skewed girl to guy ratio, so I only ended up staying to a little past one.

Sometime in the middle of November, I went to San Francisco for the Student Osteopathic Medical Association/American Osteopathic Association conference. It was… um… interesting. Drug reps like students, and therefore I got lots of nifty free things. Lynn (the girl I roomed with) drove me absolutely insane because she treated me like I was a complete idiot. I was the only one who bought a map, so every time I’d read the map and say, “Oh, we need to turn left here,” she’d take the map from me and say, “no, we need to turn right…” only to be vetoed by the rest of the group. Give me a break, I KNOW how to read a damn map. And she stopped and talked to EVERY SINGLE homeless person in San Fran. Every single one!!!! Arrgghh!!! Ok, enough of that. I did meet a really cool first year who was in England the same time I was in Scotland, so we had loads of fun talking about cheezy dance music and pub quizes. :) I got to ride on a cable car (think Rice-a-Roni commercial), go to Alcatraz and eat a very, very yummy Ghiradelli chocolate sundae, so that part was way fun.

I survived yet another Thanksgiving with my family. Fortunately, I missed the extended family thanksgiving dinner b/c it was on the Saturday before my test. Apparently, all hell broke loose and there were many a kind word screamed at a few family members. Lovely. Anyhow, I drove home that Monday (9+ hours in the car! Yay traffic jams!), and slept almost all day Tuesday. Wednesday, my grandpa had surgery up in TC for a AAA (abdominal aortic aneurism) and two internal iliac aneurisms, so I got to go and play interpreter. The surgery went really well, and he's doing fine now.

The last 3 weeks of school were insanely boring... which was nice. I've never had to not study so much. :) I taught Steph how to knit (at Starbucks... while we were drunk off of El Canelo margaritas), and I massively cleaned my apartment.

I made the 9 hour drive back to C-town on Thursday, and I'm now offically bored out of my mind. Eric and I went shopping in TC today (the roads were a wreck and it took forever to get there, but we have almost all of our shopping done). It's so freezing cold here, that whenever I go outside, I'm so bundled up that I feel like Ralphie's little brother from the Christmas Story ("I can't put my arms down"). My mom is forcing me to go to a Ted Nugent (yes, Ted Nugent) concert with her for her birthday... so that should be very... interesting, seeing as I can name only one song that I think he sings and I absolutely hate it. After that, I get to see my girls from high school, which will definitely be fun times... since I haven't seen any of them in a looonnng time. I have absolutely no plans for New Years so far, except for driving Eric down to Detroit. Then, I will drive back to Cadillac, and probably watch the ball drop while my parents fall asleep on the couch. Sounds fun, right? :(

Basically, that's by boring life up until this point. I hope everyone has a very happy holiday!!!

Date:	2004-10-15 02:59
Subject:	insomnia
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake
Music:	3 AM-Matchbox 20

I don't know what my deal is lately, but I really can't fall asleep at night. This is not good... because I hit a "can't study" point around 2AM... but then I can't sleep... so I just sit here at the computer and goof off until I'm actually tired. (I've tried laying in bed... but then I just stare at the ceiling...) So, by the time I actually fall asleep, it's like 4AM... which means I can't wake up until sometime around 10... (or later...), then I usually have something to do during the afternoon, and by the time I get home and make dinner, I can only get 5-6 hours of studying in before my brain shuts down.

I wish I could have a normal sleeping pattern again! I've tried everything I could think of... Working out in the mornings causes me to crash mid-afternoon (it's like narcolepsy... one minute I'm awake, the next, it's 45 minutes later and I'm wondering how I got highlighter on my forehead...), and working out in the afternoon makes me WIDE AWAKE until the middle of the night. :( It's not like I'm consuming massive amounts of caffiene. I only had 1 cup of coffee today, and that was at noon. Yesterday, I didn't have any caffiene at all, and I still didn't sleep until 3:30. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

I am also very stressed out about the PBL test next Monday. I seriously need to crack down and study, but I never seem to have time. Ugh. Anyhow... I'm going to go back, snuggle under my covers and stare at my ceiling some more....

Date:	2004-10-10 01:00
Subject:	so, what's new with you?
Security:	Public
Mood:	thoughtful
Music:	Break Away-Kelly Clarkston

It was another fun-filled, action-packed, exciting week here in my world.  Or not.  I miss having a life outside of studying.

Last Sunday, Stace, T and I explored the wineries of Northeast.  I was expecting climate controlled rooms full of barrels of wine.  I got: 8 vats, and a store room.  Ohhh.... ahhh....  the wine was good though.  I have a bottle of some yummy reisling sitting on my counter... only I can't open it b/c I don't have a corkscrew.  I should probably get one...  After the winery, we went to the apple orchard, which was also kind of disappointing.  I was expecting tall, climb-able trees.  I got: shrub-like trees that were maybe a foot taller than me, but the apples were good.  :)  I think I may have a problem with expecting things to be bigger than they are... hmmm... maybe this is why I don't have a boyfriend....  (kidding)

I had a really nice IM conversation with Eric Benson this week.  We talked about what a conservative place good old Cadillac is... even though I disagreed with him... until I got my absentee ballot and realized almost every single person running for office (even unopposed) was republican.  I think I saw it as otherwise because the people at the church my family goes/went (I'll explain this another time...) to are uber-liberal (for you Cadillac people, the people at church include the Bunce-Shippers and Lakin-Smiths).  But, now, looking at this ballot, I remember all these other Cadillac people, and I can see that my home town is very conservative. 

I finally got to meet Steph's boyfriend.  I'm pleased to say that he really does exist, he's a nice guy, and I've never, ever seen Steph smile so much.  Yay for Steph.  :) 

I saw my first patient today.  It was scary.  I did okay with taking the history, but my hands were shaking the whole time I tried to do the exam.  :(  The patient was really helpful and understanding, so that made it a LOT easier.  I'm sooooooooooo glad I didn't get a psych patient my first time!!!!!  I think I did ok... and if not, I'm sure I'll get lots of practice over the next few years.  :)

The "crush" (from waaaaayyyy back at Navy camp) is a crush no more.  Officially.  Nice guy, cute, makes me laugh, but lives too far away.  Oh well.  NYC is still on my list of places to visit, though.  (Yes, I've been to London, Paris and Rome, twice, but never NYC)

Random Erie Stories: 1. Last week on my way back from the Y, I got cut off and given the finger by a car with bumper stickers that said, "Be nice" and "Commit random acts of kindness".  I wasn't sure if I should laugh or yell back...  2. I saw another "ERIEsistable" T-shirt... I think I need to get one of those.  3. Today, while I was at the hospital, there were around four pages for "Dr. Suess"... at least he wasn't called to pediatrics.  :P   I'm glad I'm getting out of Erie next year!!!

I really like this Kelly Clarkston song, and since I don't really have much else to say, I'm going to post the lyrics here so that it looks like I wrote something.  :)

Grew up in a small town,
And when the rain would fall down,
I'd just stare out my window.
Dreaming of what could be,
And if I'd end up happy,
I would pray.

Try not to reach out,
But when I tried to speak out,
Felt like no one could hear me.
Wanted to belong here,
But something felt so wrong here.
So I'd pray,
I could break away.

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly,
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky,
And I'll make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun,
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I'll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.

Wanna feel the warm breeze,
Sleep under a palm tree,
Feel the rush of the ocean,
Get on board a fast train,
Travel on a jetplane,
Far away, and break away.

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly,
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky,
And I'll make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun,
I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I've gotta take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.

Buildings with a 100 floors,
Swinging around revolving doors,
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me.
But I gotta keep moving on, moving on,
Fly away, break away.

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly,
Though its not easy to tell you goodbye.
Gotta take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun,
But I won't forget the place I come from.
I've gotta take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.

Date:	2004-09-30 22:45
Subject:	hirsudism
Security:	Public
Mood:	lazy
Music:	The Way You Look Tonight-Frank Sinatra

PBL has turned into PBhelL.  Dr. Crane is possibly the most obnoxious person in the world.  Tuesday evening, he looked at me and said, "Amanda, you will the patient for the next case.  It's perfect for you".  The patient is a 21 year old female who is mildly retarded, has facial hair (hirsudism), and who has fat in her upper back and shoulders.  Apparently, that fits me perfectly. 

I ended up taking Callie to the vet last week b/c she wasn't even holding water down... so they gave her fluids overnight... and then she still wasn't better, so they did x-rays and blood work... which ended up costing me a small fortune, but my cat is ok now, so all is good.

I finally decided where I'm doing my rotations (as of about 10 minutes ago b/c they had to be in before midnight).  I'll be moving to the Commerce area in May, and I'll be doing almost all of my rotations at Huron Valley Sinai hospital...  I'm still a little freaked out about it b/c where I do my rotations will likely lead to where I do my residency, and therefore what I do with the rest of my life.  Scary.

I realized the other day that I really don't have any close guy friends anymore.  I have Eric from high school... and that's pretty much it.  I love my circle of friends, but it needs to be expanded to include some testosterone.  Maybe I'll meet some cool guys next year.

I really need to study.  I've slacked off wayyyyyyy too much lately.

Date:	2004-09-23 23:29
Subject:	randomness
Security:	Public
Mood:	calm
Music:	Triple Trouble-Beastie Boys

You know those annoying people who say, "That was such a terrible test! I know I did really bad!" then they turn around and get the higest score?  I'm one of them.  I didn't think the PBL test went the greatest.  My raw score was 79.7%, which isn't too bad, but it was definitely the worst I've done so far (not counting anatomy)... then lots of questions got dropped and double keyed.  Our grades were emailed out Monday, and I was expecting to get around an 85% or so, but ended up with a 95.9%.  The highest score on the test was a 95.9%.  There were only 4 people who got an A.  Steph was one, and I was one... and I beat the annoying guys who refuse to help anyone else study.  I am sooooo happy about that!!!!  I'm still kind of in shock, but I feel really smart!  :) 

I am definitely moving back to MI next year.  I still don't know which hospital yet though.  It's St. Josephs of Macomb, St. Johns, Henry Ford or Huron Valley Sinai.  I'll be deciding sometime in October, so if anyone has any input on that, let me know! 

Our new PBL facilitator is the biggest jackass in the world.  His name is Dr. Crane.  For our first meeting, he waddled in, pulled out a chair, slouched down and mumbled, "I am Dr. Crane.  I'm sure my reputation precedes me..." Then he passed around a role of masking tape and said, "I can't take the time to learn all of your names, so you will wear nametags every session"  Nice.  There are only 8 of us... and he'll have us for 7 weeks... but he's not going to learn our names.  He mumbles, talks forever about irrelevant things, and he's mean!  Plus, the only times he can meet are from 5-7 on Fridays and Mondays, so I now have to go to class at 5 on Friday.

Speaking of which, I was planning on going home to Cadillac last weekend, but then had a group meeting at 5 on Friday.  There were 5 people in the group who had plans for Friday, but Dr. Crane refused to reschedule.  So, I left for home at 8 on Saturday morning, drove the over 8 hours to Cadillac, saw my family, then turned around and drove 8 hours on Monday to make it back for my meeting.  It sucked.  Home was good though... I just wish I would have had more than 36 hours there.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot new. Callie is sick.  She's been puking since last night.  I really hope she'll keep something down by morning.  :(

Date:	2004-09-14 00:23
Subject:	*sigh*
Security:	Public
Mood:	predatory
Music:	Foo Fighters-Times Like These

Well, my apartment is slowly, but surely drying out.  I called my landlord Saturday morning b/c it smelled really, really bad (like stinky feet!) in here (apparently heat+wet carpet=not good), and he completely blew me off ("It will dry on it's own, give it time)... so then I called back and left a really bitchy message (Hey, I was pissed.  My carpets were soaked, my apartment smelled really bad and I couldn't study there, not that there was anywhere for me to sit anyway.. and how it was unsafe b/c I could slip and fall again)  Amazingly, he called me back later and told me that he was having the professional carpet cleaners come, try to suck up excess water and clean the carpets.  I'm glad my carpets are cleaned and my apartment smells WAY better, but I'm really annoyed that it took a lot of bitchiness to get it done.

I basically spent the last few days studying my butt off... well, not really studying it off... but at least sitting on it and studying.  During the time I spent studying at Mercyhurst College's library, I saw more LECOM people than actual Mercyhurst students... which is really sad.  We basically take over their library... there are actually signs on certain tables and study rooms that say "Reserved for Mercyhurst Students Only!"  Anyhow, it's just a cool place.  They have a "reading room," which is a big room full of tables with lamps on them and people studying that looks like the libraries on the movies, plus the room has a wood ceiling with big widows that just reminds me of the "great halls" in castles.  Pretty nifty.  Plus, the main entrance to the college really reminds me of Windsor Castle... it's gorgeous.

I had my PBL test today.  It went badly.  That's all I'm going to say about it. 

This afternoon, I indulged in some retail therapy (I needed something to wear tonight!) and relaxed.  T, Steph, Stace and I had our once a semester, 'post-really big test, dress cute/classy and go out to a nice dinner' night.  We went to Paper Moon, which was awesome... and our waitress actually paid attention to us.  (Everytime before this that we'd go out, our waitstaff would completely ignore us, which sucked), and it was just fun.  Afterwards, we went to the Plymouth and caught up with pretty much the rest of the class.

Anyhow, it was really fun going out.  I like getting dressed up, spending time doing my hair and makeup and going out.  It's not something I want to do everyday (wayyyyy to much work), but I look(ed) good, and the compliments (esp. from members of the opposite sex) were worth it.  Yay for stilletos, curly hair, sparkly earrings, going-out jeans, a cute shirt and the new blazer-type-thing.  :) 

I want a new crush... but I haven't met anyone crush worthy.  I had a little one on a guy who's repeating last year... but then I talked to him tonight and came to the conclusion that he's a nice guy, but I'm not really attracted to him.  Oh well.  It's not like a crush is vital to my survivial; it's just fun to look forward to seeing or talking to a certain person.

I am absolutely exhausted now, so I'm off to bed.

Date:	2004-09-09 10:23
Subject:	when it rains, it pours, and when it pours...
Security:	Public
Mood:	cranky
Music:	the pitter patter of rain

and I thought yesterday was bad...

Last night, I was awoken by the sound of rain pitter-pattering outside my window... oh wait... did I say outside?  because I meant inside.  Yeah.  The tops of my windows were leaking water.  No big deal though.  I picked up all the pictures on my windowsill, threw a towel up there to catch the water, then grabbed my pillow and went and slept in the spare bed.

Around 2AM, the power went out and woke me up.  I decided it would be a good idea to go find a candle and my cell phone to use as an alarm clock... So, I started heading toward the living room to retrieve said items, and as I entered my kitchen, I stepped in a puddle, slipped and fell.  Great.  Thankfully, I wasn't hurt... but I was wet and really confused as to why there was water in my kitchen (Maybe Callie knocked her water bowl over?).  Anyhow, I made it to the living room and as I was standing in front of the dresser feeling around for the aim-n-flame, I noticed that my feet were getting wet...  I finally found the lighter and lit some candles.

Here's what I saw:  my kitchen floor was an entire sheet of water and the water was spreading along my carpet...  FABULOUS!  So, I huriedly unplugged everything, picked up everything I could off the floor, threw it onto the couches and table and pulled the couches away from the windows... but wait... the water wasn't coming in from the windows... it was coming in from the wall!  So then I had to try to move the furniture back toward the other wall!  Yay!  Keep in mind that it's now like 2:30 AM... then I had to go do that in the other rooms.  Stellar.  Around 2:30, I finally got back into bed... when I again heard the pitter patter of rain inside my window, again.  So then I had to get up and move more stuff around!  Ugh.  I finally got back to sleep around 3:30, and had to get up at 8 to call my landlord.

My landlord's input:  "Oh shit."  Apparently all the wind and rain have gotten past the seal on the foundation... and all the rain from the entire side of the building is running into my apartment.  Nice.  His solution:  He's bringing a dehumidifier... which should get rid of the water... in a week or two.

As of now, walking inside my apartment is like walking on a sponge.  I tried to find a dry spot of floor earlier, but it turns wet as soon as I step on it (apparently the water is under the carpeting.... yummy).  On the bright side, I'm wearing capris, which as of now, are not only stylish but also functional (Hah! take that, people who make fun of capris!)  It's supposed to keep on raining until around 6 pm... which means my apartment is going to be even MORE spongey... :(  

This is so not good.  The carpet will most likely mold and mildew... both of which I'm allergic to... and I will be miserable b/c I do not have any allergy drugs left.  I also need study, but I can't until my landlord gets back with the magical dehumidfier (and hopefully a shop vac so some of the water can get sucked up)... and I really have no place in my apartment to study as everything is stacked on top of furniture.

I am so stressed out and I'm utterly exhausted.  I really need a hug!!!!  :(

Date:	2004-09-08 19:44
Subject:	GRRRRRRR!!!!
Security:	Public
Mood:	aggravated
Music:	Train-Ordinary

I am having a bad day.

First of all... I am really annoyed with the post office. When I get packages, they leave them in front of my door... which is NOT good because anyone can just walk by and take them. A few weeks ago, someone opened a CD I ordered, threw away the packaging, must have decided they didn't want it, then left it in front of my door. (I know someone opened it because it was just a CD in a plain envelope (no address, no postage, no anything) in front of my door.) I called the Post Office about it, filed a complaint, and asked that they hold my packages. Now, my allergy drugs are missing. They were shipped 2 weeks ago, and I don't have them and neither does the Post Office. I'm guessing that my wonderful postman left the package in front of my door, and someone walked by and thought, "Oh! A package! I think I'll take it!" Which sucks. Fall+allergies=bad. What in the hell is someone going to do with my Zyrtec? It's not like you can hawk it on the street ("Hey man, wanna score some Zyrtec?")! Why couldn't they have just dumped it in front of my door again? Grr... The package has the paperwork that I have to fill out to get a reimbursement... so I'm out the money I paid for it that I should get back, and I'm going to have a stuffy nose, watery eyes and a sinus headache until I get more. The worst part is... it was my last refill (90 days worth), and the drug company won't resend it (even though I never got it!)... and the allergist is a jackass and won't rewrite a perscription until I have an appointment... which I don't have time to do until after my test, but he doesn't seem understand that I'm in med school and need to study. :( I'm hoping it will come tomorrow, but it's not looking very promising as it was only supposed to take 3 days to get here...

Next, I got my paycheck for TAing. You would think this would be a good thing, but it's really not. At the beginning of the year when I signed up to TA, they told us we'd be getting paid $7.00/hour... which is decent. Apparently, they changed their minds and now they're paying us minimum wage. I called the TA coordinator about it... and she swore that the pay for TAs had ALWAYS been minimum wage. I really wish I hadn't deleted the email where it said they were going to pay us what they said they would! So, basically I'm just annoyed because I thought I had more money coming than I really did.

Lastly, don't feel good. I can't sleep. I'm super stressed about my PBL exam on Monday.

I need a really big hug.

Good news: I passed my OMM exam and practical.

Date:	2004-09-05 22:58
Subject:	blah-dom
Security:	Public
Mood:	blah
Music:	Float On-Modest Mouse

I wish I had something fun and/or exciting to put here!!! But, all I've done for the last few days is study... which doesn't make for very exciting journal updates.

Things are going here. I've got my OMM exam on Wednesday and then PBL next Monday... neither of which I'm looking forward too. I have a really bad feeling about the PBL one... and it's still a week away. :(

Hmm... oh, I saw a secret service agent, yesterday! Pretty neat, huh? I didn't see the president though. I ran away before he got to Erie b/c they were closing down my street to cars AND people, so I wouldn't have even been allowed to go outside during the visit... and there was NO WAY I could have stayed inside my apartment all day long. I did, however, get to see the B&N twins instead... and their topiary hats entertained me much more than the president probably would have... the skirts helped too. :)

About the B&N twins... I know I've mentioned them before, but I don't know if I've ever described them. They are two older, flamboyant, obviously gay men--Jesse and Ricardo. They dress exactly the same. They make most of their own clothes, and they know that no outfit is complete without accessories... the most important of those being the hat. The topiary hat is among my favorities, but there are also the skull caps w/fake dreadlocks, large blue sombreros w/fish attached, cat-in-the-hat-esque tophats, and other random headgear. They also ride a tandem bike around town, all year long. The are almost always at B&N arguing over the pronuciation of various French words ("no, no, NO! It's 'je SUIS' not JE suis"). Always, always entertaining... the best part is when you see someone who has never seen them before do a double take. So, now you know what I'm talking about when I mention the B&N twins.

I had an entertaining conversation w/my parents today: "So, do you know what happens to baked potatoes when you forget to poke holes in them?"-Mom, "No, what?"-Me "They explode"-Mom, "Really? How do you know that?"-Me "Well... um..."-Mom "Let's just say we made baked potato suprise... boy were we suprised"-Dad

Oh... I will NOT be moving to Florida next year b/c there are no hospitals in Florida that are accepting LECOM students. It looks like I'll be heading back to Michigan. Right now, I'm looking at St. Joseph's Mercy of Macomb. If anyone knows anything about the area (I think it's kinda by you, MB) or the hospital, please let me know!

I also need to stick this in here, as I'm changing my AOL profile and I think this needs to be immortalized. :)

The 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon--Amanda Style!

1. I am the older sister of Eric Kent
2. Eric Kent gave tennis lessons to Alan Greenspan-Chairman of the Federal Reserve
3. Alan Greenspan works with George W. Bush
4. George W. Bush knows California Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger
5. Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Read Heat (movie) with Peter Boyle
6. Peter Boyle was in Imagine New York with... Kevin Bacon

I'm off to do more studying... have a good night!

Date:	2004-09-02 21:51
Subject:	oblivious
Security:	Public
Mood:	confused
Music:	American Idiot-Green Day

I live in a bubble. I have NO IDEA what is going on in the real world!

So, I knew that the president was planning on making a campaign stop in Erie this weekend, because I got an email about it.

Today, I come home from class and look around and see all these "Temporary Police Order: No Parking Saturday". I was really excited because I thought they were going to put another coat of asphalt on my street because when they repaved it earlier this summer/fall they did a really crappy job and it's like 6 inches below the other roads in the area. Then, I noticed that the stadium across the street from my apartment had "Erie Welcomes President Bush" on their sign. I mentioned it to Steph (because I was in the car with her), and said, "Oh yeah, the president is coming this weekend, I wonder where they're going to have his speech". She told me it was some "Veteran's Place" THEN, I started to notice a lot of traffic going by... specifically, big buses and trucks with American Flags and GOP painted on the side... and I made the connection that the stadium outside my window is "Veterans Memorial Stadium"

Apparently, the President will be speaking approximately 200 feet from my apartment. If I open my windows on Saturday, I will be able to hear him. If I go up to the second floor and look out the window (I can only see the stadium wall from my window) I will be able to see the president. Yeah. I also won't be able to leave my apartment on Saturday as my road and all of the roads around me will be blocked. This does not make me happy. Then, to make me even happier, Steph let me know that if there was a terrorist attack, then I'd be right in the middle of it! Fab.

Hmm... I wonder if they will post a secret service agent in my apartment building, as you can quite easily see down into the stadium from the second and third floors... wow. Weirdness.

Anyhow, I just thought it was pretty odd that something pretty big was going down outside of my apartment, and I honestly had no idea. I've got to get back to studying.

Date:	2004-08-31 23:27
Subject:	bored
Security:	Public
Mood:	apathetic
Music:	Island in the Sun-Weezer

I am very bored. It's not just a temporary boredness, it's been going on for a good 2 weeks now. My days consist of waking up, finding somewhere to study, then studying and occasionally going to class. The same thing, day after day after day. I still get to see my friends, and hang out with them (which makes me happy), but I'm just oh so very bored.

I'm not enjoying spending every day studying. I know that what I'm learning will someday be important in order for me to be a good doctor, but it's hard to just sit and read all the time. I don't feel like I'm doing anything good. I don't feel like I'm alive. I just feel like I'm existing for the next year, cramming everything into my head that I can so that I can pass the boards and next year on rotations, I can go out and interact with patients. I have no doubt in my mind that in the long run, I'm doing what I want to do with my life, but right now, it just seems like I'm stuck.

These are my 20's. I'm supposed to be out enjoying my life... and right now, I feel like it's just flying by while I sit here and study.

I need change. Something to shake up the monotony of my days. The "crush" worked for a while, but I've given up on him. He's an awesome guy, but it's no fun crushing on someone when it seems like they're not really interested... and when they're a long ways away and you know there's no potential for anything anyway.

In summary, I'm bored. I also seem to be at a low point on the Amanda emotional-rollercoaster. Blah.