Techno Train..wait for me!

I should be studying Anatomy right now. I only ended up having about 30 mins of class today. Tuesdays are my light days anyway. Couple that with the fact that one of my lectures was cancelled and we had a quiz and leave session in my other class...it makes for a pretty easy day. I came home today to have lunch (something I normally don't do) and need to be back on campus for a meeting about the new chapter of Students for Organ Donation that I am heading up. I am sitting here with my Netter's cards in front of me. I can't almost hear them calling "Study the muscles of the lower limbs." But I ignore well. I am strong that way. LOL. I need to read another chapter tonight and prep for a quiz in PreCalc tomorrow. It is funny, I think that the hardest part about returning to school is the technology and how it is integrated into the instruction. I like to think that I am technologically savvy, but sometimes I fall flat on my face. My math class is less about math and more about how to find the answer on the TI-8o something. Don't misunderstand me, we used graphing calcs my first time around. It is just that the emphasis was placed on US doing the work and the calculator just being a sort of illustrative tool. This time, if you don't use the resources available, you will be hard pressed to complete the assignment/exam in a timely manner.

Ok, gotta jet, Netter is getting a little too deafening.

TTFN.

My Birthday

Today is my birthday. It has been an incredible 2 days. This is probably one of the best times in my life...with everything that is going on. How could I ask for more? Anyway, I am now officially 32 years old. Wow.

I bought a new backpack yesterday. I got hooked on sling bags when my friend gave me one that she had back in October. It is such a great bag, but not enough (nor large enough) pockets for all my smaller necessary items. So, I bought a JanSport Air Cisco. It looks like this:
I am sorry to have to retire the other one so soon, but I am an uber-geek with way too many rings of flashcards, a digital recorder, Pocket PC, CPS clicker and a calculator...not to mention books. Hint: the best way to make sure your flash cards don't get bent or ripped in your bag of stuff? Ziploc Bags. I take a gallon sized Ziploc and toss all of my different rings of cards in there - no extra space taken up in the backpack and no missing cards when you go to study.

Time Lapse:
Saturday was a magnificent day. Other than the fact that I backed into my friend's car, I don't think I could have asked for more. I am so blessed.

Second week.

I must say that I am rather pleased with how things are going in Anatomy so far. I feel really bad for a friend of mine who is completely lost. I am trying to help as much as I can...as I type this, I have labels written all over my body from an evening of studying. I think more people are in the boat with her than are in the one with me...which is sad. Thankfully, the chapter on Embryology is not being taken seriously by my prof. She told us to read it if we needed help getting to sleep. HA! I had already trudged through it so the pain was fully experienced, but it was nice to know that I was not going to be held super accountable for the boredom I had endured and likely not retained. :)

It is cold here. Thankfully, during the day it hasn't been all that bad...perhaps in the 40s, but at night ---- BRRRRR! Hubby and I have been trying to eat better. I lost 6 pounds this week!!! Of course, I know that won't happen from here on out, but it was a nice jump start. Unfortunately (sort of) my birthday is Saturday and there is some sort of surprised planned...all I know is that I am to be ready to be taken (or picked up or teleported or something) somewhere by noon. We will wait and find out. Everyone knows I LOVE cake. I mean, it is wrong to love cake as much as I do, so undoubtedly there will be cake. And...I will partake of the cake! YUM! I wish I could say "You only turn 32 once" like it was some sort of legitimate milestone worthy of breaking a diet, but it is not. Yet, I will eat cake anyway.

I bought my lab coat for Anatomy yesterday. The arms are so long! Aggh! If it were a "real" white coat...you know the kind that I will be wearing sometime in the future, I would care. But, this is just not to get cadaver juice on me.

As far as my other classes...
First Aid/CPR is fine...it will be an A. More work than I wanted, but really the hardest part about the class is the long hike I have 10 minutes to make in order to get there on time.
Biomedical Research is confusing as heck, but it will be a difficult class to get less than an A in for anyone (straight from the prof's mouth). All we have to do is show up and write a few papers on some sort of derivation of one of the speakers' lectures.
Gen Chem is wonderful so far. I love my prof. I knew I would and I am thrilled that I made the decision to suck it up and take it even with the horrible scheduling.
PreCalc - What can I say? Math is not my thing. I just want to get through with at least a B.
HUMS Chem - A. Done. Nothing to say. Show up, do the work...don't tick anyone off.

Dang! I am taking something else but can't remember what it is!!! How terrible is that? Frankly, I am just to zoned to figure it out right now. LOL.

Well, I guess I should try to wash all of this marker off of me and read a bit of Anatomy before bed. Gee, nothing better. Seriously, I love that class.

Ok, outta here! Have a good one!

The first week of classes is over. We didn't have labs this week, so I really haven't been to all of my classes. My Anatomy class looks to be SUPER interesting but a lot of work and my Gen Chem class is going to be great!

I went to the doctor today. Long story short, there is speculation that I may be having petit mal seizures but not showing them completely due to some medication that I am on for another condition. Hum. I am not happy about this. I am NOT AT ALL happy about this, but it really isn't a big shock either. I need to make an appointment with a neurologist here and see what is going on. Geez. Fun.

A friend of my family had gamma ray surg this morning. She was in remission for breast cancer for 3 years, but it looks like it has spread.

Gee, what more can I say?

First Day Back

Classes resumed today. I am in for quite a semester. This will be the semester that determines whether or not I can actually do it. Anatomy alone....WHOA. Not to mention, the professor couldn't be less "entertaining"...a very nice lady, very grandmotherly...with a great love for the word "People."

"I tell you something people..."
"You know people...."
"People, you have to..."

I think I am going to enjoy it though. We will have 2 cadavers in lecture this semester instead of moving one from lab to lab. That will be interesting. Now, how many "people" are going to puke and how many are going to faint? I hope and pray that I am not one of those.

Unfortunately, Blackboard is not functioning correctly for me and I am unable to access the class notes and notices. This is not good. Apparently, I am one of the only ones. I emailed her to see what the heck is going on.

I need to go buy colored pencils (reminds me of 4th grade Social Studies) and a one subject notebook for one of my Chem classes. They are very picky about that. It must be a one subject dedicated notebook. Um...ok. Thankfully, I have already determined what we are having for dinner and it won't take very long to make. I did not sleep well at all last night and would like to take a nap. The thought of taking a nap makes me feel guilty and that is why I have spent the last hour avoiding it. But, I don't think I am going to quit feeling this way nor quit thinking about it until I snooze. So, off to crash I go.

Night for now PEOPLE! ;)

-Dr. Underdog

I am pleased to report that my university now has its first (at least those in the know told me there hadn't been one before) Students for Organ Donation advocacy organization. I registered us last night and everyone involved is really excited. I was greeted with one little (ok, big piece) of info that didn't sit well with me and required some changes...our secondary officer is (was) not a registered organ donor. She wondered why I came unglued (her words: "Why is it such a big deal?") when I found out. We had a little chat about 1. hypocrisy and 2. the reasons why she wasn't a donor. After all, SHE was the very kind of person that this organization was created to reach! So, I found out why...she didn't want to be "cut up" and "have scars". Um...are you SERIOUS!? But, here is the kicker...she said she guess it didn't matter since she was going to be cremated. UH...YA THINK??? She was surprised to find out that a single donor can save up to 7 lives and that 92,000 people are currently on the transplant list, then I gave her statistics regarding how many transplants have been performed in our state. By that point, I thought I was getting through to her. She then asked with a solemn look on her face, "How many people will die waiting for a transplant?" I said "most."

She is now an organ donor.

SWEET!

If you are not a donor, please become one today! No one is going to kill you for your organs, but someone could die if you don't give them.

After thinking that gamers were geeks (gee, I am one to talk) and giving my friend a horrible time about being a WoW (World of Warcraft) junkie, I actually bought a game. I considered a Wii game console, but decided against it. Really, all I wanted it for was to play tennis anyway. So, I opted for a PC based game....Flight Simulator X Deluxe.

Frankly, I am not sure what makes it so "deluxe" except that you can play online which apparently you couldn't do with the previous editions. It is actually pretty cool. I am hoping it has some sort of positive, real-life, psychological impact on me. You know, perhaps make me a little less fearful of flying? I know, I know, I am grasping at straws but I am desperate. So, I try. So far, I have managed to get myself super dizzy and on the verge of puking. Let's just say that I think my strategy may be backfiring on me. I have crashed every time I have gone up in a glider, but I can "fly" the DC-3 pretty well. That is if you don't count the number of times I have to circle the airport to land and the fact that I rarely actually land on a runway. But, none the less...

This break has been extremely relaxing. I have done a bunch of nothing (Ahhhh!) but I have stressed about what I need to get done. Today I will begin studying Chemistry or perhaps I should say REVIEWING Chem. I need to have a better handle on it than I do currently. I also need to go to the grocery store and wait for the roofer who will be here about noon to give an estimate. (Hubby swears that he told me this since he wouldn't be here, but my enthusiasm does not lie with a new garage roof so I forgot.) Anyway, at some point today I will get it all done. I am currently doing laundry and the kitchen is next. Of course, I need to figure out something to eat for breakfast since it is nearly lunchtime.

I keep staring at my schedule for this semester. I don't know if it is a good one or not. I don't know if I am being prudent or just overzealous. I am still waiting to find out what I can do about my Chem Lab. If I don't get it, I think I MAY (a big MAY) take the Human Bio Lab that I didn't take last term. Who knows. I am so confused as to what will count as my Bio requirements for med school that my head is spinning. This really shouldn't be such a difficult thing, but I am sure I am not making it any easier with my highly Type A personality.

Ok, that is it.