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Ultimate Coffee Date – August
Hey everyone! The last (and only) one I did was back in May; I had to miss the last two coffee dates due to boards studying, but…I passed, so it was all worth it!
Coffee is rampant everywhere I go. (Luckily, hospitals/clinics/pretty much every place we go to understands that we’re all chronically sleep-deprived individuals.) I actually haven’t had any yet, but I’ve only just finished my first week of clinical rotations, so there’s definitely still time!
If we were having coffee/tea this morning, I’d just like to say that I really, really love being out in the real world and getting to interact with living human beings once more. It’s a wonderful feeling, especially after the last 2 years of somewhat-solitude from my various study hibernations. That is not to say that it’s no longer an uphill battle anymore. Life in terms of constant-book-studying is over…in a way. In its place is learning “on the job.” This is good news to me because I’m very much a kinesthetic learner; I retain information much more easily if it’s something that I can actually do (hence, why the last two years were such a struggle). My preceptor’s really great about explaining things to me, the nurses are super helpful, and the patients are really sweet. They bring in fresh vegetables and home-canned foods for the staff. :] Our break room looks like a cafe, and drug reps come in and feed us 2-3x/week!
If we were having coffee/tea this morning, despite how awesome this is, I can’t shake the feeling that I feel like I know nothing. I feel pretty incompetent–there’s so much that I feel like I should know, and I’m sure my being nervous plays into it when my preceptor asks me questions that I don’t answer correctly, even though I definitely know the answers to them. But it’s just the first week, so as long as I continue to improve, mayhaps it’ll be okay!
If we were having coffee/tea this morning, I’d tell you that even though it’s difficult, I really love this. My preceptor started sending me in to do H&P’s for patients on Wednesday, so I’ve been getting a lot of practice in and learning a lot. Not knowing the answers motivates me to look things up so I’ll never get it wrong again. I’m getting better at asking questions (something I never used to do). Even though I feel like I don’t know anything, her patients seem to really like me, so I’d like to think I’m doing something right. :] Yesterday, one of the ladies told me I would make a great doctor and also told me that I was really pretty, haha.
If we were having coffee/tea this morning, I’d tell you that I’m getting really fed up with GoogleMaps. While it’s never failed me in the past, I guess there has to be a first for everything. Whilst trying to get to the hospital, I was led to the middle of two train tracks and it told me I’d arrived. There was a car dealership on the other side of one set of tracks, and a row of very small, fairly run-down houses on the other. (I wish I were kidding about this.) I’m going to a psych clinic in a little over a week, so I figured I’d prevent myself from getting into such a predicament again. (I wasn’t late, but that was not a fun experience.)
After sending me on a narrow and frighteningly pothole-ridden road through a cemetery…
…this is where Google sent me. At a population of 12k, this town is 4x the size of the one I came from. No, Google, I am not about to believe that I’ve arrived at the medical clinic.
If we were having coffee/tea this morning, I’d tell you that…I’m famous again! (This is what I meant about #6.) Hooray hooray!
If we were having coffee/tea this morning, I’d tell you that I’m secretly envious that my preceptor’s wearing jeans/flip flops, and it makes me wonder if that means that I don’t have to dress up every day either. I am notoriously low-maintenance (to a fault). My idea of dressing up is changing out of my yoga pants/sweat pants/shorts to a dark pair of jeans and a t-shirt, so for me to put on dress pants and a nice shirt or button-down each morning is a struggle. There’s only one thing that’s not true on this list, and it’s because I don’t drink beer (or any alcohol, for that matter).
(Seriously, this is my life.)
So there we have it! I hope everyone’s been doing well! Things that I’ve been wondering lately:
- What’s an absolute dealbreaker for you when you’re choosing your doctor? (Or something you absolutely would not tolerate with an established doctor?)
- What’s something your doctor has done or said to you that made you feel much more comfortable with them, and that s/he was really just there to do whatever s/he could to help you get better?
- What’s something you think your doctor could improve upon?
This linkup is hosted by fellow GGS ambassadors–Nikki, Jill & Lynda!
Very Inspiring Blogger Award
I was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by Montana over at Pretty Lil Mudder! Thank you so much! :] (Check out her blog for super awesome race info and workout ideas!) We’re also starting up a recipe linkup soon with a few other ladies from Girls Gone Sporty. Stay tuned (Fridayyy)!!!
According to the post, the rules are:
- Thank and link to the person who nominated you
- List the rules and display the award
- Share seven facts about yourself
- Nominate 15 other blogs you enjoy, then comment on their posts to let them know you have nominated them
7 Random Facts About Me
- I get called upon by the guys (HBLers + 1) to help move things [aka furniture] around. I find this very flattering. The last time this happened, my friend’s mom happened to overhear and protested, “Don’t ask her to do that for you!” (M: No, Mom, you don’t understand! She’s really really strong! She does powerlifting and holds a state record for deadlifts! She’ll be fine. And we can’t move it without her.)
- By the time I graduate medical school, I will be in about a quarter of a million dollars in debt. This does not include interest and also depends upon me continuing to live on <$10k/year, so mayhaps you can see why I get a slight bit annoyed when people say that we go into the field of medicine “for the money.” (I really don’t think I’d be picking the least-paying specialty if that were the case.) But one of my life-long goals is to be able to spend my life doing something that I love, so here we are.
- My goals when/if I ever swim out of my student loan debt are to pay off my parents’ house, take them on a cruise, fund no-kill animal shelters (Please Save A Cat + Friends For Life are biggies on my list) and donate to the clinic I used to volunteer at. I’d also eventually like a house with an awesome kitchen, fruit trees + an herb/vegetable garden, and a room with high ceilings that can be a dance studio
- The only time I willingly call people is when I’m driving (relax, I’m using a headset/just one earbud)…but I still usually hate talking on the phone (#25 of 25 Things You Didn’t Know). This is probably why long-distance relationships would be a bad idea for me. (Y’know, other than the fact that I’d only be able to pencil him in once every couple days in probably-10-minute-intervals.
- I can fall asleep anywhere at almost any time, within a matter of minutes. The floor, a couple chairs, standing up…you name it. (Sometimes, I seriously think I have narcolepsy, but it’s more likely just chronic sleep deprivation…?) Symptoms of narcolepsy include:
- Excessive sleepiness or sudden muscle weakness
- Cataplexy
- Sleep paralysis
- Hypnagogic hallucinations
- Automatic behaviors (like driving home and not remembering how you got there)
- Disrupted major sleep episode (disruption of the longest sleep episode that occurs on a daily basis)
…and now that I think about it, my dad can do the same thing. Crud. (Nooo, orexin, stay with me!) Even if I really do have it, I’d like to think that I’m a pretty effing high-functioning narcoleptic. :O
- I’m not very good with improvisation, or being extremely articulate with words (spoken, anyway). Given the opportunity, I plan it all out to excruciating detail before I start talking. More on that on Saturday. :O!
- If food is in front of me, it tends to disappear. Especially if I’m preoccupied with doing something else. I spend most of my day thinking about food, eating, or planning my next meal(s).
Unofficial #8: I’m really, really terrible about nominating people because I always feel like they’ll feel obligated to respond even if they’re super busy (also because all[?] of the people I wanted to nominate have already been nominated already! Go figure. What can I say? We have good taste in people. Can I just…ask you, my dear readers, to share random facts about yourself? :]?
JUST KIDDING. I’m nominating the ladies I’ve been doing Fitness Fridays with because they are awesome and have not in fact been tagged yet (as far as I can tell, anyway)! ;)
I’d also just like to note that Trish is wonderful and awesomely amazing. <3 She went to the farmer’s market over in Ithaca earlier this(? I’ve lost track of dates) month and got me some pepper jelly! 3 homemade blueberry muffins using blueberries she’d picked herself! (Super jealous. I wanna go berry picking!) I’ve been enjoying it with a smoked jalapeno cheese spread and maple chicken sausage patties stuffed with a beet greens scramble (recipe will be up in a couple days) in a pita bread pocket. <3
Mid Year Review | Start, Stop, Keep
July’s PDBA blog hop theme is a mid-year review on what’s been going on in our lives, whether it be from a personal, business, or poler’s viewpoint. I’m going with personal because my poling has become so sporadic. :[ Darn life for getting in the way. (I’m still devising a way to sneak my pole up 2 flights of stairs without anyone in my complex noticing it. ._.)
- Start: being more proactive, studying every day, working out regularly
- Stop: negative self-talk (I noticed how gifted I was at this during my 1.5-month long study hibernation; it’s horrible) + making excuses for myself/other people
- Keep: on truckin’ (+ in touch with + maintain relationships with family/friends, volunteering, and venturing out of my comfort zone)!
There’s been a lot that’s happened over the past 6 months, although there’s really just one thing on my mind right now. Remember my 1.5-ish-month long study hibernation that pretty much sucked all the life and joy away from me?
I PASSED MY BOARDS!!!
I officially get to call myself a third-year medical student, which means I’m finally permitted to re-join the land of the living/interact with human beings again. I’m one step closer to finally becoming a physician, and I am absolutely overjoyed. <3 I can’t wait to start my rotations!
Here are highlights from the first half of this year!
January: Coping mechanism for the polar vortex
February: Raising money at the International Festival so PAX could bring more supplies/medications to the DR (see next month).
March: Volunteering in the Dominican Republic (we managed to raise >$5000 to buy supplies/meds to bring over!)
April: My unintentional half-move into the cat shelter that later became an official move
May: Snuck back to CA for a week to half-live at Twirly Girls and see my family/friends before disappearing into the catacombs forever
June: My life as a basement dweller
“after boards, i’ll…”
It seems so far away. So, so far away. Just one more week left and I will hopefully be done with this exam forever. I took a practice half-exam yesterday and it was a terrible, terrible time. (I am the poster child for all the terrible habits/things you should not have/do while test-taking.) But I made it out in one piece, and there are some definite signs of improvement. There’s hope for me after all!
I am officially the last one left in my basement catacombs/cave. :[ It’s sad and kinda lonely down here, but my friend left me with happy reminders/words of encouragement before she moved away, and the maintenance staff are super nice, so it’s better than nothin’!
She left this on “her” window (it faces my room) the night before my super-practice test. :]
It was hard to take a clear picture of this, but it says, “Farrah is gonna do AWESOME. Or the bunnies will get her.”
I’ve been listening to video game music (usually the Chrono Trigger station on Pandora, and most recently, the Mystic Quest OST!) to keep myself motivated. (Time to save the world! Only in this case, the world is really just my future.)
I can’t help thinking about all my after-boards fantasies and all the sunshine and rainbows to follow. What am I gonna do with my 5 glorious days of summer?
I want to do everything, but here’s a list that will most definitely stretch into the rest of the year:
- Completely revamp my blog and switch to self-hosted! (That’s my first after-boards project! I have so many grand plans on it, but I need to get done with this darn exam first!)
- Work out a ton (I’ve been a blob for most of this past month :[ )
- Read A Dance of Dragons.
- Pole classes! Yes, in the 4-5 days that I’ll have. I’m hoping to try out the Fly Gym class too. :D
- Eat everything in CA. Sam and I are planning a day trip to Sac to visit friends and eat at an awesome restaurant!
- Watch a billion movies.
- Catch up on Supernatural (I may or may not be 2 seasons behind. ._.), Once Upon A Time…etc.
Apple Butter Yogurt Cheesecake
This is another one of my let’s-clean-out-my-fridge-before-I-move-out recipes, and conveniently happened to fall in time to celebrate a friend’s birthday. :D Recipe adapted from here! I made this about 1.5 months ago, but it feels like it’s been several decades. Funny what a life of studying and nothing (no need to get dramatic here, Farrah!) little else will do to you! :O
Apple Butter Yogurt Cheesecake
Ingredients:
-1 package light cream cheese at room temperature (you need it at room temp to have the right consistency!)
-2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-2/3 cup 0% Fage Greek yogurt
1/4 cup apple butter
-12 vanilla wafer cookies
(Topping)
-crumbled coconut bars
Instructions:
1) Put cream cheese, milk and vanilla in a blender and blend/beat until very smooth. Add yogurt and apple butter and blend/beat until smooth.
2) Put vanilla cookies into a food processor/high power blender and process until they’re fine crumbs. (If you have a lot of anger in you/no food processor, you can stuff em’ in a ziplock bag and beat them with a rolling pin.)
3) Pour cookie crumbs onto 8″ pan and spread evenly over the bottom.
4) Top the cookie crumbs with even portions of the cheesecake filling and smooth it over with the back of a spoon.
5) Sprinkle crumbled coconut bars over the top and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. (I kinda wanted to stick it in the freezer for an hour to see how it’d turn out, but there was no space. If anyone tries that, please let me know how it goes!)
We stuck an umbrella on it to make it extra-fancy.
This was a DDT Featured Favorite! :]!
And lately, because no post is complete without some kind of randomness. Here’s one of my daily pop quizzes from my friend! She usually writes them on my whiteboard, but was out of town to take her exam, so she emailed it to me instead, telling me to be sure to answer it before 10:30 a.m. As it turned out, we weren’t allowed in the building because the fire alarm went off (thanks, we really needed that ;_; ), and I am slightly ashamed to admit that I was so intent on getting back into the catacombs to study that I completely tuned out and didn’t even realize the fire alarm was going off. -1 for survival skills. :[
- Carpal tunnel syndrome, effed up median nerve, Phalen’s & Tinnel’s (or nerve conduction study)! If it’s not treated, more pain/numbness/tingling down lateral side of forearm/hand, atrophy of the thenar eminence, possibly double crush if shit really goes down.
- Large intestine stuffs, small intestine(?), and I’m sure I’m forgetting one of the sexy-time parts but I haven’t gone over the levels since the OPP final. :x will look at it today! Dry and ropy would be chronic, but if there’s edema and erythema at L2, I’d go with acute and more large intestine-y or prostate-y stuffs.
- Pons houses CN 5, 6, 7 and 8, so you’d have effed up sensation to the face, facial expressions, loss of taste to anterior 2/3 of tongue, maybe some vertigo and hearing issues.
I WOULD STILL STUDY BECAUSE ‘TIS MERELY A FLESH WOUND; I must fight on!
The internet is being shitty, so I’m waiting for the meme to load still.
Have a safe trip, an awesomely relaxing day, and you shall kick all the butts tomorrow!!! <3!
In case you wanted to know what the meme was. heh heh heh.
fairyburger 