Monday, January 31, 2011

I LOVE YOU GRANDPA!

Can't wait to see you again! In the meantime, enjoy the new leg!!!!!!













Friday, January 28, 2011

Yo estoy mareada.

Once upon a time there was a little girl. But that was a time long long ago.

This wasn't a fun week. It's not going to be a fun weekend either. Oh whoa is me!! HoHum! Humpty Dumpty!

Quick recap:
- My presentation on Tuesday was pushed back to Thursday, which was then pushed back to Friday, which has now been pushed back to Monday. Cue head spinning!
- Administration set up a meeting with us about our 4th year options. Co-op in New York is no longer available leaving just co-op in Puerto Rico which I'm not exactly keen about so putting that as number 3 on my list. Number 2 will go to pre-internado here in Mexico, and number 1 I am going to put as electives in the US. Which means that now I've got State and hospital options all with big question marks on them. Increase head spinning speed!
- I'm annoyed at everything; and the worst is that I'm annoyed at the fact that I'm annoyed. Too many dumb questions were asked this week. Too many last minute schedule changes were made. Too many times I needed to talk to someone with just bare walls to listen. Drop kick spinning head!

I feel sick! I try holding my head still sometimes, and it kind of helps, but not really.

Once upon a time there was a little girl that grew up. She didn't like it at times, but she did it!

Hasta!

P.S. I do have good and exciting news from this week. But I'm going to save it for a time when I myself am in a more excited state of mind. Hopefully tomorrow, but we'll see. One day at a time!

Parting thought: Stress stinks!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Yo estoy preparando.

Surgery rotation has not been too enjoyable these past two weeks. I really shouldn't be complaining because it's due to no new circumstances, simply the same old lack of organization, but for some reason it just seemed rather excessive this time.
Example: internationals have been split into two different subgroups for this rotation. On day 1 it was explained to subgroup 1 what was expected of them and when. Of course confusion was still involved, but at least they had something and were able to get started, balancing their studying with their research. My subgroup on the other hand, subgroup 2, was not given any instruction on what we were supposed to be doing. Zero. Zilch. Nada! I showed up each day the first week thinking the doctor in charge of us would finally let us know, but he never did. And then the second week, this past week, was when those in subgroup 2 with me started questioning, and asking, and wondering, and guessing, but always and only amongst ourselves. (We really need to just slap ourselves sometimes!) So of course by Friday we had a bunch of questions, no answers, and one rather frustrated Christy! Friday before our exam I finally just asked the doctor what he was expecting us to be doing concerning our research and presentation. He just looked back at me and asked me if I wanted to do it. I kind of snorted a chuckle and said no! He laughed then and shrugged, told me or us (us now because by this time more classmates were listening in on the conversation) not to worry about it. Well, that took a load of my back! That is until about 10 minutes later, during which our doctor had had a conversation with the head of the department. He walks back into the room we were in, picks up a dry erase marker and starts filling the white board with words, and bullet points, and underlinings that we've all got to now decipher and complete by Friday.
I am annoyed about what subgroup 1 had three weeks to complete we are left with only one week to complete, but that's not my main annoyance. There's a total of five...let's call them 'items', that I need to have on a CD to turn in on Friday. I'll be able to get it all done by Friday, so I'm not worried about that. But my main annoyance is still the apparent complete absence of organization exhibited by the Surgery department at HAL in this situation. To have no direction for two weeks, and then finally give direction only to do a complete 180 just 10 minutes later. Mexico and UAG is going to have us international UAG medical students being so incredibly flexible that by the time we graduate in a 1 1/2 years, we'll be able to fit into a 1 foot cubic box.....ok, ok, maybe a 1 1/2 foot cubic box.
So due to all this mess, I've got a very busy week ahead of me. Gonna have to wake up tomorrow morning and get down to business!
Ready...Set...Go!

Hasta!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Yo estoy una gladiadora.

Had my first exam of the year today, and boy was it a tough one. I've gotten out of practice or something cause my critical thinking wasn't coinciding with my logical thinking and then sometimes my imagination would just take over completely leaving both out. Plus I struggled more than normal with the Spanish on this particular exam. Well, a lot more than normal. At the end of exams there are commonly about 5 bonus questions. Typically there is an excerpt from an article in English and then in Spanish there are 5 questions. Usually a slice a lemon meringue pie, but today of course the key word to the answer for one of these questions I'd never seen before but after a few minutes of guessing and elimination I decided I would answer as if the word was 'starch'. And it totally was!!!! Granted I left HAL today feeling like I'd just been decked in the face hard, but hey! I got starch!

Had a run-in with the boiler again earlier this week. The worst part of it was that I was finally taking a break to shower (a.k.a. warm up) and then I stood there and the water never got above cold. I actually needed to shower so I couldn't just forget it. I'm so thankful I didn't slip and eat tile because as I had to keep moving, my feet would have made a boxer look like he was waltzing. Instead of bringing my purple fingers and toes back to their normal red as I was hoping I emerged more white, but at least I was clean. There is an older couple in the church at Ixtlan, and early every morning, before the sun comes up, they wake up and take a cold shower. Really I don't know how they do it! Summers ok, but winter? How can taking a cold shower when it's 40 degrees F be healthy?

There is a new guy in my class. I've seen him around before. He's from either two or three semesters ahead of me, but either way he's in sixth semester now. And unfortunately, due to no fault of his, I try my best not to even look at him, because I get upset whenever I do. He's a nice guy and all. Our only conversation went as follows:
Him: "felicidades!"
Me: "No! Ella!"
Completely insignificant. But I can't look at him without being reminded of Spot Conlon. And to me no one has the right to look like Spot Conlon! Spot Conlon is Spot Conlon....I mean he's the "key." And how dare this guy come along and act all nonchalant about it. It's as if he's stomping with muddy boots all over a childhood memory. booooo! I need to go watch Newsies again.

I love dreaming! Love it so much that sometimes up to half of my studying time is spent dreaming! I've had unpleasant dreams in the past, but recently I've had more of them. I can't say I would call them nightmares. But they are the type of dream that you wake up unsetteled and distraught. I lay in bed just confused and upset and can't quite figure it out. My rythym for the whole day is thrown off. It's enough that I honestly don't know if I even want to dream anymore, and that would be a tragedy itself.

Mom, I think I should have done a better job of smelling those clothes I got for Christmas. I bent over in a stretch the other day and got a nose full of J.C. Penney's.

Well, that's all for this post. I'm taking a break tonight, hanging out over at a friend's. I'm bringing the popcorn, and I'm late!

Hasta!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Yo estoy debil.

I was glad to be back in Ixtlan again this past weekend. Jan greeted me Saturday with a big smile and a "Welcome Home!" And then followed it with a questioning nod of her head to which I responded with affirmation that indeed 'Welcome home' was appropriate. Since about second semester classmates have refered to my trips to Ixtlan as "Are you going home this weekend?" It's such a blessing to live in another country and yet have a "home" a little over 2 hours away.

After using the excuse that "I was getting into the swing of things" all last week I finally had to make myself get down to business Monday. It worked, not with as much success as I had hoped, but I can't complain. This 'getting down to business' included me getting out on the streets again. After a five week exercise break due to sickness, vacation, and 'getting into the swing of things', I was going to start out with an easier, slower, and shorter jog, but then rethought that as I realized that I'm going to be climbing a mountain in just three months...I don't have time to go easy, slow, or short. So instead I took off up the hill. And....can you guess....yep, you guessed it. Boy was I sore! So what did I do the next day? Ran even longer. I've been limping around since! One would think I never run! In addition, the way I wheezed Monday during the run, and the way my lungs burned for longer than normal afterwards reaffirmed my worries of developing asthma. Sometimes I wonder which aspect of running in a smoggy city is stronger, the benefit to the cardiovascular system or the detriment to the pulmonary system. I'm just going to keep going hoping it's the former rather than the later.

My sixth semester class is becoming a buzz with ideas like step 2 CK, step 2 CS, co-op, when to study what, how to balance Surgery (our current rotation). In attempt to not get stressed by my not knowing what's going on I've reverted into my 'serious' facade on multiple occasiones already this week. It's brought to my attention when a classmate suddenly stares at me and concerned asks if I am sick. It's reassuring to know that Jesus is going to be driving for me, but still can't help being stressed by the fact that I've got to first pick the right car out of the tens of possibilites lined up before me, find the right keys, actually unlock the door, get in and buckle up! That's quite a bit of figuring out to be done! Whew! Note to self: Smile!

Hasta!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Yo estoy reforzada.

Happy Friday everyone! We have indeed lived yet another week of our lives. Hopefully there was laughter and dancing involved for everyone! :)

My debate over whether or not to get internet lasted only about 30 minutes upon arrival at my apartment in GDL. But instead of going through the headache of dealing with Megacable I took a chance and asked my neighbor if I could share her signal. She said yes. :)

Sunday was a rather depressing day for me. In a matter of hours I'd gone from constant companionship about 98% of my waking time (and during sleeping time, had I yelled there was always somebody to hear me) to being by myself once again. Add that to the feeling you have when vacation ends and you're not ready for it and you get my state of mind on Sunday. I got choked up over a pair of machine dried socks! Not one of my finer moments! but I've since then started back into my schedule at HAL and worn my share of cardboard stiff socks! All's well again! :)

I was proud of myself Sunday though, as I did remember to turn up the dail on the boiler BEFORE showering this time. And a good thing I remembered it in the morning because the pilot light had decided to take a vacation itself this time. The boiler and I were caught in a game of To-Light-or-Not-To-Light for a while. It was being awfully stubborn. A couple times I had to give the boiler some time to think it over telling him I'd come back with a bigger lighter....or something. Really I just had to periodically take breaks before frustration caused me to side kick it! It wasn't too long and the pilot light lit again officially naming me victor!!! muahaha! Unfortunately, the boiler retaliated and got it's vengence on me by completely scalding me in shower, but then again red complexion is nothing new for me!

Like normal we had no information about our semester except a time and place to be on the first day. I live two minutes from my old campus and a small but very busy road that I use to get around the ICB campus closed right before I had left for Christmas and Monday morning I discovered it was still closed, causing me to have to turn around and go on a long detour finding an alternate route to HAL, of course hitting every red light on the way (at least it seemed like it!). I made it by 8:02 just in time to walk into an empty room and over hear someone exclaiming that it had been moved to 9 am! Welcome back to UAG! Somehow they manage to make sure that no one knows what's going on! Oh well, I spent the hour running around HAL back and forth between offices and making copies and turning in what needed to be in the right offices (as somehow Mexican offices don't communicate and each one needs a hardcopy for itself)! It took me about the whole hour but in the end I emerged with a list number offically putting me in 6th semester. Success!

When we finally flooded back into the room at 9 am. There were so many of us!! And even stranger, it seemed I'd never seen the majority of all these students. Without telling us HAL administration had combined our international program with about 100 Latin students! I'm not happy about it and working on swallowing my pride. I'm having trouble getting over the fact that us internationals pay over twice what each Latin student pays and yet not only are our progams combined at HAL but now they've got us combined into the same rotation! Pride really is disgusting going down!

Since Monday's detour trip to HAL I've taken up cutting through the ICB campus and pick up my route on the opposite side of it. I'm still going to be able to carpool this semester but I started early a couple days this week so I drove myself allowing me to use the ICB shortcut. It makes me feel Oh So Important to flash my ID at the gate and have the guard on duty nod me admittance! Wow!! Am I really that cool?!?!...ahem...pathetic!?!?!?!

It makes me happy to be driving in Mexico once again. Honestly, behind the wheel has been where the majority of my dancing has taken place this week! :)

Hasta!!!!!!!!! :)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Yo estoy luchando con emociones.

It's a beautiful day this Saturday in Illinois. I love that it's relatively white again, and then with the sunshine....winter really can be lovely. Makes it harder to say goodbye unfortunately.

I'll be returning to an apartment internetless, hence why writing now! I was originally planning to head to the megacable office on Monday and get the situation fixed, but now I'm considering not going. Could I survive without internet access in my apartment? I could bring my computer to HAL with me everyday and take care of business there. And if I need extended access for research or Bible study prep I could go to a classmate's for a few hours or so. And in the back of my mind I'm considering this as a possible solution to help curb the time I spend on Youtube. We'll see what ends up happening within the week I guess.

What lies ahead:
- finally finding out how many are to be in my class. As the number varied with each rotation last semester it's hard to even make a guess.
- Monday, sometime between figuring out where and when I'm expected to be I've got paperwork and receipts to turn in. I wouldn't be surprised if Monday I show up and am not on the class list. Due to being assigned guardias the month of Dec. I was not able to turn afore mentioned paperwork into the escolar before leaving. I'm not too worried as it'll eventually get sorted out. I mean, hey!, I come with thousands of dollars in loans, they'll get me on the list in a jif.....well, a Mexican jif at least!
- I just checked GDL weather. Lows for today and tomorrow are both under 37 degrees F. Whimper! After two years, I've picked up that no matter what the high is for a given day...the inside temperature is dictated by the low, whether winter or summer. I've already planned that after unpacking I'm going to be adding a blanket to my bed. Hey! A bonus for you if I decide to not get internet in my apartment; it'll spare you my excessive complaints about being cold. I should make it a goal to be more positive. This year winter will only remain until about mid Feb! maybe...hopefully...sigh, moving on.
- Rotations this semester are OB/GYN, surgery, Peds, and another guardia. Excited about them all. Perhaps I'll have an area of practice chosen after this semester.

Hasta!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Yo estoy fea.

Happy New Year!

Resolved: To spend more time daily reading the Bible.

2010 was an exciting year! Definitely a rollar coaster ride with a few free falls added in. Can't say I'd actually want to go through it again....I've got enough sheer drop-offs just around the corner to keep me occupied. Looking as if it'll be an even more exciting 2011.

Hasta!