Pneumology has drawn to a close. The final was at 11 but I and a few other showed up at 7 this morning to get in some extra hours of radiology in prep for the exam. I felt like one of those fanatic students that I've always shooken my head at for doing things like requesting extra lab hours at like 5 in the morning. Unfortunately, I can't even positively say that the extra effort helped me on the exam.
Wednesday I ran into a wall. not literally, but figuratively. It was a quite unexpected experience. Now, normally when someone falls down they get up and keep going but for some reason Wednesday I couldn't get up again. Honestly, I kind of just sat there and pouted.......and then ate some popcorn. Thankfully Thursday I was able to rally and study hard once again. But the whole experience made me really thankful for this weekend. Weekends inbetween rotations are kind of "free" as there aren't projects and studying needing to be done. I'm going to Ixtlan this weekend and I'm going to enjoy it!
I've recently started running once a week with a friend at a park here in GDL called Los Colomos. It's like running cross country through a woods constantly up and down (This is not IL; nothing is flat). The park is paid entry so it's very nicely kept and taken care of. Anyways, let me explain the difference between my friend and I while running the hills at Los Colomos. My friend goes up the hills and I get up the hills. In other words, she used to run marathons until she suffered six herniated disks, and is now getting back into shape from her time off. Funny how her "out-of-shape" is actually....not! Either way, she's good motivation for me and we always have a good run!
Hasta!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Yo estoy deseando.
I did well all weekend. I was productive. I was getting work done at an efficient pace. I was getting good sleep each night. All the way up until about 7pm Sunday night. I had about 2 hours worth of work left on my last project. An estimated 2 hours that unfortunately turned into 5 taking me all the up to midnight on Sunday. It was sad to see my weekend end on such a half-hearted, inefficient note, but the main point was that it ended. I am thankful that I made a point to get good sleep prior to that because it prevented sleepiness being a factor in my inability to finish the last two hours and it has also allowed me to function today without feeling the effects of a late night working last night. It felt really good to turn in all my projects today.
Driving home from HAL today my friend and I were excited for a couple reasons.
1) We were actually leaving at 12.
2) We had options of how to spend the rest of our days. We could...
- start work on our next SOAP
- simply spend time studying!
- or dare I say...take a nap!
Honestly coming off a weekend of projects it sounds really good to be able to just study. Although I know that I will end up making myself start my SOAP too. but for right now since I'm not really a nap-taker, I think I'll procrastinate my work for a bit and read a few pages in my free-reading book!
There were two weddings that I missed back home this past weekend. Saturday was the wedding of Stephanie Thomas to Aaron Addicks. Sunday was the wedding of Regg Beer to Bev Schlatter. Congratulations to all of them!
I'm so sorry that I could not share their moments with any of them. It makes me think it'd be nice to live in a movie world or a TV series world....in other words, a ficticious world; where people make last minute flights all the time. Flights that are always direct, take about 30 minutes (no matter the destination), and leave the passengers as wide awake and fresh as they were when they boarded, and of course there's no thought to the cost of flying. Wouldn't it be nice.......
Right, back to reality...
Hasta!
Driving home from HAL today my friend and I were excited for a couple reasons.
1) We were actually leaving at 12.
2) We had options of how to spend the rest of our days. We could...
- start work on our next SOAP
- simply spend time studying!
- or dare I say...take a nap!
Honestly coming off a weekend of projects it sounds really good to be able to just study. Although I know that I will end up making myself start my SOAP too. but for right now since I'm not really a nap-taker, I think I'll procrastinate my work for a bit and read a few pages in my free-reading book!
There were two weddings that I missed back home this past weekend. Saturday was the wedding of Stephanie Thomas to Aaron Addicks. Sunday was the wedding of Regg Beer to Bev Schlatter. Congratulations to all of them!
I'm so sorry that I could not share their moments with any of them. It makes me think it'd be nice to live in a movie world or a TV series world....in other words, a ficticious world; where people make last minute flights all the time. Flights that are always direct, take about 30 minutes (no matter the destination), and leave the passengers as wide awake and fresh as they were when they boarded, and of course there's no thought to the cost of flying. Wouldn't it be nice.......
Right, back to reality...
Hasta!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Yo estoy avanzando en el agua.
My car is in the shop yet again. No need to explain why, it's the same old, same old. A friend is stopping by in a bit to take me back and Lord willing I'll be able to drive it away. It had been getting progressively worse all week so I was planning on taking the car to the shop on Saturday. I've recently started car-pooling with a classmate and on the way to HAL this morning worse became...."oooo! ouch! oh dear! that can't be good! oh noooooooooooo!" (I'm a bit over-dramatic sometimes....just a little) So after class I putt-putted all the way to the shop!
This respiratory rotation is tiring. This past week had a total of 5 exams in four days. In addition, though we are scheduled until 12 everyday, today was the only day I actually got to leave at that time. Tuesday was the lastest at a leaving time of 4pm. 9 hours with no break!?! what about a lunch?! no, it's not that bad. (like I said overly-dramatic) If you aren't with a patient the doctors typically allow you to eat. We are just dragging our feet to the parking lot at the end. And then for me it's extremely hard to get my brain to focus on my projects, presentations, and studying after that.
Today I realized that I feel like I'm treading water. That I've been treading water. I'm in the ocean and there's no land in sight. No tangible hope for a rest anytime soon. Sometimes I'm able to keep focused on the fact that Jesus is keeping me afloat, but other times when the waves keep putting me under time and time again, I begin to focus more on the fact that my arms and legs are so tired instead of the simple fact that Jesus brings me up again after each wave. Not exactly a clear analogy, but I'm willing to guess that more people than I realize would probably understand the feeling that I'm getting at.
I've discovered that pneumology or respiratory is something that I've got a knack for. I was able to pinpoint and define lung sounds within seconds of first hearing them, but unfortunately this time it's the subject that's the problem. I find respiratory to be rather boring. opposite of cardio which I love the topic but didn't have the talent for it.
I'm staying in GDL again this weekend, and though at the beginning of the week I thought maybe I should have decided to go to Ixtlan, it's now Friday and I've got plenty to keep me busy I'm worried if I'll get it all done the way it is.
We shall see!
Hasta!
This respiratory rotation is tiring. This past week had a total of 5 exams in four days. In addition, though we are scheduled until 12 everyday, today was the only day I actually got to leave at that time. Tuesday was the lastest at a leaving time of 4pm. 9 hours with no break!?! what about a lunch?! no, it's not that bad. (like I said overly-dramatic) If you aren't with a patient the doctors typically allow you to eat. We are just dragging our feet to the parking lot at the end. And then for me it's extremely hard to get my brain to focus on my projects, presentations, and studying after that.
Today I realized that I feel like I'm treading water. That I've been treading water. I'm in the ocean and there's no land in sight. No tangible hope for a rest anytime soon. Sometimes I'm able to keep focused on the fact that Jesus is keeping me afloat, but other times when the waves keep putting me under time and time again, I begin to focus more on the fact that my arms and legs are so tired instead of the simple fact that Jesus brings me up again after each wave. Not exactly a clear analogy, but I'm willing to guess that more people than I realize would probably understand the feeling that I'm getting at.
I've discovered that pneumology or respiratory is something that I've got a knack for. I was able to pinpoint and define lung sounds within seconds of first hearing them, but unfortunately this time it's the subject that's the problem. I find respiratory to be rather boring. opposite of cardio which I love the topic but didn't have the talent for it.
I'm staying in GDL again this weekend, and though at the beginning of the week I thought maybe I should have decided to go to Ixtlan, it's now Friday and I've got plenty to keep me busy I'm worried if I'll get it all done the way it is.
We shall see!
Hasta!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Yo estoy creciendo mas y mas.
25 years baby!! Oh yeah!!
You couldn't see me, but I just did a little dance!
Been blessed with another year! Que celebracion.......guess you've got to speak Spanglish to understand that one!!
Didn't do anything special persay (?), but just kind of enjoyed knowing that I can now say I'm 25....so much more mature than 24!....right?
Ran errands this morning. Received extra strange glances, but probably due to the fact that I was slightly dancing to the music being played over the PA in WalMart. I didn't mind. You only turn 25 once. When I paid my gas bill and wasn't charged extra for it being overdue I told myself it was because it was my birthday. That lady at Zeta MultiGas knew...somehow, she knew! :)
I knew no one was going to stop by and say Happy Birthday, but I made sure my door was unlocked just in case. In the end the only person to come to my door today was the Santorini guy. But he brought me the perfect birthday gift. We all know how much I love water delivery day, especially when I'm completely out, which I was today...that is until the Santorini guy came ;)
For my birthday dinner I really splurged and got not only McDonalds but also a DQ blizzard! What a feast! haha! I just enjoyed not having to prepare any of it! The poor girl at the DQ drive thru finally gave up and asked me to pull through to the window. She couldn't understand my spanish through the headset she had on. I felt really bad, but sometimes I don't know how to say English words in Spanish. for example, blizzard, oreo, and M&Ms are all English words without another word translated in Spanish. There are many words like these and some are said in Spanish (for example Starbuck's is Starboouks), but some stay with their English pronounciation.
I was trying to call for a taxi once for a ride home from a restaurant that a friend and I had walked to. We were at La Casa de Waffle (the Waffle House). I tried every proununciation I could think of but the poor taxi guys on the other end of the phone just kept passing me around letting someone else try to understand where the world I was at. I eventually gave up and my friend and I ran into the rain and hunted down a taxi on our own. (I still don't know how Waffle is pronounced here.)
It's been a good birthday! It was happy! Listened to my music a bit louder than usual. Smiled a bit more than normal. Danced a little bit weirder. and with each new day I'm blessed with am definitely, without a doubt, more resolute in my desire to praise my Lord and Saviour up until and then beyond the last I pass on this Earth.
God Bless everyone! I love you all!
Hasta!
You couldn't see me, but I just did a little dance!
Been blessed with another year! Que celebracion.......guess you've got to speak Spanglish to understand that one!!
Didn't do anything special persay (?), but just kind of enjoyed knowing that I can now say I'm 25....so much more mature than 24!....right?
Ran errands this morning. Received extra strange glances, but probably due to the fact that I was slightly dancing to the music being played over the PA in WalMart. I didn't mind. You only turn 25 once. When I paid my gas bill and wasn't charged extra for it being overdue I told myself it was because it was my birthday. That lady at Zeta MultiGas knew...somehow, she knew! :)
I knew no one was going to stop by and say Happy Birthday, but I made sure my door was unlocked just in case. In the end the only person to come to my door today was the Santorini guy. But he brought me the perfect birthday gift. We all know how much I love water delivery day, especially when I'm completely out, which I was today...that is until the Santorini guy came ;)
For my birthday dinner I really splurged and got not only McDonalds but also a DQ blizzard! What a feast! haha! I just enjoyed not having to prepare any of it! The poor girl at the DQ drive thru finally gave up and asked me to pull through to the window. She couldn't understand my spanish through the headset she had on. I felt really bad, but sometimes I don't know how to say English words in Spanish. for example, blizzard, oreo, and M&Ms are all English words without another word translated in Spanish. There are many words like these and some are said in Spanish (for example Starbuck's is Starboouks), but some stay with their English pronounciation.
I was trying to call for a taxi once for a ride home from a restaurant that a friend and I had walked to. We were at La Casa de Waffle (the Waffle House). I tried every proununciation I could think of but the poor taxi guys on the other end of the phone just kept passing me around letting someone else try to understand where the world I was at. I eventually gave up and my friend and I ran into the rain and hunted down a taxi on our own. (I still don't know how Waffle is pronounced here.)
It's been a good birthday! It was happy! Listened to my music a bit louder than usual. Smiled a bit more than normal. Danced a little bit weirder. and with each new day I'm blessed with am definitely, without a doubt, more resolute in my desire to praise my Lord and Saviour up until and then beyond the last I pass on this Earth.
God Bless everyone! I love you all!
Hasta!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Yo estoy bailando parte 2.
For recent things non-Leon or Guanajuato related see the first part of today's post 'Yo estoy bailando parte 1.'
I did not take pictures of the clinic on Saturday so all of the following are from colonia San Juan de Abajo outside of Leon, GTO.
This is a picture of the area the clinic was in.
It was after 9 when we had finally arrived and it was close to 11 before I finally saw my first patient of the day. But people had been lined up and waiting since 8 am.
This is a picture of where I did consults for the day. There were two doctors per room. Dr. Debbie Sauder and I got to set up in the kindergarten room. We could see the kids having school outside as the clinic was overtaking all their rooms. I was very thankful for the other doctors on this trip. They pushed me to work on my own! I learned so much about medicine and about missions because of it!
Finally packing up and heading back after a long day. :)
Sunday we had a service at the hotel and then took a day trip to the city of Guanajuato, GTO.
I got to share a hotel room with these lovely ladies. L to R: Me, Heidi Kruger, Gloria Gonzalez, Maggie Gonzalez, Laura Jimenez, Claudia Gonzalez
The following three videos were taken in Leon, GTO. The are of light displays in two separate location that the city has projected onto buildings.
This first one is called Time Machine. It is a light display projected onto the Casa Municipal in one of the plazas of the centro of Leon. There were much better (a.k.a. more colorful with better music) parts of the show that I didn't catch on video. Sorry!
A few blocks away is the second light show. This one is called Drops of Blood and is projected onto the side of this large Cathedral in Leon. This video was at the beginning of the show but once again I did not get the best parts on video. I realize in these videos it's hard to see all that's happening but trust me that there was always something moving/changing shape/changing color, etc...
Hasta!
I did not take pictures of the clinic on Saturday so all of the following are from colonia San Juan de Abajo outside of Leon, GTO.
This is a picture of the area the clinic was in.
It was after 9 when we had finally arrived and it was close to 11 before I finally saw my first patient of the day. But people had been lined up and waiting since 8 am.
This is a picture of where I did consults for the day. There were two doctors per room. Dr. Debbie Sauder and I got to set up in the kindergarten room. We could see the kids having school outside as the clinic was overtaking all their rooms. I was very thankful for the other doctors on this trip. They pushed me to work on my own! I learned so much about medicine and about missions because of it!
Finally packing up and heading back after a long day. :)
Sunday we had a service at the hotel and then took a day trip to the city of Guanajuato, GTO.
I got to share a hotel room with these lovely ladies. L to R: Me, Heidi Kruger, Gloria Gonzalez, Maggie Gonzalez, Laura Jimenez, Claudia Gonzalez
The following three videos were taken in Leon, GTO. The are of light displays in two separate location that the city has projected onto buildings.
This first one is called Time Machine. It is a light display projected onto the Casa Municipal in one of the plazas of the centro of Leon. There were much better (a.k.a. more colorful with better music) parts of the show that I didn't catch on video. Sorry!
A few blocks away is the second light show. This one is called Drops of Blood and is projected onto the side of this large Cathedral in Leon. This video was at the beginning of the show but once again I did not get the best parts on video. I realize in these videos it's hard to see all that's happening but trust me that there was always something moving/changing shape/changing color, etc...
Hasta!
Yo estoy bailando parte 1.
I've been busy so I'm going to write about my trip to Leon separatly in 'Yo estoy bailando parte 2'
I just remembered my gas bill. Went looking for it. Found it. And then sighed to see the due date had been the 7th. Sigh....not looking forward to paying that tomorrow.
Wednesday at HAL (Hospital Angel Leano)there was a camera crew to take pictures for the next edition of the school's catalog. They called out the minorities and being the only white girl in class that included me. I felt a little guilty, as if I were falsely advertising the school, but in all reality any person to go through a college education has been wisened to the fact that all schools stage their promotion photos. The camera crew was complete with a make-up girl and all. I found it humorous to be getting a spontaneous quick make-over powdering and gloss until she pulled out the hair-spray. Really could have done without that bit. So I did my bit modeling, but in the end honestly doubt any of the pictures I'm in will be used. I had just gotten back from Leon the day before and so was really struggling to keep my eyes open. I probably come across in the photos as half-dead...probably not the propaganda the school will be looking for.
After two years of watching Mexicans and my classmates pop HALLS in their mouth like candy I finally tried one. I came to the conclusion that since they were so widely eaten they couldn't be mentholated as they are in the States. I was Wrong! The second I put the "candy" in my mouth I realized that they are indeed mentholated. Some of my classmates are addicted to them and constantly are eating them. I can't get past the mentality that they are a medicine nor the fact that I can taste the menthol in them to be able to ever eat one again without first having a cough.
When I got home from HAL today I had to take a picture of the odometer in my car.
I do realize that the chance of this particular number showing on the odometer is the exact same chance of any other particular number showing......but, this number is just cooler.
Pneumo is proving to be much more busier than cardio. I'm not liking all of the projects and presentations...it's reminding me of undergrad. As soon as it's dark tonight, I think I'm going to justify going to bed and then hopefully, Lord willing, tomorrow morning I'll finally be able to wake up ready to tackle the weekend.
Hasta!
I just remembered my gas bill. Went looking for it. Found it. And then sighed to see the due date had been the 7th. Sigh....not looking forward to paying that tomorrow.
Wednesday at HAL (Hospital Angel Leano)there was a camera crew to take pictures for the next edition of the school's catalog. They called out the minorities and being the only white girl in class that included me. I felt a little guilty, as if I were falsely advertising the school, but in all reality any person to go through a college education has been wisened to the fact that all schools stage their promotion photos. The camera crew was complete with a make-up girl and all. I found it humorous to be getting a spontaneous quick make-over powdering and gloss until she pulled out the hair-spray. Really could have done without that bit. So I did my bit modeling, but in the end honestly doubt any of the pictures I'm in will be used. I had just gotten back from Leon the day before and so was really struggling to keep my eyes open. I probably come across in the photos as half-dead...probably not the propaganda the school will be looking for.
After two years of watching Mexicans and my classmates pop HALLS in their mouth like candy I finally tried one. I came to the conclusion that since they were so widely eaten they couldn't be mentholated as they are in the States. I was Wrong! The second I put the "candy" in my mouth I realized that they are indeed mentholated. Some of my classmates are addicted to them and constantly are eating them. I can't get past the mentality that they are a medicine nor the fact that I can taste the menthol in them to be able to ever eat one again without first having a cough.
When I got home from HAL today I had to take a picture of the odometer in my car.
I do realize that the chance of this particular number showing on the odometer is the exact same chance of any other particular number showing......but, this number is just cooler.
Pneumo is proving to be much more busier than cardio. I'm not liking all of the projects and presentations...it's reminding me of undergrad. As soon as it's dark tonight, I think I'm going to justify going to bed and then hopefully, Lord willing, tomorrow morning I'll finally be able to wake up ready to tackle the weekend.
Hasta!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Yo estoy imaginando mi cama.
It's late...or it's early. It's my own fault. I really did have plenty of time that I could have been in bed an hour ago, but write-ups are soooo tedious some times. I would open the word document and stare at the clinical history I was supposed to be completing...and then I'd find something else to do. So now it's past 12 and I've still got to pack.
I'm heading to the cities of Leon and Guanajuato in the neighboring state of Guanajuato. The AC medical/dental mission trip is currently there so Claudia Gonzalez and I are going to drive over and join them. And as I'll be leaving right after the hospital tomorrow (today) I really need to be packed and ready to go before I leave for the hospital. As it's a national holiday next Tuesday we've decided that we'll stay till then meaning I'll be missing Monday at the hospital. I'm such a rebel!! Hopefully my doctors won't have a problem with it.
We are a week into our Pneumology rotation now. This was the cut off for step scores so our class dynamic has changed quite a bit. So many faces not there anymore, and instead soooo many empty seats in lecture. It's almost isolating as we have to sit in seats according to our list number and it's very likely to end up sitting in a row all by yourself.
When a friend got his passing score a while back in his celebrating he exclaimed, "I passed! and as my reward I get to keep going to school!........waaaaait!"
The Pneumo administration forgot to take this into account when they divided us into groups, and so by dividing the class evenly according to number they ended up with something like this: SubGroup 1, Mini-Group 1 = 20 students; SubGroup 1, Mini-Group 2 = 4 students, etc. and then about 10 students who were left off the schedule entirely.
So in other words, the administration has spent this entire first week coming up with a new division and schedule. In the meantime, the 20 and the unlisted quickly dispersed themselves among the various mini-groups and learning has gotten well underway. Presentations assigned and given as well as patients seen and write-ups written. So now the vast majority of us are not looking forward to being reassigned to a new group/schedule. I've got my fingers crossed that i'm in the middle somewhere and the changes don't affect me.
Another cardio story:
There were three of us sitting in on a patient consult and the doctora told us to listen to the patient's heart. All three of us simultaneously pulled our stethascopes from around our necks, and realizing it just kind of stopped and paused for a second. A joke about who was the fastest stethascope slinger was unavoidable.
I haven't been able to get out and run as much this semester as I would like but yesterday I went and in the middle of a hill found myself trying to divide 32 by 7. I finally agreed with myself that 7 x 4 is 28 and 7 x 5 is 35 but for some reason I kept on pondering how 7 fit into 32, and was a bit embarrassed that I couldn't remember how. When I realized what I was actually pondering all I could think was WOW! America! welcome to your next generation....unable to multiply by 7. Yes, pray harder!
I'll save you the story on how I came to the point of trying to divide 32 by 7. You'd really be embarrassed for me then!!!
I blame this on the fact that at the time I was running uphill and all excess blood flow was being demanded by my lungs and legs leaving certian brain functions under-served.
Hasta!
Prayer request: Our travels on Friday and Tuesday as well as protection for my car in between. That we can be useful to the work of the medical/dental mission.
I'm heading to the cities of Leon and Guanajuato in the neighboring state of Guanajuato. The AC medical/dental mission trip is currently there so Claudia Gonzalez and I are going to drive over and join them. And as I'll be leaving right after the hospital tomorrow (today) I really need to be packed and ready to go before I leave for the hospital. As it's a national holiday next Tuesday we've decided that we'll stay till then meaning I'll be missing Monday at the hospital. I'm such a rebel!! Hopefully my doctors won't have a problem with it.
We are a week into our Pneumology rotation now. This was the cut off for step scores so our class dynamic has changed quite a bit. So many faces not there anymore, and instead soooo many empty seats in lecture. It's almost isolating as we have to sit in seats according to our list number and it's very likely to end up sitting in a row all by yourself.
When a friend got his passing score a while back in his celebrating he exclaimed, "I passed! and as my reward I get to keep going to school!........waaaaait!"
The Pneumo administration forgot to take this into account when they divided us into groups, and so by dividing the class evenly according to number they ended up with something like this: SubGroup 1, Mini-Group 1 = 20 students; SubGroup 1, Mini-Group 2 = 4 students, etc. and then about 10 students who were left off the schedule entirely.
So in other words, the administration has spent this entire first week coming up with a new division and schedule. In the meantime, the 20 and the unlisted quickly dispersed themselves among the various mini-groups and learning has gotten well underway. Presentations assigned and given as well as patients seen and write-ups written. So now the vast majority of us are not looking forward to being reassigned to a new group/schedule. I've got my fingers crossed that i'm in the middle somewhere and the changes don't affect me.
Another cardio story:
There were three of us sitting in on a patient consult and the doctora told us to listen to the patient's heart. All three of us simultaneously pulled our stethascopes from around our necks, and realizing it just kind of stopped and paused for a second. A joke about who was the fastest stethascope slinger was unavoidable.
I haven't been able to get out and run as much this semester as I would like but yesterday I went and in the middle of a hill found myself trying to divide 32 by 7. I finally agreed with myself that 7 x 4 is 28 and 7 x 5 is 35 but for some reason I kept on pondering how 7 fit into 32, and was a bit embarrassed that I couldn't remember how. When I realized what I was actually pondering all I could think was WOW! America! welcome to your next generation....unable to multiply by 7. Yes, pray harder!
I'll save you the story on how I came to the point of trying to divide 32 by 7. You'd really be embarrassed for me then!!!
I blame this on the fact that at the time I was running uphill and all excess blood flow was being demanded by my lungs and legs leaving certian brain functions under-served.
Hasta!
Prayer request: Our travels on Friday and Tuesday as well as protection for my car in between. That we can be useful to the work of the medical/dental mission.
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