Attention, please. *clinks fork on wine glass*

I am officially a fourth-year medical student now.

Thank you,
That is all.



(phew)

I cannot wait until I am not chronically sleep deprived.

Yesterday I pulled a tube out of somebody's neck while they hummed and today I am talking soybeans with a bulemic. Last week I was investigating a potential case of measles vs dengue fever. This is the normal scutwork of my job. I realize how bizarre that is, really.

Jamie and I do not have an "Our Song." It's not because we don't like music... we do. It's not because we don't rock out in the car to said music... we do. It's not because we don't love each other... we kinda like each other after all. We just don't have any song with particular meaning attached to our coupledom to play at The Big Wedding Extravagaza Partytastic Thingie.

I open this up for voting and bribery.


Some initial suggestions:
"All I want is you" - U2
"You're my best friend" - Queen
"At last" - Etta James
"I touch myself" - Divinyls
The hokey pokey

We officially have a wedding website. Jamie picked the frilly layout, smirk. Family, take heed!

www.mywedding.com/jamieandmelissa

Well.

I've spent the last 5 weeks with my hands in people's bellies.  (You don't look at someone the same after you sweep your hand over their liver.)  I slept an average of 5 hours a night.  I got to see someone's brain, smushed as it was.  I learned a lot about human nature in sickness and death.  I saw a lot of blood, forgot to eat a few times, and almost passed out twice.  It's been an interesting trip.  But surgery is over.  Hooray!  Now I am back to a (more) normal schedule, and although I will miss the OR, could not be happier.

In other life news since my last post

Jamie and I are now beginning wedding planning in earnest.  We are going out to look at a few potential sites tomorrow.  If we're lucky, we'll like this one and book it.  That will be a big weight off our shoulders.  Then I can worry about stuff like bridesmaids, a dress, a few fun surprises.  Anybody with wisdom on these issues should share.  God and a budget?  How do *I* know how much an average wedding cake costs?  Who knows these things?

A few weekends ago, I went to the OK Go concert with a bunch of friends.  I felt very old, surrounded by short teenagers.  Also because I desperately wanted earplugs--my right ear was ringing for *three* days afterwards.  However, the weekend was awesome, and I rediscovered my love for rockband and beer.  Mmm rockbeer.   Many thanks to Charlotte, Jabby, Jeff, Gina and Alex for visiting that weekend, and to all who went to the OK Go concert!  Puppy Party!

(PS: Jeff, that time before last you were down here and we three were rocking out and then hopped in the car and belted out songs at the top of our lungs?  Good times.  Good times.)

Immediately after said fun weekend, I got sick for the first time in two years or more.  At least in the time I've known Jamie.  Despite my crazy hours, sleeplessness, and constant exposure to sick people, I remained healthy.  And when I got sick, I managed to stay up sleepless on call and still recover in only 4 days, compared to the average 1-2 weeks of people I saw in clinic.   Let this be a lesson to you, fair readers: take a vitamin every day, get your flu shot, wash your hands, and love the tylenol.  

Also, I am already looking forward to Jamie & Jeff's birthday bash this year.  Beach house, murder mystery, private mansion, hot tub & sauna & swimming pool, private beach, assasin game, s'mores, ultimate frisbee, and more.  Oh yes.  It's going to be awesome! 

Schoolwise, I'm applying for a prestigious family medicine award, the Pisacano scholarship.  I wrote myself up to sound all smart and stuff, and made it to the interview stage.  It's coming up on Tuesday.  Cross your fingers for me that I don't blurt out something dumb.

In March/April, my nephews have respectively turned 1 year and 6 months.  They are adorable.  I am eager to babysit more and live vicariously through them.

Yes, it's old news by now, but I've been too lazy to do anything but let word of mouth and facebook spread the good news for me.  However, many people have been hankering for a photo of the ring.  Fortunately, my mother snapped many such when we saw her last weekend, so I will post one she took of the ring.  More details on my extreme happiness later :)

happy valentine's day everybody.
may you eat chocolate and get lots of hugs.

Happy New Year's Eve, everybody!  Be safe, have fun!

My parents seemed to think Jamie and I were big wimps for not wanting to drive around in the snow. I don't know what it's like down where they're at.... but here's what we've got:



That's my herb garden (RIP-Frozen) to the left.  I suspect it will not recover from 6" snow on it....






Sad little ducks have lost almost all their pond.  K, however, was much intrigued.

I declare the Ugly Holiday Sweater Party/White Elephant Gift Exchange last night a success! Thanks to all who came, it was tons of fun. I love my new "Jesus is the Reason of the Season" votive candle holder and I know a proud owner of a child's $2 bowling ball went home happy. As for Party Playoff... we all knew handcuffs would win over The Hoff (you had to be there, folks). Here are a few choice photos.

Photos below.
( Read more... )

i am so pleased with myself that im announcing it to the cosmos.  I just took a step to be healthier.  No, I'm not exercising.  But I did switch my schoolgirl PB&J lunch for pita with hummus, lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper and sundried tomato.  it's uber delicious and way healthier than two slabs of bread with absorbed jelly.  yes, that's right.  it's the little things in life.  

look it up.

Years after the work was completed, my college research will finally be published as part of a larger paper on chromatin silencing, in Epigenetics & Chromatin.  Very pleased with this :)

I just finished my first overnight call at the hospital.  It sucked.  What sucks worse is that I'm exhausted but can't seem to sleep. 
Uggghhh

Kerouac has a bad habit of sleeping on the lovesac.  Not too long ago I caught him doing so and in his panic he peed on it.  SO we needed to wash the cover and the under cover.  Which involved transferring all of the little foam pieces from one cover to the other.  A process we naively thought would take maybe an hour and ultimately ended up taking 3+.  It sucked.  


Sorry the first one's blurry, I was giggling at the perspective.

It was hard work, surprisingly.  We tried everything from hand shoveling to plastic bowls, pouring one giant sac into the other, and fluff mining inside one with garbage bags to be dumped into the other.  It involved a lot of jumping on the lovesac to flatten it down, and a lot of back ache from bending to try to get it open.  And of course, lots and lots of white fluff everywhere.  Oh the poor vacuum.  

Zane.    He's surprisingly strong for only being 2 days old: can mostly support his own head and is already practicing a solid right hook to the boob. 

I call this expression "THUG LIFE."