Update

Wow, it's been a long time since I blogged. I've had a great vacation and have a lot to talk about so this will probably be a long one.

First, I had a great weekend staying with my friend in "the city." (I won't call her an old friend again). I was amazed that even though both of our lives have changed we still had a lot to talk about. We went to see the Jackie Kennedy exhibit at the Field Museum. I would definately recommend it to anyone who likes clothes. You know she had great style when people would wear her clothes today 40 years later. I really had a great time except for right before I left and realized I was given the wrong train ticket. I got a little upset because I hate not having everything organized and under control. I forgot to thank KT for putting up with me for three days.

On a side note, I just bought myself one of those ScentStory things. Am I the only one who thought it played music? Well, it doesn't. The scent I'm on right now is called Walking Beside Wildflowers. It's a mix of a floral and pine scent. It sounds strange but is really quite nice.

Anyway, once I finally got on my train back to "downstate IL," I spent a couple of days with my kids (well, I guess my sister's kids). They are as cute as ever, although I swear they get bigger and smarter every time I see them. It's actually funny how excited I get when Clara (2 months) smiles at me or Jacob (16 months) repeats words back to me.

I spent a few days with the folks and fattened right up. I swear I put on 5 pounds of pecan pie fat. Oh well, it was worth it. It's not like I can cook like that. No one cooks as good as mom. This I find funny because my mom says the same thing. Think about it, your mom cooks better than you and her mom cooks better than her. Therefore, as time goes on food must be getting worse. Strange don't you think? And actually quite scary because that means if I have kids, they will think my cooking is great. Scarier yet, my sister's kids will think her food is great.

I went shopping yesterday. It's a tradition, but anyone who knows me is probably surprised because I hate crowds. Not just hate, I have an actual "the crowd is going to close in on me and I'll never get out" phobia. I guess it's kind of exposure therapy for me to go shopping on the busiest shopping day of the year. The good thing was that I didn't yell or get mad once. The bad thing is that even though I spent a bunch of money, I still have a lot of shopping left. Isn't it amazing how that happens? It seems like during Christmas, my money just kind of evaporates. Of course, I think part of the problem is that I buy myself stuff too. Like this smelly thing.

Speaking of the smelly thing, now it's switched over to Exploring the Mountains. This one smells like men's cologne to me. I guess you're supposed to think about a man wearing expensive cologne climbing a mountain or something. It makes my room smell like man whick isn't so bad I guess...

Well, I gotta start on the studying that I've neglected for a week.

My perforated line

Not that anyone cares to listen to me complain, but today was a LONG day. I had class at 8am and I just got home at 8pm. This wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that we had class right through the lunch hour. So, I technically didn't get a break for a meal until 6pm. What sucks is that I have a test I am totally unprepared for on Thursday and I really don't think I'll be studying tonight. I guess that's what tomorrow is for, right? I really think that I should be getting paid for this.

Speaking of getting paid, one of the doctor's that works with the medical school (my advisor actually) came to talk to us today. I think the whole point of the lecture was to try to tell us the horrible the United States health care system is and point out that none of us are going to be making much money. Not that money is my motivating factor, because if it was, I sure as hell wouldn't be going into medicine. I'd try to go into business or law. The problem comes when it is time to pay back my loans. We won't go into how much I owe, but I'll just say that I could own a nice home right now. Plus, I'll be paying a whole lot of money in malpractice insurance. The amount doctors pay PER YEAR for malpractice insurance ranges anywhere from about $50,000-$275,000. That's more money than most people make in a year. Now, my point is that I'm feeling sorry for myself. Well, maybe a little, but I chose this career. My point is that this is a real problem that I think a lot of people aren't aware of. Sure, everyone knows that the cost of medicine has risen drastically in the past decade, but this isn't because doctor's are making more. It's because our health care system is crap. There are great health care workers who are providing great care for patients, but the system, the bureacracy is crap. We are the only modern industrialized country that has millions of people without health insurance. I know a lot of people are against government sponsered health-care, but it is ridiculous for such a "wealthy" country to have so many people without access to medical care. If the government isn't here to help us, then what is it here for?

On a brighter note, I only have 1 more day of class and then 1 day of tests and then I'm done for a week. It'll be so nice to have a break and some time away from school. I get to see some old friends, have some home-cooked meals, and get away from this insanity.

I'll leave you with a quick story from today: While in the cadaver lab today, there were three of use working on one body. As I was talking myself through the various structures and functions, I suddenly noticed something. All three of us were talking, none of us were talking to each other. Three people, inches away from each other, talking to themselves. It's craziness I tell you. As my friend and I say, "If there is a fine line between crazy and genius, I think my line is perforated."

The art of Procrastination

As the title implies, the only thing that I have done today is procrastinate. I'm actually quite good at it. I've managed to waste approximately 7 hours today. Seven hours?! Do you realize all of the things I could have done in 7 hours? Instead here's a list of what I did in those hours:
-had lunch
-took a nap
-checked my email
-went for a walk
-did the dishes
-put away my clothes
-made my bed
-talked to an old friend
-called my mom
-read a chapter in my book (not class related)
-had dinner

So, as you can see, I've done absolutely nothing school-related today (except those 4 hours of class). Now I'm watching an award show. I know I should feel guilty, but I just can't motivate myself to even feel guilty about not studying. With all of this free time, it's given me time to think about a few things:

1. I could look 10 times better if I could have all of my clothes tailored to fit my body. This realization came as I was watching the awards show and realized "Hey, I could look (almost) that good if I had a professional picking out my clothes." What I need is to be on the special $50,000 What Not to Wear.

2. Spending a lot of money makes me happy! That's right, nothing makes me happier than spending money that isn't really mine. I'm in the process of buying a car. This will be the first car that is completely mine. As scary as it is to be spending the money, it feels good to finally say "This is my car."

3. The longer I go to school, the dumber I feel. It seems like each day, I am losing just a little of my common sense. For example, most of my classes have handouts that have some important points on them and space to take extra notes during class. Everyday I'll be frantically writing down important points the professor makes and then my friend will point to my paper and the information is already there. I also seem to be making more typos, so please forgive me.

Well, I need to get back to work. I have some important TV to watch. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get back to the grind of class work.

I'm amazed (well, kind of...)

Well, it's finally over. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I'm also not surprised. The past days have really opened my eyes to a few things ,but the main thing I've realized is that many people are selfish. They believe that only their views should be considered. Now, now, I know that this could be turned around on me, but before you get defensive, hear me out on this one. The best way for me to explain this is to use an example. Let's talk about the ban on gay marriage. Two days ago, 11 states voted to ban same-sex marriage. Now, my guess is that in all of the states the people who voted for the ban were not gay. So why in the world do they give a damn if people of the same sex would like to get married or not? You know why, because they believe it is "morally wrong" or "the bible says it is wrong." Who are these people who live such a moral life that they have the right to judge what someone else does? These amendments weren't passed by small margins either. In Mississippi for example, this passed by 86%. 86%?! How in the world do you get 86% of people to agree on any subject? Anyway, so my problem with this amendment is that the people who voted for it will not be affected by it. Does that seem right to you? They voted for this to impose their moral values on other people. I believe everyone has the right to their opinion, but why should your belief be forced on people who disagree with you. Just because I wouldn't choose to be involved in a same-sex marriage doesn't mean I should have the right to tell someone else that they can't. It's not going to hurt me in anyway if they do. Maybe I'm a little to idealistic. I guess I'll have to work on that.

On a lighter note, I finally figured out a Halloween costume for last weekend (after much deliberation). I went as a goddess (no comments please). The costume seemed to be a hit which made me realize something, I'm no good at being hit on. Maybe because it just doesn't happen too often or maybe because I'm sick of the "college guys," I'm not sure but I'm kind of a disaster. Here's what happened (Family, you may want to stop reading now). I walked up to the bar to get a drink. As I was standing there, this guy asked me what I was getting him. I said "Why in the world would I get you anything?" Well, he kind of backed off for a second, probably shocked that I was so rude (what can I say, I wanted my drink), but he didn't give up. After I get my drink, I'm feeling a little more friendly so I decide to apologize for my rudeness. Apparently talking to a guy is an open invitation for him to touch you. Lucky for him, he took the a hint on that one. So after talking for about 10 minutes, I was out of small talk. That's my limit. Since I had nothing more to say, I stopped talking. Mr. Interesting apparently wasn't so once it got ackward, I walked away. As I went back to the group I came with, one of the girls asked me why I brushed that guy off. Well, I didn't think I brushed him off, I just didn't have anything more to say. If he was interested he should have talked more, right? I guess we know why I'm single.

Well, not much else going on. I'm pretty busy with Anatomy these days. I've spent the past week studying and pretty much all I've learned is that the pudendal nerve gives off the penis nerve (yes, that is the technical name). I guess I should get back to studying or at least catch up on my sleep since it's nap time.