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I'm so glad it's Friday. This has been a totally exhausting week at work. It seemed like every afternoon I came home ready to drop. I had a couple of really long days in surgery. It's really hard to stand for 3 or 4 hours at a time with no potty breaks and the added pressure of remaining sterile (you can't scratch your head or blow your nose!). And then I when I got home I had to work on school stuff. Geez!

Well today, I finished my paper on gastric bypass surgery, which means I can spend the rest of my weekend working on my other projects for school. I think I may take Saturday night off, though, and watch DVR stuff we've recorded this past week. I also need to color my hair, although you wouldn't notice the greys now because I wear a "cafeteria worker bonnet" on my head all day long now. Oh well...

because we just don't have enough animals

My weekend was spent studying for today's test and making many fires to ward off the blustery winds and snow. And we increased our household by two. Meet Bridget & Mark, our leopard geckos. We're not 100% sure that they are Bridget & Mark (they could be Bridget & Bridget or Mark & Mark), but those are their new names regardless. We can worry about possible identity crises later.

Getting used to the new home

Not much else new around the house. I only have three more weeks until Spring Break and I'm really looking forward to the time off. I think a friend of ours from Pensacola will be coming up for a visit for a few days during my time off, so I'll spend some time catching up with her and just relaxing.

Bella welcoming the new additions to the fold

What a cute smile!

procrastination

Okay, so I should be studying for my test (especially since I didn't do so hot on the last one!), or I should be working on one of the two projects I have due for school. But instead, I'm procrastinating.

Did I ever tell you that I really enjoy doing breast biopsies? They're quick, easy, and I like to think that in some small way, I'm combatting breast cancer. My second favorite case is anyone where the doctor doesn't yell or throw something at me.

I soooo can't wait for school to be over. I don't ever want to learn another thing again! I'm just going to sit in a lawn chair and let my brain turn to mush. Really, I am.

get a life, ken starr

I was never a big email forwarder. I enjoy getting them from other people, but really, by the time the forwarded item reaches me, just about everybody I know (all 5 of you!) have already gotten it. So usually I just read and delete and that's the end of it.

I got something today, however, that I wanted to share with everyone. It seems Ken Starr and his Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund are attempting to invalidate all the gay marriages that took place in California. I just don't understand why gay marriage frightens so many people. Nobody loses anything and we can all celebrate the union of two people who really love each other. I just shake my head in non-understanding.

"The Courage Campaign has created a video called "Fidelity," with the permission of musician Regina Spektor, that puts a face to those 18,000 couples and all loving, committed couples seeking full equality under the law."

I thought this was a great video The Courage Campaign came up with and I wanted to share with all my blog friends. I hope you enjoy!

fave day

I think Mondays have become my new "favorite day of the work week" day. If for no other reason than becuase I don't have to actually go to work. This is the only day of the week when I don't have to put in hours at the hospital ~ instead, I have class for half the day and then spend the rest of the day catching up on stuff.

Today's catching up stuff will be laundry and homework (it's usually the same every Monday). Vic is working on my taxes, so I don't have to worry about that, thank God. So far today I've accomplished the following: ordered contacts online, started laundry, brought in firewood, vacuumed, bought ink for the printer, and have procrastinated on starting schoolwork. Not a bad day, so far!

We've had a heat wave today ~ a sultry 44 degrees right now! I still have a fire going, though, to get the chill out of the house. I'm sure with this warmish weather, plenty of people will be getting pneumonia and other assorted weather-related crud. BTW, did you know that most cases of pneumonia occur in the right lung? It's a straight shot down your trachea to your right lung, but to get to your left, the pneumonia monster has to curve a little and go up. Those thousands of dollars in tuition are really paying off, huh?

good day

I had another good day at work today. I call it work not because I get paid (I don't), but because I work my butt off while I'm there, come home exhausted, and struggle to stay awake past 8:00. I consider that to be work.

A good day at the hospital is any day where I don't get yelled at, I don't maim anyone, and I leave the hospital feeling a sense of accomplishment. My preceptor, Renae, is really great. She's very patient, explains everything to me in detail, and gives me the opportunity to jump right in there and do stuff. And I had all that today! All of my cases were GYN-related, which is kind've nice because I haven't had that many GYN procedures lately and I really want to learn as many new setups as possible. I'm not sure what tomorrow's day will look like, possibly ophthalmic, but I'm already excited to find out!

On an unrelated note...I'm ready for winter to be over and baseball season to start.

the month in review

Every December I look back at the preceding 12 months and can never seem to remember what the heck I did or didn’t accomplish. It’s almost like I blocked out 300+ days of my life. So I’ve decided to try to keep up with my rather tedious existence 1 month at a time. And, I’ve decided to start the tallying with this past January.

Last month…
* I read 2 books that had absolutely squat to do with school; Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown, and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. These books couldn’t be farther apart in content if they tried. I liked that.

* I nervously began the clinical portion of my Surg Tech program. So far, I think everything is working out quite well. I haven’t maimed anyone. Yet.

* On the last day of the month, the wall of ice on our roof started melting. Into our house. Our living room ceiling is leaking and the tiles look as if they are just minutes away from dropping a few dozen gallons of water on top of our worldly goods. The insurance person is coming out tomorrow to “assess.”

* We’ve been without a dog in our lives for just over a month now. I think I’ve persuaded Vic to wait until after my graduation (June) to adopt a new family member, but it’s killing her. She really misses Shannon and really misses having a dog around. I just really miss Shannon.

By the end of February I hope to feel more at ease at the hospital ~ sometimes I just feel like a know-nothing twit. It would be nice to feel I’m making some kind of contribution instead of just taking up space. I’m also hoping to read at least one book and make leaps of progress on my current cross-stitch project. I also want to try to get out to the art museum this month. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to a nice, quiet, stressless month!