I haven’t quite known exactly what my mood has been recently. Having all of the free time has not exactly been conducive to actual productivity. I’m so worn out and tired and somewhat depressed (despondent, I think would be more apt) that I haven’t done much for the past couple of days, but laundry and watching YouTube movies (Groundhog’s Day on Feb 2, course, North & South yesterday, and Jane Eyre today). I did get my antenna and digital converter set up, but that’s hardly an achievement as I have a Christmas tree still up and scattered stuff everywhere and dishes in the sink. I’m frustrated, a deep soul restlessness type of feeling, which is hard to define and harder to shake.

Chris got his fellowship position. The ending to his personal statement must have been better than I thought (or else they overlooked that due to the rest of his impressive resume, which, since I also helped him put together looks pretty good) and he’ll be going to Boston in June. For 2 years. I’ll be done with residency by the time he gets back. So much for having my friend nearby. I’m an emotional schizophrenic, wavering between ecstatic happiness (Boston! I’ve never been to Boston (in the fall)! Atul Gawade! We did it!) and moroseness. Usually the happiness wins out; tonight…

There is sunshine ahead. A weekend with Susan and her babe in two days (really just one long call day). A week of vacation  to Utah and Arizone in a month (I’ll be looking for tickets tomorrow). Presents from India. Glorious rays of sunshine. I just need to shake of the chill and clinging fog.

I love YouTube. Love it. How did the world survive without it? Thanks to YT, I can waste my days watching music videos of coordinated treadmills, watch clips of the Beaker performing Ode to Joy or singing Carmen, learn about cardiac arrthymias by watching a mad german doctor dance them out, or revive my infatuation with Everwood (there’s really a lack of clips even on YT, but good news: there’s a rumor of release of more DVDs next year!).

But the best part is finding all of the old movies that I loved as a kid online. Some of them: bad. The Boy Who Could Fly? Wow, sorry mom for the hours that you had to endure of that movie. (Although it made me realize how clueless of a kid I was. Never even knew that there was a scene of *horrors* underaged drinking.) Some of them: awesome. Toby Tyler (which has since been sadly taken down) and A Little Princess are still fabulous.

Tonight, I’m settling down to watch The One and Only Genuine, Original Family Band. I don’t know when the last time it was that I saw it, but I have had some of the songs in my head during the election season (It’s time for a man! And he is the man for the time!). And I just found The Witching of Ben Wagner there as well! I can’t wait.

Dear men of the single persuasion,

I have two rules of advice for you as you seek to date others.

1) Movies do not make a good date choice, especially if it is a blind date and/or we barely know each other. Dates are supposed to provide an environment (and I will not argue that it is an artifical environment. I still cannot figure out how one manages to get to the marriage stage by starting off dating, but this is a detour of thoughts) in which the two partners get acquainted with one another and decide if future dates would be nice or not. You can’t talk in movies (you can, but you make your neighbors very upset and then Roger Ebert singles you out in his online review of the movie and you can’t show your face for shame for months…again, another diversion) and given the limited number of choices of movies, you can’t even tell about your partner’s taste based on the movie.

Rule number 1 is especially true if you don’t like movies. Do not take a date to something that you don’t want to go to–that is to wait until later when you are an established couple and have to suffer through those events for the sake of supporting your loved one.

Likewise, if there are movies that you don’t want to see, don’t put it as a option. The Dark Knight should not have been a choice if you couldn’t stand the first one and think that it’s a franchise that is protraying good as evil, etc.

2) Wear a nice shirt. Not a t-shirt. Not a church shirt. Just a nice, casual shirt that shows you put some thought into the evening. If you don’t have one, find a sister or a random girl on the street to take you to the Gap. (I hadn’t realized how much being around Chris spoiled me for well-dressed men).

Good luck in the future, I’ll be eagerly awaiting to hear of your success.

Julia

The date was okay. He was nervous and I was sleep-deprived (advice to myself – no more dates post-call). We may have had a little in common, but I sure didn’t get a chance to find out. Wall-E, btw, was even better the second time. Any movie that uses “Hello, Dolly” as inspiration is automatically elevated to levels of awesomeness in my mind. Date proclaimed that it was “alright.” Hurmph.

We’ll see if he improves on closer acquaintance (hee!)

I could have just made an empty post with this icon and it would have summed up my day. 🙂

I took off after early morning church to Madison and spent the day with Chris and his friends. We hung out at his new apartment (which so reminds me of Suz’s apartment that she shared with her sister in SLC), fixing his water faucets that, of course, sprayed rusty water across the room, ate bagels for lunch, wandered around a little bit downtown (it’s definitely starting to get chilly!), went to the movies (Quantum of Solace), ate fried cheese curds (it’s a really good thing that I didn’t know that those existed before) and played trivial pursuit while eating dinner. My friends started falling asleep around 9 (they tend to wake up at atrocious hours like 4:30 to get to work), when I graciously took my leave then.

I don’t get to see Chris much these days. Granted, it’s much more frequently than if he had done residency anywhere else (I haven’t seen any of my classmates since graduation), but considering that we only live an hour and change away from each other and we practically spent every day together for 2 years, it’s pretty paltry. I love how we can get together and nothing has changed. I think I also get the benefit of really seeing him become a surgeon; every time I see him he is more assured and comfortable in his role. He’s planning on applying to this research program that exactly fits his plans for life and I’m so stinkin’ proud of him that I almost don’t mind that it’d be 2 years completely across the country, starting this summer. Oi.

I love his friends. His co-surgery resident (Aaron) is an absolute hoot and in many ways a mirror image of Chris; its not hard to see why they get along. His girlfriend (Gretchen) is someone that I heartily approve of and I’ve almost forgiven him for not telling me that they were dating. She’s smart, athletic, funny, and sensible (a trait that I found somewhat … lacking in his other girlfriends). Plus, she belts out musicals in the middle of a restaurant too–definitely a kindred spirit. I hope she’s around for a long time.

Man, it’s really hard going back after weekends like this.

Apparently, my ladder was also among the casualties of the recent heist of my garage, as I discovered this morning when I tried to find it to examine my garage door that has now started making grinding noises and loud squeaks when it closes.

The ladder was heavy, folks. 50 pounds or so. I could barely lift it. It changes this break in from a neighborhood kid going around, testing doors and lifting a camera. This appears more orchestrated than I had thought.

I’m so tired of feeling vulnerable. Now I get to add nightmares of nefarious thugs using the ladder to break in my upstairs. I already freak out every time I open my garage access door. I peer out my screens before leaving the house to make sure that the back gate isn’t open. I’m jumpy, and just two weeks ago, I felt safe.

The door’s gotta be replaced… there’s no way that it’s going to last this winter and I can’t leave things open and leave like I did before. So I’m researching doors and deciding between Lowe’s and Home Depot and will be getting it professionally installed so it’ll last a little longer.

***
There are two trees near work that have red leaves on them. It’s still August, trees! The weather last week felt like autumn had arrived. A friend and I were going to go camping today… and then it turned into summer again. Hot and humid. And supposedly rainy. It hasn’t rained a drop. So we ended up not going. I haven’t been camping yet this summer and I start inpatient wards again next week so I think I’ve missed my chance.

***
I went to a baseball game last night with the rest of the neurology department. It was so much fun. I love baseball, have since the fall of 1992 when the Toronto Blue Jays won the world series and since moving to Milwaukee have made it to a least a couple of games every year. The Brewers stadium (Miller Park) is awesome…we always get the nosebleed seats that are a hundred feet above the field, which always freak me out until I get settled. Last night’s game was the first where the roof was open. I saw with my friend Rehan and his 4 year old son who was shyer than anything… which was easily cured by the spun-suger cotton candy. We made faces at each other with our blue tongues through most of the game and were good friends by the end. Lots of pseudo-nephews and nieces has taught me well.

***
I did go by Best Buy and look at cameras today. I’m going to have to postpone my purchase of the SLR for a couple of months because of the expense of the garage door (natch). But I have decided that the D40 is the camera for me and I will be getting it to celebrate my birthday in a few months (gotta have some reason to look forward to that milestone). It’s small and featherlight, which because of my multiple shoulder surgeries is a necessity. And I think it’ll be just as portable as my last camera. It never fit well in my pocket anyhow, so the one camera will probably do me just fine.

Although I hadn’t realized that the camera doesn’t have live preview on the LCD. I’ve been so used to taking pictures using the LCD only for years that it might take a bit to get used to that again. I loved being able to angle it and getting those shots that were impossible before because I’m short.

Thanks for all of your input! It was sooo helpful and I was so excited to see that many of you had similar cameras and were taking gorgeous photos with them. It makes me feel more and more that I would not just be throwing my money away on a frivolous purchase. 🙂

I did walk out of Best Buy with a copy of Summer Magic on DVD. I couldn’t help it; it was on sale and I need a little more “femininity” in my life. It’s not available on YouTube folks, and sometimes the urge for Old Time Disney can be a little strong.

***
I’m not entirely sure what to make of Joe Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate. I hadn’t even realized that he had been in the primaries and haven’t heard of him before. It looks as if it is going to get ugly, though, and I had been impressed that both candidates had refused to get really ugly. The jabs about Obama being a celebrity candidate and McCain’s 7 houses (seriously??) were pretty mild compared to elections in years past. I guess that’s all going to change now.

At least it’s not John Edwards. I guess I can be thankful that he turned out to be a cheating louse just prior to the decision for running mate (sorry to those who like him. I could never support a guy for president who’s entire career was based on cerebral palsy malpractice lawsuits. But that’s the doctor in me).

My favorite personal speculation was Senator Harry Reid as running mate. I like him a lot and his acerbic tongue and I giggled at the thought of both Harry Reid and Mitt Romney as VP candidates and the chaos that would cause. The Mormons would be all up in arms, questioning if they could really continue to be a card-carrying member and vote Democrat. And the rest of the world would freak out that the Mormons were taking over and soon there would be “National Green Jello with Carrots Day” in March and no alcohol in the country. Good times. Such a missed opportunity. 🙂

***
Strictly Ballroom is still one of my favoritest movies ever. If you haven’t seen it, you should. I watched it again for the hundredth time with my friend Erika who had never seen it again. It’s one of those movies that I can watch over and over and it still cracks me up and turns me into a sappy romantic. I miss dancing…

I decided to make a list. I don’t know why.

– Crush news (which right now, is ever so much more interesting than patients and their neuroanatomy): He has a freckle on his right ear lobe, and a faint, thin scar down his right middle finger. His hair curls across his forehead (it’s such a good thing that these many many years have trained restraint!) and he’s had his beard for as long as he’s been a resident here (as evidenced by his name badge) which manages to hide a very small dimple and I can’t find adjectives to describe his blue eyes. And he has really bad breath post call. Oh, and he owes me big time for doing his discharge summary for him. Am I wonderful or what?

– I had a wonderful weekend. Saturday night, when I woke up from the post call coma, I went to the symphony with one of the neurosurgery residents. Mahler. My dad used to love Mahler, but until Sat. night, I never understood why. I’m now addicted. Absolutely lovely.

– Sunday I went to watch conference at my bishop’s house, which is always a spiritually uplifting time. Pres. Hinckley is still looking amazing for his 95+ years. One of the guys there hugged me and reminded me that it was exactly one year since we had met. I had forgotten. I thought that was sweet.

– It was the first day off that Chris and I have had off together in 2 months, so I drove up to Madison and spent the afternoon and evening with him, fixing his bike, eating Vietnamese food, and digging through all of his music collection. I came home with 300+ new songs and all of his pictures from Ireland and Scotland. Scotland was incredibly gorgeous from his pics… I guess I’d better add that back to the list of Must-Go places.

– Chris broke up with his girlfriend. And didn’t tell me until I pressed. Okay, I think I overlooked a big dropped hint earlier in the evening, when we were putting together pictures for a framed collage, but still. *sigh* Anyway, we had a great talk sitting on a park bench overlooking the lake. I told him about the many dating woes of the past two months. He thinks I’m missing clues (I think that no reciprocation and avoidance of conversation afterwards speaks volumes). He’s thinking about taking up Match.com dating, which I can’t wait to see how that goes. 🙂

– I’m still really bad at music guessing games. Apparently I need to listen to more Phish and Eagle Eyed Cherry(ies?).

-He beat me on the word games as well. The Word of the Day emails are not helping.

-I’m not on call again until Saturday. !!!

–The Seeker has gotten terrible reviews and didn’t do so well at the box office. Maybe that will stop any sequels.

-Still can’t figure out exactly what you do on Facebook, but at least it lacks the ads and spam of Myspace. Am trying to collect friends like mad over there. Perhaps I will make a trophy wall with all of my friends. I guess I need to add more photos, or so a little bird told me.

-I’m reading New Moon right now, as I finished Twilight a few weeks ago on call (man, I miss the ICU call). Liked Twilight, although spent a majority of the book irritated at the heroine and her love interest. I’m really looking forward to reading this, after mulling over valancy_s‘s recent posts about why we go for vampires.

-Congrats to Michelle and Kelly! Maybe, hopefully, I’ll be able to see this little one before he/she’s 40 (are you going home for Christmas?)

-I love Matchbox Twenty. This new album is just gorgeous as always.

– You all are watching Friday Night Lights, right? You’d better be. Best show on TV right now. I’m watching it online, so what’s your excuse?

-Clinic tomorrow. Only 3 patients. Maybe I’ll actually finish on time (and possibly get my notes done, that would be amazing).

When my family came and visited, I introduced my sister to Doctor Who. She watched the whole first season while she was here and then, I, being the wonderful sister that I am, lent her the second season. She finished it, loved it appropriately and mailed it to me last Tuesday. Priority. It’s now A WEEK LATER and I still don’t have it.

!!!!

I’m about to start a search party. With torches and flyers. Who’s with me? My poor DVDs. Luckily, she insured them, but, oh my babies! *sniff* I’m going through withdrawals! I tried to watch my X-Files DVDs last night to make up for the loss, but I’m on the early part of season 4 and the episode was Home, which I have to fastforward anyhow because it’s too disturbing (I’d skip it entirely, but it has some of the best Mulder/Scully snark of the entire season) and it just didn’t make me feel light hearted and schmoopy. And I’m in the mood for some DW schmoopiness. Either that or dance movies. I got a hankering to do a Strictly Ballroom/Shall We Dansu/Shall We Dance (should I add in Havana Nights, Liz?) marathon. I’m not entirely sure what’s wrong with me.

****

It’s my last week on the “easy rotations,” my last weekend free for 3 months. I’m looking forward to next month, I’ll be in the medical ICU, but it will be Q4 call and they will be very busy calls and very long hours, so it’ll be back to the grind. I just got an email with the 18 page orientation document. 18 pages of “Thou Shall Not’s” which is just succeeding in making me irate. Nothing like treating a bunch of professional physicians as junior high schools, where we’re threatened with “disciplinary action” if we miss a conference.

Oh and to add to the fun, I’ll be taking Step 3 the day after I finish the rotation. The day after. When I tried to register for it this month, they were completely booked, I even looked as far as Urbana Ill and nothing. So, all of my free time this next month will be spent craming. Even more fun! Oh, and I’m still doing the whole application thing for my license. Yeah, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.

I’m off to the gym, as my attendance will be sharply decreasing next month. I was doing great, down another pound, until this morning, when I stepped onto the scale and it put me back to my starting weight. The scale has been banished forthwith.

ETA: So as I step out of my house to go to the gym, I catch a flicker of movement. Tiny movement. Of a mouse scampering into the foliage right next to my house. And of course, right next to the sidewalk to my garage. I already battled a huge moth in the shower today (in the shower!!) and lost, so I’ve been a little edgy most of today. So I ran down my sidewalk to my car, having these horribly fantasies that the mice are invading my house–I haven’t seen any evidence of them inside, and I’ve had enough mouse problems in the past that I know what to look for… but, I don’t know how that moth got inside either.

Continuing. I get back from working out, open up my garage door, and there, on my sidewalk, is a huge, dead squirrel. The size of a toy dog. Dead. I don’t know if it got poisoned or missed a limb, but it’s dead. Right outside my garage. I let out a shrink, slammed the door and am now parked out front and sitting on the couch shuddering.

I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t touch rodents. I can’t. Live, dead, it doesn’t matter. Irrational, I know, but I’m afraid that they’re going to jump at me. I guess I’m going to have to be girly and see if my next door neighbor can help me out. Either that or one of the church guys. And I think I’m going to have to get a visit from the Orkin man, because I am not having a mouse infestion this winter. Anybody have any experience with a pest controller, as in a price range?

ETA #2 And it’s supposed to down pour tonight. Which means I’ll have soggy squirrel to deal with in the morning. Oh, and my trash is being emptied in the morning, which would be an ideal time to get rid of the thing. If I could just force myself to get rid of it! *cries*

Duchovny’s new “X-Files” movie should start shooting later this year, he said, directed by “X-Files” creator Chris Carter.

“I’ve had no compunction about being tied to that character,” Duchovny said of his Agent Mulder alter ego. “I doubt I’ll ever again play a part as popular as he was.”

From here

That sounds like real confirmation. Doesn’t it?!? *sigh* They really have perfected stringing the fans along.

(And no, I won’t be watching his latest tv series. The speedo was more than enough for me thank you. 🙂 )

Also, Amazon has the X-Files DVDs on sale for less than $25 dollars a season. I’ve been waiting for this sale for a year now and I know a few people out in friendland were as well.

The Dark Is Rising movie looks as awful as I feared. A LOTR ripoff and completely missing the point of the novels (I’ve been horrified ever since I heard that they were Americanizing it). I try really really hard not to be a literary snob, where I sniff at every change that they make from book to movie, but. But. *sigh*

Trailers can be found here

Found at bookish

Re: Ella Enchanted

The movie is one of my favorite movies ever! I actually wore out the DVD watching it…

The book is good as well, but it’s so very different from the movie. It’s much darker, and the plot is quite different. It’s still a really good book, but if you go into it thinking it’s going to be like the movie, you will be disappointed.

Ah yep. *sigh* The only good thing about that movie was that it only cost me a dollar and was truly one of the best mock fests that Liz and I have had. “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” probably squeezes by a hair, but otherwise… My friend Brooke put it best in her blog, when she was talking about her ten favorite children’s books that ought be made into movies, with Ella as her first choice: “Yeah. And let’s get it right this time.”

Question. Name me one movie that you liked better than the book. I’m really curious, because I can’t come up with much.

I’ve got my fourth migraine in 10 days.

The news about the shooting in Utah ate at my soul all day. I lived a mere 4 blocks from the mall, went to the movies there, ate at Red Rock Cafe, and danced in the foyer. Everwood was filmed there once… I watched that episode this summer and got homesick. The water tower changes lights depending on what the weather will be. So many memories. The news makes it sound like it was this large, impersonal shopping mall, instead of the small, historic collection of shops. That violence and senseless hate could touch my hometown is unfathomable.

Prayers to the victims’ families.

I love days off. More than that, I love call nights where I get almost 8 hours of (uninterrupted, but still restful) sleep and then have 2 days off back to back after that. That’s virtually 3 days off people. 3!

I spent most of yesterday trying to figure out how to do Laura’s wedding and Ireland in 1 week. I have a feeling that Ireland isn’t going to happen. 🙁 It’ll be okay. I’ve been fretting about the cost anyhow–while the tickets are supercheap (as in $500 dollars. Yes, you read that right.) and never will be so again, I’m in tons of debt still from moving and all of my travels last year. So being a little more frugal isn’t a bad thing. A boring thing, when I was so yearning to be a world traveler again and see the Cliffs of Moor and the Blarney stone and practice my grotesque Irish accent.

I’m still mulling over her engagement. I’ve always known that Laura would be the first of the D****** sisters to get married. She’s always been the athletic, pretty, popular one, whereas Karin and I have been much more plain. In high school, where I struggled to make friends (and fared a little better than Karin did, which is saying something), Laura was the queen as she was funny, smart and friendly. She’s had dozen of boyfriends (not that she’s introduced any of them to the family) and I figured she’s be married by the time she was 21, so I’m really happy that Laura’s undergone a few more years of maturity.

I just wish I wasn’t such a failure, a nonstarter in the relationship department. I think it comes down to jealousy. That even though I knew that Laura’s much more dateable and marriageable, I still had hoped that somehow it would be me first.

Enough with that.

When I was tired of manipulating days and http://www.sidestep.com (the best website for travel. It looks at every site and you can find really good deals), I found myself on YouTube watching episodes of Dr. Who. Yay! Finally! I’ve wanted to watch this show for absolutely forever, ever since eponine119 started posting about it on her LJ and wrote this awesome Sawyer/Dr. Who crossover which I adored even though I had never seen the show. Then all of my flist seemed to be going Dr. Who fanatic and David Tennant was that nerdy cute that makes my heart go thud, but I didn’t have cable to watch it and the Blockbusters down the road didn’t carry it, so I thought I was never going to get to watch it.

And then, behold the power of YouTube.

So far I’ve seen The Girl in the Fireplace, Christmas Invasion, Doomsday, The Impossible Planet, The Satan Pit, The Idiot’s Lantern, part of The Parting of the Ways, and The Runaway Bride. It’s cheesy, but a good cheesy. 🙂 And David Tennant is just lovely. Which others do you recommend and which should I stay away from?

Other browsing squees of the day:

I haven’t been the biggest fan of the Harry Potter movies as they always seem to let me down, but I do like the previews and the behind the scenes look and the next one at least looks amazing so far. Helen Bonham Carter looks absolutely perfect for Bellatrix, as does the young Evanna Lynch as Luna. I’m so so on Umbridge.

Anyway, behind the scenes clips of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix .

Two Phillip Pullman books are being made into movies. One, The Ruby in the Smoke, is a BBC production and stars Billie Piper for the Dr. Who fans (see, everything comes back to that show!), and will be playing on Masterpiece Theater on Feb. 4. Between that and Jane Erye playing this weekend, it’s almost enough to entice me to get cable again.

The Golden Compass is also coming to the big screen and it looks fabulous. So excited and can’t wait for the trailer!

My patient, the one who threw me out of the room, thanked me profusely today for giving him great care and helping him get better. It might have been because I had just signed his discharge orders and he was getting out of there.

I must admit to having a thrill of satisfaction when I read in the nursing report that he threw out the lab drawers this morning and refused to let them poke him as well. So it may not have been just me (although, to be honest, I definitely contributed).

Down to one patient, who should have been discharged two days ago (he was the other patient was was mad at me yesterday. Today, he was all sunshine and wit… I’m not sure that he remembered who I was). Every day, I get thwarted on my plans to ship him out and back to the other service, where he does need treatment. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, that’s what Annie sang. It’s going to happen tomorrow.

On call again tomorrow as well, all night. The chief resident messed up our schedule (or rather, we didn’t understand his motivations for the schedule and switched things on Saturday, making them even more messed up). I’m not sure that I’m fully ready for the “excitement” that being the cross cover provides again.

P.S. I think Orlando should stick to the tried and true action adventure movies. Drama, he does not do (although I think a crummy script contributed to the dismal Elizabethtown), and I don’t think he’s cute, unless he’s wielding a sword or a bow and arrow. Then I swoon. I haven’t been to the movies in months, and I was such a fangirl! So much fun!

Six days. In six days (less really), I’ll be flying to Kenya. I can’t believe it is coming so soon. I have so much that I have to do to get ready. All that stuff that I said here that I needed to do? Haven’t done yet. I haven’t even gotten my immunizations done yet (I’ve been dreading more shots. I can do just about everything else – pap smears, blood draws, whatever – but I dread shots. My muscles contract instantly when they inject the fluid and my arm aches for days. Ugh), but those should be done shortly. Luckily I don’t need series shots or anything, so I could theoretically get them done on Thursday, but I don’t like the idea of procrastinating that much! I have the next week off to get everything done, and I hope to borrow a lot of stuff from World-Travelling Guru Chris, so it should all get done.

My computer is still dead. I’m unable to get it to power up to more than a black screen now. But, by a bizarre, unexpected move, I do have a laptop to take to Kenya. I have a class that I have to take, and because I’m going to be in Kenya for the start of it, I had to go to a special orientation yesterday. I sympathized with the director over his computer difficulties, told him of my own, and somehow walked out with an old laptop that was used once upon a time in the course to take with me to Kenya. It’s slower, but it has wireless internet access, so I think I’m set.

I do have news, though. I got an email, a Very Important Email. Cut to be kind

A Long and Painful Reign of Terror Will Come to An End

This has honestly made my day. I can’t recall ever getting better news!! (I’m ignoring that bit about the threat of a spinoff. Don’t bring down my good mood!)

(Sorry to the Arrested Development fans–I myself could never get into it, but I know it had a following.)

On the home front, I had my “Here’s What to Expect in Kenya” meeting on Thursday. I don’t know if it made me more excited or more terrified. 🙂 Probably both. I’ll have a lot of opportunity there to do tons of procedures (spinal taps, chest tubes and drains, abdominal fluid draining, blood gases, etc.) that I’m really looking forward to–it will really make things in intern year just a little better if I have some practical experience. I’ll see a lot of bizarre and interesting diseases that I’ll never see here, and I’ll have a lot of autonomy with my patients. But as thrilling as all of this sounds, there’s the downsides–such as not having residents and attendings around to be of help when I really need it, seeing a lot of death, not having a toilet in the hospital (!!! Apparently there’s a hole in the ground. They did build a new pediatric building next to the hospital, with running water and a toilet, so all isn’t lost, but … ) The living conditions in the student dorms leave something to be desired–no hot water, no toilets, bugs and mice (shudder), but I was willing to endure it, until I found out that nobody else is staying there. The other medical student and the residents are staying at the “Compound” where they have wireless internet and three meals a day, as well as all the basic necessities listed above (hopefully, minus the mice). So I think I’ll be upgrading. Maybe. The cost for the dorms is less than $100 dollars, that for the compound is over $400.

So I have to start getting my vaccinations next week (yellow fever, tetanus, typhoid, polio booster, meningococcal, pneumococcal – and the flu one, which I keep finding excuses to put it off. I know, I know, I was so sick last year and with the threat of bird flu, I should be doing my part as a health care worker, but I hate shots!). Then malaria medications, and antibiotics for the unavoidable “intestinal distress” that comes with traveling to a third world country. Permethrin to soak my cloths in. Etc.

Anybody been to Amsterdam? Any ideas of what to see? Where to stay? I did figure out my tickets so that I could afford to go down to South Africa, but it meant a two day layover in Amsterdam, rather than London. When I told Chris, his first response was that I was NOT to go out at night, or I’d be seeing things that I wouldn’t want to see. LOL! I had hoped that there would be time to take a train up to Denmark and see my extended family whom I’ve never met, but uh, Europe is a little bigger than I thought and it’d take me a day to get there. But I might pop over to Germany. We’ll see. In Europe, if you cross country borders, do you get a stamp on your passport, or do you have to fly into the country?

I have my third interview on Monday–but it’s my first internal medicine interview (the last two were neurology interviews). It’s here at my school, I know everybody well, so hopefully, it’ll be a better experience than Minnesota. I have dinner with the residents tomorrow night, the casual “get to know the program dinner”, where I get fed for free. NICE! Then on Wednesday, I fly to Wisconsin for two days of interviews. They are one of the four schools that have the combined program that I want–the five year Medicine/Neurology program–and theirs looks the best of them all–well organized curriculum, good patient mix, three hospitals, etc. I’ve been excited about their program for a long time, so I’m really praying that it goes well. Wish me luck, guys. I really could use it!

I saw Elizabethtown with Chris this week, and I gotta admit–I was horribly disappointed. I mean, I didn’t have grand expectations–I had read the reviews and realized that it wasn’t going to be more than mediocre. But I expected some attraction between the leads, and some plot and dialog! Instead it was 2 hours and 18 minutes of random music that didn’t really fit with anything. The last 1/2 was good, and if the rest had been like that, I don’t think I would have been so utterly disappointed. Orlando was cute, but I think that was it’s only redeeming quality.

My sister finally bought Firefly, so I’ve been slowly making my way through the series. Wow, what a fantastic show. It’s witty and brilliant and everything that everybody has been saying about it! 🙂 I LOVE IT! The more I watch though, the sadder I get at the thought of there only being 14 episodes! If there was ever was a show that needed to be resurrected, that would be it. !4 episodes, and we got ten years too many of 7th Heaven. It is an unfair world, my friends.

BTW, I got my fanfiction generator fixed (I keep forgetting how wonderful my web host is. I sent them my code and within 5 minutes they had fixed the problem – apparently I had some “windows only” code. If I had done that when I started having problems!). So, for the LOST fans, try it out here and for the Gilmore Girls fans, I made a special one just for you right here. I think that some of the minor characters might be a little too minor, but I’d like your opinion. Use it! Promote It! Be Inspired! Write a story that you never thought you would! Write Jess! Do It! You know you want to!

So I finally got to see Serenity today.

Having never watched an episode of Firefly, the little bit that I knew about the movie/show came from my lovely flist. LOL! I toyed with the idea of renting the videos this past week, but I’ve been so busy, and so maybe it’ll turn into another X-Files thing where I’ve gotten completely devoted to a show after watching the movie on which it was based.

My short review: Loved it. There were some parts that were the tiniest bit confusing, but overall I really enjoyed it. Joss has the amazing ability to even make violence look pretty. It really was my type of movie–the sci-fi like adventures, the “Han Solo” type captain and relationship with his ship (Georgie so should have hired Joss to write his screenplay) and beyond funny. I do feel the need to see it again, but it’ll probably have to wait until the dollar theaters, because have you seen the number of good movies coming out?? I was compiling a list of movies that I want to see and I think I’m in double digits. Double digits. And that’s just until Christmas!

I’m going to be so poor. 🙂

I just managed to fall down a flight of stairs. In front of several gawking movie-goers who all were wondering how I did it. Especially since it seems to happen in slow motion, with Chris reaching out to grab me and me twisting around to save myself, thudding down the four hardly padded stairs.

Apparently, I can’t talk and walk at the same time. I’d better stay away from the bubble gum.

I hurt. My entire left side hurts from my shoulder to my ankle which I twisted badly. Tomorrow’s going to be fun getting around.

The Brothers Grimm by the way was a bizarre and crazy movie. Quite the adventure. 🙂

Night all. *limps off to bed*

I thought this summer would be as most summers. Bereft of new episodes of my favorite shows, my only other option of shows to watch would be old reruns of M*A*S*H. And then, I switched to the USA channel for some good L&O: SVU, and within minutes was hooked on “The 4400”. I had seen it advertised last year, and thought that it was some show about Jehovah’s Witnesses and the religious Armageddon (*blush* What? 4400 is pretty to 144,000!) and it just didn’t seem like my kind of show.

Boy was I wrong! My sister filled me in on the premise and what happened last season, and I’ve become completely absorbed. The acting is incredible–really well done from everybody, the storyline’s great, and it feels like old time X-Files–without the monsters-of-the-week. I’m so excited!

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Fandom meme

Got a big white envelope in the mail this afternoon, from the National Board of Medical Examiners.

My heart seriously dropped to the bottom of my toes. I wasn’t expecting my results for at least another week. Tore the envelope open, with help from my sister (my fingers were shaking so badly) and….

I’ve been selected to participate in a survey of those who took the Boards.

Bastards. The least that they could do is put some kind of warning on the envelope that it did NOT contain Board results. Right now, I honestly think I don’t want to know.

It’s just been one of those days. Matt came by today, to drop off some books I lent him… I haven’t seen him for a couple of months now, and thought that he was purged from the system. Nope. Got that whole twittery, gut on the floor (hey, that’s twice today. Must be a record) at his voice and he’s looking good. Too good. And when he said that he had missed seeing me…. Guh. It’s so hard to remind myself that this crush of two years hasn’t progressed at all and isn’t going to. He’s either not interested (most likely) or just pathologically shy and it’s not going to change. Period.

And of course, my face chose today to break out and I was wearing my greasy glasses to give my poor eyes a break. I’m sure I looked fabulous.

Saw Spiderman with Chris and Melissa. They didn’t like it so much… I did. Well, except for the scene where the doctors and nurses were all killed–that was a little too graphic. I remember with the first one, the first time I saw it, I didn’t like it so much because of the clichéd writing, but got over it after reading that that was the point–to make it sound like it came from the comic books. That was their complaint today. Ah, well, next time I’ll see it with a more sympathetic crowd.

Rotations are going great. I’ve seen a couple of births and a c-sections and followed several patients in “my care.” Next week, I’m hoping to actually “catch the baby” and deliver it (with help of course). Birth is amazing, and I really like being around patients like this–mostly healthy, young women about my age and then being able to participate in this special time of their lives. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up going into OB, it’s definitely on the list to consider now. I have call on Monday night and then all of Saturday. I hope I can handle it! Me being up for more than 24 hours seems like a bad idea.