End of SSB, Spring Break, and ERG

YAY for surviving SSB! So, I finished exam week with the histology, gross anatomy, and neuroanatomy practicals on Thursday followed by the written exam on Friday. Then it was off to El Bajio for yummy Mexican food. We had a great turn out - we just kept adding more and more tables! After that, I drove up to Champaign for my week long spring break!

My first spring break activity was going to Chicago for a bridal shower that Bill's grandma hosted for me. It was so much fun and actually pretty overwhelming to think that all of those people were there because of me (and Bill!). It was great to see family, friends, and get to meet more of Bill's side of the family. After that, my family went to Bill's parents house where we looked through the pile of gifts and ate a nice dinner. I am glad that our families get along together so well!

The next day we headed back to Champaign for a week of working on wedding plans. We met with the flower lady from the U of I twice to pick out centerpieces, bouquets, and other flowers. We met with 2 different cake ladies in hopes of finding the perfect cake. We went to Michelle's bridal shop twice, once to pick out a flower girl dress for my little cousin and to try on my wedding dress and the other time with Bill to pick out the tuxes. We also met with the I Hotel to start discussing plans for the reception. This one was a little bit shocking. We found out that the ballroom that they built ended up fitting less people than they had planned on. So, when we told the woman from the I Hotel that we had invited 460 people, she had a look of terror on her face. We finally figured out a way we could SQUEEZE that many tables in the ballroom, but it is not pretty. I realize that not everyone is going to be able to come, so getting rid of several tables will be nice! Right now the bars and buffet food/lines are all outside of the ballroom! YIKES! All in all, it was nice having this week to focus on wedding stuff without having to worry about studying. I really enjoyed spending the week with my parents and some of it with Bill! I also got to meet up with some friends, which was really fun!

Getting back into the swing of school was rough. This is out last unit (ERG = endocrine, reproductive, gastrointestinal). The first week back started out with beautiful weather! I like my new tutor group. Everyone seems nice and is working together well. The hardest part is to adjust to your new tutor's style. This is only my tutor's second time doing this, so I think she is still getting used to the whole thing. After my first week back, I headed back to Champaign again for an amazing weekend! It was the U of I woman's gymnastics alumni weekend/Big Ten Championships! On Friday I was able to meet former teammates Jess, Karen, Jana, and their significant others at Kamakura. It is always fun to go back this restaurant in Champaign since their food is so good and because I used to work there!! Then I went to visit with Mina, Mooshy and her daughter Ava (whom I have never met!) and their mom. It was so much fun to hang out with them at their hotel. It was just like old times. At one point during college I have been roommates with both of these sisters!! Then we went out to Guido's for an alumni gathering, which was fun. The next day was the day of the meet! I got decked out in my orange and blue and met lots of old teammates out for lunch at Legend's. Then we headed to the meet. The girls started off slow on bars and beam. However, floor and vault were the most amazing performances I have ever seen! The girls set school records in each event. I have never cheered so loud and been so proud in all my life ;) It was amazing to see those girls STICK their vaults! In the end, the team got second (so close to the title!) and had 2 individual champions! After the meet we had a banquet at Biefeldt. There were lots of old pictures out from over the years and this was a great time to mingle with old teammates once again. Plus, we had Papa Dels Pizza - YUM! After this, I met up with Bill since he finally made it into Champaign. Then we went to hang out with what I like to call the "older" alums who were at Murphy's. The "younger" alums were at Joe's! It was fun to be out with Coach Bob and hear stories of the old days.

The next day, Bill and I met up with our friend and wedding photographer Kenny Kim for our engagement photo shoot. This was really fun! We went around campus and took pictures of the two of us. I can't wait to see them!!!

This past week at school has been ERG Fun Week. We have had all sorts of fun activities planned all week. On Monday night we went bowling. It was fun (although I did not bowl well!). Tuesday it was off to the driving range, which was nice since it had been a while since I had swung the clubs. Wednesday was Quatro's for pizza night. We had such a great crowd turn out for this one! Sadly, the restaurant couldn't seat everyone, so some people had to eat elsewhere. After that we head to Sidetracks, which was fun! Thursday was movie night. This even yielded a sad showing, but it was still a good time. We saw "I Love You Man." It was quite entertaining. Then on Friday it was barcrawl! Fun times in ERG!

Okay, now fun week is over and it's time to get back to studying metabolism. Only a few more months here in Carbondale!!!

First Picture!

Okay, so I just posted a couple of minutes ago, but then decided it would be fun to try and post a picture to my blog. I just had to try it! Here is picture of me and some of my closest med school friends. A couple of weekends ago we had Winter Ball, which is basically SIU med school formal. It was in Springfield where all of the 2nd-4th year students are. The 5 of us road tripped it up to Springfield and had an amazing time together! We stayed at Eliza's parents house and this is a picture from our first night there. Earlier that night I got to try Springfield's famous horseshoe. It is an open face hamburger on texas toast covered in fries and cheese. YUM!

Almost 2/3 done with M1 year!

I can't believe that I am almost done with my second unit out of three of the first year of medical school! It has been a crazy ride thus far. I have really enjoy the neurology unit! Today we had the first part of our EOU (end of unit) exam. It was for the doctoring portion of our grade. We had 40 minutes to conduct a full history and neurological examination on a standardized patient (patient who is trained to "fake" a certain disease). There is a one-way mirror where a doctor or nurse watches us and they grade us based on the amount of findings we are able to get from the history and our technique during the physical examination. Then we have 10 minutes to organize our notes and formulate hypotheses. We then proceed to a computer station where we enter in the patient's chief complain, pertinent positive and negative findings, and a list of possible differential diagnoses. Then we are allowed to "run tests" on our patients. You can pick from almost any test imaginable and have to state which hypothesis you are testing. You immediately get the results of the tests. From there, you decide on your final diagnosis and have to write a paragraph of diagnostic justification explaining why you picked what you picked. It is pretty intense! I am still trying to get a grasp on the vast amount of disease processes that can occur with neurological symptoms! In two days we have our histology, gross anatomy, and neuroanatomy practical exams. Then on Friday we have a written test. Friday afternoon I will join a group of friends at our after exam lunch spot El Bajio for yummy Mexican food.

Following the test, it is finally SPRING BREAK! We get the whole week off and the best part is that we just finished the unit so there will be NO STUDYING! YAY! Saturday Bill's mom and grandma are throwing me a bridal shower in Chicago which I am so excited for. Then the rest of the week I will be in Champaign working on wedding stuff and hanging out with my parents. My mom already has a list of appointments set up! We are going to the Michelle's to try on my wedding dress and pick out a flower girl dress. Then we are meeting with Father Joe from St. Patrick's to discuss what we have to do in preparation for the upcoming wedding (thank goodness we already have pre-cana out of the way!). Then we are meeting with the I Hotel to talk about the reception. We also have an appointment to pick out a transportation for the bridal party to and from the wedding and are in the process of trying to set up an appointment to meet with Rosie (who makes cakes and made the most amazing cupcakes for my friend Kristy's wedding reception!). So, it looks like it is going to be a busy but fun week!

Okay, it is seriously time to get back to studying. Just 3 more days!!!!!!!!! It's time for the final sprint!!! I can do it!!!!!!