T-break

This Thanksgiving break was filled with lots to be thankful for (family, friends, and a new texting plan!) but also several mishaps. My first day back home, I went to the gym to work out with Leslie and my mom. We went to an aerobics class called "Body Attack" and it was intense! My calves and lats hurt for days afterwards. Unrelated to this, my back started hurting unexpectedly my second day home. Every once in awhile I get horrible back spasms, where one spot in my back feels like a huge knot. There's not much I can do about it, except beg someone to give me a massage (which gives me about 30 minutes of relief), rub some tiger balm on it (burns in a good way), and hope it goes away soon. The thing that sucked about it was that my back hurt so bad I couldn't sleep- and I was really looking forward to getting lots of sleep when I was home. Add into the mix that I had to get up early at least 3 out of the 5 mornings I was home, and physically, this break was not exactly what I had hoped it would be in terms of rest.

On the bright side, I did have a lot of fun. Leslie, Kyle, and I finished the latest Nancy Drew game, along with a batch of homemade caramel popcorn. We always have to have caramel popcorn when we play Nancy Drew. It's a tradition. This time, we drizzled the popcorn with different melted chocolate chips. We had Reese's, Tuxedo, and dark chocolate flavors. Leslie and I also made some Christmas jewelry over break. It's harder to make earrings than you would think. We kept gluing our fingers together.

I’m the last one to head back to school, since Leslie and Kyle drove back yesterday. The two of them hadn’t driven more than an hour before they called to tell us that the car had broken down. They called a tow truck and my mom called the closest Volkswagen dealership. We were informed that there was no way it could be fixed that day, so my mom and I had to drive to Connecticut to bring them a car. My mom decided to let them borrow her brand-new Suburban until they come back for Christmas. So I drove the Suburban and my mom drove the truck to Connecticut. When we got there, Leslie and Kyle took off in the Suburban, while my mom and I were left to deal with everything.

Now I’m sitting at the airport waiting for my flight back to Richmond, wondering where my Thanksgiving break went. It was way too short, and I hate the fact that now I have to gear up for two weeks of classes and finals. At least I’ll be home again soon. But it still doesn’t seem fair that during my four days with my family, I had to get schoolwork done. Frankly, I blew it off, and now I’m going to try to get some of my essays done here at Logan. We’ll see how that goes.

Check!

I love checking stuff off a list. For me, it’s one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. I love it when I’m able to say “Check! I did that. I completed that task, and now I don’t have to worry about it any more.” So as the semester is winding to a close, and I get to check off more and more tests, quizzes, and projects, I’m almost in a state of euphoria. It just feels so great to look back and think that I accomplished all that. At the beginning of the semester, it seemed overwhelming, but now I’ve nearly made it through. I’m starting to believe that I can do this!

At the same time, I’m starting to get a little burnt out trying to get everything done. I have so much due at the end of the semester, and I’m so tired of studying all the time. Thank goodness Thanksgiving break is right around the corner. I’m flying home tomorrow and I can’t wait to see my family! Then just two more weeks of class and finals, and I'm done with the hardest semester of the DPT program (so I'm told- and I hope it's true!)

Recipe request

Ok, so back near the very beginning of my blog, I talked about how I basically rotate cooking among 5 meals (The meal wheel).... and well, not much has changed since then. Frankly, it's getting a little boring. Also, my roommates and I each cook one meal a week, and I'm running out of dinner options! So, if anyone has any good dinner ideas or easy recipes, please send them my way!

In return, here's one of my favorite dinner recipes:

Chicken Broccoli Cheese Braid
12 oz chopped chicken, cooked (I use more then this- like 3 or 4 chicken breasts)
1 cup broccoli, chopped (I use a whole bag)
4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 t. Dill mix
1/4 t. salt
2 packages crescent rolls



1. Mix the first 6 ingredients. (You can also add red bell pepper and garlic, if desired).
2. Uncurl and roll out both packages of crescent rolls so that they form one huge rectangle on a cookie sheet or baking tray.
3. Place the broccoli chicken mixture in a strip down the center.
4. Cut the edges of the crescent roll rectangle into strips and fold strips over the broccoli mixture, twisting them and making them meet in the center.
5. Bake at 375* for 30 minutes.

Mind control

In my kinesiology class, we watched a really cool video about scientists who are developing robotic hands for patients with amputated arms. They basically attach electrodes to the patient's nerves, thereby allowing the patient to control the robotic hand with his mind. The patient has to figure out how to activate those nerves in order to move the hand, which is a lot harder than it sounds! This is really fascinating stuff.

Here's the link to the youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppILwXwsMng

Top of the world

When I work out, I feel fantastic. So why is it the first thing to go when I get busy and stressed? I went to the gym today and ran two miles, then did some weight-lifting and crunches. I'm still on a high from all the endorphins. This has been the first time I've gone to the gym in a couple of weeks. I really wish I could motivate myself to work out more often, because I feel so great when I do!

I'm also feeling good because I've been keeping up with all my studying. Despite having two hard tests next week, I feel like I'm well on my way to being prepared for both of them. I've definitely been in the "study zone" this week. I hope it continues!

The conversation that led to the visit

This is how the conversation actually went down, that resulted in me having a fun weekend with Tristan instead of getting lots of studying done:

Tristan calls:
Tristan: So what are you doing this weekend?
Me: Well, I don't really have anything due this week, so I'm going to get ahead on lots of schoolwork! I'm going to start my Professional Aspects essays, and I'm going to start studying for Kines and Neuro, and there are some quizzes on Blackboard that I have to take... blah, blah, blah
Tristan: oh.
Me: Why? What are you doing this weekend?
Tristan: Well, I was thinking I could come visit you, but it sounds like you have a lot of work to do.
Me: ....
Me: Well, you know, I really don't have to get all that done this weekend. You should come!

I totally don't regret that decision at all.

Surprise visit

This weekend, the social chair of my class planned a special event for Friday evening. He called it a "case race" and it involved teams of people traveling to different houses and bars and consuming a set amount of beer at each place in an effort to win. Since I can think of plenty of things I'd rather do than chug beer and run around Richmond drunk, I didn't participate. In fact, I was a little shocked that the social chair of our class would plan an event like that. Not only is it unprofessional and silly, it gives our class a bad reputation. To top it all off, a bunch of people from my class also went to a tailgate on Saturday, so they basically spent the weekend being drunk.

Luckily, Tristan surprised me by coming to visit! She called me Friday night wanting to know if it would be okay to drive here on Saturday and spend the weekend. And of course I was super excited to spend time with her again! I got some studying done on Saturday before Tristan got here so that I could enjoy the rest of the weekend. We had so much fun together. We spent a lot of time at Short Pump this weekend, which is becoming one of my favorite places around Richmond. The West End is just a very nice, pretty place with lots of fun places to shop. We looked at some townhouses there one day, just for fun, and I fell in love with them. I really want to move there after I graduate, and commute into Richmond to work. I think it would be good for me to work in a city at first so I can gain a lot of experience, but I don't want to live in the city after I'm done with grad school.

Tristan and I went to see "The Town" one night, and it was an awesome movie. It's about bank robbers in Boston, and it was based on the fact that Charlestown (a neighborhood in Boston) churns out a high number of bank robbers. It was very reminiscent of "The Departed" and "What Doesn't Kill You", which are two other movies about crime in Boston. The movie was so well acted. I loved Ben Affleck in it. He's gotten a bad rap, but he was a great actor in this movie (and pretty ripped too, I might add!) We also watched "How To Train Your Dragon", which is another movie I highly recommend!

Skill checks

I had my second rehab skill check yesterday. It involved vital signs and gait training. I was very nervous about taking vital signs, since I'd just learned how to take blood pressure, and I wasn't very good at it at first. But everything went really well. I was nervous because 3 of my classmates who went before me had to take blood pressure multiple times because they kept messing up. But I got it on the first try! I also had to demonstrate a gait pattern with an assistive device. My "patient" had a stroke, so I taught her how to use a hemicane and she ambulated a few steps.

By the way, I never expected PT terminology to become second nature so quickly, but now it's hard to use layman's terms to explain things to non-medical people. Here are just a few:

Ambulate= walk.
CVA= stroke.
Contractures= muscle tightening that can develop after a stroke.
Decubitus ulcers= bed sores.
Prone= lying on your stomach.
Supine= lying on your back.

On my last skill check, I told my patient to lie prone so that he could stretch out the contractures that had developed in his leg after an amputation. He looked at me like I was nuts.

Speak Now

Taylor Swift's new cd, Speak Now, is absolutely amazing! The girl definitely has a talent for writing songs that are extremely personal, yet appeal to millions of fans all over the world (as evidenced by the fact that her record sold over a million copies in the first week, and has been the first album this year to do so).

I absolutely love the maturity and vulnerability of her songs. I love it when songs have "moments", and there are plenty of those on this cd. I'm talking about when Taylor's voice gets soft and intense, as if to say "listen up, here's the most meaningful part of the song" or when the song builds up to a crescendo of emotion. Some of her songs give me chills, literally! I'm impressed that she wrote all the lyrics herself- her lyrics are clever, creative, and heartfelt all at the same time. She uses an interesting choice of words and analogies that create a striking picture for the listener who takes note of what she's saying. These are some of my favorite lyrics from the album:

Mine
"Flash forward and we're taking on the world together... we've got bills to pay, we've got nothing figured out"
This sends a message that it's okay not to know everything and not to have a solution to everything. What matters is that you're there for each other. It doesn't matter what life throws your way, because you're going through it together.

Sparks Fly
"the way you move is like a full-on rainstorm, and I'm a house of cards"
The idea is that someone else can affect you very powerfully. I think she's talking about those people who are so charismatic and confident, that we don't stand a chance against the force of their personality. They kind of take us by storm and turn our world upside-down. We can't help being captivated.

Back to December
"I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't. So if the chain is on your door, I understand."
In this line, Taylor expresses deep regret for making a mistake, but also realizes that she may never have the opportunity to fix it. She's gracefully accepting the consequences of her actions, while still taking time to apologize and admit that she was wrong.

Speak Now
"the organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march"
It's ironic that a wedding march can sound like a death march, but not if you're dreading the wedding and not if you feel like the couple is making a mistake! This phrase reminds me of songs I used to like, but don't anymore because they're now associated with something bad. It's the idea of something good becoming something bad based on the situation and how it's interpreted.

The Story of Us
"Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking; and I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me? ...I've never heard silence quite this loud."
I love the emotion and all the double meanings. I like the irony of it.

Never Grow Up
"I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart, and no one will desert you- just try to never grow up"
Man, you can only protect your kids for so long. In a way, growing up is a tragedy. You have to experience all the trials and heartbreaks of life. It was easier to be little. It was easier when mom and dad could make everything okay.

Last Kiss
"I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets, how you'd kiss me when I was in the middle of saying something; there's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions"
It's definitely the little things we miss about someone. Even the things that we might have found annoying at the time.

Long Live
"Will you take a moment, promise me this: That you'll stand by me forever- but if God forbid, fate should step in and force us into a goodbye, if you have children someday, when they point to the pictures, please tell them my name. Tell them how the crowds went wild, tell them how I hope they shine. Long live the walls we crashed through; I had the time of my life with you."

This is one of my favorite parts of the whole cd. Taylor is thanking her band, her producers, her fans, and anyone who has helped her get to where she is today. She's living her dreams. At the same time, she realizes that this might not last forever. Someday down the road, maybe only the pictures will be left. But nobody can take away the experiences she's had and the memories she's made.