Reflexes

So, a couple weeks ago we learned about deep tendon reflexes and had the opportunity to practice finding them on each other in lab. Just like when the doctor hits you just below your kneecap with the reflex hammer and your leg kicks out. We tested it on a number of different muscles and I learned that I am hyper-reflexive. Yes, my reflexes are out of control and kinda go a bit crazy with the slightest stimulus. What can I say? I'm very sensitive....well, at least my tendons are.

It's a Small World After All...

Boy, isn't it?! Today, I was in the lunch room at school and I saw a girl with a T-shirt on that read Cal Poly Mustangs and had a large mustang in the middle. When I saw it, I thought to myself, "no way..." So, I proceeded and asked her, "Did you go to Cal Poly?!" I had to ask her twice because she didn't hear me the first time, but she answered, "Yes!" I told her I did too and we had a little reminiscing time and we actually lived in the same dorm. Good ole Muir. Though, she was a year ahead of me, so I didn't know her (I act as if I knew every single person I lived in the dormitory with). She is originally from San Jose, majored in Biology, and graduated in 2007. Now, she's in the nursing program at MGH Institute of Health Professions and she's my new nursing, Cal Poly friend. I hope I'll see her around more! :)

Has it really been a month?

Really....a month since I last posted?!?! I knew it had been a while....but I didn't know it had been THAT long! I'm sorry for not updating you on my life! My, did a lot happen in the past month! First, Cari came to visit a month ago! It was Columbus Day weekend, so I had Monday off of school, which was great. She came in Friday morning and after meeting her at the airport, I went to class and she found her way back to my apartment to get ready for the day and relax a bit. Then, she came to the Navy Yard and met me at school while I was finishing up studying for the day. We went to Old Ironsides and took a tour, before going on the ferry to go to dinner in the North End, which has all kinds of delicious Italian food. What a weekend we had! We went on a duck tour, toured Fenway Park, went up on the Skywalk at the top of the Prudential building to get a full 360 degree view of Boston, went to Harvard and went on the Hahvahd Tour, went to MIT, walked across the Harvard bridge, went to the Public Garden and Boston Common, church, went apple picking, and walked and walked a lot. Every night we came home and I had worn her out. I don't realize how much walking I do everyday, but it really is a lot more than I need to do at home because I have the luxury and convenience of a car. So, yes...we walked a lot, but we did a lot too! Oh, and on Tuesday, while I was in class, Cari went on the Freedom Trail and she really enjoyed that, which was great!!! She also so graciously took me to eat at so many places and we ate so much seafood that weekend! Probably more seafood than I have eaten all year combined. When we ate at Legal Seafood, we ate at the bar to avoid the hour long wait and it was fun! I don't think I've eaten at a bar at a restaurant, but our waiter person was so nice and friendly! And...he was from Africa. It was definitely a fun-filled weekend and I'm really glad she was able to come see Boston and where I live (and seeing her was good too). :)

Wednesday morning, she headed back to California and I headed back to class and to my studies. I met with one of my teachers Wednesday evening and I went to talk to her about my first test and I had a few questions, but instead, it turned into a little emotional time. I think it was a mixture of many things including stress of school and the upcoming tests, homesickness (I did just get to spend the weekend with Cari, but that may have made me longed for home even more....not sure). Also, feeling inadequate to be in PT school and feeling like I should be doing something else and pursuing another career. There was nothing in particular, but a combination of everything and that night was an emotional one for me and I had a test the next morning. Thursday morning came and I didn't really know what was going on during the test because of everything else I was thinking of and, only by the grace of God, I ended passing my test. And, that was only the beginning of the craziest week of my semester. The next Monday we had a couple assignments due, Tuesday we had a practical and another written exam, and Friday we had another exam and the first part of our pharmacology presentations due, which (being the procrastinator that I am) I left to do until the very end. No more of that! I'm working on doing things ahead of time and hopefully that will reduce some stress a bit and help me learn the information better.

So, I had my crazy emotional week, and then my crazy academic week. The next week was a lot quieter having only one assignment and a quiz. My roommate (and friend), Hannah, and I met with one of our professors and talked with him about some work he does with the homeless, which was really interesting. In San Luis Obispo, there is quite a large homeless community and since freshman year of college, I have had some desire to work with the homeless in some capacity, but have yet to act on that desire. So, talking to DJ was a great opportunity to see how he began working with the homeless and what it looks like for him. I think it may be something I would like to eventually become involved in, but not right now. Or, if I were to do something right now, I could serve food and have that level of interaction with that community. We'll see what happens in the coming months. Other than talking to him about the homeless community, I really enjoyed just talking to our professor outside of class. And, church came up while we were talking and as far as we can tell, he is a Christian, which is really encouraging to me to just know that we have a professor who knows what it's like to be a Christian in PT and at our school. Sometimes it is just encouraging to know that someone is there who is a believer and can understand the spiritual aspect of my life as well as the school part of life, and has lived through it.

Then, it was Halloween. I am not a huge fan of the Halloween holiday. I think it is a holiday geared towards children and I think kids do have a lot of fun getting to dress up as their favorite character or sports player or whoever they decide to be. But, as I have gotten older, it's not as enjoyable of a holiday for me. But, this year was a bit different. I still wasn't super excited to dress up, but our apartment decided to have a Halloween party with some people from our class and one can't be part of the hosting group and not have a costume. So, I decided to be an Etch-A-Sketch. It was kind of a fun costume, but kind of large, making it difficult to maneuver around the apartment, especially through other people. The party was fun and everyone dressed up, so it was fun to see what they came as.

And now....we just finished our tenth week of the semester! Time sure is flying by! I had two more exams this last week...one on Monday and another one on Thursday. But, Tuesday night was a fun night because I went to see Fiddler on the Roof! Topol (the one who played in the movie) was supposed to be performing, but something happened and David Brummel (who apparently has played a judge in Law and Order) played the main character instead. I was looking forward to seeing Topol perform since that was the role that made him famous and it is his farewell tour, but I haven't seen the movie, so I didn't have anything to compare David's performance to and it was still really enjoyable. I bought a season pass with my friend to see ten different shows as a part of the Broadway across America series, so I'll be going to more plays as time goes on. I'm really excited for them to come! Fiddler on the Roof was the first one, so this is only the beginning!

Today, I went to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), Massachusetts chapter conference. It was a really good conference and pretty interesting. There were a number of different sessions we could choose to attend in the morning and afternoon. I went to one on imaging...x-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and the like. Then, I left that one a bit early to go to a prosthetic presentation and in the afternoon, I went to an ASTYM (a-stim) presentation. ASTYM is a technique using tools to help break up scar tissue and increase movement and decrease pain, making life more enjoyable and people to be more functional. So...it was a really interesting day and I learned quite a bit. There were quite a few exhibitors giving away a bunch of free pens and couple goniometers and measuring tapes and other items, some PT related and others not. Some of the stuff may be useful, but most of it is useless. Nevertheless, I got it and brought it home! We had a piece of paper to fill up with stickers while we went to different exhibitors. I filled it up and turned it in and they drew three papers and I was one of them! So, that means I won a free registration for next years conference. I'm kind of already looking forward to it (and not only because it's free)! And to think I thought I needed to pursue another career...

So, that's a long update on my life. Oh! How could I forget! The weekend after Cari was here...that Sunday, October 18, it snowed! And boy, did it snow! The snowflakes were huge and white and beautiful! I'm told October snow is really unusual (like the summer rain) and we haven't have snow since and I'm okay with that. :) But, the snow will be beautiful and I'm looking forward to waking up in the morning after a fresh snowfall with the sparkling white snow with no footprints. (I can definitely wait though.) I better get some warm sweaters and a jacket and some warm socks and boots. Hmmmm......'bout that.

Oh yeah...my wrist. Haha. It's been hurting for a little more than a month and after pain for two weeks, this thing kind of popped up when I bent my wrist down. I had some of my teachers look at it and it's either a ganglionic cyst or a dislocated bone. Nothing to freak out about, but just something to rest up and I'm told it will likely go away after a few weeks. It's been maybe a month since it first appeared, so I'm just trying to rest it as much as I can. The only problem is that it's my right wrist and I'm right-handed. Maybe it'll go away soon.

Okay...that's really all for now. Sorry for the extended post and I'll do my best to put pictures up soon so you can see some things I've just told you about! :) I hope you are doing well!!!