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!!!

A tidbit of advice

So, before I get to the advice part, I almost forgot to tell you I went to a Tyrone Wells concert last Friday! Now, I'm not one to go to many concerts, but I really enjoyed this one. Both Tyrone as a person and his music were really enjoyable. (If you are a Grey's Anatomy fan, or have seen commercials for it, you've heard at least part of one of his songs.) He is a Christian, but doesn't sing "Christian" songs. However, he does sing about Jesus, but he just never says Jesus' name. After the concert, there was a little meet and greet and signing session, which was pretty neat. I went with my roommate, Shirin, but we went because our classmate, Kristina, told us about the concert. Kristina and her boyfriend, Jonathan, were supposed to go too, but they didn't buy their tickets beforehand and the concert was sold out so they couldn't buy the tickets at the door. :( So, after the concert, Shirin and I were talking to Tyrone and we told him the story and then had him sign a picture of himself, addressed to Kristina and Jonathan. He is such a quality guy with some quality music. Needless to say, it was a really enjoyable night! :)

Now....advice about the T, if you are ever to ride it (or any other mode of public transportation). Pay attention to what stop you need to get off at and get off there! It's really annoying to be on the T full of people and doing something and then look up to see the station you are supposed to get off at going by the windows, after the doors have already closed. Not only did that happen to me this morning, but then it almost happened to me again tonight when I was on my way home. Usually, the little announcer man will come on the speaker and announce which stop we are at. This morning, that announcer voice never came on and this evening, it did, and I quickly gathered my things and ran off the T. Two stops before I'm supposed to get off I was aware and thought, 'oh, I have two stops left and then I get off.' Then, I got to reading the little metro newspaper and apparently it was really interesting. I think I was reading about some movie, Whig It or something, or about the Red Sox and Angel rivalry and what's to come this weekend during their series. Regardless, I was not paying attention at my stop and the doors opened and I just sat there. Then, I heard the announcer voice say, "Dean Road" and I threw the newspaper on the seat next to me, picked up my backpack (which was not small), grabbed my jacket, grabbed the vacuum I had just bought (without a box because it was the display), and grabbed another little bag that I had as well and ran off the T, before the doors closed. Then, I proceeded to walk home with all my belongings hanging from me in some way. People probably thought I was a crazy mess and that I was a space cadet. It may be true, especially since I almost missed my stop TWICE today (I actually did miss it completely this morning). Oh dear....maybe I'll be more aware tomorrow and get to school and home without any glitches. We shall see.

Cari comes on FRIDAY!!! :)

A Little Update...

I've been wanting to update you all for the past week or so, but have not made the time to do so. But, now, it's a bit late and I need to go to bed, so it'll be a quick one. Honestly, this last week has been a rough one. I had a couple tests and a practical last week and they were difficult. But, what was I expecting? Them to be easy?! Studying is not as enticing now as it was this summer. Being in seven classes is very different than being in two. Time management has been such a struggle and so often I have so much to do and I don't even know where to start, so I just don't start! But now, things are beginning to pick up more, making it more crucial that I stay on top of my studies and learn the information, since it will become my career someday, I hope. :) So, studying is going slowly and not as productive as this summer, but I intend for that to change drastically in the coming days and weeks.

With that said, haha, Cari's coming to visit this weekend!!! And, I will definitely take the time to go around Boston with her and do some crazy fun things. I'm really excited for her to come and I think it's a great time--with regards to my state of mind as well as the weather and my class schedule. :) Living in/near to the city, especially Boston, allows for so many things to do when one comes to visit! It's so different from living in Clayton or San Luis Obispo. As much as I love those two places and consider them both home, living in Boston makes it much easier to answer the question "What are we going to do when someone comes to visit?" :) There is much more than the beach, the farm, Farmer's Market, bowling, going to a park, and watching a movie or playing games. As we do have a few of those previously mentioned entertaining activities, there are plenty more that I can easily come up with. I don't want to spoil any surprises I may have for Cari, so you'll just have to wait until after she comes until I share some exciting Boston activities. Then, maybe you'll all get to come experience it for yourself with me someday as well!

I have decided to make Hope Fellowship Church home for me in Boston. It's actually in Cambridge and pretty close to where I lived this summer. It's a smaller church that's pretty new, as it has been around for about six years. I really enjoy the pastor and the fact that it is a smaller church and being able to feel more known there. I have joined a community group (Bible study) that meets on Monday nights, which I enjoy greatly. The attendees of the church are about my age...some a bit older and some a few years younger, and I found that to be true of most churches in the Boston area. There are some young families, but even so, I'd guess that the oldest person I've seen at church is maybe in their early, maybe mid-, forties. I couldn't tell you why, but that's what I have experienced. So, I enjoy the church and there are many opportunities to get to know people in smaller settings, which has been great so far, and I've only gone to two weeks of community group. Well, they did have lunch after church for three weeks that I went to as well and met some people. One week was a potluck (which I didn't know about so I didn't bring any food). The next week was a newcomer's lunch. And, then the week after that was a college student lunch. So, going to the lunches three weeks in a row gave me opportunities to meet people and talk with them as well. I've been able to meet and talk with one of the pastors on a number of occasions and meeting other people...so great! Oh yes...and, one of the women in my community group is a physical therapist, so I have someone to encourage me and be able to personally relate to what I'm going through right now too, which is comforting. And, I could potentially ask her PT questions too, if I need to. So, that's fun.

I think that's about all for now. Hmmm....oh! I got a crock-pot last week. So, that will be exciting to cook something in there. Just need some good crock-pot worthy recipes now! Anyone??? My mom said she would give me some if I got a crock-pot. So, I got a crock-pot, now it's her turn to act, but I would gladly take recipes from anyone as I know some phenomenal cooks do read my blog every once in a while. :)

Oh, yes...I have decided to research Gabapentin for my pharmacology project. So, thank you for that suggestion. :)

It's beginning to look like fall, which is really exciting! The leaves are beginning to change colors, which is fantastic! Every morning as we're walking to the T, or are just outside, and we see a tree with fall-colored leaves, we gaze up at the beauty of it and I imagine all the trees looking like that. Hard to imagine right now. I've seen leaves change color, but it's only a few that do...I'm used to seeing a number of trees that stay green. I've been told that if we have some more cold days, the leaves will change faster. I suppose it's the coldness that enhances the color change, and I'm embracing and enjoying the crisp and cool air along with the beautiful colors. I think I'm adapting to colder weather and still wearing jeans with a light jacket and sandals when it's 50, maybe 60, degrees outside. I don't anticipate that happening when it gets much colder than that though. I'll keep you posted.

Alright, I think that has to be all for now as I do need to get some rest tonight. Thanks for reading and we'll be in touch!!!

Pharmacology Poll!

So, for my pharmacology class, I will be doing a project on a medication. It can be any medication I want, but I need ideas! If you or someone you know is taking any medications or drugs, or you have heard of a medication and you want to know more detailed information about it, let me know and I'll use it for my project topic! The project would be more interesting for me if I could relate it to someone in my life, and then I'll be more informed and then I can inform you as well! :) Thanks!

The Past Couple of Weekends

Has it really been two weeks since I wrote last?! Wow, time sure flies! It seems as if so much has happened, but really, not many interesting things. Maybe it's just that I'm in class most of the time and I've learned so much that I think a lot is going on, when really, what's going on is all in my head. And, as I don't want to bore you with the details of what I'm learning, I'll give you a overview of what's been going on. We have begun our clinical experiences, in which we go to an acute care setting once every other week for half a day. I am at Massachusetts General Hospital and my clinical instructor, Kate, (the PT I follow, learn from, and am with) is so great! I'm really excited to learn from her and to see how she treats patients and to be able to not only see what it's like to work with patients, but be able to get a taste of working with real patients myself, of course with Kate's supervision. On the off weeks, we have a session at school with one of our professors doing different things that we'll be seeing in the hospital. It's like a practice run/preview of what's to come, which has been helpful to me in the past few weeks to know what to expect more and feel more confident in what we're doing. That's probably the most interesting class to talk about right now, but I am learning other things that are good and interesting as well. :) Other than that though, it's the T rides to school and the walk from North Station (where we get off the T) to school and then the walk and T ride home. On the T, I have been reading The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom and what a fantastic book it is! If you don't know, it is about Corrie's life and how God was faithful to her and her family during the Holocaust. They hid Jews in their home and eventually were caught and taken to a concentration camp. Her life and what she went through is heart-wrenching, but to see God's faithfulness through it all is incredible. Corrie and her sister, Betsie, spent the longest time in the concentration camp and to see how the Lord provided for them throughout their time, in the midst of evil and torture is so amazing. I'm not quite done with it, but it is such a God-glorifying and encouraging book, seeing the Lord work in such a tumultuous time and I definitely recommend it if you have not read it. Back to...the walk! It is so nice and when we get out of school in the evening, the sunsets are gorgeous! Here's a few pictures I took one night on our way to North Station:

Boston at dusk with sailboats in the foreground

The Zakim Bridge at sunset

The Zakim Bridge with cars

This is one from a morning walk; Bunker Hill Monument

Let me see...other than school. Last weekend, one of our classmates so graciously lent Hannah, Shirin, and I her car so we could make one more trip to Ikea. What we wanted to take half the day ended up taking the whole day, but it was filled with fun! We got to Ikea and got a coffee table, side table, television stand, and a few other odds and ends. So, our living room is complete now!!! It's rather exciting to see things come together and have our space usable and functional. I also got some picture frames from Ikea, which I'm really excited about. I ordered some prints last week and they should be here hopefully by Tuesday or Wednesday. Yay!!! I'm really excited to put the pictures in the frames and then hang them up on my walls. I just hope it looks as good as I am imaging it to be. :) After Ikea, we made a stop at Target for three things. I got a microwave, Hannah got a space heater, and Shirin got a dust buster. Haha...Target drew us in and we came out with just a few more things. They were things we needed, but didn't exactly go to Target to get them. But, that's okay. It was a very enjoyable day and great to spend time with the girls. :)

This weekend, I finally did laundry and really excited to have clean clothes! Sometimes, when I wait quite a long time to do laundry, I forget about some of the clothes I have because they've been sitting at the bottom of the hamper for quite a while. So, now, I have more clothes to choose from and it's wonderful. I studied a bit yesterday and then cleaned the stove last night. What a chore that was! the stove itself has probably been cleaned semi-recently, but the pans underneath the (electric) burners were disgusting and probably hadn't been cleaned in a very, very long time. So, that took a while, but we now have a clean stove and it makes me happy when I look at it. (haha...I haven't cooked on it yet, but I'll be extra happy when I actually use it.) This afternoon, I continued my cleaning and cleaned my blinds. They were gross as well and probably haven't been cleaned in at least two, probably five, years. Thankfully, one of my blinds needed replacing, so I only had to clean one and then I took down the other disgusting one and put up the brand-new, nice, and clean blinds. Thanks mom for making us clean the blinds when we were growing up! Have you started your teaching kids how to clean business yet? :) I think I might have issues when I clean because once I start, I can't stop! I just continue to inspect more closely and then see more and more things that are dirty and what was going to be just cleaning the top of the stove (the pans and such) turned into wiping the walls down, cleaning the dials for the stove and underneath them, wiping the outside of the oven, cleaning the counters, and it almost turned into cleaning the outside of the refrigerator, the inside of the oven, the heater strip in the kitchen, more kitchen walls. I just kept eyeing dirt everywhere! Once I start, I can't stop (as long as I'm in the cleaning mood)...isn't that a commercial jingle for something? Pringles maybe? Once you pop, you can't stop? I don't know. :)

How could I almost forget! Friday night was a lot of fun too. I went out with a few classmates, which was really enjoyable and then went to my friend's housewarming party. This friend is a friend from high school and we haven't seen or talked to each other since, but now we are both living here in Boston. Crazy, huh?! It's about a twenty minute T ride to her place, which is so cute! It was great to see her and catch up/reconnect a bit and I anticipate seeing more of her as time goes on. Kinda fun! Then, as I was on my way home, from the house warming party, I was on the T and sat next to some girl, or so I thought it was some girl. After a few minutes, she turns to me and says questioningly, "Janelle?!" I turned and looked at here and in disbelief saw Christina Stellini sitting next to me on the T at 11:30 at night in Boston. For those of you who don't know, Christina's dad was my high school basketball coach and she was an assistant coach my senior year as well. Ha! She was out here for four or five days visiting her boyfriend and job hunting. That was a crazy and unbelievable moment! Oh, right, and her boyfriend lives maybe two or two and a half blocks away from me! So, we got off at the same stop. What a surprise that T ride was; and a fun surprise it was!

I had the chance to talk to my mom, sister, Stephen, Grandma, and Grandpa this weekend, which gave me some good family time! And, only twelve more days until Cari is here to visit!!! I am so excited for that weekend, but first, I must get through the week ahead of me. I have one exam on Tuesday and a practical on Thursday. But, I don't have anything on Wednesday, which will be such a rare treat!!! :) It will be a good day to get quite a bit done!