Hingis

Torn

Lindsay or Martina? I am completely torn. Davenport and Hingis face each other today for the first time in a billion years and I don't know who I want to win. Lindsay is my favorite (albeit furiously inconsistent) player. I like her style and sportsmanship, as well as her game when she's "on." Hingis, on the other hand, is in the middle of an impressive comeback, which I've been following with a lot of interest, and I'd really like to see her continue to zoom up the rankings. Any advice?

My cholesterol: 450!

I'm lucky to be alive. This will most likely be my last post.

Dream Product?

Looks like the perfect product to help out my little baby with occasional accidents where the aim is not quite as accurate as it should be. I'll update and let you know how it goes.

Now, if I could only find something for Nuala....

Central Park North

I took the new camera down to the north end of Central Park the other day to get some pictures of the snow remaining from the blizzard before it disappeared completely. I think the north end of the park is really the most beautiful part.

Downward Facing Pug

This is a true story. Whenever Nuala sees one of us roll out our yoga mats, she instinctively runs over to the center of the mat and IMMEDIATELY does her version of the yoga pose "Downward Facing Dog." It never fails. Of course I'm never quick enough with the camera to catch her in the act, but here she is sitting on the mat while Ceci is talking to her on speakerphone.

I promise this will be the last one!

You CAN see my fingerprints!

Love this camera!

You can practically see my fingerprints!!! And this is only on the 3.0 megapixel setting. It goes up to 5.2!

Best Valentine's Day Gift EVER!

F. gave me a new a camera to replace the one that I destroyed over the weekend. (It had pretty much outlived its useful life anyway, and it was four calendar years old, which is like 60 digital camera years!) Nuala was my first willing model:

Biggest Blizzard in NYC History

The National Weather Service said 26.9 inches of snowfall was measured in Central Park at 4:10 p.m., exceeding the previous record of 26.4 inches, set in December 1947.

Looks like we're really getting snow...

The forecast seems to have held out for a pretty big storm. I'm excited about it. I love snow. I wish it would snow every day of the year.

Update - February 10

What a week. Two huge exams, both of which were Anatomy & Physiology. The focuses were blood, the heart, blood vessels, and blood pathways through the body. I don't know if I just got lucky and these tests were made to be easier than I expected, but I think I did pretty well. I ended up with an A- on the first exam, but the grade on the second one isn't available yet. My gut tells me that I'm going to end up with an A- on that too. I just can't seem to break into A territory with A&P. (I finished last semester with an A- for the course, too!) We'll see

Last night was a lot of fun. A few of my friends from school and I went and had some drinks after class in Union Square. Ceci joined us a bit later on. And then Ceci, Amy, Buddy (Amy's boyfriend), and I went to see Aimee Mann in an acoustic show at Town Hall on 43rd Street. It was an incredible show. She has such a crystal clear angelic voice. Her sense of humor is terrific, too...very self-deprecating and dry. Huge talent. I think Ceci enjoyed herself, despite not really knowing Aimee or her music. After the show, the four of us went to Virgil's BBQ around the corner from Town Hall. The food sucked, but it was a really nice night, nonetheless. It was the first time I had met Amy's boyfriend, and it was great to get to know him.

Today would have been a great day to catch up on some reading and get a head start on some studying for upcoming exams, but of course I wasted more time than can ever be forgiven. I am a first-class procrastinator. (Thanks for that gene, Dad!) Well, I will have nothing to do tomorrow, since we're expecting a "big" snow storm tomorrow. I'm not going to hold my breath for that, though. I get my hopes up for snow and cold weather, and always end up chronically disappointed. I'm somewhat certain the storm will "take a turn" and we'll end up with 82 degrees and sunny skies with light winds from the north/northwest. :(:(:(

Broken Pug for sale

Poor Nuala. She had a rough day yesterday. We went to the vet to get her ears checked out. She's been scratching and clawing at them for days. It turns out that she has a massive yeast infection in both of her ears. She had to have them irrigated and cleaned out. It turns out that she ALSO has allergies and some kind of dermatitis brewing in her paws, which is why she lickes them for hours until they're raw all the time. She ALSO had to have a vaccination shot, but since she almost died from this particular shot the last time she had it, they had to give her two additional shots of benadryl and cortisone in advance to offset any dangerous effects. Three shots! And then, to add insult to injury, she had to have her nails clipped...they were really long, and she ended up bleeding with nearly every clip. She just kept looking up at me as if to say, "Why? Why?" Overall, she was incredibly patient.

She's recovering today. I think all the meds coursing through her body may have tired her out a bit. She was incredibly patient and well-behaved throughout the ordeal.

IV Admininstration

I can administer IVs now. I can't start them yet, but can administer them once the vein is tapped, meaning adding meds, changing tubing, changing out solution bags, etc. Inching one stop closer each and every day to having enough knowledge to kill somebody.

Another show I swear I never watched. I swear.

Why was this EVER allowed to happen?

Oh, Lindsay...

Later, Loser!

The Sweet Face of Success

Martina Hingis...back on the WTA tour after four years away...storming her way through the field at the Australian Open, causing the rest of the players to stand back and take notice. Go Swiss Miss!

(Does this piss you off enough, Farrell?)

Caught in the act...

Nuala has developed a new habit. Today is the second time in recent weeks that I came home from school and found her buried and asleep in my laundry bag; clean laundry, in fact, that I had not yet put away. With her incessant shedding, all of it will surely need to be rewashed. Here's a picture from when I finally found her.

All grades are in

Developmental Psychology A
Nursing A
Dimensional Analysis (Medication Math) A
Anatomy & Physiology A-

Round 2!

School started today. They wasted no time in getting us back there. I don't think it would have killed them to give us another week, or at least another day or two. Oh well.

This semester is going to be brutal. I will be in school 5 days per week. Anatomy & Physiology lectures and labs, Nursing lectures and labs, 2 days of clinical experiences on multiple units at the hospital, and a Nutrition class on Fridays.

I have three of my four grades from last semesters. All As so far. Just waiting on A&P. I think that will be a B+ or an A-. I will probably find that one out tomorrow.

Goodbye 2005!

I will not miss you. There is a lot to look forward to in 2006 for F and I. Wishing everyone who stumbles across this blog, especially my family, Ceci, Chris, Chris, Shecky, Scott, Kelly, and all my dear friends a joyous 2006. It's got to be better than 2005.

My new baby

Santa aka Farrell was extremely good to me this year. I got a new iMac. It's amazing. The flat screen is huge and crystal clear, and it's extremely fast. Thank you, Santa!

Step away from the stove!

I found this recipe in the street today while walking back from the gym. You really shouldn't be cooking if you need this level of instruction.
Happy Holidays, and remember, all ovens do vary.

The Rooster

He is so confused. It's nearly 1:00 pm, broad daylight, and he just started cock-a-doodling. He does it three times a day now; dawn (actually a little later than that...he's clearly not an early riser so, he usually does his thing around 8:00), lunchtime, and also dusk.

It's done! Christmas is here!

The final final was today. I am finished. It took me a couple of hours to get to school today to take the stupid thing, because of the strike, and just slightly less to get back. But whatever! I don't care. I'm officially done! It feels great to not have to do ANYTHING for the next 10 days or so. I haven't had this opportunity in years!

Now, as for those sh*tbag transit workers: May they all end up jobless and homeless. They really have no idea just how little support they have from average New Yorkers. Millions of people in this city are majorly inconvenienced to say the least, and in many cases, according to news reports, losing their jobs because of this strike. I think $62,000 to sweep stairs is plenty of money, not to mention 100% free medical coverage. Greedy bastards. I hope the city does not give in. I'd rather endure the inconvenience of walking from Harlem to midtown everyday than see their overinflated senses of self-worth catered to.

"Is it Christmas Yet?"

Almost! I had my nursing final this morning. It was a two hour exam, 100 questions, worth 50% of the total class grade. I was done in 30 minutes. I just can't sit there and labor over stuff I don't know, and spend time ruminating over questions that will never come to me. So, I answered what I could, and guessed on the rest.

Now the only thing left is A&P. Final exam on Wednesday. I have today and tomorrow to get ready for that. And then it will be Christmas, Nuala!

Karen

See? You made it. Just for the asking.

Half way there...

I'm about half way through with finals, from a calendar perspective at least. I have 4 exams over the next 6 days, and they are incredible in their scope. I have never been this academically challenged in my entire life. I'm really tired and pretty cranky, to be honest. Whatever Christmas spirit I had a few days ago is completely gone. And it completely sucks that I don't stand a chance to get it back until the 22nd. What good is it at that point, only three days before Christmas?

"Yeah, Merry F*$king Christmas"

The Tree!

Tonight was tree night. We are both in finals Hell, and if we didn't do it tonight, we wouldn't have been able to do it until the 21st. So, tonight was the night. It worked out well. We got a lot of snow this morning, and it was really cold tonight, so it "felt" Christmasy. We ended up with an 8' Blue something or other that is supposedly rare and unique and blah blah blah. These Christmas tree salesmen are so sleazy. Anyway, it fills the corner of the living room nicely and looks nice and full. The flash on the camera kind of bleaches out the color theme of the tree which is largely blue and green lights and balls, and then other miscellaneous stuff added on.

Before, During, and After:




I thought this came out kind of cool:

First big snow!

So nice to wake up to....especially on the day we'll be getting our Christmas tree!




Nuala wasn't too happy about it:

Another Cock Update

My patient during clinical today was a 68 year old man who had surgery late last night for emergency removal of his recently implanted penile prosthetic. WHAT THE HELL IS IT WITH THESE OLD PEOPLE ENHANCING THEIR PENISES?? This is the second one I've dealt with. This time, sadly for Mr. P. (to protect his privacy), things went grossly awry. The implant caused an infection that became uncontrollable and he had to have it removed after having had it implanted just two weeks ago.

I don't think I want to be a nurse anymore. I want to be a librarian, or maybe a research assistant somewhere. Something that has no contact with bloody penises would be great. Any ideas?

Home Stretch

My first semester is rapidly coming to a close. I had two exams today. Next week I have an exam, a clinical competency exam, and a paper due. The following week, another exam. The week after that, three exams and a presentation. The week after that, three final exams. There really isn't going to be much time to breathe between now and then. Just writing this made me really nervous. Until I looked at the calendar, I hadn't really realized what a tight squeeze all of this is going to be.

Just because...my grandmother...

Cock update

Well, don't YOU have a dirty mind. Pig!

I just wanted to update you on my rooster friend. He is still with us. It has been a few months now and I am frequently awakened by his lame and asthmatic sounding "cock-a-doodle-do" in the morning. He sounds like he's drowning when he's doing it. It's pathetic.

But just in case you were wondering, he's still with us. Here's a picture for those of you who didn't get to see him the first time around.

Nursing Tip 001

We'll start with something simple.

Issue:
Nose Bleed

Real Name:
Epistaxis

Etiology (What causes it?):
Blood vessel injury resulting in localized bleeding. Can be caused by dry air, dehydration, irritations from allergens, irritation from rubbing

Effective Interventions:
Apply pressure to bridge of nose. Also apply cold compress to bridge of nose. Both of these measures cause vasoconstriction, which is a constricting of the blood vessels of the nose, which will help to slow and eventually stop bleeding.

DO NOT:
Throw your head back!! BAD!!! The blood could rush to the throat and cause choking.

++++++++++++++

Additional comments from the student nurse:
Did you ever hear the story of how in the middle of a concert, (I believe it was all-district band in high school), I was playing my clarinet (shut up!) and my nose started bleeding profusely. I was looking at my music...playing a little clarinet section solo within the piece, and all of a sudden there was blood pouring down the silver parts of my clarinet and down my hands, onto my chair. I nearly threw up from the sight of the blood. I had to get up in the middle of the piece, clanking chairs, and music stands, stumbling over people to get off the stage so I could stop the hemorrhaging.

True story. You can't make this stuff up. Too bad I didn't have a piece of ice with me at the time.

New Feature - Weekly Nursing Tips!

Starting today, my loyal readers will be given a short useful weekly nursing tip every Friday. I am not a doctor, so please don't contact me for treatment of anything beyond these simple measures. For those treatments, please see my mother, as she is both an honorary lawyer and MD. (Inside joke...a few people will get it.)

Home Furnishing Tip #1

What's on your mind???

Today was brain day in A&P lab. We dissected sheep brains so we could physically see the component brain structures that we’ve been learning about in Anatomy & Physiology lectures. The sheep brain is about the size of your fist. It was pretty cool. My brain was a bit damaged (Go figure!), so I wasn’t able to see all of the structures involved, but overall I think I would make a good surgeon. Maybe medical school and neurosurgery are next.

I’m not sure where the time went since the last update. School has been truly insane. So far, I’m doing pretty well. A&P requires the most time and I can literally clock 40-50 hours in preparing for a single exam. It is being taught on the doctoral level, and from what I’m hearing from classmates and my instructors, does not compare at all to your garden variety undergraduate A&P. In fact, several of my classmates have been let go from the program because they couldn’t keep up in this class. I really enjoy it, but it’s intense.

Clinical is going well. I had my first experience with patient vomit (or “womit”, as he said), yesterday. The bad news was that he (56-year-old practically blind diabetic cancer patient) threw up all over me; my arms, my hands, covered. This was after, mind you, I had just completed showering him. The good news is that I didn’t get sick in response. I had been worrying about what that first experience with puke was going to be like for me. It turned out fine. It wasn’t until 4 hours later that I started to get the dry heaves, while I was on my way home on the subway thinking about it. Gross. (Why am I doing this?)

I’ll leave you with that. More frequent updates are promised. Enjoy the pictures, and as always, you can click on them for the larger versions.

"Was that disgusting, or what?" - Nuala

This place sucks...

"I can't wait for Thursday's shocking new update." - Nuala