Archive for April, 2007

a weekend alone

Sunday, 29 April, 2007

I’ve apparently decided to adopt a chapter from my friend Charlie’s philosophy of studying for Anatomy & Physiology by not picking up a book for 2 days. Somehow Charlie manages to get nearly perfect scores on every quiz and every test while all my countless hours of studying have only given me (barely) the most lowest of A’s. So while I’ve been home alone for the last couple days I haven’t even cracked a book. Granted, I did do my Friday-night-at-the-lab session because I just can’t shake the feeling that I need to get some studying in before the practicum on Wednesday. But crap I feel like such a bad girl not devoting my entire weekend to the Cascade Campus library. We’ll see if the minimal studying pays off. LOL.

You know, I remember going through this last term; the aching anxiety that I will never live up to my expectations. How could I possibly get perfect grades? Yet I somehow manage to surround myself with uber-geniuses who do get perfect scores and so naturally I feel like a dunce next to them.

By the way, I so totally know how to FOIL at this point. FOILing is child’s play. I can FOIL like nobody’s business. Does it help me distinguish between pseudo-stratified ciliated epithelium and stratified cuboidol epithelium? NO. But FOILing does make me feel better about myself. So far this term’s math feels easier than last term. Then again, even towards the end of last term I kept waiting for things to get more difficult, and waited some more and waited some more. It’s not like I can just crank out the slope intercept, yet I’ve managed to keep up and y = mx + b is my friend. 

Julia and I went on a crazy shopping bender yesterday. I’m too embarrassed to get into all the details, but suffice to say it involved 5 hours and 3 of the same stores from Multnomah to Clark to Clackamas county. I don’t think we spent a $100 between the two of us, but it was certainly thrilling. That woman is a compulsive bargain hunter. I actually think she would have kept going if I’d given her any encouragement.
And hello? I was the willing passenger egging her on from store to store.

I read this news article this morning about a woman who was cleaning up her deceased mother’s home. She had absolutely no idea that for the last 10 years her mother was a compulsive hoarder. The house (here in NE Portland) looked fine from the outside, but indoors was a disaster. Her mother slept on a huge pile of papers with a blanket next to a kerosene lamp. There was a rat’s nest in the kitchen and maggots in a purse she carried with her everyday. Poor lady. Perhaps I have this fear I will turn into a crazy hoarder, as I find my elation at bargain shopping so immense and my mystifying guilt so strong, that my first impulse is to stash my bounty of goods.

So my entries are few and far between. My life has altered and there’s just not much time anymore to write. Though every time I do write, it reminds me why I enjoy it so much. So no promises on when I’ll get back here, though know I certainly love hanging out in my blog world.

Ok, so finally, I know I’m always going on and on about bands no one knows or likes. But today give Brightblack Morninglight a try and I swear they won’t let you down.

Franka needs a bath

Monday, 2 April, 2007

Franka needs a bath
Originally uploaded by Superinkygrrl.

We really do have a third Chihuahua. Here she is.

time to move on… sorta

Monday, 2 April, 2007

Today’s the first day of Spring Term. I’ve got Anatomy & Physiology I on my plate, as well as Math 65. For those that don’t already know, I ACED WINTER TERM with A’s in both Math 60 and Cell Biology/Genetics. Frankly, I was taken aback by the A in Biology. There was a point after my 2nd midterm (of which I scored an 80%) where I decided I’d gladly take a B. Then I braced myself for a B. Then I hoped by a B. Then I PRAYED for a B. But my hard work obviously paid off. YEAH FOR ME.

My A & P books must weigh about 30lbs altogether. Even though this term’s class is only 4 credits, I have a feeling I’ll be doing a helluva lot of memorizing.

Mostly I’m worried about my energy level. Here it is, about 5 and a 1/2 weeks since the surgery and I still find myself extremely fatigued by the end of the day. Work last week was especially hard and very uncomfortable. Now my Mondays and Wednesdays will be long and mentally taxing, what with work and classes from 9am - 9pm.

Tiger & Allison are coming this weekend. I’m hopeful Allie & I will find my bridesmaid dress thereby eliminating one more thing off my list of stresses.

As much as I love my music, after last weekend I now know that I am definitely not a hard rocker. I just can’t take the cigarettes and rampant drinking, the snorting of lines in nasty men’s bathrooms - it’s just not for me. It’s fun to say I was at some intimate shows with the Dandy Warhols (not that any of them know me), but aside from the music (Spindrift - I heart you so hard), it was mostly grossly excessive and tiresome.

It’s sort of a weird position I’m in, loving new psychedelic/folky/stoney music, but not really identifying with the lifestyle that goes along with it. I suppose it’s just a measure of my growth as a human being. Or more to the point, a sign that I’m growing older. I don’t like the idea of eating ramen noodles for a week so I can buy blow and cigarettes for one night. Yuck! That’s just me.

Well, wish me luck as I begin the first of my pre-requisites into nursing school. Last term was just a pre-requisite to my pre-requisite on my long journey (relatively speaking) into my new career. It’s difficult to find the time to write these days. Now that I’m feeling better, though, I’m hopeful I can turn that around. Guess that depends on how easily I can memorize all the bones and muscles of the body.

Oh, and Bretty is such a great chef. Feel free to invite yourselves over for dinner. You’ll be in for a treat.