50/365: Knew It Couldn't Last

Well, we should have known in Virginia that the super-amazing weather couldn't last. With only one class on Monday, and since it WAS a monday (I don't care who you are, no one likes mondays), AND since it was pouring rain outside, I decided to stay in for the day and catch up on work, and relaxation. I went to hang out with CLM for a while, which was a long time coming, then went to the library to study for the two midterms tomorrow which are going to kill. Back at the berk, the parking lot was dreary and the mood was sleepy. Naptime was amazing, and of course medic class came all too soon. And after medic class, the blinding fluorescent lights of the squad classroom and the bottomless coffee pot kept me company for an all-nighter. Discovery of the day = Virginia has banished our nice summertime weather.

49/365: Sunday BBQ

Got stuck this morning at squad on a truck, making the outcome of the rest of the day look grim. Somehow, I managed to get away (fortunately, since I have 3 midterms this week). It was another amazing day outside, so when I got back to Berk, I found a big beach towel, put some snacks in a ziplock bag, got a bottle of water and my books and went to set up camp outside in the grass. The temperature was perfect, and everything was so quiet (minus the buzzing of saws and clanging of ladders nextdoor at the fire station). Studying outside reminded me of Meatsauce, so I called her up, and she came by the join the party. We got some studying done, some talking done, and some snacking and sun basking done. JC and Spants had been at rope class all day, but had the brilliant idea for a nighttime barbeque since the day was so nice. The feast included perfectly grilled BBQ chicken, fresh green beans, roasted potatoes, salad, bread, and homemade iced tea. We followed this up with a brief stint of food coma, and then some homemade thin mint ice cream. So. Good.

48/365: Codes, Tornadoes, and Bloomin' Onions

The morning started off early with a trek to the Coronary Cary Unit for a clinical. I was excited to see some familiar faces, and the shift began with a bang when we heard the unit was getting a resuscitated code (these are the type of things I get excited about). I was so anxious to see everyone in action, but the staff prepared me that these things rarely end well. Turns out today was a rarity. After thinking our patient had no remaining neurological function, on a trip to the CT scanner, she randomly opened her eyes....and then started following commands. No Way! The staff promised me this never happens. I must be good luck.

After clinical, I went down to squad at the request of Walker to be operator for the rest of the shift. I ended up responding with one of my fav partners in crime, Meatsauce, to a call for a "tornado that tore through a softball field"........wait, aren't we in Virginia?? When we got there, unless a light breeze can throw a porta-potty across a field and scatter the blue goo everywhere, something happened for sure. After this mystery, I set out on an adventure with S.Pants, AGill, and Shumar to Outback for some good eats (and a Queensland salad of course). After this, I went BACK to squad to have an awesome long talk with RM. The night was warm, and the front of the squad truck was perfect for sitting. Amazing night.

47/365: Girls Night Out

Today was an awesome day. No class, no work, no clinical. I wore shorts for the first time this season, even though the trees are still bare (as you can see). That's awesome. I had to go for a couple of hours to take my medic midterm. Not awesome. Then I got to come home and sit around and do nothing which NEVER happens, and things just got more awesome from here. Sprinkle and I decided last night to have a girls night out since we're usually invaded by boys. We went to have a pizza dinner, where we DID let Shumar come along, but then after dinner we kicked him out. We went to the movies to see some new movie with Robert Pattinson (I don't want to be one of THOSE people......but come on). The movie ended with a shock, which put us in the mood to be sad and want to eat cookies. We came home to find Shumar holding down the fort, and found out Walker was on the way since we promised cookies. What was NOT awesome, was that Walker and Shumar made us watch Saw, which I have somehow skillfully avoided seeing for so long that there are now like 7 Saw movies. I finally lost the battle.

46/365: Jeffersonian

One day separating me between this long day of classes and the first relatively free weekend I've had in months. I think tomorrow actually might be the first Friday since Christmas that I haven't been in the ER- either working or in clinical. Amazing. BUT I had to get through 4 classes and medic class today first. In all the rush of going to class and trying to keep moving for fear of falling asleep if I don't, I forget that there's some dang pretty stuff around this town (profound, I know). This morning, it happened to be the Jeffersonian-infused (as they say) buildings against another awesomely blue sky. Pretty, isn't it? I forget this sometimes.

45/365: Lack of Green

Woke up this morning at squad to no delicious tip top breakfast, we decided instead to steal a few more hours of sleep in the recliners until day crew decided we'd been there long enough. Physics lab as usual was nothing to do backflips over, just some long drawn out ridiculous procedure having to do with circuits. I knew I had a lot of work to do tonight, but it was also St Patricks day, which is always a fun night to go out. Instead, I decided to stay at berk with S.Pants and get some work done. Seeing as how it had been a gorgeous day outside, and some of the warmth decided to stick around after the sun went down, we built a fire in the fire pit to enjoy for the evening. Got a lot of work done. Awesome. Got to enjoy a night outside. Awesome. Being out by a fire and away from bar crowds and hoards of green. Awesome.

44/365: 2014 Bobsled Hopefuls

Lonnnng day of classes today, but that's not even worth mentioning. Tonight was an epic night at squad. Decided to conquer the challenge of making breakfast for dinner. 15 pancakes each of blueberry, plain, and corn meal later, along with a heaping pile of bacon and sausage, and pan full of eggs, and a giant bowl of fruit salad made for the best dinner ever. We tried to go into the classroom and be productive, but somehow the temptation of having a fashion show overrode that notion.

After fashion show and the following dance party, makeshift Bobsled 2014 preliminaries began. I knew I'd be the one to get hurt, but it was totally worth it. Creation of one man AND two man stairwell bobsledding = success!

43/365: First of the Last

Back to class today after spring break to finish up the last few of the the school year. The last part of fourth year. The last part of college. Yikes.
In other news, it rained today. And there was a rainbow. The end.

42/365: Oh the Irony

Today the rain turned into mist, but the wind was blowing hard enough with the low 40 degree temps to make it not a fun day to be outside. RM and I were holding down the fort again as ops, walking around the class and contributing where we could (including taking this ironically awesome picture). We camped out bundled up in turn out gear with the other instructors under a shelter for a grilled lunch. We then ventured back to squad to defrost and find some hot chocolate. Went back out to the site to take a look at the final scenarios and had a 2 hour cleanup session. All in all, the class came off pretty well, and the weekend ended on a good note at McGrady's with awesome friends. Trekked back to Berk to run shift with Spants and go no calls. Excellent ending to the weekend

41/365: Rain and Mud

I was right, the rain just kept on coming for our 8 hour stretch outside for the extrication class. Although it may sound disgusting to some, the 4 inches of mud the rain created were actually pretty fun to play in. During the morning, I taught the patient packaging stage with RM and some other awesome people. During the afternoon, me and RM were staffing as dedicated ops for the 3rd day in a row and just wandered around and saw what types of cool things were going on. Ended the night by having dinner at West Main and going to a Bachelorette party with AGill which turned out to be a ton of fun. Gotta wake up tomorrow and do it all again!

40/365: Irish a Little Early

First day of a 3 day long vehicle extrication class, the lecture day to be exact. The rest of the instructors and I came in and out, doing little things that needed to be done and trying to learn some new things in the process. We were waiting for what seems to be our annual legit extrication that happens on this weekend every year but it never came. Looking outside all day it was pouring rain and pretty cold at that, I'm sure this weather will persist throughout the weekend since it knows we have to be outside for the next 2 days. Wrapped up the evening with a little early St Patty's Day celebration with the staff. Irish car bombs and chicken cheesesteaks make for a good night.

39/365: Best Seat in the House

Another amazing day off with nothing to do until medic class. Sleep, eat, do some physics? Seemed to be a productive day. I stopped by squad to make the rounds before medic class and seize the opportunity to veg out in my favorite chair. Gotta say, not a bad view laying in my chair and looking up out the window. After all the blizzards, it sure is nice to see spring coming this way. Went to medic class and learned about 12 lead EKG's (awesome), came back to staff a rockin 3 person squad company with JC and RM. No calls other than a potential lift assist that turned out to be nothing. Even better! Getting some sleep in anticipation of our 3 day vehicle extrication class this weekend which is sure to tire.

38/365: Round 2

Round 2 in the ER for the week, this time as an employee instead of a student (money is nice to have sometimes). Crazy busy day for a Wednesday but I guess I should have expected nothing less since an overflowing waiting room and constantly opening squad doors is the norm. A nice dose of hazelnut coffee and mini chocolate bars provided enough energy to get through the day in one piece. Luckily, braving the endeavors of the day led me to a plate of red hot blues and world-famous margaritas at the Continental Divide with CLM for a nice closing to the day.

37/365: Grill Season Kick-off

Nice day with no classes and nothing to do. I spent most of it sleeping, but hey, that's what breaks are for. I set foot outside in time to make it to squad shift, which is so much more fun when no one has school work to do. To add to that excitement, we had our first grilling session of the year after winter confined us to the kitchen (Though Gpa did scrape snow off the grill to make burgers a few weeks ago). Steak kabobs, grilled corn, roasted potatoes, no homework, movie marathon, and 2am pepperoni pizza made the shift a spectacular one. Half wishing spring break would last forever, but why don't we just finish out the spring so we can graduate.....

36/365: Spring Break?

First day of spring break (and couldn't have come any sooner during this 8th and final semester). Maybe I'm not going somewhere tropical and glamorous like some other people, but not having class is a plus no matter what you're doing in the meantime. After a rousing day in TCVPO yesterday for a clinical, I walked that familiar walk from Main St towards the ER this morning for clinical #2 of the week. For the first time in a while, this morning's walk wasn't ridiculously freezing. Though chilly, it was gorgeous out- maybe the bluest sky of the year so far that I've seen. The ER looked all peaceful from the outside, with blue skies and helicopters knowing full and well it was a great day to fly. Of course, the inside was a much different story, but we all know that this is no new discovery.

35/365: TCV Post Op

Woke up this morning early from squad. Still dark out but I headed across town towards the big white castle (the common name around here for the hospital). For the what could be the first time ever, I didn't stop on the first floor to go to work or to do a clinical. Today, I braved the trek to the fourth floor (gasp!). You would think a unit called the "Thoracic Cardiovascular Post Op" would be chocked full of intense highly stressed people, but come to find they were all low key, and not to mention they were awesome at what they do. Got to see a bronchoscopy, and found out that looking down into someone's lungs on a big tv screen is much cooler than looking at them in a book (who would've thought?). Though the afternoon was slow, I entertained myself by looking through an explanation of all the surgeries and procedures people have done. Long day, but well spent.

34/365: Balancing Act

After collapsing from exhaustion after clinical last night, I guess my hearing must have been selective enough to ignore my alarm clock this morning. Few minutes late to squad, but no biggie. Saturday shifts are usually pretty steady, but we definitely got a surprise today. I think my max number of legit ALS calls run in a shift is somewhere around 3. Definitely broke the new personal (or even world....but not really) record today with 11. I was wiped by the end, but it sure was fun. I came through the ER at 530am on no sleep, realizing I had to be back there at 7 for a clinical in the TVCPO. It sure will be a long sunday, but the shift was pretty awesome. The overflowing ALS calls were not the most amazing part of saturday though, that award would have to go Wilson, for being able to balance this many boxes of stuff up the stairs to the attic. Job well done.

33/365: [Insert Creative Title Here]

Usually coming up with the title is one of my favorite parts to this project, but today was generally not that inspiring. It wasn't a bad day, just not especially interesting. Staffed the heavy squad last night with JC- didn't get much sleep cause we started talking about life after graduation, but the lack of sleep was definitely worth the much-needed chat. I scoured the building for a place to sleep and found one downstairs on 2 cushion love seat. Found a space heater, found a down comforter in my trunk- awesome. Slept in, had lunch with CLM and Riverside (best bacon cheeseburgers ever), then went to the ER for clinical for the rest of the day. I also stumbled across this amazing fruit salad. Win.

32/365: Much Awaited Break

Woke up today for another round of thursday classes, only to realize that somehow, the year's flown by enough for it to be spring break. You may be wondering where I'm going. Cancun? No, that's my medic class buddies. Obx? Nope that's my other friends. I get to spend spring break working, running squad, doing clinicals and going to medic class. Why would you want to spend spring break any other way??....bleh. The upside is that this is what I do on any given week, so doing this stuff and not having class to worry about is a much awaited break.

31/365: Helmholtz Coils

Wake up early: check, more study: check, take technosonics test: check, go to physics lab: ugh. Even though lab was a pain as usual, at least it was a pretty sight (see Helmholtz coils to the left. Yep, that's an electron beam. So cool). After lab, time to start on a paper about the works of Stravinsky. YAY! (not). These posts are so boring this week, but all I've been doing is school. Looks like 5am may be a good estimate for bed time tonight. Only 3 more days till spring break!

30/365: Theremins and Teleharmoniums

Gotta love the Tuesday that falls on the week of a 24 hour shift, because that = the night off. Usually, these nights are spent doing something fun and relaxing. Not today. I realized the mistake I made in helping out with a lower level electronic music class as an independent study.......more pressure on tests. That means another long night of coffee, music samples and learning about theremins, trautoniums, and teleharmoniums. Awesome. At least I can enjoy studying this much more than physics.

29/365: Mannequins Kick the Bucket

After having to run a 4am call to our favorite (*cough) nursing home, not having class until 11 this morning couldn't have come on a better day. After class, I tried to get some work done and took a quality nap....little did I know, I would definitely need it. Went to a meeting with Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine trying to decide what I'm going to do with life. I left more confused and frustrated about the potential of having to leave Cville next fall than ever, but at least being a DO sounds cool. Went with Shumar to medic class for the 5th night of dynamic cardiology.....or should I say, intense cardio workout. After having 11 mannequins go into cardiac arrest, lets just say that none of us need to go to the gym for a while. CPR for 4 hours really takes it out of you.