General school update

So, I'm in my cardiology module, which is why no blogging has happened. Some cardiology surprises: holding human organs is always really fun, but the heart is pretty amazing. It's sort of spatially complex - more complex than the 2-D diagrams of the four chambers can portray. it's as though someone took a 2-D diagram and gave it a squeeze and a twist. The aorta is huge. It shouldn't become TOO huge, which is, clinically, over 4 centimeters in diameter!!!. It can be really big. I am functionally deaf, as usual, and that is a problem in cardiologist. I think I have an actual handicap that will preclude me from becoming a cardiologist because my ears just don't hear a lot.

Then there's the obsessive listening (with these poor ears) to anyone who will let me at their chest, which means my husband and my kids, but mostly myself. I have a weird heartbeat because it is abnormally slow and I have an - er - thin chest, two factors that conspire to make every little heart sound much more audible. It's really fun to listen and be able to (roughly) imagine what's going on in there. Now (and I mean right this very minute) I need to remember what EXTRA sounds are what. Dr. F has warned us that his test will be made of questions for which you need to implicitly figure out points 1-3 to answer each one. He's an efficient man.

Of note, Grandma was here for the girls' birthday (thank you, Grandma!!!) which made it special for everyone. I'll post pictures soon.

Meanwhile, I'm working hard and exhausted. I almost had a hissy fit yesterday because the bus I was on idled for too long for my taste (and I saw another one I could have taken departing just as I got on the idling one - rrrr). I think I need to ramp down a little bit :).

Fun Day at the Park. Note: paper airplanes supplied by Grandpa Pete.

Our buddies came to town! What a great visit!


The above two shots are Vivian and Mazie at a pool party - indoor pool, of course :).

I am not left-handed either.

We are watching The Princess Bride after a week of successful chore-charting. There is homemade pizza cooking in the oven and some ice cream in the freezer for later. They earned it! I'm enjoying it, too...

I just finished the unit on pulmonology. It was difficult, but rewarding. I like lungs and I certainly understand them and their pathologies a lot better now than I did before this month. I've been doing some thinking about this thing that I'm trying to do. It requires absolute focus. Getting sick, family drama, a sick family member, or having unplanned events pop up can really mess things up. I have to stay on top of my school work ruthlessly, which means:

• Reviewing every lecture the exact same day


• Not just reviewing but also memorizing that exact same day. Keeping my running lists of keywords, drugs, and diseases...that same day. EVEN IF I'M DISSECTING.


• Absolute attention in class. For this means the front row because I get distracted by others' computer screens.

Special needs I realize I have:

• at least six hours' sleep. If I miss more, I get sleepy and can't do the above list.


• Exercizing hard each day. Again, I can't focus with the level attention I need and I get too stressed out if I skip it. I have learned this the hard way. Luckily, exercise does the trick. It takes time but it makes up for itself in productivity gained.


• NO CAFFEINE. I adore the taste of coffee. But if I have it, even decaf, I get all batty. And, again, I lose time being batty.

It really helps me to have something to look forward to. Whether that is a jar of hot tea that's cooling or the fact that I'm going camping over Memorial Day weekend, it's enough. Usually, it's just food and my family that I'm looking forward to or going to bed or a weekend where I can take a break on Saturday morning. That's one thing: working super-hard makes family time so rich it's unbelievable.

Anyway, the pizza's done now and I'm going to eat and enjoy the poison in the cup scene.

Photos soon! (Unfortunately, Vivian crashed today while skipping down a hill at the nature walk at Fernbank Science Center. It was the worst crash she's had this year. She scraped her elbow really badly and hit her face and forehead...so prepare yourself for pictures of a very banged-up kid. Also, our car broke bad this morning :(. And our vacuum broke and it's not the belt :(. And I pulled a muscle in my back :( that is now on the mend :). But it will be okay, right? Right. After all, spring is coming!) Here is an emoticon of spring sprining: iiiiiiii #0o0# iiiiiii That's a cross-section of eggs in a nest among a field of budding (though rather homogenous) flowers. I don't know why the nest is on the ground. Maybe it's a quail nest.

And here's something else really cool. Heart muscle is wrapped around itself helically. It's sort of a double spiral.

Okay, now I'm finished.

Why we still have quiet time on weekends