Oh nothing, I just wanted to be sure of you

Nothing much to say, except I'm still alive, not like anyone who reads this doesn't already talk to me twice a week anyways, but I thought I would post before I got to the point where even those three people stopped checking to see if I updated because I never did.

Here's what new in my life, in no particular order.
-I made brownies.
-I got my third parking ticket of the year (I hate street sweepers).
-I did my first (and second) overnight calls.
-I went to my first code (where someone is "found down" and you have to do CPR...he made it through but died later that day).
-I'm stressed about not having enough time to study for boards. Whose idea was it to base my entire schedule off of a soccer game?
-I haven't made pancakes in a long time (tomorrow's the day...mmm strawberry pancakes).
-I really like my Marian group; they're great.
-Went to the Greek Festival and ate flaming cheese and decided there will be Greek dancing at my wedding (to which announcement a person who didn't know me was about to congratulate me on my recent engagement until she was informed I just plan random things about my wedding without having any prospects on the horizon).
-My medicine attending agreed to write a rec letter, even though we both know pediatric letters are better.
-I spoke up during ICU rounds today and was (mostly) correct. I hope someone was paying attention.
-I bought cage-free eggs cause I saw what the caged chickens go through, and it was enough to at least alter one purchase.
-Bought my dad a funny father's day card. Still haven't given Hilary her birthday present.
-Sat in a hot tub.
-Ate corn on the cob.

Isn't my life thrilling? Aren't you glad you checked to see if I posted anything new?

Hiding under the bed, figuratively speaking.

So, if you've seen or read "Marley and Me", you know that our canine counterparts can be just as neurotic and crazy as their owners. My roommate's dog, Ruben, is normally a "ferocious" watchdog, barking at anything that moves, and many things that don't. But flash lightening outside the house or let one thunderclap rip within earshot, and he turns into a raging scaredy-cat. Last night, with the lightening surrounding the house, he became my shadow, practically knocking me over as he followed me around, into the kitchen, into my room (both places he's normally not allowed), and then, to my surprise, right into the bathroom, where, feeling sorry for him, I let him keep me company while I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. Then he was just about to lay himself down in my closet to weather the storm when Laura came out of her room and he found a new person to follow. At least he doesn't eat the dry wall. I, on the other hand, loved the storm, especially the fresh air it gave us this morning. Yay.

First Mass

I had the opportunity to go to Fr. Mauricio Bermudez's first Mass on Sunday, and let me just say that if you ever have the chance to go to a First Mass, TAKE IT! It was beautiful. Not only the incense and the glowing white garments and the bilingual Mass (which was awesome). But also very surreal to think over how he had not been a priest the previous morning, and now he is. How he can now consecrate the Eucharist, be in persona Christi, celebrate the sacraments. It's beautiful and mystical. And so touching to witness his own emotion and tears as he prayed the Eucharistic prayer, reliving the sacrifice of the Last Supper and realizing that he was participating in, even being the vehicle for, a miracle. Next year, three more seminarians that I know will be ordained, and I'm excited to see that as well. Keep praying for Fr. Mau, and for all those in formation, and for good men to fulfill their vocation, whatever it may be.

Hey baby

So I was dragging Reuben along this morning (literally) and saw like five geese waddling rapidly (can you do that?) out of the way, and as they parted, there were, not one, but TWO BABY GEESE! Little yellow fluff balls that remind me of kindergarten where we all got to hold baby chicks (or maybe geese...they look very similar) and they peed all over everything and the little straw cages smelled disgusting, but it was okay cause they're cute. Kind of like little kids. I was at the park on Tuesday with Elise, who was babysitting, and I was feeding Ben macaroni and cheese and he pulled a piece out of his mouth, rubbed it on my face, and stuck it on my shirt. Gross? No. Cute! See, now you're getting the picture. I mean, you can't look at this kid's face and not melt. He could probably destroy the world and I would still want to hold him forever.

First responder

I was on my way to class this morning, annoyed that the inability to put the crossword puzzle down had made me late, and annoyed that the cars in front of me had blocked off the side street so the west-bound car couldn't turn. So the light turns green, the cars start moving, the biker I had just passed is coming up to the side street, the car in front of me waves the turning car on through...right into the biker. (Just picture badness, I hate trying to describe accidents with words; that's why incident reports have pictures on them)

For a second I hoped that the cyclist somehow swerved, but when I saw the wheel flip up into the air, well, that's when my sympathetic nervous system kicked in. Were I a swearing person, I'm pretty sure a choice word would have escaped my mouth. Instead, my thoughts were, "Well, this is what you're training for, GET OUT OF THE FREAKING CAR!" I was so glad 3 of my classmates also stopped, because it was way less nerve-wracking that way. So I get out of the car and the first thing I do is make sure someone's already got a dispatcher on the phone (I mean, really, the first step is to call for help). So then there's this poor girl just lying sprawled in the road, neighbors in their pajamas saying "Don't move." Meanwhile, "ABCs! ABCs! ABCs!" kept running through my head, but she was talking and breathing just fine, and when the answer isn't "rapid sequence intubation" I get all thrown off anyways, so we just kept her talking and asking for the 40th time if she had neck pain. I did manage to ask some semi-relevant questions, check her pupils, and take a pulse before the fire truck got there, but they were way more systematic in their approach (and actually had supplies like a BP cuff and a C-collar), which made me glad my first time as the good Samaritan wasn't a life-or-death situation.

She was fine, a poor first-year med student, and former EMT, on her way to class, and not too thrilled at being taken to the ED. But you could see the shock setting in, her jaw shaking from adrenaline and cold when she tried to talk, so I'm glad they took her anyways. Besides some road rash and sore knees, she managed to escape as well as possible. Luckily I had a bike rack on my car and took her bike to campus where she was able to pick it up when she was released. Shoot, even I had some shakiness once the adrenaline wore off. And of course, as I think about how I want to be prepared next time, I'm realizing that first aid kit and CPR mask I bought are nowhere to be found. Rats.

All in all though, it pretty much solidified that even though it will be scary when someone yells, "Is anyone a doctor?" I know that this is exactly what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. (Well, maybe not tending cyclists on the street, but you get the idea)

Yes, I'm writing about Susan Boyle, so sue me

I'll admit it, I love this video. It's a perfect song choice, and fantastically performed. And I hope she goes all the way to the Queen. The following is an excerpt from an article written by Fr. James Martin, SJ, associate editor of America magazine--"Susan Boyle and the Love of God."

The way we see Susan Boyle is very nearly the way God sees us: worthwhile, special, talented, unique, beautiful. The world generally looks askance at people like Susan Boyle, if it sees them at all. Without classic good looks, without work, without a spouse, living in a small town, people like Susan Boyle may not seem particularly "important." But God sees the real person, and understands the value of each individual's gifts: rich or poor, young or old, single or married, matron or movie star, lucky or unlucky in life. God knows us. And loves us.

It's beautiful. And true. Watch the video and tell me you don't see "worthwhile, special, talented, unique, beautiful."

For the full article, click.

Top 5 Top 5 Lists

So this facebook phenomenon of Top 5 lists intrigues me. I can't put my finger on what is so fun about naming the superlatives of random categories, but I think it has something to do with defining ourselves in a concrete way. I mean, we don't really care about anyone else's "Top 5 Shows I Watched With My Dad" but when we think back on our own, it's a way to relive good memories (I mean, if you count Xena, Warrior Princess as a good memory). Anyways, in honor of that, and without any shred of seriousness, I bring you the Top 5 Top 5 Lists, inspired by actual events.

1. Top 5 things you do not want to find in your fridge. The top, BY FAR, on this list would be the multicolored pond found underneath the produce drawers when the freezer stopped working and dripped down into everything. It took 6 of us almost that many hours to clean it out. I can still smell it.

2. Top 5 things you do not want to hear your surgeon say. Let's just say that "Oops", while falling into this category, would not even make the top 5. Not after hearing "What the heck does this do?" "I want to kill somebody, that's what" and "Holy s#@$t" in the OR.

3. Top 5 places NOT to pass out. Not that there are good places to pass out. But in a patient's room or into a microphone in church are definitely ones you should try to avoid if at all possible.

4. Top 5 ways to keep Band-aids in business. I would have to think a bit about the next four, but the first on this list would definitely be cutting my LEFT thumb on my pocket knife while showing everyone how I cut my RIGHT thumb by trying to see how sharp the knife was. Who does that?

5. Top 5 Mary-isms. My family loves teasing Mary for her creativity with the English language. "I'm not a dult." (did you mean you're not an A-dult?) But I think this could include all of those hilarious moments where we didn't quite say what we wanted to say. "Do your ears hang low, do they holler to and fro?" Hahahaha. Because that's a much more enjoyable thing to dwell on, as long as we're all laughing together, than the above categories.

There you have it. As with all Top 5 lists, we think of things we should have added long after the list is published. So it will be with this, I'm almost sure of it. In fact, there could be a whole category of "Top 5 Lists That Laura Has Revised After Completing" but since there's also a fairly extensive "List of Things Laura Can't Remember On Command", I don't know what those are.

Happy List Making.