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Sunday, December 6, 2009

Winter in Maine

People keep warning me about the winters in Maine when they learn that I am not from here and I reply "well this is actually my third winter in Maine". Today I was walking in the freshly fallen 5 inches we had last night thinking about... I actually don't think I have really spent a full typical winter in Maine. My first year here, I never had to go anywhere if I didn't have to because I lived on campus so if it snowed real bad, I would just stay on campus till the roads were "safe". Then Last year I was in Seattle for November and December! This will be my first true Maine winter. I will be here the whole time, traveling to work everyday etc. I am a little nervous about it. I mean, I had never shoveled snow until today!

I also realized that this will be my first Christmas in Maine! My first year here I went to Europe for Christmas and last year I was in Seattle! This year will be spent here in Maine with Jason's family. We got a tree up already and I am looking forward to making Christmas cookies for everyone! Yay for the Holidays!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Clarification on Visitors

It should be pointed out that our actually first visitor was my good friend Holly!!! She- like a troop had to sleep on the floor as we did not have the spare room up and ready... so the other visitors were the first to use the guest room! You Rock Friend!!!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Visitors

We had our first house guests this weekend. My good friend for Grad School and her friend came to visit. They drove all the way from West Pennsylvania to get to us. It took them 12.5 hours!!! They had a lot of people to visit on their trip to New England and we were fortunate to be stop number one!!! The girls and I went out to Bar Harbor on Saturday while Jason was at a conference. We lucked out and the weather was really pretty nice. That night we made pizza and Margaritas and watched movies- Jason is such a troop to hang with us three pretty ladies! We got up Sunday morning and all went to breakfest. Sadly the girls had to be on their way to the next stop- I tried to keep them hostage but alas they left :( I spent the rest of Sunday just getting things done. I got new tires on my car so I should be already for the snow... I made a really cute fleece tie blanket that is doing a great job of keeping me warm while I write this! Jason is researching Christmas trees next to me. We are probably going to get a fake tree to use for the next couple of years- real trees are very messy and with the base board heating them make me nervous!!!

Work is going really well. I have been very busy with the flu season causing all kinds of panic! So far I have manage to aviod getting it myself but I fear it is only a matter of time! I have pretty much washed all my skin off my hands as I am washing them 2 and 3 times per patient these days in an effort to avoid getting sick. I start taking "call" on Tuesday- which should not be too bad I hope. I will let you know!

We got two baby girl hamsters! Their names are Coco and Peanut, they love to run on theirs wheels and climb the cage. I had to get a second wheel so they each could have their own as they had been trying to run in opposite directions and this was leading to some disagreements in the form of squeeking at each other.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that everyone gets to eat so really delicious turkey! We will be spending the holiday at Jason's sister's house. It should be great!

Friday, September 11, 2009

We ate our way across Vermont

So Jason and I took a long 4 day weekend to go to Burlington Vermont! We have heard a lot of really great things about the city and were very excited to experience it all for ourselves. We left on Friday afternoon with a big list of things to do and places to go. It took about 6 hours to get there and the drive was beautiful the whole way. It took us through the White Mountain region of New Hampshire and into the rolling green hills of Vermont. We arrived just in time for dinner, after which it was late and we were tired from the long drive over so we just went back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep so that we would be refreshed for Saturdays festivities. So to start our day Saturday we traveled to a town outside of Burlington to hit up the Green Mountain Coffee Roaster's Factory. We didnt get to see any actually Roasting but we did learn all about the process and got to have some pretty delicious coffee! We found out that Green Mountains actually just bought out Tullys which is interesting. After that we headed a few miles down the road to the wonderful Ben and Jerry's factory!!! We took the tour which ended with a free taste of the Cookies and Cream ice cream which was very good. We bought more ice cream outside and got to try some pretty interesting flavors. I had a Cake batter ice cream with chocolate fudge frosting swirl and a scoop of the Peanut Butter cookie dough ice cream! They were excellent! After Ben and Jerry's, we hit up the Magic Hat brewing company, got to sample all kinds of good beers (can't beat that!). We also went to a chocolate factory... man I feel like I need to work out just typing about all this food! Probably our favorite part was the Cabot Cheese factory! We got to sample like 11 different kinds of Cheddar! We bought all kinds of cheeses and butters and we can't wait to make some good meals with them!
Long story short- Vermont Rocks! I can't wait to go back!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Hiking Cadillac

I am a little late in posting this but I wanted to share the pictures. A few weeks ago, my friend Holly came up from Portland to visit Jason and I in Bangor. We all went hiking over the weekend in Acadia National Park! Here are the picture! Enjoy!

Hiking Cadillac

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Setting up

So now that I have passed my boards and started work I thought it was high time I updated everyone! I started my family practice job, I like it a lot and am very thankful that everyone there is very willing to help me out as I have a thousand questions everyday! The first week I was pretty much lost and confused the majority of the time but I don't think the patients noticed!

Jason and I also got all moved into our new apartment! Finally out the little box we were sharing! It's two bedrooms, one and a half bath. Its like a townhouse in that it has its own entrance and we have a back deck with a storage unit. His Aunt and Uncle were very nice and have lent us a couch and a BBQ so we can enjoy the summer in style! Here are the pics!

New Place

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Off by 12 months...

So I was in Starbucks the other day and there was a trivia question (if you get it right you get an extra/free shot)! So the questions was as follows: In what YEAR did the Frappuccino debut at Starbucks?" I thought about what time in life I could remember drinking them and I guessed 1998. The guy was like "no" I was a little bummed but it was pretty much a guess so I said "was I close?" and he said (very confidently) NO! I was like "ah man- when was it?" thinking it would be totally different... he says "1997" totally serious... I was like "1997! I was REALLY close- what do you mean 'no' I wasn't close!!!" He said "you were off by 12 months!" I was like "What do you mean 12 months- the question asked for a year! I was off by ONE YEAR! That's CLOSE!!!" He just stared at me... I COULD NOT believe it. Its not like it really mattered because either way I was wrong but it was the principle... The best part is that every time I think about him saying NO when I asked if I was close- I just start laughing...

Monday, May 11, 2009

I GOT MY MASTER'S!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY for me!!!! I finally finished and graduated this past weekend. I have my master's degree and as soon as I pass my boards I will be an official grown up Physician Assistant! Right now I am in Boston hanging out relaxing for a few days with friends and family... then back to Maine for another visitor then it's study time. That's right, I will be spending 5 days a week studying! It is kind of important that I pass them because I have a job, but in order to actually start work on the day they are already scheduling my patients, I have to pass! Good luck me!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

What's that?

What's that you say? Yes you heard correctly, I have finished my clinical rotations!!! I no longer have to introduce myself as the PA student... No more exams (except boards), no more papers, no more school! I finished my last day on April 30th- I also turned 26 that day! Yikes! Who would have thought that I would be in school for almost 20 years... don't tell you children- it may frighten them! I will be graduating next Saturday with my Master's!!! It will be fun to see my mom and friends at the ceremony. I am trying to keep my mind off the fact that I still need to study for my board exams... I have to pass that before I am an official Physician Assistant. I have already signed up to take them in June and with the help of my good friend/classmate, I hope to pass them! It would be an awful shame if I didn't. We are going to be studying like 5 days a week for almost a month so I think we will be in good shape by the time we take the exam. I will keep you all posted on that.

What else is new... well I have a job lined up!!!! Provided I pass my boards, I will be starting work in a family practice clinic here in Bangor ME at the beginning of July! I am hoping to go home to Seattle for a week at the end of June, between taking the boards and starting work. It is exciting to think that my future is no longer just a black hole of debt!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

The end is near...

I still have not posted pictures of my new car but to fill you all in, I got a 2008 Toyota Corolla! It is dark blue and I like it a LOT!!! I just started my last rotation on Monday- only like 5 weeks left! Crazy- I can't actually believe it. I signed up for my boards, I will take them in June so as soon as school is over its going to be Study time!!!! I am starting to panic about finding a job, I am in the process of setting up interviews and will keep you all posted on that. As for this rotation, I am in Bangor doing family medicine. I don't yet know when I will be traveling back out to Seattle for my next visit, probably not until after I have a job... As for today, I am actually at home sick. No good! Maybe I should be studying now... that doesn't sound like fun. Alright, wish me luck on the finding a job thing!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Good Bye little Green Car...

Well, sadly after many many years of good use, my Geo is going to the junk yard. Last week while driving back to my clinical site in Augusta Maine I got rear ended by a guy driving a Subaru. As many of you know, my trunk has been functioning as a traveling closet for almost two years now and when I got hit, a bunch of my stuff was spilled out all over the road! Fortunately, While my car is not ok, I am! And some very nice people came and helped me pick my stuff up out of the road. One of my classmates came and helped me empty the rest of my stuff out since the car was not drivable (the frown on driving without break lights). I have since been issued a rental car by the other guys insurance and I found out friday that it would cost 5,000 dollars to fix my car so it is now in the process of being totaled. I am currently waiting to get loan approval so that I can get a new car. Do you think they will give another loan to an unemployed graduate student sitting on a MOUNTAIN of debt already??? Lets hope so! I will keep you all posted!

Car

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Paper work never ends...

It seems to me that paper work will never end. We just had a class on how to get licensed in Maine and how to renew your license every two years... I will just say- its a lot of paper work. I don't really like it. What if I just don't do it? Yeah OK I know, I have no choice but I don't have to be happy about it.

For those of you that weren't aware, I had my simulated patient exam yesterday... I will have you know that my "patient" did not die. The only problem was that I did not think the plastic man looked "sick" and silly me, I forgot to ask- does he look sick? I think that at this point I would be able to tell on a real patient whether or not he was sick. Anyway, I am sure I passed which is all that matters. Now I am just killing 3 hours while I wait my turn to take a fake 3 hour board exam... I am also not happy about that.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Done with this cold weather!!!

Once again my plans have changed... instead of going back out to WA to do another rotation I will be going back to the VA in Maine. I am actually very happy about this because in the end it is going to save me a lot of money!

Nothing new is really going on in live right now, I am still just working full time at the various rotations while NOT getting paid! I have spent the last 5+ weeks in rural New Hampshire- all I have to say about that is that Rural NH is VERY cold. I think the coldest day it was -30. That just doesn't seem possible! Thankfully my car started. I really wanted to see a moose while on that rotation but alas it has not happened yet. I think I will go up to Baxter State park next fall- everyone says that's the best time to see one. They are really huge creatures so I don't really understand why I am having such a difficult time seeing one. I guess its a good thing I am staying in Maine for awhile.

I really like everyone that I have met on this rotation. All the ladies at the clinic have been so nice to me and the family that I am living with has been awesome!

While I am looking forward to the end of this rotation, I am not looking forward to rotation seminar. Between every two rotations we have to go back to campus to do presentations and take exams and other busy work stuff. At this seminar, we have our "summative evaluations" which includes a graded simulator experience. Basically we have these 250,000$ fake patients that we have to evaluate, diagnose and treat. The problem is, we are video taped, and watched from behind a two way mirror were someone is speaking through a microphone on behalf of the "patient" It is really strange and you have to basically "act" like its a real person. Not only that but the person grading you has to hear out loud what you are think- so you have to remember to say things that normally your just file away in your head, like- oh the patient appears to have good color and good profusion (even though the "patient" is made out of plastic!) Not only do we have to do these simulated exams, but we also have to take the practice board exam AGAIN! Which means we have to take another 3+ hour exam for FUN! No good!

Lets see what else... I am so over the snow and cold- I mean I don't even remember the last time it was over 30 degrees for more than a few hours one day a week. I don't think people were meant to live in under 30 degree weather for prolonged periods of time. Good thing I am still carrying around some 1st year PA school "insulation". I would love a little rain. I do like that the sun comes out however.