Home sweet home...

Well I am back in Washington. I have been very busy on this rotation- it is far from my moms house so I spend a lot of time driving which is no fun but it gives me lots of time to talk on the phone! It has been nice to see all the friends that I miss while I am in New England I just wish I didn't have to work so much! I will say that being out here makes me miss New England- I am not just talking about the people (don't get me wrong I miss them VERY much) but I have become accustomed to life out there- like the fact that there is no traffic in Maine! I do NOT love being back in a state with lots of traffic after spending so much time without it! I am happy to have all my favorite restaurants again however now I miss the ones that I had out there... like Dunken Donuts! I would have bet a lot of money that I would never like DD- and when it comes to coffee I still prefer Starbucks, but I do like the breakfast that you can get at DD. The other morning I really wanted a nice toasted bagel with cream cheese and I was like "where is a DD when you need one!"
Today I got to spend Thanksgiving with my family- my sister came into town with her husband and three kids! YAY! Anyway, it is Thanksgiving so I thought I should say that I am thankful to be home with my family for the first time in a while, I am thankful that everyone is healthy, I am thankful that I have such great friends- they can make me laugh at the drop of a hat, I am thankful that I have a wonderful boyfriend who treats me so well, but most of all, I am thankful that I am almost done with school!!!

Thanksgiving 2008

Jet setter

So I am trying to get all my ducks in a row so that I can head out to Seattle for 8 weeks... Little did I know that was not going to be easy or fun to prepare for... How do you plan what to pack? Knowing that you have to pay extra for added baggage and weight, do you just bite the bullet and pack two suit cases or one really heavy one? Has anyone done the math on which is cheaper? I bet it depends on the airline... I did find a place to store my car while I am gone, if I was already in Seattle I would not have this problem, we don't have to worry about moving the car when it snow because it doesn't snow in the city! I am looking forward to seeing my puppy for an extended period of time- I am hoping he will remember me! I am not easy to forget so I think he will. I am hoping to do a New Years party or something while I am out there, Jason will be in town for the week so we have to show him a proper time!

The fall is here!

I, unlike may others, welcome the end of summer and the beginning of fall... why you ask... well, because fall is my favorite time of year! And it means the end of gross hot sweaty days with no air conditioning. I love when the weather gets brisk, not so cold that you can't stand to be outside, but just cold enough that you like to cuddle up with someone or something warm when you get back inside! I love watching the leaves change colors- one of New England's biggest perks... In Washington, most of the trees stay green all year- it is the evergreen state after all! Here in Maine, everyday on the way to work I notice more colors! Fall also brings soup season... man I love me some soup, I just wish I had more time to cook it and more people to cook it for... Its hard to cook soup for one if you have no place to freeze the extras. I also love being able to drink tea and Apple cider every night. Someday I will have a hot tub and I look forward to sitting in the hot water watching the stars during the fall... Lets see what else about fall do I love... I guess I can stop there. YAY FALL!

Hello Lewiston...

Well I just finished the first week of my emergency medicine rotation and all I can say is wow... I LOVED IT!!! I worked 4 ten hour days and then a half day on Friday, I feel like I have already seen more patients than I did in the previous 12 weeks. I have seen broken bones, plugged ears, sore throats, over doses, central retinal artery occlusion, subdural hematomas, pneumonia, lacerations, chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, tooth pain and all other kinds of pain. I have seen intubations, suturing, splinting, EKGs, CT, X rays, blood gases, and everything else imaginable all in the first week. Part of me wants to say it is nothing like on TV, I mean I have yet to meet Dr. Carter (I keep hoping), but another part of me thinks it is a bit like on TV- the early years at least. Especially when one of the Docs asks me a question and I get frazzeled and I just start spiting forth information. I usually get half right, maybe one day I will know an entire answer. Although there would be very little learning to do if I already knew all the answers. I guess I have a lot of learning to go...

In other news, I went to the Bangor Folk Festival this weekend. The weather was PERFECT for it and the company was great! This was the first fair that had real "fair food" and not just sea food (blah). I was very excited about it. I got lemonade, Chicken on a stick that I ate like a cave women (stains and all!) and best of all Fresh Kettle Corn... Just like at Sea Side in August... (Family- did anyone go this year?) Now I am relaxing and resting up for another long week in the ER.

Good-Bye Togus

Well it is time to move on from Togus and while I really enjoyed working with the Veterans, I will NOT miss Togus Maine. There was no Internet so I had to drive to the state library anytime I wanted to do anything online and I would inevitable remember something else I "meant" to do online as soon as I got back in my car to leave the library. The housing was questionable, I mean, I know it's free but I really don't like sharing my living space with bats and bugs... I am pretty sure the the house is on the Verge of condemnation. Anyway, I am done there, I got all my stuff out and I made it out Rabies free so that is a plus.
I spend the next two days on campus in Portland doing presentations and other busy work and then I start on Monday in Lewiston Maine in the Emergency Department. Yikes, I nope no one really sick comes in on my first day... On this rotation I will be living at the house of one of my classmates who, conveniently for me, needed someone to live there and watch the dogs during the week. I jumped at the opportunity but not before ensuring that she had Internet because there is NO WAY I would willingly sign up for another six weeks sans Internet.
I don't have any pretty pictures to post of my time in August because really, there was nothing there to see. Maybe next time I will have some photographs for you all.

The rain in Maine

When someone learns that I am from Seattle they ask two questions: "How did you end up in Maine?" and "Doesn't it rain all the time out there?". Well people I have news for you... it rains all the time in Maine, that is when it is not snowing. I feel like I have not seen the sun in days. I try to tell people that at least in Seattle it will sprinkle for a while and then stop... it doesn't stop here. The upside is there has been a lot of thunder and lightening which I enjoy. I am kind of tired of having to defend Seattle though... however, now that I think about it, I am not really sure why I am defending it at all- it will just make more people want to go there and those of us from there know that once people come to Seattle, they never want to leave. From now on I will say that it never stops raining, we can go for two years without seeing the sun, the city may fall into the ocean with the next big earthquake and the volcano will erupt at any moment. That should do the trick and keep people away...

Saturday morning pass time...

I have discovered my new favorite way to start my weekends. Coffee, Breakfast, and Backgammon! We went to a really cute coffee shop this morning in Ellsworth Maine, me with my Travel backgammon in hand ready for some coffee and food! The placed had some really nice overstuffed leather couches and chairs so after we placed out order we grabbed a couch! The coffee was good, when I ordered I just said "I want the biggest vanilla latte you make" and the breakfast sandwiches were delicious (we both had ham, eggs and pepperjack cheese on an english muffin). We sat and played Backgammon for over an hour! The competition is heating up, which I like, each game gets a little bit closer- soon I will be losing more than I win! I would love to start every Saturday that way from now on, unfortunately that is not practical but it makes for a nice image...