I solemnly swear to not refer to it as "the thing"...

Hey all! I know I’ve been bad about updating the old blog lately, but honestly, it’s work sometimes. HAHA! So yeah, this is a super long post!

Anyways, things are busy as always. School is going great. I’m about four weeks into my quarter now. My Clinical Skills class rules! We had our first lab last week and I did a PCV (packed cell volume) and full chem profile. WOO! Honestly, it’s pretty rudimentary stuff, but it was cool to start working in the lab. My Anatomy & Physiology class is going well. We’re waiting on animals from some place in South Carolina so we can do dissections. Everyone (mainly some really annoying girls) are freaking out about it, but I’m cool with it. It’s a necessary learning experience. I mean, I wouldn’t want someone who’s never seen the inside of a dog to work on Lola. Hello? What am I missing here? LOL! Other than that, I have my online Humanities class which is proving to take a lot of time.

Speaking of school, I got HAZED last night! HAHA! It was “initiation” into the program at school. Me and a bunch of other students got herded into a room where we had to put on surgical masks, hair caps and goggles and have strange animal names drawn on our faces. After that, we went to another room where we had family and friends waiting. We then had to remove our shoes, put on latex gloves and dip two of our fingers into “poo” which I’m pretty sure was brownie mix with corn, peanuts and grass in it! YUM! After all that, we recited an “oath” to gain an excellent education and provide superior care and to not use anatomically incorrect terms like “wee-wee”, doo-doo” and “the thing”. LMAO! Lastly, we had to follow a parade-leader-person dressed like he should be at Mardi Gras around the campus (still with no shoes), through each of the buildings and back to the main building. Good times, good times. Thank goodness my family couldn’t make it! LOL! It was bad enough that I invited my friend, Katie, to see me look like an idiot! LOL!

Work is...good. It’s so slow right now. I honestly spend a decent amount of time every day trying to stay busy by helping other people with their work. Blah. I really hope thing pick up soon. It’s a Catch-22: when you’re busy, you wish it would slow down a little, but when you’re not busy, you’re going INSANE!

OH! My last post. Yes, I have signed up for a10K race. YIKES! It’s up at Bear Lake on Saturday, June 13th. My baby brother completed a half marathon about two weeks ago and honestly...it was inspiring. My parents and I were at the finish line to cheer him on and it was super emotional - not only to see him, but everyone else finish. I’ve always been in awe of people that train and run those types of races. Aside from the physical aspect, the mental preparation to train yourself to run/jog/walk for a lengthy amount of time... Wow. So yes, I’ve signed up and started training. It’s roughly six miles so it’s not a huge distance, but enough to make me nervous! HAHA! I’ve been getting up in the mornings and going to the gym every day. I’ll keep everyone posted on my progress!

A couple last family tidbits! My dad officially retired from his job on Tuesday! WOOHOOOOO! This is such a huge thing for our family. He’s literally worked his bum off the last 30+ years to help provide for us, so I’m soooo proud and happy for him! Zach got engaged a little over a week ago. Congrats! I’d like to put in that I helped with the proposal – complete with a heart of roses on his bed! It was very Meredith & Derek from “Grey’s Anatomy”! HAHA! And...my mom is in Jamaica right now. Jerk. ;-)

Other than that, things are just...busy. I managed to get over my bronchitis, but still have a little cough sometimes which is mostly annoying. Oh! It was my birthday on Monday – go me! LOL! I’m getting old - it’s a low-key affair these days. Although, I managed to pick up some lovely food poisoning after going out to dinner with my friends. GEH! I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday bowing to the Porcelain God. My mom was convinced I had Swine Flu. HAHA! (Seriously kinda scary, though...) Anyways, working full time, going to school full time, training for a 10K, taking care of Lola, trying to stay sane... Yeesh! I sometimes feel like I’m circling the “too much on your plate” drain, but it’s all good. I figure I have another year and a half of this insanely crazy life then things will settle down. At least, I hope they do.

At the very least...summer is around the corner! WOOT! SUNSHINE! :D xoxoxAC