Finals Are Here

     Finals week technically begins on Monday, but my first final is actually tomorrow. I'll probably be stuck in a deep cave studying for the next week or so, but before I disappear, here are some pictures that accurately represent my life at the moment. 

How it sometimes feels.

This is fairly accurate.

Let the stress baking begin!

My mom found this poster and I clearly need to have it because it is me.

So true.

Church Curmudgeon really speaks to my soul.

My post-finals plans

     Lastly, a short, inspirational film of the Boston Marathon this year, because finals can be very frustrating/depressing, and it's nice to remember that I've adopted a pretty cool city as my second home. 

Run Boston Run from PenshireMedia.com on Vimeo.

See you all in a week. 

The Boston Marathon in Photos

     Today I was incredibly lucky to be a medical volunteer at the 118th Boston Marathon. It was my first time even attending the marathon, let alone working there, and it was so much fun to be a part of everything. Obviously this was a very emotionally charged day after the tragedy of last year, but I think it could really be described as a day or rejoicing, even defiance. More than 36,000 runners, plus all the volunteers, showed up to tell the world that Boston would keep on running, keep on cheering, and violence would not stop that. The speaker at my orientation today said that he disagreed with Vice President Biden, who had said that today would be the day that Boston reclaimed the finish line. Rather, our speaker said, Boston had reclaimed that finish line within minutes of the bomb blasts last year as the first responders, volunteers, runners, and really everyone there had sprung into action and did what needed to be done. I agree with the speaker, and I'd even go further: I'd say that the people of Boston didn't simply take back what was theirs immediately, but they have been taking it back daily for the last year as the city has stood in unity. Today was simply icing on the cake. I was very proud to be a part, and I hope these pictures can help you experience a bit of my wonderful day. 

Orientation was at 8, but I was supposed to be there by 7:15.
Hence the 6 AM train.

The finish line before the race

Trinity Church

          

Originally I was assigned to Zone 22, which was the furthest area from the Finish Line, and outside of the secure area for that matter, so my group amused ourselves until the race began. Eventually we did settle down enough to pose for some pictures, even one for a lady from the Boston Magazine. For some reason she thought we were all from New Hampshire, but oh well. 

Photo Credit: Melissa Malamut
Boston Magazine

Eventually my group was split up and sent to areas where we were more needed. I ended up just two blocks from the finish line, in the chute through which most of the runners were funneled. 

Watching the first woman finish in Medical Tent B. It was the length of a football field. 

View from my post for most of the day

 

An older man ran the entire race barefoot

Watching the final runners cross the finish line 

Some highlights:

-The standing ovation for the speaker who reminded us what it meant to be Boston Strong

-Seeing the final race for Team Hoyt

-The woman who just wanted a hug from me and my classmate because her family couldn't make it to Boston to see her run -We will now be in a picture in her scrapbook. 

-The spectators who stayed to cheer for the stragglers even though they finished hours after most people

-So many people who looked like they were in their 70s or 80s, but who finished the Marathon like it was nothing

-Being part of such a big day, and feeling like everyone in the city was united and cheering each other on

It's Spring! (8/30)

Looking out at Marblehead Light from near Fort Sewall 

       It's April! It's spring! Finally! Just a few weeks are left of my first year of PA school before my summer break. This time next month I'll be in Kentucky celebrating the graduation of my sister and brother-in-law from college. Before I can frolic about in bluegrass fields while chugging Ale8 and saying "bless your heart," I must first make it through 3 more "normal" exams and then 6 final exams. I feel I should mention that by the end of this term I will have taken 31 exams. That's right people: 31. That's just this term too, not the entire year. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone thought I was lying when I've said that my daily activities are determined by when my next exam is. ;) 

       Summer is coming though! Knock on wood, but after months of teasing, Massachusetts seems to have finally made the transition to spring and given up on acting like the comic below. Just last weekend my roommate and I finally made it one town over to Marblehead, one of 24 small New England towns Buzzfeed seems to think everyone needs to visit. We picked a perfect day to go, when the sun was shining and the water was so clear and blue it seemed fake, and it was even warm enough that we could get ice cream! Plus, we even found a beach that's open to the public. This may seem like no big deal to my Oregonian friends since almost all beaches back home are public access, but many beaches here are for residents of the closest town only, or everyone else has to pay. Honestly. You have to pay just to walk on a beach. It's ridiculous. Anywho, I do hope the nice weather sticks around. Warmer temperatures may mean that weekends at work are already getting crazy busy, but I can handle that if it means I can actually go outside and run or study. 

       Speaking of running, the Boston Marathon is just one week away. Obviously everyone's feeling a bit emotional after the tragedy last year. This is Boston, though. The people here don't just curl up and cry when they get pushed down; they get up and push right back. You can see it in the "Boston Strong" t-shirts, banners, and signs all over the city, or in the $61 million raised in just 75 days by the One Fund for the survivors of the bombings, or in the fact that the entire city shut down just to catch the perpetrators. The video below by JJ Miller sums up the attitude of Boston pretty darn well. Boston is one tough city, and I'm excited that I get the catch to help out at the Marathon this year. I've never even been able to attend the Marathon before, but come Patriots Day (a holiday celebrated only in Massachusetts by the way), I'll be at the Finish Line, ready to medically assist any runners who just can't go any further. I'm excited. 

#WEWILLRUN - Boston from JJ Miller on Vimeo.

My Life in GIFs

     I have an exam each day for the next four days, so I decided to have a bit of fun before that starts. Thus, in lieu of a normal post, I'm taking notes from the fine people at whatshouldwecallme and Pleated Jeans and pairing GIFs which some scenarios that describe my life this term. Enjoy! 

How I've felt walking outside most days for the last few months

When I it was only my third week of classes and I already had four exams in a row

When my roommate and I joke about being single

Feeling ready to take on a pharm/anatomy lecture and then quickly being overwhelmed by all the terms and new info

Dealing with rowdy teenagers on the T when the high school gets out

When I'm not sure about an answer on an exam but go with my instinct and it's right

All of New England when we heard we're getting 3-6" of snow tonight

When I get home and put on my fluffy robe

When I'm running low on food, but I have to study for exams instead of go grocery shopping

Dealing with Bostonian drivers as a pedestrian

When I dress for the weather I want, not the weather I have... and then I walk outside

After coming home from a long day at school

Leaving class/work when it's sunny

Getting through Grad School*

*taken from http://howdoiputthisgently.tumblr.com/. All others are originals.

Also, in case family members are concerned, I promise you I'm not actually starving. I did get groceries. I have food. It's ok. 

A Long Overdue Update (7/30)

Ice castle at Loon Mountain

This is my life now.

     Well, well, well. It's been quite a while since I updated this lovely blog-a-log. I knew second term would be busy and intense, especially with having classes 5 days each week, but I still wasn't quite prepared. Before I started the program, I'd been told that PA school was like drinking water from a fire hydrant. I'd thought I understood. Nope. There's nothing quite like the moment in a pharmacology or gross anatomy lecture when the professor has just listed off so many terms or drugs that it's like your brain couldn't even hear them all, let alone process their meanings and connections. You might as well forget trying to type or write anything down either because you just can't keep up. Not every lecture is like that, but when they are... oy. Strangely enough, despite being sometimes overwhelmed with everything, my classmates and I have all had to fight with apathy a bit. Coming back to school after Christmas break was a bit rough and it took a while to get back into the rhythm of studying. Luckily I'm part of a good class and most of us prefer to work as a team rather than compete all the time, so between recorded lectures, shared study guides, and helpful links shared on our class site, I think we're making it. 

Nashoba Valley in MA

     This is not say that this term has been all work and no play. I've managed to fit in some recreation in the little free time I have. There's been some game nights, some bowling escapades (including candlepin bowling, which I'd never heard of before I came here, but that didn't stop me from winning my first game!), a trip to ice castles in NH, and some other scattered shenanigans. The big thing for me this winter though has been snowboarding. I brought my gear back east after I went home for Christmas, so I've been able to do that a few times. I actually tried to go on weeknights a couple times because there are "mountains" close enough, but I was repeatedly foiled by winter storms, getting out of class late, or just having too much work to do, so it's pretty much just been a weekend thing. It's been a lot of fun. Calling the ski areas in Massachusetts "mountains" is a bit of a stretch, but I was introduced to Pats Peak in NH this year and that's decent. It makes me a little homesick for Mt. Hood (as well as very eager to introduce my friends to the joys of skiing in the Cascades), but it's been worth it. I think the season's just about over now, so last Saturday's trip might have been my last hurrah, but maybe that means that spring is finally coming!

Our most recent snow in Salem

     The weather here has been a bit of a tease. We've had some really lovely days, mostly Saturdays, but by the next day or so the weather always seems to turn bitterly cold and nasty again. The warm days almost make it that much worse when it gets cold again. I should clarify here that "warm" means above freezing. Heck, even 20 degrees feels warm if it's sunny and not windy. The wind's a killer. It's so bad sometimes that the weather app on my phone will give me alerts just about the wind. In February there were three days in a row when I got a new alert each day, and each time I just thought, "what fresh horror is this?!" First it was "winter weather." The next day it was a "blizzard." The last day was "gale force winds." I'm rather tired of seeing that last notification. I love the snow, but I could do without the wind, and now whenever I see pictures of my sister hiking in the mountains of northern California, or my father in Oregon mentions that it's a warm spring day that feels almost like summer... well, let's just say I'm ready for the next season. Besides, I just had my Spring Break (a much needed respite), so I feel like the weather needs to catch up with my school schedule. Otherwise it'll just be turning warm as I get out for the summer. 
     Anywho, that's an update for everyone. I worked on a couple more posts during break so hopefully I'll manage to get out the next post sooner than I did this one. 

  

An Appreciation for Apricity (6/30)

The aftermath of Winter Storm Hercules in Gloucester

     Three years ago I read the book Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,370 Pages by  Ammon Shea. It's an excellent book that I fully recommend. Shea creatively and humorously tracks his journey of reading through the massive Oxford English Dictionary by focusing on a different letter or two each chapter, and describing what was happening in his life as he tackled that section of the OED. I really loved that Shea began each chapter by highlighting some of his favorite words of the chapter's letter because it introduced me to so many words I'd never heard before. Some words were funny, some should be used more, and some were quite lovely. "Apricity," which means the "warmth of the sun in the winter," fits into the latter two categories for sure. I think the definition and the word are both beautiful, and in the years since I read Reading the OED, my family and I have started using it when we can.  In fact, it was my brother-in-law who recently reminded me of the word and inspired its use in the title of this post. This winter I've had the chance to gain a greater appreciation of the word.

     The cold weather has been full of learning opportunities and new experiences as I adjust to life in New England. First, I got to learn how what to do during a snow ban during the couple of snow storms in December (including one on the day I flew home for Christmas). When I returned after Christmas, I spent a chilly New Years Day in Boston, hitting some favorite spots with friends before going for a walk on the frozen pond of the Boston Public Gardens. As I'd never walked on a frozen pond before, I was pretty excited.  There were even ice sculptures and sparkling lights around the pond.It was magical. The only thing that could have made it better is some snow. We didn't have to wait too long for that though. 
     The very next day Winter Storm Hercules arrived. That night brought about 1 1/2 ft of snow to the Salem area so I woke up to a world of white. Luckily for me, I didn't have to work the next day and school hadn't started yet, so I spent the morning bundled up with some hot cocoa. In the afternoon I got some excellent experience in shoveling out my car, as well as some good practice driving on snow. In retrospect, driving all the way to Gloucester when the roads still weren't totally cleared was probably not my smartest idea, but I had a lovely time with friends, despite the white knuckle driving and a bit of a mad dash to get gas before the stations closed. I've learned that my car seems able to predict snow storms because they always seem to arrive when my gas tank is almost empty. I'm still working on remembering that when I get the "winter storm alert" on my phone, it means that it would be a good idea to get gas and groceries now... and not the day of the snow storm. After Hercules had a bit of a reprieve before Winter Storm Janus arrived. I even got to spend an evening snowboarding with friends before classes resumed on the 13^th. Unfortunately, Janus cut short my plans for another snowboarding trip just over a week later. That was probably for the best as exams started early this term and I needed to get some studying done.

This sums up a thought I've had many times living in MA.

         It was definitely a bit easier to convince myself to study when it was so cold outside. No one wanted to go outside then. I’d say it was freezing, but really it was below freezing for days on end. When I did my undergrad at Gordon I experienced these sorts of temperatures as well, but I lived on campus and really didn't have to walk too far to get to classes. Now though, I walk one mile when I go to work (unless it’s really bad weather and I decide to pay for parking), and every weekday I walk just under a mile to the train to commute to school. I now understand why people wear ski masks even when they’re not skiing, and on bad wind days I've even had moments of jealousy towards the bearded fellows I see. It’s not fair that they've got a built in wind protector. It really is the wind that’s the worst part too. 14° with no wind chill feels vastly different from 14° with. I've been taking screenshots of some of the recent weather reports I've had on my way to school, and when you compare the stated temperature with the “RealFeel®” temperature, you can see the difference the wind makes. It can be brutal. It might not be as bad as the weather and wind the poor people of Chicago and the Midwest have been having (I’m suddenly rather glad I decided against going to a school there), but worrying about frost nip after a quick walk outside is cold enough for me. The exclamation mark in some of the photos is because my phone thought I should know that the weather was concerning. The bottom left is the current weather as I write. 

 

     We did get some "warm" weather a week or so ago and that was the inspiration for this post. Massachusetts is certainly much sunnier than Oregon in the winter (a fact I greatly appreciate), but just because it's sunny does not mean that it's warm outside. Your face can still freeze off while the sunlight reflects brightly off the snow. I hadn't really noticed that the weather had gotten a bit warmer until I was waiting for the T and realized that I could feel warmth and realized I was standing in the sunshine. It was a rather faint warmth, and you only noticed it when you stood still in direct sunlight, but still, it was there. It was the clearest example of apricity that I had ever experienced. It was lovely. Since then the weather has fluctuated up and down again, but at least we've had a few days above freezing. My classmates actually got really excited when we saw that the high for last Friday was supposed to be almost 40°. Here's what two of them had to say: 

As for me, I enjoyed going snowboarding on Friday without losing any limbs to frostbite, but I also enjoy the cold, clear days and the snowy ones. I've realized this winter that the human body is great at adapting, given enough time, which is why I found myself walking home from class wearing just a t-shirt under my windbreaker on a day when the thermometer said 17°. It just felt much warmer than the 4° days. Today I'm lucky enough to have both warmer weather and a snow day, which is much appreciated after having 6 exams in 9 days. It's finally time to catch up on work, do a bit of cleaning, and watch the final episode of season three of Sherlock. :)
     I hope everyone reading this is staying warm and enjoying moments of apricity, wherever you are. If you need a little music for this winter, here's a new song by Kylie Marble, the lovely lady who sang at my sister's wedding last summer. Her whole album is also available for free on Noisetrade here.