Alligator Advisory

My dad sent me this....I had to share with the rest of you. I thought it was pretty funny!

Because of extended drought conditions in many parts of the state The Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising boaters, hikers, hunters, fishermen, golfers and tourists in general to take extra precautions and keep alert for alligators while in:Alachua, Marion, Lake, Collier, Lee, Seminole, Osceola, Okaloosa (aka FWB), Brevard, Putnam, Polk, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernado, Santa Rosa, Orange and Walton counties. They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their shoes or clothing to alert but not startle the alligators unexpectedly. They also advise the carrying of pepper spray in case of an encounter with an alligator. It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of alligator activity. People should learn to recognize the difference between small young alligator and large adult alligator droppings. Young alligator droppings are smaller and contain fish bones and possibly bird feathers. Adult alligator droppings have little bells in them and smell like pepper spray.

I am in DC at P&B's studying. I have three more days of it! I will take one day off and then its test time. I can't wait to be finished. Then I will be off to FWB!!!

Please say prayers for me, cross fingers and toes, light a candle, make packs with the devil......whatever it takes so that I can pass this thing. The last thing I ever want to do is take it again! Now back to studying.

Here is a little bit of FWB and the famous sugar beaches. I'll be there in two weeks working on my tan and seeing every relative I have!!

Only 5 more class days of USMLE Bootcamp. We have the Godfather of Path coming to teach us on Thursday. I hope he is all that they make him out to be. My last study day is tomorrow and I have lots to do. We shall see if it I can accomplish it all.

It has been raining nonstop here in Delaware for at least three days. It makes me want to crawl back in bed and sleep rather than study. No time for that though, sleep is for the weak.  

T-MINUS 19


This is a picture my dad took. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it with everyone. It reminds me of my childhood. (He has been dubbed the unoffical photographer for the FWYC and has taken some amazing shots!) I can't wait to get down there and see FWB for myself. It has been too long and I sure do miss it.
Thursday is the new Saturday......today is my day off. My last and finally one will be next Wednesday. It has not been as productive as I would have hoped for but ohh well. I am still burned out and just trying to get through each day shoving more information into my brain while praying that what is crammed in won't go out. I can't wait to be finished with this. The good news is I booked my flight to FWB for the 12th of July. I will be there by noon! I can't wait to see everyone. It can't come soon enough!

Burned out....
Today is my study break day. I only have two more of them left till my class ends. I must say it is hard to keep up the momentum. I keep trying to motivate myself and continue to do the work but boy is it hard. I can't wait to have this experience over with and enjoy some time off. I am looking forward to the family reunion in FWB that I will just barely make it too after my exam. This is actually the reason why I scheduled my exam on the 11th, I couldnt' stand the chance of missing the gathering. It will be so nice to see everyone and meet the new babies that were born while I was away. We just had Biochem taught by a professor from USA in Mobile. He was amazing. I wish he had taught me the subject the first time around. Tomorrow starts Immunology followed by Micro, Pharm and Path. Please feel free to leave words of encouragement or advice. I can use all the help I can get. Now....I must get back to work.

half way through bootcamp

I have finished three weeks of camp and now three more to go. Last night a group of us went to downtown Wilmington. So nice to get out of the hotel. I forgot what a pretty city it is. Today was a "study break" (our one day off a week) so spent it immersed in physio. The highlight of my day was an outing to buy more pens and tabs and then some dinner at Chik-Fil-A (my favorite fast food place!). Now it is back to the books. Sad life here. Study, study, study and yet more studying.......

2 weeks down, 5 to go

Another week has passed and I'm still hanging in there. Today was a long lecture day, 8 hours of Behavioral Science. It was kind of bizarre going to class on a Sunday, but lately all the days seem to run together. The prep is going well so far despite being overwelming. My eyes seem to be bloodshot from lack of sleep and the ever present AC draft in the lecture room is making me stay sick for the last 2 weeks. I am trying to fight it off with loads of Vitamin C but so far it isn't working.
On Friday night, I took a study break and met up with Liz and family to see the Break Up. It was so nice to hang out a bit and catch up on things. And Saturday night I met her for some late night chocolate milkshakes at Charcoal Pit!
The good news is that I finally got my start date for my clinical roations. I am off until September!! So, the plan is to move up to NY at the start of August and get settled in. Then I can do some traveling before the real work starts. At last, I can unpack the things I packed away 3 years ago. No telling what is stored in mom's shed. If anyone knows of a place available up in that neck of the woods for rent please let me know.

Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body
This is what our physiology professor shared with us today. This self inflicted pain of studying for the boards must be worth it??? This is the same professor with ADHD that chugged two red bulls between breaks every hour for 9 hours for the three days he taught us. He is very talented at what he does, but it was sure hard to keep up the momentum he had. Perhaps, I should take up the red bull drinking and see what happens. Anyhow, not much to report. Still going to the gym and that is the extent of my life outside the hotel. If I have any exciting news, I will update the blog, but otherwise don't expect to see anything new here till after July 11th. In the mean time, please pray for my brain to continue to function till this pain ends.

Week One of Bootcamp

I am already exhausted from the start, not a good sign. The hotel is way more than I had ever imagined for a holiday inn. It is acutally very nice and my room is great. I have everything I could need except a kitchen and laundry facilities. I did invest in a water boiler thing from Target, so i can make lots of stuff now. The food they give is is a "continental" breakfast which consists of only coffee, bread and some variation of egg. The lunch is huge. It is more of a dinner size meal than lunch but it is good. I joined a gym down the road two days ago. Figure if I am in bootcamp, I might as well be in shape. Went the last two days. It was good to get outta the hotel and realize there still is a world. The board prep stuff is consuming. Yesterday we managed to cover all of genetics in 8 hours and today we did embryo and gross anatomy (1 of 5 anatomy days). I already feel behind but I think this is normal. The outside of class time is meant to be used for only brief reviewing of the days material and doing questions to identify weak areas. I have yet to get a routine. But am trying really hard. The two hour season finale of LOST kinda interrupted my flow last night. I had to watch it though. It was insane how much happened in the episode. Luckily though, I have no more shows to watch and can keep the tv contained in its chest. Ok, my study break is coming to an end. I must get back to work!

Me and Angie in Clarendon celebrating me being back in the US of A.

This is for Uncle Bill who I hear is reading my blog. Me and Lucy after our delicous meal last night.

The Ivan Class- SGU Class of 2008

Holiday Inn

The last week has been hectic, but relaxing. I have managed to see a few of the people that I have missed so dearly. Lots of quality time with my mom and all the Howtons and by coincidence Angie too. She came in for a long weekend to celebrate Allie's law school graduation. It was perfect so I could see her before heading off to study. I was even able to go to ABH's birthday party. I can also report that I have a new cell phone to communicate with the world. No phonecards and no echo.
Last night, I saw Lucy and the family for dinner. She and Hank is quite the chefs and I can't imagine ever wanting to eat out if I had a dinner like that every night. Sure does beat the ramen, I have been eating. I am still trying to get used to the idea of being back for good. Such a different world from the Caribbean. It is rather chilly here. About 60s with some highs in the 70s. Angie told me I looked like winter with my longsleeves on! I don't miss sweating, but I sure don't like having goosebumps. Been doing lots of driving around for various errands and am proud to report that I have only done the "international salute" (turning on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker) about 5.
The car is all packed up for the drive up to Wilmington. I have way more clothing than I could possibly need. Hopefully, this will eliminate the need to do laundry. My 6 weeks of living in a hotel will be roomy compared to the hotel that the girls and I lived in up in Long Island. I'll have my own bed!!! A friend of mine taking her class in Chicago said the course isn't bad and she is enjoying it. I am optimistic that mine might be the same. I have posted a link on the right entitled "Sailing the Grenadines". These are from the day trip I took with some friends right before heading north.

I'M BACK!!!!!!
I made it back after a long day of travel and sadly without any luggage. Hopefully, it will arrive sometime this week. (Good news is my red dress is not lost, I had it in my carry on!). I am at P&B's till later today and then am heading to the farm with my mom. Plan to stay there until Thursday then back to DC. It is still strange to think I am not going back down to the Caribbean. I will try to post my pictures of the last days in St. Vincent before the bootcamp starts, especially the ones of the Cays.

I'M COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!

My time in the Caribbean is offically over!!!!!!!! I have passed my classes and get the "ticket north". I am still in shock that it has ended. I keep thinking back to the start of MPH and how much I have done since then. I would not change any of it! I feel so lucky for it all.
Today, I flew back to the Grenadines for some quality time with a few of the islands and the Tobago Cays. It was just as amazing as the last time I was there. I will post pictures later. And.....I came home to find the water is out again. So, here I sit covered in salt water and sand. C'est la vie. I will miss this! Funny thing is that due to the constant absence of water, I have become professional with brushing my teeth with bottled water. I hope there is water for me to shower before I have to board the plane. Otherwise, it will be a partial reinactment of the post hurricane ivan arrival.

WISH ME LUCK!
My last Exam for the basic sciences is tomorrow in Pathophys. I can't wait to have it over with. It has been difficult to sit still and study knowing so many things are coming to a close. Luckily, this week I finally found a new study spot, the lecture hall, to be productive. But, sadly that ended today when everyone from the library evacuated due to "pepper" spray. So my quiet place was no more. Good thing now is that I am finished with studying (well untill Board Boot camp starts)!!

Yesterday, I decided to go back to the Tobago Cays. I bought my ticket and am going on Friday with a few friends. I am really excited about seeing some of the islands we didn't have time to see on our sailing trip. I doubt I will have a chance to post pictures from the trip till I get back to the states because I am turning off our internet on Saturday. This may be the last post from St. Vincent!!!

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO!!!!!

Finished my Pharm final this AM! It wasn't too bad thankfully. Now all there is left is Pathophys on Thursday. The hard part is finding (and then maintaining) the motivation to study so close to the end. I only have 5 days left here then back to the United States of AMERICA!!!!!

Today was the last day lecture!!!! It marks the end of the basic sciences part of med school. No more sitting in the lecture hall with my other 300 and some classmates (well not that many actually make it to lecture at 8AM) trying to pay attention or having to stay awake for four hours. I am almost offically half way done!!!!!! Unfortunately though to complete the term, I must study (cram) for the last two tests. Pharm on Monday and Pathophys on Thursday. Even better is that I am leaving on Sunday the 14th (provided my flight is not delayed, overbooked, or non-existent). After this, I have a week off before starting Boards Bootcamp (aka Kaplan Step 1 Review Course) in Delaware.

15 days!

I still can't believe I will be leaving this place in 15 days! After living down here for what seems like forever (3 years!).
I dont' know what I will do when I have:
running water
no mosquito bites all over my body
a real grocery stores
a cell phone with reception, no echo and a real plan (not pre-paid!)
can drive without fearing for my life
see lines on the road
steering wheel on the left side
paved roads
not afraid of being swallowed by potholes/ditches
not have to use matches to light the stove
have hot water in the sink
not have to flip a switch to heat my shower
water pressure
no more transformers
no more ants, spiders!!
dont' have to check my bed for those things
Sadly I will miss:
the perfect warm weather
sunshine
random rain showers
views of the grenadines
sunsets
beach time anytime
island hopping
palm trees
carefree lifestyle
being on island time
wearing shorts/tank tops/flipflops all the time
(this isn't a complete list.....i will save some for later)

It is all bittersweet to think about. I consider myself lucky to have had the oppourtunity to live in a place people save a lifetime to visit. AS brought up a good point in the comment she left. If we hadn't gone out in the middle of the DC blizzard for the SGU open house, I dont' know that I would be where I am today.

On another note, I am pleased to report that the water finally came on!! Now, if it will stay on till I leave, I will thrilled! Monday is "Worker's Day" and NO SCHOOL!! I think it is like Labor Day. To celebrate I will be studying in the library the entire time in an attempt to make up for my lack of motivation which I have been experiencing since the last set of exams.

water, water, everywhere except where you need it!

So we are about to enter day 3 of no water! I don't mean a dribble here and there, i mean BONE DRY! Turn the tap and nothing happens. This is due to the lack of rain in the last couple months and the country has decided to turn off the water to conserve. It is supposed to come back on at 4 pm everyday but I that has yet to happen. Luckily our place has only had it out for two days. some are going on 5 days without. Good thing we are all resilent afte living through Hurricane Ivan. At least in this case there is electricty. Last week the power was off for two days so we are lucky it is just water now! I take for granted how much water it takes to live day to day. Brushing teeth, showering, shaving legs, washing dishes, washing clothes, flushing the toilet and washing hands. (My list will probably grow the longer it is off.) Our landlady was kind enough to bring us some 5 gallon jugs so we have some for emergency use and I have lots of bottles of water too. The last shower I had was on Wednesday morning with a trickle of water, so by tomorrow I pray that there is something in the taps or else I guess i might have to bathe in the pool (nasty thought!). Lets hope it doesnt' come to that. I mean i did last 5 days after the hurricane. It can't possibly get to that point. Only 17 days left on this island! I really will miss living down here even under conditions like these.

Basil's Bar before meeting our tourguides.