It's been a while...

So, it's been a really long time since I've blogged about anything. I am a 2nd year now! Yay! We are in the midst of midterms this week. Okay, I have just come to the sad conclusion that I only blog during midterms and finals. I am trying to go back to blogging but for now... a story about my hospital IPPEs.

So, I have been working at a hospital for my IPPE site and my preceptor was showing me how to make IV bags and he basically just left me there to experiment with the IV bags and the needles and everything just so I could try stuff out. Okay, now first off, I really, really dislike having to just "try stuff out." I hate it. It makes me feel awkward and I have no idea what to do with myself. Quick side story to help me explain how I feel when people leave me to just mess around with stuff.... So, as a kid all the little girls I knew played with barbies and stuff but I hated barbies because I didn't know what I was supposed to do with them. I could play with barbies and play house for maybe 5 minutes before I essentially ran out of imagination. Then I would just be sitting there staring at the dolls with a death stare because I had to make up everything that they did in my head. I hope that makes sense. I think I might just have a problem, but anyways, that's basically how I felt like at the hospital. I was standing in a corner by myself and "experimenting" with the needles and IV bags. After about 2 times I was done but I didn't want my preceptor to think that I was slacking off so then I continued to awkwardly read the labels/fill the syringe/take stuff out of the syringe... you get the point. So then I see a syringe that has lidocaine in it and it has to be assembled. So I finally get the thing all together and it says to turn the barrel 3 times to get the syringe to puncture the canister that actually has the medicine in it. THEY LIED!! I started to turn the barrel and I got lidocaine all over my hands. I swear, my eyes just literally bulged out as I quietly panicked about the fact that I had some medication spilled all over my hands. I had no idea what to do. Was I supposed to wash my hands? Was this stuff even allowed to go down the sink even if I DID wash my hands? So, I had a freak out minute or two as a I looked around to make sure no one was watching what I was doing. So eventually, I decided that I was done with all these meds (mind you, I still have the lidocaine basically dripping down my hands) so I threw everything away as fast as I could and finally washed my hands. But then, being the paranoid person that I am, I was still freaking out about having spilled drugs onto my hand and what that could mean. So the whole day, I was anticipating bradycardia and rashes and all kinds of shit to just happen to my hands. I think the techs think I'm weird now because I kept staring at my hands every 2 minutes to make sure they weren't about to fall off or anything. Good lord!

I'm Back Bitches

No, I don't mean that in the offensive way.

Now that we got that cleared up, I would like to say "Bienvenidos" to me. A welcome back of sorts. I know it has been a while since I last put up a post, but I thought that I should continue what I started and update my blog. So... I'm back in pharm. school after taking 5 months off. WHEW!! Glad that's over! I never knew having such a long break could be so excruciatingly painful. I mean, I loved being home, but sometimes, it's just better to be busy all the time.

I'm retaking biochemistry and I am proud/relieved beyond words to say that I actually understand the professor! I was really scared that I would have just as hard a time understanding biochem this year as I did last year, but thankfully, so far that has not been the case.

I am also taking a "literature review" class with Dr. R. Today was my first presentation for that and it went great. I mean, I now know that I don't have to be so meticulous and so detailed in my oral presentation of the paper.

I also just received an email from Dr. G saying that I could work on my own independent study/research project this semester. I will basically be looking at the bone density test results for people my age. I'm really excited to do this project!

I feel like this year is starting off good! I'm back bitches and I'm here to stay this time!

Hanging out with Friends

Recently, I got to hang out with 2 of my best friends ever!!! One of my friends just came back from a study abroad trip in Spain and I haven't seen my other friend since December. Needless to say, it was a big day (hey, that totally rhymed and I didn't even plan it out. hehehe). Alexia showed up first and she helped me get started in making the spanakopita. Ok. So, what really ended up happening was that I looked at the recipe and then basically just added everything except the kitchen sink (and the feta cheese). I found out that I HATE feta cheese! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! And yes, I know, Spanakopita is not authentic without feta cheese, but it still would have been good if I hadn't added too much salt. I'm started to sense a pattern with me cooking and using too much salt. Sadness. Anyways, we couldn't really eat the Spanakopita because it was too salty, but the strawberry shortcake that I had made for dessert was a good way to make up for the Spanakopita failure.

I went to the library yesterday and I picked out a whole bunch of baking/cook books. I got home and basically went through all of them and realized that they weren't very good. I mean, I'm sure the recipes are delicious, but I didn't want to try any recipe if there wasn't a pretty picture to go along with it. I know, I know, you can't judge a book by its cover but a pretty picture just makes me so happy!!! So, it's just too bad for those authors that didn't put in pictures. I won't be trying their recipes, but Michele sent me a lot of food blogs that I can look through. I feel like a kid in a candy store.

In other news, I signed up for my classes for next semester! It's an awesome feeling to be going back to school, but I have my doubts about whether I'll be able to really be studious again after such a long break from school. I guess only time will tell.

Baking!!! :D

I have gotten back into my Martha Stewart mode (Antoinette says I should be described as Aunt Jemima instead. lol). I've been baking non-stop. My adventures started off with strawberry shortcake and it was SO amazing!!! Emboldened with my success, I tried to make apple tart and that was also very good (while it was hot, and then it got really hard, but it still tasted very good). After that, I tried to make scones. I had a real adventure making these because I totally went off recipe. I decided that by then I had enough experience that I could try to figure out what needed to be added and how much. So... with my new found confidence in baking, I found myself making rosemary/orange flavored scones. They were actually really good and because they were good, I decided that I needed to experiment with even more flavors. A couple of days later, I made cranberry flavored scones. I wanted to experiment further and added strawberry jam on a couple of the scones before cooking them, and they were even better than the plan cranberry scones! And then the good adventures ended....

So, you know how I said that I've been so confident of my baking skills because I have been basically altering all the recipes I make and they all turn out good? Well, that ended today. I was SO excited to make coconut cake today that I didn't even mind that it would take me forever to make. I started off by trying to find some shredded coconut at my house. I finally found some, but I realized that the recipe called for sweetened coconut, so I decided to be a pioneer with baking and try to make my own sweetened coconut bits. I added some sugar to a bowl of water and threw in the dried coconut. I mean, really, after all that osmosis stuff we had to learn in biology, I figured this would work to make the coconut sweet. (I like the fact that I was using science for real life today. lol). This worked fine, but I think I got a little to excited by my discovery and added too much of it into the mix. And then I got too carried away with the coconut milk (I really wanted it to taste like coconut), and the mixture got SOOO runny. I still tried to cook it, but feels too moist and sticky still. And, I cooked it for like 20 minutes more than the recipe called for. And, to top it off, it doesn't even taste like coconut still! Sigh. I guess I was in for a disaster sooner or later...

But not to worry. I have also recently had success making savory food. Namely, I made enchiladas and lasagna. So, tomorrow, I'm going to make gnocchi!! YAY! And, I really do mean that the gnocchi will be freshly made with fresh sauce! I can't wait to try it tomorrow!

Second to Last Day

So, today is my second to last day that I'm in Stockton for the semester.

I feel very strange. I know I'm leaving, but it still hasn't really sunk in, so I'm kind of just floundering around until my brain realizes that I'm not going to be back in school for 5 months. Sigh. So depressing.

I was thinking back on the semester and although I didn't accomplish everything that I wanted to  - I didn't get a job and I didn't try to do the research that I wanted to do - I still feel like I had a great semester. I'm going to count off all the stuff that I loved about this semester!

1. I got over being a failure! yay! :D

2. I got to spend a lot of free time basically doing whatever I wanted to do. I watched all the TV shows that I wanted. I hung out with friends. I worked hard for LKS!

3. I got to have 2 littles for LKS! I have a new Indian family. lol.

4. I've made many new friends from all the elective classes that I took.

5. I made a trip to SF and it was amazing!

6. I've realized that a lot of my close friends are going to be in pharmacy school with me next year, so I'm very excited for that!

7. I enjoyed my classes without having to worry about getting good grades. It's so much more productive for learning than when you have to worry about memorizing every little thing.

8. I went to Sky High. A room full of trampolines is AMAZING, but so tiring!

9. I read a lot of novels because I actually got to go to the library.

10. I've survived this semester. I was so scared of coming back, but I did it. I think I can finally move on now.

Ok. I'll write more after I get back from the barbecue at my business prof.'s house. I hope it really doesn't last until 9. God, that's going to be torture!

Nostalgia

Today, I talked to my old roommate Mariham and I feel so nostalgic now. I sent her a link to this music video because it's now "our song." We watched this movie together and we both absolutely adore it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HibG9l1xOYY

But, yeah, I just really love the lyrics to this song. It makes me feel so happy.  : D

I really want to watch this movie again too. It such a cute movie!!

Craving Adventure

I really want to do something adventurous. My idea of adventurous is of course going somewhere new. I really, really want to get away from school and away from home for a while. Today, I thought of going to Empresso Coffee House, just so that I could have an excuse to leave my room. I don't know what's going on in the past couple of days, but I can't stand being in my room anymore. I mean, it's not like I have a choice, but I really just want to leave!!! But where can I go? What to do? I don't know. I feel like I should walk around and explore Stockton like a vagrant, but being a vagrant can be quite dangerous in Stockton, and I don't want to get killed, so I'm once again left to sit in my room.

I never understood when people said they had Cabin Fever. I guess I never had much free time before and being able to do nothing was blissful, but now, I'm beginning to understand how being in your room all day could make someone go crazy!!!