my adolescent dream has come true!

Ok, well, so much for my blogging hiatus. I couldn't resist posting about my night. You see, I've had a terrible couple of weeks. I've been so overwhelmed and stressed (refer to previous post), plus I've just had a lot of lemons thrown my way lately (insert funny Ron White reference here... I'm too tired to think of one myself right now). So today, Matt asked me if he can have 2 hours of my night for "a date." I mean is he kidding? It's TEST WEEK! I have 3 weeks of tests on my plate, and you want a freaking date night? He said he promised it would make my week better. So I said "sure." Test week schmest week, right? He would only tell me that he would pick me up at 6:00 and to have my camera charged. He wouldn't tell me anything else. I asked 40 questions at least, but he refused to answer them. He just told me that it would definitely cheer me up. I had no clue what this boy was up to. I told him that this better be good. Giving up half my night (I did not buy this "only 2 hours" thing) during test week was not the kind of life choice that I usually make.

So all day long I studied hard so that I wouldn't feel so guilty and panicky about just taking the night off... during test week. My Matthew showed up at my casa with a surprise behind his back. He pulls out a Mississippi Braves tshirt (a very cool, vintage-ish looking one, I might add) and an 8x10 photo of Javy Lopez. He says to me, "We're going to get Javy's autograph!"

oh. my. gah.


For those of you who did not grow up watching Braves games, Javy Lopez was the catcher for the greater part of my childhood. He was my favorite player. My dad used to take us to Braves games in the summer, and Katie and I were absolutely those kids holding their gloves through the fences begging for autographs. My old little-league softball glove is signed by many old players, but I was never lucky enough to see Javy up close and personal. I might add that he is beautiful. I always thought that it was pretty unfortunate that he was the catcher. Couldn't see his face enough. Dang mask.

ANYWAY... (I mean it's 10:45, and it's still test week, and I'm writing on my blog)... The M Braves is our minor league baseball team in Jackson, and they feed into the Atlanta Braves. So Javy came to promote, throw the first pitch, sign autographs for children (and grown women that loved him as adolescents). So Matt found out about it and got tickets for us to go. Definitely worth not getting an A on that ICM test tomorrow! Javy Lopez in the flesh >>> ICM test. So he signed my huge portrait of him, a baseball card for Katie (bc I'm an awesome sibling), AND I took a picture with him. I can die now. Just kidding. Really though, so exciting! He's a really nice guy, too. He took his time, talked to people, let everyone take pictures, whatever you wanted. I like that about him. I can't imagine how disappointed I would've been if he'd been an arrogant jerk about it. He wasn't though... super nice. Here are the pictures:

Me: "Can you try to have a real smile? You have the worst fake smile."

Matt: "What? No I don't. What do you want me to do?"

Me: "I don't know. Think of something funny."

Matt: "Here... Like this?"

[Picture taken.]

Me: "You look ridiculous."

Matt: "Eh.."

[This picture supports Katie's idea that Matt resembles Jon Gosselin.]

First sighting. First pitch.

Signing my picture. It's legit.

Ahhh!!!

I am such a lucky girl. Not just because I got to meet my favorite baseball player of all time, but because I have such a wonderful boyfriend that loves me, knows me, listens to me, and goes to great lengths to make me happy. Who could ask for more?

the beginning of the end

Yesterday was our LAST DAY OF CLASS!! Now, people in normal settings would view this as cause for celebration. For me, however, it just caused anxiety. We have an exam everyday next week. The week after that, we have 2 board exams. The week after that, we have 2 more board exams. Then I have 26 days to study for Step 1... Oh dear. See what I mean? We're not exactly going out for margaritas tonight.

For those of you who may not know what the Step is (in case someone other than my mom actually reads this blog), it's the first of three parts of the United States Medical Licensure Exam. If you pass it, you can't take it again. So if you get a crappy score, you're SOL. (If you don't pass it, you get another shot, but that's even worse than a crappy score.) This is the test that residencies will look at when considering applicants for acceptance. If this test were a person, it would have many leather-bound books, and it's apartment would smell of rich mahogany. I guess it's kind of a big deal.

I'm going to need some prayers...
1. To do well on these tests so that I can prescribe amoxicillin for all of your children one day.
2. That my determination and motivation don't collapse under such demoralizing conditions.
3. That I do not develop a stomach ulcer in the next 7 weeks.
4. For my SANITY.

Seriously though, I ask for your prayers. Come June 7, I'll be an M3! My blog will probably get much more exciting. I'll be on a blogging hiatus until after May 24. I know this is devastating for you.

Happy Friday!! Back to thyroid pharmacology. (I hope your Friday is much more exciting.)

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Wednesday was my birthday. It was PERFECT. Tuesday night at approximately 11:04pm, Matt called me and said "It's 56 minutes until your birthday!" He told me he was coming over, and I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. So this boy that loves me drove 35 minutes to be there EXACTLY when it turned March 31. And to give me a present. He arrived shortly before midnight (I mean, let's not pretend that I ever actually go to sleep before midnight, so it is perfectly acceptable to show up at my house even unannounced at midnight. Might as well be 7:30.) So Matt makes me wait something like 7 minutes (until it turned 12:00) to open my present. He counted down. It was cruel. So eventually it became March 31, and he let me open my "little present," as opposed to my "real present" which he withheld from me for another 18 hours or so. I've been complaining about my shower head for quite some time. Well, no more whinin' is coming out of my mouth. My "little present" was pretty much the rainforest inside my shower. He got me this amazing shower head that is A) HUGE, B) has multiple settings, and C) can be taken off and hand-held (ie, for bathing Oscar Bob. Let's be serious, here.) He always tells me he listens to me, even when he's pretending not to. I guess he really does :)

You know you're getting old when you get REALLY excited about a shower head for your birthday.


So I had to go to class Wednesday, March 31, my birthday. Beyond that, we had a VENIPUNCTURE LAB on my birthday. Allow me to explain what that means: we had to learn how to draw blood and access veins, so the way we do that is to PRACTICE ON EACH OTHER. How mortifying is that? I don't like my own veins being stuck by professionals, let alone my classmates who have never touched a vacutainer  before. Good grief. I pulled the birthday card. It did not fly. So thank the Lawd, my awesome friend Meagan has done this before and volunteered to be my partner. She was AMAZING. I barely felt it, and her start-to-stop time must have been 4 seconds, I swear. Unfortunately for her, I am not so much a phlebotomy prodigy. It went a little something like this:

I attempt to stick her TINY, barely visible veins. I thought maybe I had it. I was wrong. I turned my head to get the vacutainer, she says "ummm.... Laura...." I turn my head back to see blood gushing from her inner elbow. FAIL. So Meagan FORCES ME against my will to try her other arm. On her LESS visible, SMALLER veins. No dice, but I swear to the moon that needle was in her vein, and I had a bad vacutainer. [Vacutainers are the little tubes they pop on the needle to pull your blood out... They're a vacuum, so if they've been popped before, they won't pull blood out bc there's no pressure gradient.] So at this point, I am traumatized, really disappointed that I sucked so bad at this, and feel guilty making Meg a pin cushion. My friend Sam, God bless him, forces me to stick his huge-already-popping-out-without-a-tourniquet vein. He would NOT let me leave without getting it right. Sam's the best. So I stick him. Vacutainer. BLOOD. Woo hoo!!! I'm not a failure! I blame Meagan's veins. But don't I have wonderful friends?

Today, Meagan looks like a domestic violence case. Or a first-time heroin user. She's such a good sport. She insists that it's going to make a funny story one day, and that's enough to make it worth it. LOVE HER. She even bought me coffee after I butchered her arms. What a friend, huh?

So then I go home and get ready for dinner with my Matthew. He took me to Ruth's Chris, which was amazing! I'd never been before. I had wine, steak, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake (understatement of the year), and berries and cream.

After dinner, he wanted to go to Mint (a really nice restaurant/bar next to Ruth's Chris) and "have a couple of drinks." I was exhausted from being at school all day, and I was soo miserably full. I whined about wanting to go snuggle on the couch and have another glass of wine there. He pretty much ignored me and started to walk into Mint. I was so mad! As I walked in the door, I was saying "You know, it's MY birthday. Shouldn't my opinion matter a little more tonight?" I pouted. Then Matt waved to someone. There was Sam. I waved, thinking "Oh, hey, Sam's here." I barely finished this thought as I realized that ALL of my friends were there. They all waved and yelled "happy birthday" to me. I almost cried. I was so excited to see them! School is horrendous right now, everyone is so stressed, and it meant so much to me that everyone took the night off to come hang out for my birthday. I mean we have 5 final exams and 4 board exams in the next 3 weeks. It meant A LOT that they were there. Matt and Meagan (my pin cushion) had planned it all.

I am SO LUCKY to have such AMAZING friends! I couldn't ask for more.

A few of the girls that were still there by the time I realized I had my camera.

My sister got me this apron from Anthropologie... SO CUTE. Leave it to Katie to get the most random, yet amazing presents ever. Very 50s-housewife. (Although if you've known me for more than 5 minutes, you know I was destined to be anything but a housewife... haha.) But I DO love to cook, and I plan on wearing it all the time!

Thanks, everyone, for making my birthday special. Even those of you who called me. It made my day.

Birthday Boy!

Oscar Bob turned 1 today!

This is when I first got him. He was about 6 weeks and barely weighed 2 pounds!

Now he's all grown up... a whopping 7 pounder. Already learning how to drive.

Happy Birthday, Oscar Bob!!

Snow Day!!

I really think this is the first "snow day" I've ever had. It snowed when I was in 8th grade, but it was during the Christmas holiday, so we didn't get days off of school. Well, the day has come. So on this lovely Friday, I put the books away, put on a scarf (how many times do you really NEED a scarf living in Jackson, MS?), made some tortilla soup, and played with Oscar Bob in the snow. I really think that he must have been a reindeer or a Siberian husky in a previous life. He loves the snow. I had to coax him back inside with treats. He was shaking and soaked with snow, but he was so dang happy about it. He's also really hydrated today because he's eaten about 20 snowballs. He's good at catching them in his mouth... then eating them. So here are a few of my favorite pictures. 

Reindeer. 

FIVE INCHES!!!!

Ok, listen, I really hate to be that girl that puts her poor dog in a sweater. So, in my defense, it actually used to be Polo's sweater, and he was SO cold!! I had to do it. Don't judge me.

It took Polo a little while to "get it," but he's down with the snow now.

Our snowman had a mild case of scoliosis. Apparently his mouth fell off before this picture, and truth be told, one of Grayce's turds ended up embedded in the back of him (awesome).. BUT I'm pretty dang proud of his size.

My sweet little pal! I feel like he's a little too... exposed... in this picture, but I thought it was too precious not to share.

Happy snow day! Back to watching *Bewitched!

The best thing about this year so far...

Is not the weather. It...is...freezing. Literally. Where am I?? The freakin arctic?? Since last Thursday, I have woken up to single-digit temperatures. Today, nearly a week later, the temperature got above freezing for the first time. The roads are icy, water mains are bursting, and there are far too many people in this town that can't shower. My body was not made for this. It is frigid. The kind of cold that makes your face numb and your bones hurt. I hate winter anyway, but this is ridiculous. I love how the news talks about the "Arctic Blast" every single day. Ha. Where is the Mississippi version of "winter" that involves 50 degree weather? Anyway, enough of that. (Don't worry... I have water, and I have showered [almost] everyday.)

So I was putting my pictures into albums on my computer, and I decided that the best night of this year so far was our outing to the YAZOO COUNTY FAIR. I didn't have a blog at the time, or I surely would've blogged about it. I think it more than deserves an entry. Folks, if you haven't been to a small-town fair in Mississippi and risked your life on rides put together inside of 2 hours by, well, you know who puts them together, you just haven't lived. See, my dear friend Morgan is from the metropolis of Yazoo City. Don't let the word "city" fool you. Her wonderful parents cooked a huge meal for a bunch of us poor, pitiful med students who live off of anything microwavable. Salad, chicken spaghetti, garlic bread, red velvet cake, and sweet tea. YUM. Then we were off.

Now, I've been to some fairs (most notably the Washington County Fair) that have been held in locations such as mall parking lots. Not in Yazoo. I don't know where we were, but it was around October, and it had been raining for days. It was in a field. A very muddy field. I came prepared in my Wallabees.

Meagan did not.

Check out this mud:

First up: the super shot.

Meagan and Matt: "Thanks, but I'm not into vomiting tonight. Go ahead."

I like this motion shot of the boys. Tilt-A-Whirl. CLASSIC.

I know these pictures aren't the best, but can you see the look of TERROR on my face? John Roberts peer pressured me into getting on this ride. It creaked a little too much for my comfort. It's not the going upside down. I love rides. I love the spinning, upside down, loopy, put-your-heart-in-your-throat kinda rides. However, let's be honest. The rides at the Yazoo County Fair were put together by 2 guys with some wrenches and screwdrivers within about 45 minutes. And this one CREAKED. Loudly. THAT is scary, my friends.

There we go... Too bad there's no audio. At this point, I am screaming, "I hate you, John Roberts!" Luckily, I survived. So did our friendship.

Then the best part of the night: Matt decides he's going to win me a fish. (And they say chivalry is dead...) So to assure that his beloved (me) goes home with a fish, he paid five whole dollars for unlimited attempts. He sucked. Eventually, several of us just start picking up the ping pong balls and throwing them. Surprisingly, the carny just let us do it. So I ended up winning myself a fish. Not only that, but I made the ball in the "impossible" center bowl, so I won myself THREE fish. I named one Ethel, Sam named one Biscuit, and John named one Langerhans. (islets of Langerhans are cells in the pancreas. Just wanted to make sure you could embrace the full funniness of the lame med school joke. We really should get out more.) Here we are, Matt, me, and our new pets:

Despite my best efforts, all three fish were dead within 9 days. RIP, Ethel, Biscuit, and Langerhans.

We rode the rides for hours until we all almost threw up. (Maybe you shouldn't eat 2 helpings of chicken spaghetti before going to the fair. Just a suggestion.) Another suggestion, I really recommend going to a county fair and acting like a 12 year old for a night. It was the best night EVER. Thanks for the memories, Yazoo City!

ROLL TIDE!!!

Wow. WOW. NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!! Woo hoo!!

So in a previous post, I smugly taunted "I'll let you know what the weather's like in Pasadena!" Well... I didn't make it to Cali. I didn't even make it to Tuscaloosa. I did make it over to my friend Patrick's house. Thanks to being poor (no Pasadena), icy roads, and mandatory class on Friday (no T-town), Matt and I had to settle for watching the game on a flat screen with Ole Miss fans. Don't get me wrong, we had a grand ol' time. Patrick grilled hamburgers and served us sausage-cheese-&-jalapenos on fancy toothpicks, Mo made cupcakes, and three of us came bearing Rotel dip in Crockpots (creative bunch, we are). It was so great to just hang out, drink some Crown and coke, and not worry about microbiology for five minutes. I love pretending I have a life. Really, it was so much fun! We all agreed that Jevan Snead just needs to give it up, Tebow is a "good guy" but he cries a little too much, and the Crimson Tide was going to win the game. 


We were right! I proudly sang "Yea, Alabama" about 4 times in a row (by myself) while waving my shaker around like a maniac. After a few Rammer Jammers, I let it go. Thanks go out to my friend Meagan, a true maroon State fan, who jumped around in circles around me yelling, just so I wouldn't be the only one celebrating. (After a few good shouts, Matt preferred to stand behind me and laugh at me while texting everyone he has ever met in his life.) All of our dear Ole Miss fans were pulling for Bama, but they weren't exactly screaming at the top of their lungs upon the trophy presentation. It was pretty funny. I didn't take any pictures because I was busy living in the moment, but I won't need any pictures to remember it!

Matt and I watched ESPN until about 2:00am. I mean really, they showed the same 4 interviews and the same 5 clips over and over and over, but he couldn't get enough. Today, when I walked into school, an Ole Miss friend of mine said to me, "So what's it feel like to walk around knowing your team is the National Champion? Please tell me, because I will never know what that feels like." I thought it was pretty funny. There's hope for the Rebels, friends. But for now, BAMA is #1!!

ROLL TIDE!!!