Good Week :)

First of all, I fail at updating regularly. But I've had a really fantastic week and I wanted to gush about it over the internet a little.

Probably the best thing that happened this week was that I got a really good grade on my first physics exam . . . to be honest, it was one of the best science grades I've gotten in college. I usually try not to be a huge grade-bragger, mostly because the stuff I tend to get really brag-worthy grades in is stuff that comes easily to me (foreign languages, writing papers, the parts of science I happen to really "get" just by hearing about them the first time, etc.). Usually, in my pre-med classes, I feel like I'm busting my ass just to stay enough ahead of the curve to come out with a decent grade. But for this test, I worked really hard, invested a lot of time, and it payed off. And that makes me really happy.

Secondly, I found out this week that the scribe company I work for (my ER job) is starting a pilot program at First Hill, one of the Swedish campuses in Seattle. They're sending a few scribes over there to work with doctors and hopefully convince them that they want to pay to use scribes regularly, and I get to go! I'm really excited, and hopefully I will successfully impress the doctor . . . maybe I'll bake him brownies or something? Baking brownies is kind of my fallback plan for any situation that arises in my life.

Thirdly, I got a car! A 1993 burgundy Ford Taurus, that I have named Rufus. Rufus's two main virtues are that he runs, and that he was cheap. His main deficits are that his windshield is badly cracked (but even if you add in what it'll cost to get that fixed, he was still cheap), that he has leather interior (I don't believe in leather), and that the guy who owned him before me was apparently not a big fan of respiratory health, so he smells like cigarette smoke. But I drive with the window down, and I'm getting the interior cleaned ASAP, which will hopefully resolve that issue. I am so happy to have a car! Can we talk about taking the bus to the ER in Issaquah? And back? After 10:00 at night? Actually, never mind, let's not.

Tomorrow, Rufus and I are leaving for the Lake Quinault Lodge for the weekend, because my Aunt Marion and her fiance Mark are getting married on Saturday! They're getting married in the rainforest (yes, Washington has a rainforest, because we are rad), and everyone's dressing up in the theme of "Woodland Magic." I'm pretty excited. I'll post pictures when I get back.

Also, fall, especially in Seattle, especially on the UW campus, is gorgeous. That is all.

Photo from biggarphotography.com

Besalu Deliciousness

I went to Cafe Besalu, in Ballard, today, for the first time in a really long while. I'd forgotten how much I love it! My quasi-uncle Andy (he was actually my mother's best friend, they knew each other since high school, but he's like family), introduced me to it right after I moved to Seattle. He's been going there since they opened, so he knows the owner and a lot of the staff. The owner's name is James, he has a philosophy degree (random), and he's super nice. Anyway, Besalu has great coffee and DELICIOUS pastry. I had a blueberry danish today, and I also really love their ginger biscuits and nectarine tart . . . everything there is amazing. So go! They're closed for the next two weeks because James and his wife are going on vacation, but normally they're open Wednesday-Sunday from 7am-3pm. There's sometimes a really line, but it's well worth it, and also they're right next to the Java Bean, which also has really good coffee and shorter lines, so some people buy Java Bean coffee while they wait in line for Besalu (which has better coffee and infinitely better pastry).

"And what would happen to me, may I ask, if I loved all the children I said goodbye to?" (Mary Poppins)

I was thinking a lot about that quote today. It was the last day for many of the children in the prekindergarten class I've worked in almost every day for almost a year. I've gotten really, really attached to some of the kids, and it was hard for me to tell them goodbye. I think it was hard in a way for some of the kids, too, but they handled it the way five-year-olds handle a lot of things . . . by acting goofy and overexcited. One little girl spent the whole afternoon running away from me, jokingly refusing to give me a hug, acting like a little spaz when I tried to take a picture with her . . . and then right before her dad took her home for the day, she came and wrapped herself around my legs and said "Goodbye forever, Beatrice." I came very, very close to crying. I also came very, very close to making her father sign a legal contract that he would have me over to babysit, ("This is my phone number, here's my email. Call anytime. Seriously!"). The other time I almost cried was when I was giving a goodbye hug to a little boy I really love, and I guess my eyes were already welling up, cause he looked confused and said "Why does it look like you're going to cry?" Um, because you're adorable and I'm going to miss you like crazy, that's why!!

Another quote I've been thinking a lot about today:

"Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing." ~G.M. Trevelyan

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

I just finished this book; actually, I'm pretty sure it's been one of the major factors, second only to post-work exhaustion, that has kept me from unpacking at my new place over this past week. I loved it! It's earned a permanent spot on my bookshelf and on my "favorites" list. There is not a single person I wouldn't recommend it to.

The book is told, mostly from the point of view of Codi Noline, a woman in her thirties with an unconventional past, who is very uncertain of what she wants in life. The book begins when her younger sister, Hallie, from whom she has been inseparable since birth, moves to Nicaragua to do humanitarian work. After her sister leaves, Codi moves back to her hometown in rural Arizona to visit/set up care for her father, who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her father was a doctor and a single parent -- their mother died when they were little -- and he was always stern and distant. She didn't keep in touch with him in adulthood, so it's awkward for her to go back and see him now. Furthermore, when she arrives in Grace, her hometown, she discovers it's on the brink of an environmental crisis.

. . . that's really all the plot information I can share without giving too much away. I could never be a professional book reviewer. I always find it impossible to really describe why I think a certain book is good. I'm a Comparative Literature major, I can analyze books from here to next Christmas, but I can't seem to adequately describe why certain books tug on my heartstrings in ways that make me love them. I'll settle for sharing some of my favorite quotes from Animal Dreams:

"It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around."

"God, why does a mortal man have children? It is senseless to love anything this much."


"'Why do you suppose the poets talk about hearts?' he asked me suddenly. 'When they discuss emotional damage? The tissue of hearts is as tough as a shoe. Did you ever sew up hearts?'
"I shook my head. 'No, but I've watched. I know what you mean.' The walls of a heart are thick and strong, and the surgeons use heavy needles. It takes a good bit of strength, but it pulls together neatly. As much as anything, it's like binding a book.
"'The seat of human emotion should be the liver,' Doc Homer said. 'That would be an appropriate metaphor: we don't hold love in our hearts, we hold it in our livers.'
"I understand exactly. Once in ER I saw a woman who'd been stabbed everywhere, most severely in the liver. It's an organ with the consistency of layer upon layer of wet Kleenex. Every attempt at repair just opens new holes that tear and bleed. You try to close the wound with fresh wounds, and you try and you try and you don't give up until there's nothing left."


Incidentally, two other Kingsolver books that I really enjoyed are The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees.

My fabulous day in Pike Place Market

On Saturday, the lovely Megan and I headed down to Pike Place Market to enjoy Seattle in the sunshine (when that happens, you take advantage of it!). We had a great time, and hit up some really cool places, so I thought I'd share some photos:

"Sisters," where we had lunch. This place rocks! It's in Post Alley, and it's a pretty tiny place, like most places in Post Alley, but man, their tomato and mozzarella paninis are excellent! Plus, it's an open cafe . . . there's basically no front wall or window; if you're sitting at the counter, you're practically outside. There are actual tables outside, too, which is where Megan and I sat, and what with being on a cobblestone street, and having a street performer not five feet from us, we both agreed that it felt a little like being in Europe. And hey, who doesn't love a chance to pretend they're in Europe


After lunch, we grabbed some iced coffee at Local Color. It's Megan's favorite coffee place, and would be one of mine, except I don't like it that their 120z beverage only contains one shot (I feel like every espresso drink should have at least two shots in it, but that may be just me). Aside from that, though, it is truly excellent. Good coffee, if you pay the extra 55 cents or whatever for the extra shot, and lots of pretty quality art by local artists on the walls, often Seattle-themed. I've never once gone in there and not felt compelled to hang around and check out all the pictures, and have more than once considered buying something (never have, though).


We went to this little bookstore in the downstairs part of the market . . . I wanted to live there! I couldn't find a sign to take a picture of, and actually didn't know what it was called until just recently: it's the Lionheart Bookstore. It has lots of used and new books at really good prices; I got a copy of Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver in perfect condition for $7.50. They sell a lot of the Dover Thrift Editions of the classics; they're all around $3.00 NEW, which is pretty rocking in my opinion. And the guy who was behind the counter when we were there (I think he must be the owner) is friendly and hilarious. He calls out random things to you while you're shopping, like quotes from the books you're looking at, or, in my case, when I was looking at a journal "Young lady, that journal has a secret pocket!" The way he said it cracked both Megan and me up. But anyway, since I couldn't find a good sign to photograph, I just photographed the front of the store. And yes, that is the children's classic Everyone Poops in the window. We debated buying it and reading it to Megan's class of prekindergarteners . . . that wouldn't cause a full-scale riot of five-year-old giggling or anything.

We got some ice cream, sat by the water, and watched the boats.


And on our way out we stopped to watch these guys . . . my favorite street performers EVER. These guys are amazing; I see them almost every time I go to the market. They're an a cappella group called A Moment in Time, and they sing oldies songs like "My Girl" and "Somebody to Lean On" and they usually attact a pretty sizeable crowd.


So the moral of the story is that every day should be a sunny Saturday in Seattle spent wandering the market with an awesome friend :).

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

Last Thursday, several of my co-worker friends and I gathered at the Ram to celebrate the continued existence of the amazing Aaron Miller!


Aaron in his birthday regalia.


Yes, the Ram serves a kind of beer called the Buttface, and I find that hysterical because my inner four-year-old is alive and well. That is all.

Anderson Island and Cute Furry Animals

So this trip literally happened more than two months ago (the date of this post is an approximation, I can't even remember exactly when we went), but I was looking through photos and decided to post some from my first visit of the year to Anderson Island. My family owns a little cabin there that's one of my favorite places in the world; you may have heard me talk about it. For you geographically-minded people out there, Anderson Island is the southernmost island in Puget sound, it's technically part of Pierce County, it's about 20 minutes by ferry ride from Steilacoom, and it's very close to McNeil Island, where the prison is (now there's a charming recommendation . . . Anderson Island's very safe, though, no worries).


On the ferry ride over.


This is the one grocery store on the island, where we stopped for some supplies. We also stepped into the nursery that's next door, where we met the adorable little guy pictured below . . .


Cocoa Mo!!!!!! He belongs to the lady who owns the Anderson Island Nursery, and he's basically the dictionary definition of adorable.

Then we went to the cabin!



We still use kerosene lamps in the main cabin; it doesn't have electricity because my grandfather wanted it to stay rustic and historical. The annex in back of the main cabin does have electricity. Oh, and the painting in the back was done by my Aunt Marion; it's of driftwood on the beach.


Here's the beautiful, rocky beach, the kind of beach I think you only find in Washington.


Before I headed back to Seattle, I went to my Uncle Neil and Aunt Jamie's house and met their new litter of foster kittens! They do this thing where you adopt a pregnant cat, house her while she has her kittens, keep the kittens until they're old enough to be adopted, and then Mama and babies go back to the shelter, and hopefully (knock on wood) to good homes. This was their second litter, and it was basically all I could do not to adopt every single one of them on the spot.

Good news and bad news

I really want to finish blogging about my HCASB trip, but I'm still waiting for an uninterrupted hour or so where I can sit down and write another really long post, so I can actually go into detail about it. However, I feel the events of today merit a brief interruption to the regularly scheduled HCASB-recap programming:

I lost my wallet about . . . three weeks ago, I think. I searched valiantly for it for a few days. My friend Kristine turned her apartment upside down, since there was a possibility that I might have left it there. But no luck. So, after swearing profusely for awhile, I froze my debit and credit cards, ordered a new driver's license, and generally set about getting stuff replaced. I was set for a long pain in the ass process; there was so much stuff in that wallet! My health insurance card, my Husky card, my library card, my Seattle Art Museum membership card . . . you name it, it was probably in there. Then this morning, Kristine texts me to tell me that she was cleaning her apartment this weekend and found my wallet behind her bookshelf, wedged between some books and the wall! How it got there, I have no idea. But I am thrilled that I won't have to get all that crap replaced now. I went to work thanking God for little miracles like that and thinking that it was going to be a fabulous day.

. . . Apparently the universe or God or whatever decided I did not deserve a stand-alone small miracle and took it upon Itself to even things out for me. As some of you probably know, my aunt lives in California and lets me stay in her house and drive her car rent-free. Well, she emailed me today saying she had gotten a letter today from the Seattle Photo Enforcement Program. Apparently, I got caught on candid camera running a red light on March 12th at 10:48pm, and because the car is registered to my aunt, they issued the ticket to her. If it was my car, my ticket, etc., I would have been irritated, but just taken care of it. But this is her car, and she's being generous enough to let me borrow it, and I put her driving record and her insurance premiums in jeopardy. So in addition to being irritated, I feel guilty and embarrassed. Fortunately, it won't be a part of her driving record and will be processed as a parking infraction. She's sending it to me so I can pay it. I sent her a profusely apologetic email.

I'm pretty sure I remember when this happened, oddly enough. I don't remember the date, but I know that one night a few weeks ago, I was driving home from Kristine's and came to the big intersection of 45th Street and 35th Ave (right near the Tully's and the Safeway by U-Village) just as the light was turning yellow. It was late, there was no one around, so I just gunned through it. The light was definitely red by the time I made it to the other side . . . I had underestimated how long it would take me to actually get across the intersection. The weird part was that as I was crossing, I saw/heard something flash. I thought "I hope that isn't a traffic camera, because technically I just ran that light." I guess it was a traffic camera.

I am really irritated, though. It was late at night, there was no one around, I put nobody in danger (not even myself). I didn't even flat-out run the light (I never do that). I just cut it too close on a yellow light. If it had been a real live cop instead of a camera, I probably wouldn't have gotten a ticket.

Oh, as a side note, would you like to guess how much I now owe the city of Seattle?

$124. One hundred and twenty-four American dollars. For running a light at 11:00 at night when no one was around.

FUCK.

HCASB

Greetings from Yakima! I wasn't sure if I was going to have the internet here, but it would appear that I do, which is pretty cool.

I'm here for Health Care Alternative Spring Break (HCASB), which is a student-run program at the UW to get pre-health students interested in rural healthcare. They send teams of students out to rural/underserved communities in eastern Washington where they stay with local families or at churches, shadow doctors/dentists/health professionals in their chosen fields, and learn about what it's like to practice medicine in a rural/underserved area.

My team is four people, all girls. Our team leader is Erin, a fifth-year senior who's graduating this year and has already gotten into med school. Then there's Catherine, who's a pre-med sophomore, like me, and Stephanie, who's a pre-pharmacy freshman from Taiwan. Oh, and there's me :).

We left the UW campus on Sunday afternoon in a rental car provided by HCASB. It only took a couple of hours to get to Yakima. The drive in itself was kind of an experience for me, since I've never been to eastern Washington before. I'm a straight-shot DC-to-Seattle transplant, so really, aside from Seattle and Olympia, I don't know Washington that well. I was amazed at how much the scenery changed after we went over the pass. Basically, it's like the primary color of the landscape changes from green to brown. On one side of the mountains you've got these seemingly never-ending forests of pine trees, and then you cross the mountains and you're practically in the freaking desert! Any longtime Washingtonian who's reading this will probably laugh at my ignorance, but it still kind of boggles my mind.

Anyway, we made it to Yakima in a couple of hours, drove around for a bit and got the lay of the land, met up with the other Yakima team and got some dinner, then went to our homestays (Catherine and I are staying in one house, Erin and Stephanie are staying in another). My host family, the Jennings, are so nice. The husband, Ron, is a pharmacist at the clinic where we're all shadowing (Steph is actually spending almost all of her time shadowing him, since she's pre-pharm), and the wife, Jeri, is a registered dietician who works mostly with patients on dialysis. They have really cute pets: Jammer the black lab, Boomer the pug-like mutt of indeterminate ancestry, and Duncan the gray-and-white kitty.

We're all shadowing at Yakima Neighborhood Health Services. When I got my assignment, I was a little bummed that I didn't get to go to some teeny-tiny, middle-of-nowhere town, just because that's something I've never experienced before and I'm all about trying new things. But I now realize that the upside of going to a slightly larger town like Yakima is that I get to shadow at a place like YNHS, which is a pretty big clinic, so I get to see a variety of different things. They have internists, pediatricians, family practicioners, an OB clinic, a pharmacy, a dental clinic, a WIC program (which provides information on breastfeeding, etc. to new mothers), a walk-in clinic, and a clinic for the homeless. I'm going to get to shadow at least once in most of those areas during my stay here. I'm pretty psyched.

Our schedules are divided up so that we're all separated and each of us is paired with one professional in the morning, and one in the afternoon. This morning, I shadowed Kelli, a nurse practicioner who works in the homeless clinic. I think the most striking part about that was seeing how important it was to most of those patients just to have someone to talk to, even for fifteen minutes (the allotted time for appointments there) about what's going on in their lives right now. I suppose this is true for a lot of people who go to the doctor, but many of the people I saw today don't have a circle of family, friends, etc. They don't often get asked "What's going on with you today?" or the equivalent, especially by someone who really wants to know the answer. Oh, the OTHER most striking part of the homeless clinic was the somewhat mentally-off-kilter guy who heard that I was from the University of Washington and decided instantly that I must be a doctor (he decided this despite Kelli clearly stating that I was a student). Of course, this guy also said that his job was "tracking various patterns around the state for the betterment of all of us" so I suppose deciding that I'm a doctor is not the least rational of his thoughts. Anyway, he started telling me all about how he wanted me to "pull strings" with my "connections" to get him in to see a doctor at the UW Medical Center (psshhh, I would be hard put to get myself in to see a doctor at UWMC). At the end of the appointment, Kelli told him she was going to leave and would be right back with his prescriptions, and he said "Leave me with her. I have a lot more that I need to tell her!" Fortunately for me, Kelli said "Sorry, she needs to stay with me today," and we left. I guess the poor guy thinks I'm the worst doctor ever.

In the afternoon, I shadowed Dr. Prier, a pediatrician, which basically just re-affirmed my belief that I want to be a pediatrician. I saw a lot of physicals, a few cold/flu/sick stomach/sore throat visits, and one obesity consult with a little girl who was seriously overweight. The doc said that obesity in kids is one of the main problems she encounters in her average day, and that thus far neither she nor any of her colleagues have been too successful in reversing the trend among their patients. One interesting thing about working with her was that all the patients she saw today were Spanish-speaking (at least the parents were. Most of the kids spoke English pretty well). I never took Spanish, and could not carry on a conversation in it to save my life, but I was pretty surprised at how much I can understand, just from context and cognates. I really want to learn Spanish now, though, it seems like it's really important. I mean, the clinic has translators, but it seemed like the fact that Dr. Prier knew Spanish and was able to go without a translator just added this whole new level of trust between her and her patients. My favorite visit of the day was a mom with two little girls, ages four and two, who were both there for their physicals. When the two-year-old was getting her physical, the four-year-old was being kind of disruptive, trying to get mom's attention while Dr. Prier was trying to explain something, climbing on things, etc, so I gave her my notepad to draw on (it helped that I happened to have a purple pen today). She talked to me in a mixture of English and Spanish, and I talked to her a little bit in English, but mostly just nodding, smiling, and hand gestures. She said something to me in Spanish that mom overheard, and mom said to her (I understood the Spanish but I won't try to write it here cause I'd butcher it), "She doesn't speak Spanish, you know." The little girl looked very indignant and said "Yes, she does!" We all burst out laughing, because I hadn't said a single word in Spanish since we'd walked into the room, and had been talking to the little girl only in English, but she was so positive I could speak Spanish. Lol kids are awesome.

We finished clinic at 5:30ish and went home, where Jeri fixed us delicious soft tacos. We've just been chilling out, and I'll probably be in bed before 10:30. I could so get used to this whole early-bedtime, eight-hours-of-sleep, normal-workday-hours type deal, but I guess I'd better not if I want to be a doctor. Anyway, I shadow in the OB clinic tomorrow. I've never done that before, so that should be exciting.

Wisdom Teeth

I had my wisdom teeth out yesterday. Despite the fact that anything involving large sharp objects in your mouth is kind of a bummer, and having four wisdom teeth, three of which are impacted, removed, is anything but fun, I was kind of intrigued going into surgery yesterday. It was the first time I've ever had any remotely significant medical procedure done, because I've been very lucky my whole life, and the wanna-be-doctor part of me was curious. But perhaps more interesting than the surgery was what happened in the waiting room before I went in . . .

My grandmother drove me to the oral surgeon's office. Now, just as a disclaimer, I love my grandmother dearly; she's a sweet lady, and has done a lot for me my whole life, including taking great care of me the past couple of days. But sometimes, her grasp on reality is not as tight as might be ideal. This isn't an age thing either, just her personality. But anyway, we were chilling in the waiting room and this young woman walked in with an adorable little baby and sat down near us. Grandmother and I both love babies, so we started making small talk, and then the baby was hungry and the mom went to the corner of the room to nurse her, so Grandmother started telling me about her "spiritual experience" of the other day (she has these at a somewhat alarming frequency). Apparently, she was sleeping on the couch in her living room and woke up suddenly, and saw a "light-black man" in a business suit standing right in front of her, and then he disappeared. For anyone who doesn't know my grandmother, this might seem a little disturbing, but it's actually one of the tamer stories she's told me in recent years. I just said something along the lines of "Oh, really, well, um . . . mmhmm" or something equally brilliant.
By now our waiting room friend was done nursing her baby and popped into the conversation with, "Wow! It was your guardian angel."
Just what my grandmother needed, I thought, someone to egg her on.
"I think it was Barack Obama!" my grandmother said (she's a big Obama fan). "I think he's watching out for me."
Yes, grandmother, I thought. Barack Obama is chilling in your living room while you're sleeping. Also, please, God, when I can I go back to the surgery room and get away from this meeting of the insane minds?
"Well," said the woman to my grandmother, "you believe in the Bible, don't you?"
"Not literally," said my grandmother, "but I think it's a very wise book."
"Well, in Revalations, they say that angels are sent to those who are vessels of salvation."
Whoever comes to take me out of this room will be my vessel of salvation, I thought.
My grandmother looked absolutely fascinated, "Oh, wow!" she said.
"At least you're not seeing the shadows," said the woman. "Those are the ones you have to rebuke."
"Oh, yes," said my grandmother, like this made all the sense in the world.
What? What?! What?!?! I had never been so eager for general anesthesia in my life.

Fortunately, pretty soon after that they called me back to the room, where they had me rinse my mouth out and then got me all set up to go under. The tech put oxygen on my nose, an EKG on my chest/stomach, and an O2 sat moniter on my finger. Then the doctor came in and started an IV in my arm. The last thing I remember is his asking me "Are you starting to feel the medicine yet?" and my saying "I think so, a little bit." After that I was out. I woke up alone in the room, feeling like I'd had the best nap ever. I soon discovered I was still totally numb; my talking, smiling, etc. was far from up to par. Throughout the day I gradually got the feeling back in my upper lip and tongue, but my bottom lip/chin/jaw were still completely numb. The first time I had any pain was when I woke up this morning. It's not so bad, but the Ibu-profin hasn't helped, so I may take one of my painkillers, soon, because, frankly, I'm a little curious to see what they feel like ;).

Overall, this wasn't bad though, compared to the horror stories I've heard from some people. I'll be back at work tomorrow, for sure.

My New Job

This week, I started doing clinical training for my new job (in addition to Bright Horizons) as a medical scribe at an ER near Seattle. The word "scribe" makes it sound like my job should involve a large and fancy quill pen, but alas, it does not (how sweet would that be, seriously?). What a scribe does is follow a doctor around over the course of one of their shifts and do most of their charting for them. The goal of this is to minimize the amount of time the docs have to spend on paperwork and maximize the amount of face-to-face time they can have with their patients (e.g., a doctor who has a scribe can actually sit and listen to a patient's explanation of what's wrong, when their symptoms started, etc., rather than clacking away at the computer the whole time so they don't forget any information that might be important later. I get to clack away at the computer instead).

It's going pretty well, so far. Before I started I was warned that it could be a very fast-paced, hectic job, but clearly the people who warned me about that have never taught preschool. I'm still kind of intimidated by the doctors, not gonna lie. During one of my training shifts, this one doctor called me "Bernice" the entire time, and I couldn't even bring myself to correct him, which was highly amusing to the girl who was training me. I just figured as long as I was making a good impression he could call me whatever he wanted. It's really cool to see the different doctors with their patients, though. In particular, the doctor who calls me Bernice has an amazing bedside manner with kids. He can literally get a screaming, justifiably pissed-off two-year-old with an ear infection to stop crying and sit calmly while he looks in their ears. He does all the regular tricks, like shining the light in his own ears first, so they can see it doesn't hurt, but I've seen other doctors do that without the same effect. It's mostly just something in his personality, or tone of voice, or something else; I don't know what. Talk about a useful skill for a would-be pediatrician . . . if I learn one thing doing this job, I want it to be how he does that.

I like writing HPIs (history of present illness); it's kind of fun jotting down all the random things that a patient says and then trying to form it all into a succinct but informative, professional-sounding summary of why this person is in the ER. And sometimes the reasons are pretty hilarious, which sounds really insensitive, but if you are going to do something like punch a tree and then come to the hospital because the hand you punched the tree with hurts, then I am sorry, but my sensitivity for you is going to be in short supply. That was the funniest thing I've seen in my three shifts at the ER; this dude hurt his hand punching a tree (he was okay, it wasn't broken or anything, I'd feel slightly bad making fun of a guy with a broken hand). I was standing in the room listening to the doctor interviewing the patient and trying not to laugh. I greatly enjoyed writing the sentence "Insert Name Here is an x-year old male who presents with contusion-abrasions and pain in the left hand following a physical altercation with a tree."

Sixteen Things I Want to Do Before I Die

. . . the alternative title of this post is: "I So Desperately Want to Avoid Studying for My Chemistry Exam that I am Horribly Unprepared for and Will Most Likely Fail That I am Finding Every Excuse on the Planet to Keep Myself from Putting my Ass in Gear and Getting to Work."

Anyways, given that I've not yet even reached the ripe old age of twenty, I don't think about my impending death very often. But every now and then I do, and I wonder what it would take to enable me to go quietly and contentedly to face whatever comes next knowing that I'd lived my life fully and well. So, in the interest of turning that line of thinking into something fun rather than just something morbid, I decided to make a list of things I wanted to do before I die. I wanted to do twenty-seven things, because that's my favorite number, but I could only come up with sixteen. Some are big things, and some are little, random things. Now, once again, I'm not even twenty yet, so this is by no means a final draft. It'll probably change. It'll probably change a lot. But here it is:

1. Become a doctor

2. Spend at least a year living in a foreign country.

3. Learn at least one foreign language fluently.

4. Ride in a hot air balloon.

5. Drive cross-country.

6. Have some writing of mine published somewhere of significance. A medical journal, magazine, newspaper, whatever. This is kind of a subjective goal; it's hard to really define "significance" but I suppose I'll recognize it when I've done it.

7. Get married (and stay married, happily).

8. Have a child (or, even better, children).

9. Become a good cook.

10. Be at my ideal body weight.

11. Participate in some big athletic event (e.g. a triathalon or the Seattle-to-Portland bike ride).

12. Have a blog that lots of people read. Quite a goal for the girl whose blog currently has one follower (yay Megan)! :)

13. Become an organized person.

14. Save someone's life. Again, this a subjective goal. I don't have to be the one holding the paddles yelling "Clear!" while intense television drama music plays in the background or whatever. But I'd like to know that I gave someone a chance to live who didn't have one otherwise. Obviously, this doesn't mean I'm in favor of people being sick or in danger . . . I'm not. But, for the foreseeable future, people are going to get sick, and people are going to be in danger, and I'd just like to know I've played a vital role in helping people in that situation.

15. Own at least one cat and at least one dog, not necessarily at the same time.

16. Teach my own class of something. Anything, really.

. . . and I think that's it. Have a good night, everyone, and wish me luck on my test tomorrow.

Even blogger isn't safe from memes, apparently

This sounds like it might be fun:

1) Go to "Pictures" on your computer.
2) Go to your sixth folder.
3) Find your sixth picture and post it with an explanation.





This is a picture of my friend Daisy. It's from November 1st, 2008, when she cooked our group of friends a big spaghetti dinner with pumpkin pie for dessert. It was a fun evening, and I think this is a really good picture of her.

You're supposed to tag people to do this after you, but I say whoever wants to do it, just go for it! :)

Pictures from Saturday's kayaking trip

I went kayaking on Saturday and, thanks to the dry bag my aunt got me for Christmas, I was able to take a few pictures! What's lame, though, is that even I went through the Arboretum, and it was beautiful, and I saw a blue heron up closer that I've ever seen one before, my stupid camera batteries died before I actually got into the Arboretum itself, so I missed some excellent photo opportunities. But anyways, these are pretty.

This is pretty damn cool

This artist made a giant portrait of Obama and Lincoln using 5,600 cupcakes. That's pretty badass, in my humble opinion. Here's a photo and a link to the article.

Kid-quotage

Conversations like this are a big part of why I love my job:

Little boy: Beatrice, cows make milk!

Me: Yes, they do.

Little boy: . . . and so do sea otters!

Me: Um . . . sure, okay.

It was just so random that it cracked me up. I mean, what do you say to that?

I've always wanted to do this to a sign . . .

. . . but it looks like someone beat me to it. This is the stop sign at 40th and Brooklyn in the U-District, near the UW Steven's court apartments, and it makes me smile every time I walk/drive by it.

Before and after photos of my haircut adventure

I love having short hair! It takes five minutes to blowdry, I don't have to spend half an hour combing out the tangles and snarls at the end of the day. It just rocks! Now I see why normal people cut their hair more than once every couple of years. I'm donating my chopped-off ten inches of hair to Locks of Love, too, which is exciting.

Babysitter Blogatronics

I'm babysitting, it's 1:17am, and the kids' mom still isn't home. Yay getting payed to sit and watch TV . . . and, of course, blog. I'm a little bored, so I thought I'd share a random thought.

I'm watching You've Got Mail right now. I haven't seen it for years, and I'd forgotten how adorable it is, even though it's cheesy . . . it's like the cutest piece of cheese ever. It's making me think I want to do things that, in reality, I actually don't want to do . . . like open a children's bookstore and start an online romance. Plus I love seeing the computers in that movie, since it's at least 10 years old now . . . remember the days of dial-up, when it took forever to connect to the internet and the computer/phone line made weird static-y, crackly noises in the process?

. . . I will now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Kid-Quotage

So as anyone who knows me is well aware, I love telling stories about the kids at my work. And today I have a great one:

So there's this little boy who's one of the cutest, funniest, smartest kids I know (he's four years old and can read and write pretty much anything), who also happens to be Mormon. Today he came into class talking about his new "body book" that he had at home, and I was asking him about it when suddenly he said: "Beatrice, smoking and drinking coffee is bad for your body."
Me: "Oh . . . was that in your body book?"
Little boy: "No. It's in the scriptures."
Me: "Uh . . . well, I only do one of those things. Drinking coffee, I mean."
Little boy: "Well, you shouldn't do that. It's in the Scriptures."

. . . little boy goes back to building with blocks . . .

Me (quietly, to Megan): "I think I'm going to hell."

Just a simple question . . .

I've always been very cautious about HAVING AN OPINION. Let me clarify that this is different from simply having an opinion, or even having a strong opinion. If you have an opinion, or a strong opinion, that means you are at least reasonably well-informed about a certain issue, that you take a definite stand on it, and you enjoy learning about it, talking about it, even a good heated-but-civil debate about it. If you HAVE AN OPINION about something, that means that your interest in an issue is so strong that it's emotional as well intellectual, that you will respect someone less if they disagree with you about it because you are so sure that one way of looking at it is right and the other is wrong, and that you may actually try to avoid talking about the issue in a casual setting because you feel so strongly about it that you're afraid you might get upset and make people uncomfortable. For example, I have opinions, some stronger than others, about foreign policy, the environment, the economy, vegetarian/veganism, and raising/educating young children. I HAVE OPINIONS about civil liberties and gay rights. I've also always thought that people who have too many OPINIONS are annoying and hard to talk to, so I try to make sure I know a lot about an issue before forming an OPINION.

Anyway, yesterday, I went to my aunt's writing center at UW to work on my application for Health Care Alternative Spring Break. HCASB is a program that sends college students to rural areas to shadow doctors and learn about rural medicine, so the application asked about why I was interested in rural medicine. I wrote about how underserved rural communities are (not-so-fun fact: one-fourth of the population lives in rural areas but less than ten perecent of doctors practice there. What?!), and how, while I'm not certain rural medicine is what I want to do (I'm leaning more towards Doctors Without Borders), it would certainly be an opportunity to help people who need it desperately, and to rectify a little bit of unfairness, both of which are reasons I want to be a doctor. Anna, the tutor I was working with, commented, "I really like how you talk about the human aspect of medicine in this part . . . maybe you could expand on that a little . . . like, how do you feel about health care in America right now?"

I was pretty surprised about what came out of my mouth: "I think it's absolutely ridiculous! I think that health care is a basic human right and it shouldn't depend on who you work for or how much money you make. I think the idea that someone who's sick has to worry about paying for it rather than about just getting better is insanely unfair!" I wasn't so surprised about the words themselves, just about how firmly and fast I was talking, and at the sense of outrage that welled up in me just at the thought of what health care in America is like today. It's certainly something I'd thought about, especially since I chose my future profession. But it took that simple question from the tutor to make me realize that I HAD AN OPIONION that I didn't even know about.

The upshot is that I think this is something I want to get more involved in. I did a little googling last night about organizations that work for improvements in the healthcare system, and I'm seriously considering volunteering with one of them (just have to do a little more resarch so I can pick one). I think that now, as it's becoming increasingly more evident that America's health care system is failing it's people, doctors (or 19-year-old students who desperately hope they have what it takes to become doctors, as the case may be) have a responsibility to argue and work and fight for something better.

Also, as a diversion from this very serious/wordy post, I will share that I came into work this morning and cheerfully greeted my boss, only to have her respond with, "Good morning, Beatrice . . . you don't work Thursday mornings, remember?" Um, OF COURSE I remember that . . . that's why I dragged my exhausted ass out of bed two hours earlier than necessary this morning. However, on the bright side, forgetting I didn't have to come to work and doing it anyway gave me time to go up to school early, sit in Suzzallo Espresso, and write this, so I guess it's okay.

Obamania

Hi guys,

We lived history today. Just saying. I was at work when the inaugural address was playing, and I turned on the radio in the preschool classroom where I was working hoping I could catch a little of it. Three-year-olds, of course, don't miss a trick, so when I turned it on, a few of them asked "Is this a book on tape?!" "No," I said, "This is Barack Obama! Who loves Barack Obama?!" Almost all of them chorused, "Meeeeee!!!" Haha, gotta love Seattle children. What was cool was that they actually listened to the speech, to the best of their ability. I started thinking about how, decades from now, when they're grown up and understand what an epic day this was, they may have some vague memory of hearing the speech in their preschool class. After all, I remember being about their age and standing in line with my mom and dad waiting to go into the polls for the 1992 election. I was cold, and I pointed this out in a somewhat whiny tone, and my mom told me that the soldiers in the Revolutionary War who had marched in the snow so that we could all have the right to vote for a president had been a lot colder. A pretty heavy-duty speech to give your three-year-old, but hey, maybe that's why I'm politically aware now. :)

Anyway, here are my two favorite quotes from the address today:

"They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction."

"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."

YEAH, OBAMA!!!

Photos from the Virginia Trip

So I know I haven't written in approximately forever, but I finally, FINALLY uploaded all of the pictures off my camera, and I thought I'd return to the wonderful world of blogging with a photo update. On Christmas Day, I went to Virginia to visit my family and friends. I stayed a week and had a wonderful time. Hands down, the biggest event of the trip was meeting my half-brother, Matthew Graham Leverett. He was born on September 24th, but before this most recent trip I hadn't been to Virginia since July, so I hadn't seen him. He's absolutely precious, three months old and just learning to smile. He's a very calm, mellow baby, and such a nice bundle to hold. It was great to see my Dad, my friends (Glen, Linn, Helen and Claire pictured here as well as a few more), my grandmother Betty, my brother Damian (13 years old), and my other half-brother Daniel (four years old), too.