unshaded

Today when I hopped in my car to run home for lunch I actually broke a sweat - doing nothing, mind you, just sitting. No, it's not because I am out of shape (although that could play a factor), it was just so hot in my car! I need to park in the shade.

best and worst purchase

My best purchase today.
I absolutely love snorkeling. Who knew there was a whole new world under there! Today I snorkeled all afternoon with a friend that I met on the flight over from Hawaii. I saw him in the parking lot, we went to K-mart, picked up some gear, and hit the beach. It worked out well! I totally have to get an underwater camera to share the joy. It's like a gigantic saltwater tank - beautiful fish everywhere you look!

On a sad note, look at the prices below. Everything is that way - it's kind of depressing.

Guam Beaches

I'm aghast at the beauty of the beaches here. I've alway been a lover of the beach and love to visit the beach of California when I can, but this is something else. They're so clean and white! Not like the beaches that smell like... well, fishy or like stale salt water. WEll... I guess I do have a cold, so perhaps they do smell and I just can't tell. I'll have to update you on that later when my nose is back to proper functioning. :) Here are a few pictures from just our trip home from church.

Guamin'

I leave Nebraska at 530am Thursday. I didn't change my watch during the various time changes so that I could see how long I was traveling to get here. But when I arrived I was just a little confused... what day was my watch on? And was it am or pm in Nebraska? After some deep consideration, I think I arrived at what would have been about 5:30am Friday morning (in Nebraska) but was actually 8:30pm Friday night here in Guam. What a long day. The sun only set once and it was just a couple hours before we landed in Guam.

I made it safely!

There were wonderful people to meet me! They put flowers around my neck, took me to my new place, showed me around, and brought me my car. Am I spoiled or what?

It's Sabbath Morning and I just found out that I have internet in my apartment, but I have to get ready for church they're picking me up soon!

horsin' around

Seems to be the trend that I find a horse to ride on my various rotations, wherever they may be. Well, this time it was the Doctor himself who provided the fun horse to ride! This horse's name is Dusty, and although he hadn't been ridden in a couple years, he was a perfect gentleman! It was rather cold that day, and it took my legs about 4 hours to defrost after the ride, but it was great fun. I love riding :)
He was a sucker for a good scratch and would curl his nose in delight. What a cutie!

New Favorite

Greg is so amazing. For Valentine's day he sent me just what I wanted. In fact, he sent me a myriad of appreciated items! One of the many things I love about Greg is his incredible sense of what I would absolutely love. An example of this is when he gave me Dance Dance Revolution for Christmas. I love that game, and I've had so much fun with it!
He sent me booties pictured below (almost exact). They are amazing! They're like sleeping bags for your feet, and they are instantaneously warm. My feet seem to have always been cold, but not any more! As soon as I get home in the evening, they're on my feet. I would totally wear them to work, but I might get blood or something even grosser on them.



Don't get me wrong I love Greg for more than just his gift giving abilities :)

clarification

As to the below posting, there were a few factors in the event of my temporary lack of consciousness. Since it was the first day of my rotation and the location was about an hour from my house, I decided to drive there in the morning. Being the procrastinator that I am I didn't finish packing until quite late. Then, had to arise quite early to be beautiful and there on time. Breakfast for me was around 5:30 and consisted of quickly eaten cold cereal along with a rather large cup of coffee.
Upon the event of my passing out, I was hungry, thirsty, tired, and there was quite an unpleasant smell emanating from the examined portion of our patient which was making me nauseas. It was too much for my poor system to handle.

White Fluffy Kittens

Yesterday was my first day of my surgery elective rotation. I am with a new preceptor and, well, everyone is new. On this, my first day, I fainted cold right in the middle of surgery. When I awoke I was stretched out on the OR floor with concerned faces peering down at me. The first thing out of my mouth was "I was dreaming of kittens." And what a nice dream it was.

Almost

I performed surgery. Wow. It was the last day of my surgery rotation, and we were doing a lipoma excision. Basically, we were taking out a benign, fatty tumor. Usually, I get to retract things or control the camera, or suction or hold intestines (see last post). But this time, the doc handed me the scalpel and said, "Here, take this." And I thought, that's weird. And then he let me perform the whole surgery! From the initial incision to the final sutures. Ah! It was amazing. The PA later told me that I've officially performed more surgery than he has as a member of staff. Wow. I love surgery. It almooooost, makes me want to go to Med School and become a surgeon. Almost.