Teak!

It may be a little early to tell...but I think I have the best kitten in the world. Pictures pending.

Names!

Help! I need kitten names!

The strangeness of having one eye dilated

Yes. One of my eyes is dilated. The other is completely constricted. The result is pretty weird looking. And kind of headachy. But on the up side, I got to see a lot of optic disks and I feel like I could maybe do it again. If anyone was wondering, the Welsh Allen pocket set of ophthalmoscopes are just as good as the standard size.

I have watched movies and tv for the last three nights. So far, I have seen half of a CSI with one of my roommates, Underworld with A., Serenity on my own, and Fantastic Four with two of my roommates tonight. Nothing has been accomplished. Medical school is SO much better than undergrad.

Days until I meet my new kitten: 1. I am so, so excited. This kitten pulled me through Biochemistry.

n/t

I'm never quite sure if the world is more complicated or less complicated than it seems.

Good News, Bad News

Good News: I am almost as strong as the Labrador.
Bad News: I am not as strong as the Labrador with momentum.

Good News: I am as fast as the Labrador.
Bad News: I cannot stop as fast as the Labrador.

Good News: The Labrador likes people.
Bad News: Not all people like the Labrador. (see: Man Who Pretended to be a Wall, Yelling Lady.)

Does anyone else remember this skit from the Animaniacs? That was a fun show.

Zoo exhibit

Okay, so, dogs are kind of cool. I really like Riley, the Labrador. I just spent ten minutes sitting with her in the kitchen. She's a big dog - 90 pounds to my 120 - so it's always amusing to watch her try to wiggle into my lap. This time, she settled for putting her head and shoulders in my lap and rolling over so I could rub her tummy. I think it might be fun to have a dog of my own.

But, I know I can't have one - not for a long time anyway. Tam will never stand for it, and I'll have him for at least another nine years (I hope). He can get along with other cats (reluctantly). Unfortunately, he and Riley don't have a great relationship. She *loves* to watch him (I feel like a zoo exhibit sometimes), and he in turn, takes a malicious pleasure in sitting on the edge of the bed near the door, juuuust out of reach.

Oh well. Another thing to look forward to.

Tough Choices

Which is more important? Fifteen minutes of sleep or a hot shower?

Lorenzo's Oil

We saw a movie in Ethics class today - Lorenzo's Oil. The point of the movie was to stimulate thought or discussion or whatever on doctor-patient relationships and the scientific method. So, we sit through all this and at the end, the parents joyfully get the news that all their hard work and research has paid off. Lorenzo's lab results are normal, and the audience is left with the suggestion that since the harmful proteins were gone, Lorenzo was going to be okay.

So, I get home and I'm curious. This is supposedly based off a true story. Google and I am are close, so I do a little digging. Interestingly, Lorenzo is now 27 years old (normally people with his particular degenerative neurological disease only live 6 or 7 years). Wow, I'm momentarily impressed by the father's dedication and success in saving his son's life. Then I keep reading. Lorenzo is totally paralyzed. He cannot speak, and he "has not recovered any functions" which would seem to indicate he is deaf/hearing impaired and blind as well. But he is still mentally capable and apparently communicates by blinking to indicate yes and wiggling his fingers to indicate no.

Good god. What kind of life is that? To be trapped in a body that doesn't let you feel or move or talk or see or eat or talk and be conscious of it? I think the class missed the point - the real ethical question is right there.

Public Speaking

I wonder if I will ever be less nervous about sending out e-mails to the entire class. I mean, I think my e-mail was just as good as previous e-mails that have been sent out before, but it's still going to 150+ people, many of whom I don't know very well. Or at all.

...and I just got an "out of office reply" from someone. How odd. I wonder if they actually have an office. I bet they're faking.


Anyway, here goes. I hope this works out. And M.? Just so you know, if I end up with three people, I may try to recruit you. I would go for my Mom, but she was outrun by an elderly man using a walker once. Just kidding, but that's a true story and I do try to work it into casual conversation when I can. Ask her about it sometime. It's a great story. He was rooting for her and everything.

IOU

So, this is where I would normally do a recap of the holidays. However, I had a rather worrying thought while I was driving back to Pittsburgh this afternoon. I don't really mind that much if family is reading this journal, since it's not nearly as personal as my LJ was. But - I would still really like to know if family is reading.

So. Uhm. If you are related to me in some way, could you please reply to this post? ou Just click the little "0 comments" link on the bottom of the post. I'll know who you are.