Europe, FINALLY

Okay, so it's been almost a month since coming back from Europe and I still haven't said anything about the trip!!! Let's just say when we got back from Europe the craziness of graduation and moving etc set in and thus I really had to put it on the back burner. Plus, every time I thought about posting pics etc I got tired just thinking about sorting through my 1242 pics I took in two weeks. But don't feel bad, my parents haven't even seen ANY pics!!!

I am not as cool as Steph when it comes to the blogging and stuff, she's posting Europe day by day with a lot of cool pics, I just don't have the time or patience. So I am basically doing a "Best of" segment and directing you to Steph's blog for further details of the trip :)~
http://bellacantare.livejournal.com/

These are the things I wrote down while on the trip:
1) Making full use of our German book, ie pointing to the German phrases in the book to communicate with the peeps in Germany, rather than even attempting to speak the language!

2) Loud Americans in the VERY quite German plaza.... Obama!!! hahahaha (we were reminded that Obama had mentioned something about Americans needing to NOT draw attention to themselves while in other countries - so everytime we got loud on the trip, which face it I was there and so it was a lot, we whispered 'obama')

3) Our tour guide in the Vatican talked about various statues, one in particular in which the person didn't look very attractive and said "Sorry, but ugly you were born, ugly you will remain!" I got such a kick out of that!!! hahaha - she also walked around with a little umbrella and said, "okay kids, follow mama"
4) Dood, there is a HUGE Filipino population in Italy and Spain... way to get the hook ups Boom!! Our dinner in Spain the last night was awesome cause it was Flip run. It was nice too, cause I was SOOO tired of speaking crappy Italian and Spanish so I just spoke Tagalog.
5) I got body checked by a priest while in St Peter's Basilica. hahaha.. he checked me into the wall and you could hear my water bottle crunch!
6) The trains : Love the public transportation, easy and dirt cheap. We RAN a lot to catch a train and jammed in like crazy sardins (wish I had a pic of it)
7) Stephanie and the bus (sorry but if you weren't there that night, that is all the information you are priviledged to)
9) Saqua Bar - this place gets a little more of a story
We somehow missed the last train and the bus to our hotel and so we started walking to find a cab, which we couldn't find one at first, but instead saw this bar. So we went in figuring we could order drinks and then ask for a cab. We did, but we were laughing with the bartender and they egged us to sit and stay that we did. They even brought us this awesome tray of munchies, which we figured we were going to get hosed for b/c we were Americans and they messing with us, but we didn't care cause we were having a blast at that point. We then challenged the bartender to make a "viola" shot, at first he was like "what???" but was like "okay, I try" and boy did he FAIL! He mixed some crazy stuff and was worried, not only did it NOT turn purple but it tasted like ass!! hehehe. Oh well. We went back to our seats and hung out some more. A little later he came to our table and "I NO LOOSE" and brought us the viola shoots. Hehehe, I still don't know what was in it, but tasted pretty good :)~
that pretty much takes care of ROME... I will be back later with more about Europe :)~
when I am NOT sure as tomorrow I OFFICIALLY start my Intern year.. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Countdowns

So I noticed it's been oooo almost two months since I've posted anything. It was excusable when I was on SICU and working 12+ hours a day, but don't have much excuse at the moment working max 4 hrs / day @ Dr. Lai's :)~ So what's going on now?? Well just a couple of countdowns:

1) Countdown to the LAST day I will ever write OMSIV on any medical document = SIX days!! SCARY since after that the next time I sign my name on a medical document, it'll be a legal binding thing hold ME PERSONALLY responsible for the care of that patient.... no worries!

2) Countdown until EUROPA!! = TEN days!!! ITALY, SPAIN and pit stop in GERMANY here we come!! I am going with Erik and Stefanie DeSoucy, peeps from medical school / AF and Stephanie Esposito my BF from high school!! We'll have 7 hours in Germany, then 7 days in Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice) and 5 days in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo). Details and MANY pics to come, so just hang on! [check back after May 7th]

3) Countdown until actual graduation = 35 days. still a bit off compared to everything else, so this isn't quite on the radar just yet. Lots going on that week: military dinner, dinner/dance and graduation. Fun week with ALL the fam coming down ie the Delgallego Clan! and my chica Alie and Momma Moody!!

Shedding the "butter bars"

In the military the term "butter bars" refers to 2nd Lieutenants.. ie baby officers who are about as squared away as a recruit on day one of training. We have rank ONLY b/c we have a college degree and nothing else, in the military hierarchy of things we are saluted but we really didn't earn it. I'd salute the Chief if he OR she let me, they already always laugh when I 'accidentally' call them ma'am or sir, but it's a reflex b/c I believe they DEFINITELY have deserved the privilege! NOT ONLY have I been a butter bar the past three and half years, but I am a 'medical butter bar' which translates into 'dumber than shyte' in regards to military etique and protocol. When things go wrong and I don't know what I am doing or how I'm suppose to wear my uniform it's okay b/c when the ranks see me, my butter bars and then the ID that says medical student it is understood that we are "complete moroons" and thus forgiven. hehehehehe. This is NOT an exaggeration, there have been MANY times in the past two years during my TDY's that people have looked at me at first and thought "why" and then saw who I was and thought "oh, okay," but I know the Airman LOVE to correct us, "Umm, excuse Ma'am but your... insert deviation from protocol here. "

Two incidences ring in my head the best: 1) Robin and I are at Eglin AFB in our Blues on a day that everyone else is in BDUs. We then walk right by a Major who ends up saluting us instead of us to her before we realize her rank, who THEN finds us later in the cafeteria and literally asks us "what are you guys doing on my base?" hahaha (that is just the tip of the story and makes me laugh EVERYTIME!) 2) A group of 4 5 medical butter bars are standing outside the ID place at Keesler AFB and the General, yes the General (where the heck was his chief with the eagle!!!), walks right up to us all and we at first didn't notice him. There were three enlisted standing by us and the General asks them, "Are you responsible for these (pointing at us)?" and in all at once they answer, "NOT US!" hehehe. Like I said, medical butter bars = giant bulls eyes with dunce caps! can pick us off one at a time probably from 300 yards away WITHOUT a scope!

Well, I just completed my LAST TDY and official duties as a medical butter bar, ie my last rotation at the hospital as a 2nd Lieutenant medical student. The uniforms are off to the cleaners and then when I get time to out to March AFB I will be purchasing my Captain bars! School isn't over and I am not quite done with rotations but the next time I put on my BDU's or Blues it will NO LONGER be as a butter bar! Which is both a good and bad thing :) Again butter bar ie don't know any better officer but able to use it as an excuse!! As a Captain people expect more out of you, as an officer and for us as an actual Doctor! No longer will we have the wall of white coat captains in front of us at morning report / noon lectures - we will be the wall of white coats!!! SCARY!!

update.. pics from lesson learned

(Christy on the L, me on the R)

So here are the pics from when I went hiking at San Gabriel Mtns with Tobin and Christy that results in my fantastic looking feet!! (they looked so great in fact that one of my friends commented that "it looks as if I was tortured recently" - sad day ) hehehe. Well the update on the feet is that they are FINALLY almost 100% healed. There is just a few spots that still have little scabs, some of the skin is still growing back but nothing is hurting or itching or no longer read or painful to the touch. Seriously, didn't think the ramifications would be this bad. I honestly can not bring myself to putting on my chaco's just yet, I might have a little PTSD from the hike.
ANYWHO, here are the picks.. despite what happened to my feet, the hike itself was awesome! Gorgeous weather, good times with friends I had not seen in a year and fresh air.

One of the MANY river bed crossings!

The first blister I got Tobin tried to cut if off at the pass... little first aid on the trail, unfortunately it was NOT effective.

Found some rocks to chill on for lunch.

Another rive crossing... um it was COLD!! and this one knee deep!

Weekend Lessons

So I learned a few things this weekend, well maybe not exactly "learned" but realized I need to PAY ATTENTION more to details.

Lesson One: Sandals? Are they broken in yet?
I went hiking with the Rummel's in the San Gabriel Mountains on Saturday. Christy informed me the day before that we might have to cross the riverbed a couple times so I thought no prob I'll just bring my chacos (I love those things!... well not right now ;) We started the hike in shoes and we ended crossing the riverbed about 3-4x before we all thought we should change into our sandals. The sandals were better since we just walked right through the bed rather than trying to balance on the rocks and branches to not get wet. Well things would have been okay, until I started feeling a few hot spots, no big deal just a bit bothersome. One the way back 2 of them hurt something good but again push through! no worries!! I think it also helped that the water was really cold and every 10 min or so my feet were numb as we waded across the river. Halfway back I realized that even though I purchased these particular chacos about 2 months ago I had barely worn them since it was winter, thus basically still new, NOT broken into, rough around the edges. Combine that crossing the river bed about every 100 yards for 6 miles, wet feet, rocks and sand.. well the pic says it all:
Honestly the pic does NOT do my feet justice!! Esp since the one that hurts the most right now is on my back lateral, left heel and I couldn't get a good angle on it. Didn't even feel the heel one until two days ago, but when we finished the hike and I took off my chacos there was blood on the back strap! haha! And that is the one that is slightly swollen, red and painful when I walk. I consider myself very tolerant to pain, so when it really bothers me it worries me slightly - as a medical student what is on the top of my differential?? Cellulitis or worse it's spread and now its osteomyelitis!!
I have working these past two days in my black flipflops because my feet will NOT go in my danskos, I tried this AM to walk in the kitchen with them and well I made a few of the open blisters bleed. Still surprises me how many freakin' blisters I got from one day of hiking. One thing is for certain, I am definately a pronator!! since there isn't any on the lateral aspects of my feet.

Lesson Two: Check the height of the seat on the bike
On Sunday, yes the day after the hike and the shredding of my feet I shoved them into sneakers - what can I say I am masochistic, DeSoucy took me for a bike ride in the hills (we are training for our TRI and so we figured we could do 15 mi flat no prob if we conquered a few good climbs!) So there I was trudging up this freakin' mountain and after the first incline I was tired and the legs were fatigued. At that point I though maybe the hike the day before wore me out more than I thought. Again, my mentality was to just press on! As I did my quads and piriformi were killing!! Eventually I felt like they were literally going to EXPLODE!! Feel the burn is an absolute understatement. I mean it was definitely a challenging hill, about 2 miles up and a pretty steep incline, so I was out of breath the majority of the climb, and I am an amateur rider learning to work the gears etc, but the burn was crazy. Soooo as I could see the top, with only about 2 more short inclines, a guy on a horse :) going the opposite direction sees me and told me to raise my seat. I had NO power in my legs because my seat was too low and I couldn't extend them properly. I adjusted my seat and my first thought was "F*** are you kidding me!" it took off about 45% of the resistance I was feeling. SERIOUSLY! Oh well! I finished off the climb and had an awesome ride the back side of the mountain, even caught some air - accidentally of course when I hit this rock and with BOTH wheels off the dirt at the speed I was going saw my life flash before my eyes as I envisioned slamming into the ground, eating dirt and shredding even more skin!

All in all, a GREAT weekend! Can't complain tooo much. Great weather for being outdoors all weekend, got to soak up some sun, play in the fresh air of the mountains, and enjoy the awesome company of two pairs of friends!

took this from Steph, who took it from someone else :)~ Been awhile since I posted anything, I will soon, but thought this was fun to do first.

BOLD is what I have done, Italics has already been planned for the NEAR future.

And after reading through them all and seeing the highlighted stuff, I guess I can say that I've done a lot, and will be doing more since there are several italized things. I feel my life has been very blessed in that I have been able to bold many of these and for all the other things in my life that aren't on this.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (and yes Steph, I say playing in Marching Band counts!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (I don't think this is something I should be proud of)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty - 354 steps BABY!
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - Europa Trip scheduled for April '09
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort - I built a wooden fort, that should count too!!!!
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a (HALF) Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - Italy here I come!!
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - born there!! and will be visiting the other "Mother Country" i.e Spain
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - in progress. "Mi sono" --> means I am lost in Italian.. umm I might be saying that one a lot! hehe
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing ** - and waiting for the next time.. CHRISTY!!
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke - umm hello! Filipina!!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance - yes, but I wasn't the patient
47. Had your portrait painted - well, if you count the guys at Pier 39
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain - you want me to kiss n tell???
53. Played in the mud - just signed up to do it again too :) Camp Pendleton Mud Run!!
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - does the school paper count???
85. Read the entire Bible - work in progress
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox - this NEEDS to be bolded, toooo old to get it now and not be at risk for serious complications
89. Saved someone’s life .. will be my primary goal for the remainder, or should I say when I start my career in JULY!!!
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

New Obsession

I am SOOO glad that this movie did not come out until now because before the movie I was able to avoid starting a new book series, easy to ignore just by not picking it up. However, now that the movie came out and I took my little cousin to watch it (okay, okay, I will admit I really wanted to watch it too! hehehe ;) I could not fight the urge to pick up the books!!! What can I say, I've ALWAYS been into vampire novels. I LOVE things supernatural, that's what I always used to read when I was younger, and we all know about my obsession with Harry Potter and of course Charmed! Right after the movie we went over the Barnes and Nobles right beside the theatre and I bought the entire box set!! and it was the last one on the shelf!!!
Not too bad timing though, so I don't feel that guilty that I am obsessing over the books. Thankfully the movie didn't come out in the Spring as I was studying for shelves and the boards!! It is now December and "senioritis" has definitely kicked in, and really well deserved at this point, if I might say ;) hehehe. I will fight to at least stay somewhat focused and 'appear' interested in my current rotation. However it will get even harder after the match results come out... IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS!!!! ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! Trying not to think about it, I will distract myself with my current novel set... they are GREAT!!
waiting in the wings movie-wise : 1) Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix 2) Angels & Demons