Century/2

Yikes. It's officially official: I am not a good blogger.

In my mind, a good blogger is defined as someone who can blog at least twice a week, no problem. If I were a good blogger, I should have probably at least three times as many posts by now. But regardless, I have finally hit the half century mark for blogs (hence my title; no riddles this time). And with this post, I'll mark the end of our time on Dominica; so the next time you see me blogging, it will be from the states! But I'm getting ahead of myself. There are a lot of things that have been going on.

Firstly, in case you missed the news, Melissa officially passed her fourth semester, making her a legitimate 3rd-year medical student! Right now she's gearing up to take the Comp on Friday, which is a test Ross makes everyone take before they leave so they can see where they are study-wise for the USMLE Step 1 class. Also, Ross provided a test prep class these last few weeks that Melissa has been taking. I'm amazed that she's been able to keep studying as much as she has; the temptation is definitely there to take it easy and blow off the Comp, and I know that historically a lot of students do just that. But since Melissa's doing so much work now, she'll be able to enjoy the weeks around Christmas and New Year's much more.

But after that, she's gonna crack down! So before 5th semester, which starts in late February, we're going to stay in Ohio with my parents, and while we're there, Melissa will be back in super study mode. As in, we're going to have my family sign contracts indicating that they will not bother Melissa while she's studying unless it's an emergency. And so I'll be a bouncer of sorts, but a nice one.

In Rosco news, check out what he did a couple weeks ago!

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Honestly, I'm surprised that pillow lasted as long as it did. But as soon as he got one little hole in it, the pillow was a goner. And fyi, that first picture was basically what we walked into when we came home from dinner. He looked so proud of himself. But in the end (heh), all that came out of it (hehe) was that the fluff that he ingested gave him a little constipation for a couple days. Sorry, I'm a little immature sometimes.

Something else that happened this last month was the fourth semester banquet! It's always held at the historical Fort Shirley, which is a couple miles north of campus. Melissa was on the planning committee, so you can be sure that everything went swimmingly! The food was excellent, the weather cooperated, and the emcees didn't swear at all (well, this one guy came up to try and settle people down before dinner, and let an f-bomb slip, but he wasn't supposed to be on the mic...). All in all, of the two banquets I've been to, this one was by far the best.

Melissa with her friends Sarah (left) and Kara

Non sequitur: today there has been a crap-ton of rain. Seriously, it has been raining hard all day. Some places down near campus are flooding! It never floods here! So it's been a little crazy, but I guess the island just wanted to leave us with one last memory before we all leave. Just as long as there isn't any of this nonsense next Monday! Well, the next time I talk to you all, I'll be significantly closer!  Hope you're all getting festive and ready for the holidays!

Take care!

Eric

FADSOFASTE (Or a reflection on how often I use parentheses)

For once, I'm not going to title this one until after I've written the post. Fun fact: I have always titled my posts before I start writing, because usually I have a pretty solid idea about what to say. But today, let's see where the post goes, and I'll title it at the end. Let's hope the title that you've already read, but I haven't thought up yet, makes sense. That's kind of crazy to think about, huh? o_O

As you may or may not know (side note: has there ever been a character written named Mayor Maynott? I feel like there's some potential there...), the island of Dominica doesn't "celebrate" Daylight Savings Time, meaning that I'm now a further hour ahead of you than I have been. Apologies especially to my West Coast peeps; we're basically a meal apart now (as in, I could be having dinner when you're having lunch, and so on). It is nice that the sun is still up at 5:15 pm now. So, pros and cons I guess.

Did anybody catch the lunar eclipse yesterday? I heard there were a couple good times to catch it, but I was either asleep to see it or it was too overcast to see it. All I got out of it was the humbling realization that I forgot the difference between Lunar and Solar eclipses. It's a problem.

So, I've been working at the prep school for 2 (or 3? It runs together) full weeks now, and PHEW! Middle school is exhausting! In the time I've been there, we've been introduced to the new principal, we celebrated Creole day with students from a local school, I subbed once for the Language Arts teacher, and of course, the annual Halloween costume parade/trick-or-treat. And today was a national holiday, so I have the day off. Just enough of a break to recuperate for this week!

On a note related to work, the Standardized Patient program is still going strong. I've got one more round of cases to 'perform' this month. And for once, my case doesn't involve insane amounts of pain/writhing around (as you may remember, my last two cases have had me at 8 and 10 on the pain scale. Pretty serious stuff). It is still very interesting, and as much as I'd like to divulge all the nitty gritties, I think I should avoid it, just in case any students are out there reading. No cheating, guys.

For transparency's sake, I should let you know that I've actually thought up a title for this post. My bad. I can't help myself sometimes! So at this point, the title is there, now I just need to 'fulfill' it. If you catch my drift. Which you might not. It's not super important. But I did want to talk a little about how much I use parentheses when I write. It's an addiction. I have 2 theories about why I use them so frequently (getting meta here). It's either because A) I use "asides" a lot when I'm having conversations in real life, and parentheses get the right tone when I try to type those sorts of stories; or B) because all the algebra/calculus I've taken got me in the habit when I was working on functions that used parentheses, brackets, etc. Probably the first, but part of me wants to believe it's because of math, unlikely as that may be.

And now on to newsy-type things about Melissa! She's got one more week of class, and then takes a test next Monday, and her final the Monday after that. And once that's done, she starts the review course to get her ready for the "Comp" (aka Are-You-Ready-For-The-Step test). I know that some people have a really hard time with the comp, but Melissa's been doing practice questions for a long time, and she works hard to retain information. She's gonna be fine, no doubt.

So, in closing, I hope you figured out my pseudo-cryptic title. Not to be that guy, but it should be pretty straightforward if you're observant. Also, the pup is still doing fine. We decided that his birthday should be veteran's day (Nov. 11th), arbitrarily. I need to figure out what to do for him...hm... I'll try to remember to post next week after his birthday!

Take care! (Figure it out yet?)

Eric

Update! (aka oops it's been a while again)

Well hello again you fine people! I hope you've been well. It's probably fall where you are, and the leaves are turning and making a mess of your respective yards/streets/parking lots. That's cool. It's still hot here. And very green. They don't call Dominica "The Nature Isle" for nothing (at least I think that's what 'they' call it).  Much has been going on here, so why don't I tell you about it? That's probably a good idea. Yeah.

Melissa is 2 days out from her second mini of the semester (Monday bright and early!), so she's in super study mode. What that means is she only skype messages me once every 4 or 5 hours compared to 2 or 3. Even then, sometimes I can tell when she's clearly just looking for me to distract her because she's bored or tired of studying. It's ok; I'd definitely do the same thing if I were her.

In other news, I got hired by the prep school! I'm sort of a teacher aide that moves between classes and helps out. One of the major reasons I wasn't able to be a full-time teacher at the school while we were down here is because they require the teachers to sign a contract for the entire school year, and when I got here, they already had the 12-13 school year teachers. And now, since we're leaving in December, I couldn't do the 13-14 school year either. But I am glad they found a spot for me to help out and re-tune my craft! I forgot how much energy it takes to teach, especially when you're teaching 11-year-olds. But I'm getting back into it!

Now here's a special treat: a video that Rosco and I took last week of this crazy plant that grows outside our apartment. The pup found it because he thought there were bugs in the grass, but...well, just watch and see what he found.

Pretty cool, right? Sorry about the fumbling around; It's tricky pointing with something when you're looking through a lens. Also when you have a dog on the leash in the other hand. 

Well, that's all for me today. Be thinking of Melissa on Monday when she has her test! Go get some pumpkins for me!

Take care,

Eric

It was the best of naps, it was the worst of naps...

Actually, it was probably just the worst of naps. Bleargh.

So anyhow, here's the background: Melissa studies until pretty late in the day. And, like the good spouse I am, I stay up for her (partly because Rosco and I pick her up down the hill, but I would stay up anyway). So this means that I'm basically on the same sleep schedule as her. Which is probably about 5 1/2 or 6 hours, average.

Now, Melissa is pretty good at napping. She's told me that she can take a 10-minuter easily, if need be. Unfortunately for me, I've never learned good nap-taking. So when I try, usually I just end up laying down for a few minutes before I give up. Also, it's too hot up here for naps; Melissa has the benefit of AC-controlled classrooms to nap in. But I digress. All in all, the cumulative hours of sleep that I've neglected to "nap back" finally seemed to get back at me.

Yesterday at around 2:45, I decided I was just too doggone tired. So I went to lay down on the bed (first mistake, apparently) without my phone/alarm (mistake #2) and the fan cranked way up (#3). I read for literally 4 minutes before the tiredness overtook me.

I actually woke up briefly around 3:20 or so, but I think it was just to roll over.

The next time I woke up? 6:15. I took a 3 and a half hour nap. BLEARGH. For those of you who haven't experienced what it feels like to come out of a REM cycle as the sun's setting, it's like someone made your brain do a 360 inside your skull. I simultaneously was hungry, nauseous, energized, and sleepy. And Rosco needed to pee. Luckily (or not), he didn't try to bother me while I was asleep. But he seemed happy that I was up.

I feel for Rip Van Winkle. Waking up at the wrong time of day (or year) is extremely jarring. I guess I'm just used to my energy levels being at a certain point at a specific time of day, so when I feel like 9 am at 11 pm, it messes with my head.

In short, naps are hard.

But you know what else is hard? Med school! Melissa has her first mini on Monday, bright and early at 8 am (EST). So be thinking of her then! Apparently the first test of 4th semester is the hardest, mini-wise. I think this block is Neuro, but I could be way off. I just remember hearing the students talking about personality disorders the other day, so if that's not brain-related, then beats me. [Melissa: when you read this, feel free to correct me with a comment :)]  {Check out that double bracket going on over there; takes me back to undergrad math courses <shudders>}

Alright, it's getting a little out of control. Also, I ran out of brackets. I hope you're still enjoying autumn!

-Eric

Go Fourth and Multi-task!

I'll begin with an anecdote of sorts.

So down here, we have these creatures called "rain flies", colloquially. Apparently they lay their eggs in the puddles after it rains, so a day or two later you can expect hordes of them buzzing around your lights. Fortunately, they don't usually get too bad up at our apartment, but when they do, Rosco enjoys licking them up after they pass out/die on the floor. They aren't his favorite bug; that would have to be grasshoppers. Once in a blue moon, when we're out walking at night, he'll happen to find one. And oh boy, does he make a whole thing out of it. Regardless of where he finds it, he drops straight into a perfect "down" position and starts batting at it, with the occasional bite-check to make sure it doesn't completely get away. And he will just sit and play with it for as long as you let him. Or when it finally dies from him playing too rough. Then he eats it. Such a weird dog.

Honestly, sometimes I think he lived with cats before we got him, because he has some weird tendencies that aren't very canine of him. He'll rub his side up on your leg, he arches his back in that classic cat fashion, and of course, the playing with his prey. Also, it took him a really long time to figure out how to lift his leg when he pees. And he still doesn't do it all the time. Oh Rosco, you goof. 

Melissa meanwhile is working virtually non-stop as 4th semester continues to throw material and obligations at her, and I think she's handling it very well! This semester is different from the first 3 in that there are only classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday instead of every day. But rather than have 4 hours of lecture 5 days a week, the 4ths are given 8 hours over 3 days. Yes, it does add up to more hours, but the reason for that is so that Ross can provide a 3-week review course at the end of the semester so students can prepare for the "Comp" (aka Step 1 litmus test). But I can tell that the pace is hard to adjust to. With all of the clinical practice sessions and trips to the hospital in Roseau, Tuesdays and Thursdays aren't as free as you'd think. But Melissa has a good system set up for studying, so she's staying on top of it.

Now for me: I finally got a new case for Standardized Patient! At last, my kidney stones are gone (what a relief). But, for professionalism's sake, I'm not going to spoil what my new condition(s?) is(/are?). You never know who reads this! I also subbed at the prep school for the first time in a while. It went pretty ok; just gave some pre-tests. So they had to be quiet and I couldn't help them. Tons of fun, right? But other than that, I've been jamming with some other spouses every week or so, brushing up on my guitar skills. So that's pretty fun as well. I'll keep y'all posted more frequently as things happen, and I should be able to get back to blogging once a week or so.

So, I think that'll do it for today. I hope you guys are enjoying the weather turning to fall! Save some leaves for me!

-Eric

Melissa's Summer Break in Dominica (with plenty o' pictures!)

So sorry about the complete lack of blogging this month! I guess in the lead-up to Melissa's final, I was too focused on keeping her going through the week of studying. Also probably a little bit of laziness, as well as not much happening outside of the studying. And once break started, we were spending too much time going all over this beautiful island and seeing the sights that have eluded Melissa for the most part. So here is a picto-blog, narrated by Melissa herself (!). Enjoy!

Aww what a cutie! He's smiling for the picture.

These crabs are funny to watch. They dig out their holes by using the big claw to hold the dirt against their body. Then they sidle out and flick the sand away. This one came out after fighting another crab for the same hole.

I sense a new profile picture for Eric here. Look how nicely Rosco is sitting for the camera!

Rosco still isn't sure about the water. We're working on it.

Sunset on Coconut Beach.

This is one of those accidental awesome shots. The plant in the foreground, the blue of the sky, the red of the palm tree, and it satisfies the rule of thirds. Kudos to me!

The looooooonnnng line of new first semester students we walked behind on the way to Syndicate Falls. There were nine tour buses! This hike was not for the faint of heart; the Welcome Committee neglected to tell us that this hike requires 3 river crossings and good hiking shoes. A few of the parents that came along were in nice sandals or socks and shoes they didn't want getting wet. It was entertaining to watch them wringing out their socks and complaining to their student about how hard the hike was. 

Happy Eric.

Aren't these awesome? I almost tripped because I was looking up at the ferns instead of my feet. 

These are the rocks at the base of the falls. They were super slippery! They also had to tell us not to bathe in the water because this river supplies the town below. Apparently it's ok if 150 people walk in it though...

Just hangin' out.

Yes, that is barbed wire behind us. I guess climbing isn't allowed.

Some pretty flowers near the end of the hike.

Here's a different day when we went to Champagne Reef to snorkel. Eric's really excited to get out in the water!

This is a gem for the scrapbook...

So this place didn't have a beach, just a bunch of rocks. It's really too bad we don't have a waterproof camera, because the sealife here was amazing. It's called Champagne Reef because there are volcanic vents deep below the sea and they give off bubbles that make it look like champagne. It was gorgeous.

This is about right for Dominica. Luckily, he had already made our food before he left.

The juices of the day were passionfruit and pineapple. Eric had a chef salad and I had the grilled mahi-mahi. Although here, mahi-mahi is not a nice fillet of white fish. Instead it's the name locals use instead of dolphin fish. I suppose too many students were worried that they were eating dolphin or something.

Yes I know, I'm still terribly white. But it's hard to get sun in the classrooms!

This is a different waterfall called Trafalgar Falls. You can't see it here but there's another fall up to the left of my head. Our guide told us that it used to be one waterfall but a landslide happened and caused the second waterfall to appear. 

Here's the other waterfall. I actually think this one's prettier. See the different cascades about 1/3 the way up? It's smaller but nicer. Apparently someone climbed this one, while the water was rushing down!

Lovely ladies! Kaydee is in the middle and Sarah to the right. Fourth semester here we come!

Here we are at Screw Spa. No, that water's not dirty, it's just full of sulfur. This place is great; there 4 or 5  pools of varying temperatures and they are all fed by natural hot springs. This one was probably a normal hot-tub temperature. They cemented the walls and floors of the springs so they are rather pleasant to be in. Also, it's only 10EC ($4) with an ID so it's a great deal! 

We went to a fancy hotel in Roseau for dinner and had some drinks. Eric's rather proud of this picture.

Enjoying our drinks...because it'll be the last time before the semester's over! 9 weeks until our final and 12 weeks until the comprehensive exam...and less than 6 months until the USMLE Step 1! Scary thought.

And a nice ocean shot to finish it off. This is back on Coconut Beach. The two bumps are a piece of land called the Cabrits. There's a fort on the larger one that's a remnant of the colonial era when England and France were squabbling over rights to the island. 

Ok, it's Eric again.  As you can see, we had plenty of fun this break! And we did even more things, but forgot to bring a camera to those...Gotta work on that. Photography is one of those things that I always forget that I enjoy.

So tomorrow, Melissa starts back up! She actually started studying this week, reviewing old topics, previewing lectures for the upcoming week, and doing as much printing as the school will allow her to. I'll try keeping you peeps updated as her final island-semester goes along.

Have a good one!

-Eric (& Melissa)

One more week!! (Nearing the end of third semester)

Well, this semester certainly flew by! It's hard to believe Melissa is nearly 3/4ths done with her time on Dominica. It seems like just yesterday we were fumbling through security at the airport, missing all of our bags and staring at each other with a general, "Do you have any idea what is going on here, because I definitely do not" sort of expression. Ah, those days.

Since then, my upper arms have tanned more than the have in my entire life, I kill about a half dozen tiny spiders on a daily basis, and Rosco. He's not really much bigger since I've taken pictures. He's still a hyper goofball, but he's only got about a month left before the vet comes to do the old "snip-snip". As cute as he is, I just don't know if the world could handle another Rosco. And he's been trying with the dog downstairs (who has been fixed herself, which makes it less stressful; also she gets really peeved when he tries anything, so there haven't been any scares).

But enough talk about my dog's testicles (hands down weirdest sentence I've ever blogged). Melissa has a mini TOMORROW. And for those of you keeping score, that's also our 3-year anniversary!!

Lookit how happy these people are for us! If you had told me 3 years ago that the girl I was about to marry would take me to a tropical island while she beast-modes the first 2 years of medical school, I would have probably said, "Sweet. Sounds good to me." She's the best!!

So anyways, be thinking of her tomorrow morning (8:00 EST), and then be thinking of her this week as she studies for the final next Wednesday! Don't worry, I'll supply the back-rubs. 

Ok, good talk.

Take care!

Eric

What I've been doing lately (aka the shortest blog post with the longest title, at least I hope it's the longest title; I forgot to go check...probably safe to end it now)

This.


-Eric

Crazy video Melissa made me watch!! (Link inside)

And by watch, I mean "I had another tab opened while I listened to it". Here's that link for ya: "Flatline"

Basically, it's about these heart surgeons in Texas who figured out a way to make an artificial heart. Go watch it, if you've got the stomach for seeing some insides (this is why I had another tab opened). But medically speaking, it's pretty awesome that these sorts of things are making progress. Although it does seem sort of creepy that the device doesn't make a heart beat sound. But you should just go watch that link, if you haven't already.

In other news, as you may have heard, we got hit by Tropical Storm Chantal last week. Campus was shut down for a day, our water cut out for a little while, and there was a little wind in the morning, but we made it out ok. I've seen worse!

Unfortunately for the students, there were some serious internet problems coinciding with the storm, yet unrelated to the weather specifically. As far as I know, there were some system problems, and the network crapped out for a day or so. This meant that no one could watch lectures online or check email, so apparently class was packed on Wednesday/Thursday. Plus, everyone was grumbly. I could see how that might have been unpleasant.

Finally, here's a Rosco update. Today he farted in my face. See if I ever take him in a car again...

Take care y'all!

Eric

Guess how many drugs Melissa has to know for her Mini?

I'll give you a second to think and make a guess. Keep in mind, she's got a little over 4 weeks of lecture (I think?) to study, and considering that she doesn't have lecture on Mondays, we're talking probably a little shy of 70 lecture hours to work with. And not all of those lectures are drugs (that would be terrible).


Here, let me scroll a little so you can make a guess before you see the answer.

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I know I always have trouble reading ahead in books. It's sort of an annoying habit.

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Especially when exciting things are happening. I mean, c'mon, why can't I just read the paragraphs in order instead of skipping to the next one to see what happens! Oi.

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Oh man, don't get me started on "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories. I would bookmark all the different places where you make decisions and read through each of them (because it's such a hassle to start all the way over and read that increasingly boring set-up. I get it, the year is 3187 and you're a normal kid on Earth-Y2 until a mysterious man etc. etc.). Those books. Ugh.


Oh, and the answer is 107. ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN DRUGS. It boggles my mind. And when she tells me about it, there usually isn't that much caps in her voice. Either she has come to terms with the insanity of it, or she really doesn't have that much trouble memorizing so much. I'm willing to bet the latter.

And out of those 107, I pronounce about 97 of them incorrectly. I don't know what it is, but whatever language they write drug names in is not one I'm fluent in. If I had some of them in front of me, I'd show you what I mean. They're infuriating.


Well, that's really the big thing I wanted to tell y'all. Melissa's mini is on Monday (2 days!), and afterwards we are going on a day-trip to Roseau for a little shopping and Pizza Hut. We're both pretty pumped about the Pizza Hut. S'good.

Last thing: no hurricanes yet! Keep it up, Dominica!

Peace out,

Eric

No Mo' Beard (and the Squeaky Puppy w/ video!)

GO HAWKS!

*ahem.

Now that hockey playoff season is over, my beard no longer serves any purpose. Therefore, I shaved it.

Before any shaving. I think it knows that something's up.

Decided to screw around a little after the neck was shaved. Not sure if I can pull this off.

Chin beard gone, going for the "Youth Pastor" look as Melissa calls it.  The face I'm making is irrelevant.

Just the soul patch left. I can't actually see it, because I have a gigantic nose.

It's getting worried now... (what is that neck vein/thing called? Mine can be quite prominent)

And finished! And I did it all with a regular razor (one of those Gillette things).  My face is cool and happy again.

Here is that video of my pup being cute with his squeaky toy.

D'awwww.

Hope you enjoyed this goofy little post! Maybe I'll try doing some more YouTubes. Who knows?

Miscellaneous

I like using words that have all five vowels in them (today's title being a prime example). The first one I figured out when I was a wee lad was "education", and I was quite proud of myself. Then I discovered "facetious", which is extra special because the vowels show up in alphabetical order! 

But this isn't a post about words! It's a post that happens to use words!

...

Ok, so for starters, Rosco is still big. He hasn't grown much lately, but I'd say he's about 40 pounds or so. This puts him in the "hard to pick up" category of pet. It's like picking up a seven-year-old with claws. 

He also has this new game where he gets a toy and makes me chase him around the apartment in circles. This game is especially fun if it's a squeaky toy. I'll have to try and record him doing it sometime that Melissa's home.

Speaking of Melissa, here is a special PSA from the doc-to-be: take your daily multi-vitamin! She recently told me that her fingernails have seen a lot of healthy progress since we've been on Dominica taking vitamins, and she's pretty sure that it has to do with some anemia. Crazy!

Changing topics: I've been growing a playoff beard for the Stanley Cup finals. No mustache. No neck beard. But everything else (or at least as much as I can). All I can say is I'll be happy when it's over. Too hot for facial hair down here. Also, go Hawks! (cue Chelsea Dagger).

Also, I just realized that it didn't really rain that much this week (relatively speaking of course). Which probably means that next week will be that much worse. But who knows? I'm no weatherman. 

And that is my little bit of potpourri blogging for you. I hope it smelled nice (:^/). 

Peace out,

Eric

Mini tomorrow!

Couldn't think of a very good title, but I like the double meaning that people could get out of it. No, tomorrow is not going to be unusually small; Melissa's tests are just called, "mini's".

Side note: can someone get me the official ruling on if and when it's correct to use an apostrophe to make something plural? Sometimes it just feels right to do it. If I wrote "minis", it looks wrong. Like, latin or something.

But anyhow, yes. Tomorrow is Melissa's first 3rd-semester test, all about those bugs and drugs and hugs, like I mentioned last time. Her routine is solid: up at 6:30, shower/breakfast, out the door at 7:30, power through the day, get on the bus at 11 or 11:30 pm. I think she eats in there at some point(s). As always, she's working hard non stop. Wanna know just how hard she's working? She made me change her Facebook password. Yep. Hardcore stuff, right there.

I hoping we'll be able to enjoy the rest of the day after her test, but based on the weather these last couple days, I'm not so sure. We had a nice stretch of good weather for about a week, but come Saturday evening, it got rain-centric again. It rains off and on all day, with a couple downpours mixed in for good measure. Luckily our water hasn't been affected *too* much, but anything could happen. 

Rosco is doing pretty well, although I know that he hates this weather more than I do. If it's raining harder than a sprinkle, I have to drag him outside (even with an umbrella). Also he tends to sleep a lot more when it's rainy than when it's sunny. He's probably got the right idea, to be honest. I've never been a good napper. Something about the way it usually gets darker while you're asleep, and then you wake up and you're disoriented, and you get sleep burps that taste awful, and...ech. I could go on. Maybe my naps are too long. 

***LIVE UPDATE AS I'M BLOGGING*** Rosco has peed like a boy dog for the first time in his life! He's been a 'squatter' since day 1, but just a few minutes ago, he lifted his leg! I'm so proud.

Anyhoo, be thinking of Melissa tomorrow morning! Hope you're all well!

-Eric

Bugs, Drugs and Hugs

Before you start worrying that I've gotten into the wrong sort of habits, let me just tell you: this is what I've dubbed the first block of semester 3 of med school. The reason being that they are focused on learning tons of diseases (the bugs), as well as pharmacology (the drugs), and mixing in plenty of patient interaction experience (the hugs; because, you know, you gotta be good to the patients). Most students already call it "Bugs and drugs", but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to throw in more rhymes.

Interesting thing that Melissa found today: in addition to this being the birthday of Julius Richard Petri (the one who invented the eponymous dish), they were able to capture a molecule at the single atom level. The pictures look a lot like the diagrams in textbooks, apparently. You see, these are the kind of things Melissa finds when she's taking a study break. A STUDY BREAK AND SHE'S READING MORE SCIENCE. She crazy.

Also, in case you were wondering, she listens to a lot of classical music when studying, but today her ear was apparently craving the scores from the first four Harry Potter films (at least, she was only through four at 2 this afternoon; I'm willing to be she made it at least through Half-Blood Prince). So folks, the next time you're at the doctor's office, ask him/her what their go-to "study music" is. It should be an interesting answer.

Speaking of music, I'm in a band! You see, I had already been playing bass for about half the worship services with Ross Christian Fellowship, but a fellow spouse approached me a few weeks ago to join up with him and a couple students. These guys are pretty legit, especially compared to someone with relatively little "professional" bass experience. Luckily my natural inclination to play music from however many years of band I've had translated into a passable first practice last Saturday. And we even have some gigs this semester. In front of people, even! I'll keep you posted with how those go, and hopefully I can snag a pic or two from the events.

To close, I'll just tell you now: tomorrow officially ushers in hurricane season in the Caribbean. But based on the weather these last couple weeks, it feels like it's already here. We are getting a lot of rain (and even a bit of thunder/lightning!), and that has led to a couple days of reduced water or no water whatsoever. Don't worry: I try to keep the fridge stocked with reserves, so we're not going to dehydrate. Just be thankful for the water you have whenever you need it!

Take care you all!

-Eric

Whit Monday in Les Saintes (aka yet another Picto blog!)

Let me explain, because I'm sure some things in the title need clarifying. Firstly, "Whit Monday" is a Dominican holiday celebrating the workday following Pentecost Sunday. Since it's a national holiday, Ross gives the students the day off. So Melissa and her friends decided to hire a boat (a catamaran, to be precise) to take us to Les Saintes, or the smaller islands that make up Guadeloupe. And in case you missed the other ones, a picto blog is one where I just upload a bunch of pictures and put captions under them.  Enjoy!

Here we are at pier, bright and early. Our boat is the one right behind the rightmost wooden poles on the dock. Er, or the one to the right of that. No, it's the first one. A real live catamaran!

We're on the boat! And I have my sweet Raphael shirt on. I already knew at this point that it would be a good day.

Kaydee, Kara, and Sara with Captain Marc in the background. He's French! 

Luckily for us, Frances here is quite fluent in French, and she graciously translated for us throughout our voyage. Not sure what she's looking at here...

...Oh. Maybe this. This is Andrew. He took a lot of the pictures that I'm using for this blog today. Thanks, Andrew. 

This is Melanie, the First-mate on board. She was pretty chill; she's also French, but she travels all over the place. In fact, I think she was getting ready to go to Canada pretty soon! 

The inner cabin of the boat. Downstairs, they had a bathroom, but it was advised to not use while we were out on the water. The reason being that when we're on the waves, seasickness comes much more quickly when you can't see the water. Luckily we didn't have much trouble in general, but there was some Dramamine taken pre-emptively by some.

The boat that took us to the boat. A modest little vessel. 

The sail!

Remember that guy from earlier? Yeah, they let him drive the boat. Don't worry, he didn't hit anything (I think).

In Les Saintes. It has a very nice vibe to it. Very bright and clean, with lots of little souvenir shops and restaurants near the port. We walked up and down the main road a few times looking for a good bakery to get some French bread. Due to poor timing, we didn't get any. But we still ate well (see below)!

A church we saw. 'Twas nice. 

A statue of some sort. It was in this little garden in between two roads. 

Here's us walking back to the restaurant for lunch. We tried going right after getting off the boat, but they didn't open until noon. Hence the walking.

At lunch. The new face on the far left is Andre, the First mate on the other boat that traveled with us. As you can see, we were all having a great time throughout the day. Everyone was able to relax and enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of Les Saintes.

The food was so good, we took pictures of it. This was Curry Chicken that Kara got. She liked it.

I think this was Kaydee's fish. She also liked it. The food was really spectacular, and plated with care and precision. For a bunch of students used to Subway and fare from "the Shacks", this was ambrosia.

Who doesn't like a cup of coffee after lunch? Me, apparently.

After lunch, we got back on the catamaran and moved over to a good snorkeling spot. Frances has an underwater camera, so we were able to get some fish shots!

Here's some nice orange coral. The fish were a little finicky about being on camera.

There were some nice conch shells lying on the bottom of the sea bed, but when I went down to try to get one, a little black fish came out from nowhere and poked me on the arm! He seemed angry, so I left the shells alone. It was weird, but pretty funny.

Candid! Just chilling in the water before heading back to Dominica.

On the way back, a few of us brave souls ventured as far as allowed up the bow of the boat to try and catch some waves as they broke underneath. It was more exciting than it looks. And yes, that is netting on either side of me, but no, I didn't test it too thoroughly.

See? Everyone is still smiling and enjoying themselves. When your group looks this good in the 12th hour of your trip, you've had a good trip.

And the sunset on the way back. Probably the best day trip possible. And of course, there's already talk about planning another one...

Well, I hope you liked the pictures. Thanks to Andrew, Kaydee, Kara and Frances for being good photographers and taking lots of pictures for me to choose from.

If you get the chance, take a boat somewhere! It's fun!


-Eric