Last Hurrah

Pentatonix concert Memorial Day, 2012

I'm gonna miss these guys

Saying Goodbye

Well, this past Thursday night was my last shift at the hospital.  I already wrote a rather lengthy post about my job on Rehab, so I'll forgo talking about that.
But on Friday, my friends on the unit were kind enough to through me a going away party.  We all met up at Sammy's in Provo for some burgers and shakes.  I had never been there before, but dang, that place is good.

Here's the group.

Back row (left to right): Taryn, Amanda, Aubri, Brittany, Kaitlin, Tara, Kayleen, Ali, Janice, Aly (Janice's daughter).  Kneeling (left to right): Casey (Becky's daughter), Becky, Ron, Chelsea, Kate, Yours Truly, Brittny, Brett

I have really made some fantastic friends on this unit.  They are amazing people and were great examples to me of how to be a compassionate and effective caregiver.  I will miss these guys.

A Bit o' Creepy

As I was looking on Craigslist for a place to stay in Gainesville, I came across this gem... (multiple ads for the same creepy house)

http://gainesville.craigslist.org/roo/2977256606.html

http://gainesville.craigslist.org/roo/2977237169.html

http://gainesville.craigslist.org/roo/3024654196.html

If you would like to willfully enter a house deep in the Florida woods, be murdered and then fed to the killer's cats...by all means, please reply to the ad.

"It puts the lotion on the skin!"

New Purchase...maybe

So, because there are about a billion people that want season tickets for football games, UF does a lottery.  They make you pay in advance and will refund you if you don't get chosen.  Apparently it's based on credit hours at UF, so my chances of getting tix aren't great.  But I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Oh yeah, and they had us vote on a Student Section t-shirt.  My vote was for option 1.  What's your pick?

Welcome Letter

I got my "Welcome Letter" yesterday from the University of Florida.  Along with the letter came some additional info/instructions I need before school starts.

1) Book List
      - Essential Clinical Anatomy
      - Grant's Dissector (yes, I will be dissecting cadavers...awesome!)
      - Atlas of Human Anatomy
      - Squires Fundamentals of Radiology
      - Bates' Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking (apparently this is a med student's bible)
      - Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
  
   Just in these few books there is a lifetime of things to learn.  I really can't wait.

2) 3M™ Littmann®  Classic II S.E. Stethoscope

     This bad boy will be my ears for the foreseeable future.

3) Scrubs.  Royal Blue Scrubs.

        Now just try and tell me these scrubs won't look fly with these babies.

       This will be what I wear to class every day for a year.  Not sure how I feel about that, but at least
       I'll be comfortable.  Right?


Among other things, the welcome letter said "You are about to embark on one of the most meaningful experiences of your life."  I'm excited.  I really am.  There are so many things in my life to be sad about right now, so it's nice to have at least one ray of light in there.

The Drive

I know it's a few weeks away, but I'm anal...and a planner.  Maybe a little too much of a planner, because I have recently been looking at my upcoming drive to Gainesville, plotting my course, calculating where to fill up/spend the night, etc.

So, here's the route...

In case you are wondering, that's 2,221 miles of freeways, highways, and byways.  I have never driven that far before.  Google says it's going to take 36 hours.

So, like I said, I've been trying to figure out how far I can go on a tank of gas so that I know where to stop to fill up.  I went through and calculated each leg on Google Maps, adjusted distances, found nearby cities, blah, blah, blah.  It wasn't hard, but it took me a little bit of time.

Then I decided to see if there was a website out there that would tell me where I could find the cheapest gas.  Turns out there is.  www.gasbuddy.com.  So, I started working my way through each city I would be stopping in to find the best gas prices.  After 5 cities, I discover that the website has this very handy tool.  A freakin trip cost calculator!  That does just what I had been doing manually over a couple nights!  Seriously internet.  Is there anything you can't do??

Put in your starting point, destination, car year, make, and model and it spits out this little guy.

How cool is that?  I think I'll have to have a cooler stocked with highly caffeinated beverages and make plenty of stops to stretch...but I really love road trips.  I love to drive.  I love the open road.  It gives you a lot of time to just clear your head and think.  Plus, there's not much better way to see the country.