October Has Been a Good Month.....

October 1 - Mtn. biking w/ a classmate at Powell Butte nature park in NE Portland. It was absolutely gorgeous & a pretty good ride too.

October 3 - I was introduced to the caramel apple spice at Starbucks. Delicious. I may just need another 1 or 2 in the next few weeks.

October 8 - Went through a corn maze at Sauvie Island's pumpkin patch. It was a tricky one. This maze had sports trivia questions along the way to direct you in the right direction. Good thing I had a sports wiz with me. Too bad we couldn't have seen the layout beforehand. Might have avoided our utter confusion in the first half. MJ's "Beat It" blaring through the corn stalks inspired us to move on & conquer.

October 12 - So I bought a bag of candy corn to keep me studying for my test that week and I made a huge discovery....... Candy corn really is NOT that good. Definitely not worth the calories and sugar. Man, what is happening?? I used to love that stuff. Remember this post?

October 15 - Mtn. biking with a couple of friends from the ward at Brown's Camp, about an hour drive towards the coast. 3 and 1/2 hrs. of biking. Booyah! The trail was absolutely GORGEOUS, not to mention a FABULOUS ride. Some good climbs, tricky technical sections, and amazing downhill. It's definitely my new favorite (yes, even more than Lambert Park in UT). These pictures don't do it justice, but it's just SO green here. Towering trees, ferns, lush vegetation, moss, etc. Oh man, it never ceases to take my breath away.

October 21 - Mtn. biking w/ a classmate at Cooper Mountain Nature Park. It was a LAMO trail compared to the previous one. It's like otter pops to Magnum bars. No comparison really. Well, come to find out bikes are NOT allowed on the trail (what can I say? I'm a rebel). No wonder the trail wasn't that great. Full of gravel and extremely short. Never climbed such a monstrous hill in my life though. It's 5 min. from my house so it was worth checking out. Too bad it wasn't a better trail. All the good ones are so far away.....

Later that night I went out with my classmates to Typhoon (delicious Thai food) to celebrate a birthday. I was entertained by some new dudes I met along with red wine glasses falling & spilling on people :) Not mine of course, but there's never a dull moment with my classmates! I love them!

October 27 - Introduced a friend to Portland for the first time. It was an adventure in downtown. Started out by eating some delicious authentic tacos (carnitas & carne asada) from the world famous food carts while longboarding across the Hawthorne Bridge. We caught a spectacular view of downtown Portland (one of my favorite skylines) from the other side and then boarded back over the Burnside Bridge. I had no idea the Portland Oregon sign was just on the other side. Some homeless lady complimented our longboards. Who knew there could be so many friendly bums in Portland? It's the place to be. We picked up some tasty donuts from the famous Voodoo Donuts and enjoyed them in this cute little alley w/ lights while listening to one of the many street musicians trying to make their way. She was actually pretty good - a jazzy beautiful voice like Adele on the ukulele. Perfect. To finish it off we wandered through the many, many aisles of Powell's Books. I could spend hours in there.....one whole city block w/ multiple levels of great reads. We happened upon this one for example. "Stuff White People Like." Hilarious! You have to read the link. I love it. Once again.....I love Portland. I might be here to stay.....

(I one day aspire to taking pictures such as these.)

PA School Interviews!

Don't worry, I'm not going through the process again. Definitely NOT. But as a Student Ambassador I did get to help out with the interviews this morning for the next incoming class. I totally remember what it feels like and it feels like just yesterday I was in their shoes. However, looking back it's amazing to see how far we've come. We are officially halfway done with the didactic year (first year of school). Wahoo! I cannot believe how far we've come and how much we've learned. It was a blast to get to meet these new students, hear about their backgrounds and answer their questions. I just may volunteer for the next round or two. These students are wondering how they will ever become PA-S (PA students) and we are wondering how we will ever become PA-C (PA certified & ready to practice!). We have a lot of community PA's that come in and lecture or help us w/ our physical exam skills. It's really a great component and strength of our program. I'm a fan.

It was also noted today how great our class is. No, really. Hopefully they can pull off for the next class what they did with us. It's been rumored that we're the best and most favorite to come through Pacific's PA program so far. Booyah! My classmates are very experienced and knowledgeable, but not only that.....we are truly a family. We all get along so well and there is a great dynamic amongst all of us. I love my classmates and the learning environment that is created by everyone. I LOVE PA SCHOOL!!! You think I'd be pulling my hair out at this point, but today I was reminded 1) how awesome my program is and 2) how happy I am to be here. Such a great opportunity. It is no doubt the hardest thing I've ever done in my life which only means it's really going to pay off once I'm done. I know I'm going to love my job, whatever area of medicine that may be.....

Extreme Ironing

So this last week I wore an ironed shirt to school THREE DAYS IN A ROW. What is going on?? I don't think I've ironed that many shirts in the last 3 years! Seriously. I must be getting used to the professional world. Usually I'll just bust out my Chi (hair straightener) and only "iron" the badly needed parts or only the parts that show if I'm wearing a cardigan over it.

So I found a new sport.....Extreme Ironing. I'm intrigued. Should I join this world of thrill and adventure and yet still get my ironing done? Sounds like the perfect combination. You know me.....always love to try something new and adventurous.

I am now the means of addiction for my classmates.

The source? These bad puppies:

Back at the start of Fall term I started making tables for all of the diseases and disorders to better sort all of the information. What can I say? I like to be organized. I decided I'd share them in our class Dropbox folder and now everyone has come to depend on them. Some of the comments I've received about them: "I'd never survive PA school without these tables!" "You are my means of success." "These are like crack cocaine. You better keep them coming or we'll all have withdrawals." "How on earth can you make these during lecture? There's no way I could do that." See what dependency does to you people? NOT GOOD. I'm happy to share though. I only make them for myself and if others can benefit from them, excellent. But now I feel the pressure! I better keep 'em coming.........

On another note, I am definitely a visual learner. I love colors, as you can tell from the table above and my notes below. Any idea what this is? I cannot believe I actually survived this class....

Pride & Prejudice

I decided to start listening to books on CD during my drive to school and back every day. It adds a little flavor and pleasure to the otherwise occasional dullness and monotony. The last 2 weeks I listened to Pride & Prejudice. I don't know why I've never read it before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is always better and allows you to better come to know the characters as there is more development and insight into their thoughts. I always wondered how the heck Elizabeth could fall so madly in love with Mr. Darcy after despising the man so much. Just didn't make any sense. Turns out Mr. Darcy is actually not the proud one. Elizabeth herself was the one casting prejudice through the eyes of her own pride. Just think, what would have happened if she had not realized her own pride? She would have missed out on Mr. Darcy! I wonder what we all miss out on due to our own pride limiting our views?

Something to think about. After listening to the book, I then watched the movie (Keira Knightley version) and could appreciate it much more. Someday I will watch the Colin Firth version..... I don't foresee having 5 extra hrs. any time soon to watch it though, unfortunately.