Spring Break?

I'm sure most of my loyal readers understand the week long absence from blog posting. I was home for "spring" break and was lucky enough to visit with most of you. I was all rarin' to go and ready to update my blog while I was at home; however, I left my camera cord in AZ, and I just don't believe in posting unless I have some fun pictures for people to look at. So, while it was a bit delayed, here is the "spring" break update.

First of all, it did NOT feel like spring in IL. In fact, there was snow on the ground. Not spring time weather if you ask me (unlike AZ, which was 75 and sunny when I left). Despite the weather, it was really good to be home again and to see all my friends and family. Several of my aunts (3 to be exact...including one that came all the way from NC) came with my mom to pick me up at the airport the Friday I arrived, which was a fun treat. We had a large family get together on Sunday to celebrate my grandmother's 86th birthday. It was nice to be able to visit with some family members that I would normally not be able to see on my break unless there was a pre-planned event. I think my favorite part of the party was when my grandmother said to my mother, "I am 86 years old and I will do whatever I damn well please!" She certainly has not lost any spunk!

The rest of the week was spent visiting with a lot of friends. My friends from my master's program and I went to Olive Garden, which is where we often went to lunch last year. It was great, because it felt so much like old times. We all ordered the same things, talked about some of the same stuff, and I even drove Mark to the train station like I always used to do. I was also able to have dinner with 2 of my sorority sisters. I really am so thankful for them. When I was in college, I sometimes would get really sick of all of the silly politics and nonsense that went on in the sorority. However, as the years pass, a lot of those bad memories fade and I remember why I stuck with it. I met some of the most fantastic women there. I will always be excited to see them, no matter how many years have passed since our last visit. I know they will always feel the same way. Having dinner with Kathleen and Jemma just brought back so many happy memories of our college times and reminded just how much I loved being with the both of them.

One of the parts that made the cold weather bearable was being able to go skiing with my dad. I really enjoy skiing (although I would love to be a lot better at it), and the weather was perfect on the day we went. Not too cold and lots of sunshine. The skiing was pretty good, and I managed to only fall once. (It was a pretty spectacular wipe-out if I do say so myself. Late in the day, the snow was getting a little chopped up, and I hit a bump in the snow wrong. It caused my skis to cross and I tumbled down the hill a bit before face-planting into the snow. Luckily, it didn't hurt at all...other than a sore arm for the next few days. I quickly chased down my rogue ski, put it back on and continued in my way down the hill.) My goal is to at least go skiing once per season. It is just too fun to pass up.

The rest of the week passed rather quickly, I also took in a movie with my mom and cousin Laura, did a little shopping, saw my sister a bit (she made it home from Australia!), and slept a lot. However, I did have to fly back to AZ for the start of spring quarter, and I ended up on the plane ride from hell. It all started off with a screaming toddler sitting directly behind me, kicking my seat and crying for the ENTIRE flight. Then, the jerk in bare feet and sweatpants sitting across the aisle kept getting up, standing in the aisle, and bending over back into his seat to pick up all the crap he kept dropping, effectively shoving his butt into my face every time. His wife finally noticed the disgusted look on my face and told him to sit down. (He wasn't a good listener, because I'm pretty sure he got up and put his butt back in my face at least 3 more times after that.) Normally, I would just look away, but the lady sitting next to me had eaten a HUGE bag of jelly beans right after getting on the plane. So, when we hit severe turbulence with about an hour and a half left to go, she got motion-sick (or too-many-jellybeans-sick) and starting puking into her airsickness bag. Needless to say, I couldn't WAIT to get off of that plane. Thankfully, one part of the flight went well...my luggage made it here...because you just never know.

Today was the first day of class for spring quarter, and so far so good. I got some new adjunct bench professors in the sim clinic (they rotate every quarter), and they seem MUCH better than the guy I had last quarter. Tomorrow we get back into basic sciences, especially anatomy. This time in the anatomy lab, we are actually dissecting the cadavers (rather than looking at ones already cut up by the med students), starting right away with the head and neck. I am a little nervous about it, as we will be cutting right into their faces and through their heads. I think it is going to be a little difficult, because seeing their face will make them seem so much more like a real person, rather than a 3-D model of the pictures we see in class. Hopefully I will be able to pull it together and not let myself get too emotional or bothered by it. Other than that, not much else is new. The roomie and I did a massive grocery shopping/restocking trip tonight. Our freezer is so full that we had to put some duct tape on it to keep it shut. Anyone want to come over for dinner? ;)

AND...as an added end of the post bonus...another example of bad Arizona driving! As my roommate and I were coming home from the grocery store, we were stopped at a red light, waiting to go north. A fire truck, with sirens blaring, approached the intersection from the east and HAD TO STOP COMPLETELY because at least 5 cars headed south were making left turns directly in front of the fire truck, even after the truck honked at them. They HAD to have seen the fire truck and completely ignored it. I don't know about you, but where I come from, fire trucks, ambulances, and cop cars all have the absolute right of way whenever they approach with lights and sirens. I certainly hope that when I need help the most, firemen and paramedics coming to my aid don't need to deal with stupid Arizona drivers.