week 2...check!

2 weeks down, 7 more to go...until the end of the first term. I must say that this second week went a lot more smoothly than the first, and I felt a lot less drained by the end of it too. Our cadavers ended up being delivered earlier than expected, so we started working on them on Tuesday night. I am proud to say that despite my track record of passing out easily, I did not even feel nauseous! Mind you, I sat at the feet and didn't look at the face, and didn't really ever touch the cadaver, but I did not pass out! HUGE milestone! Instead, I was the official recorder/tool-hander-outer/dissection instructor of the group. I'm not sure how much I can even say legally about the cadaver, but I will say that we have named her Harley, due to her being a biker chick with skull and scorpion tattoos and multiple piercings. She unfortunately has a fair amount of fat on her, which means a lot of time devoted to removing the fat. But at least she isn't as large as Mr. Ginormous, who can't even have the lid closed he's so large! I know this is an experience that limited people get, so I am keeping in the back of my mind that this is an honor and I should get as much out of it as possible. I wore one of my grandpa's old lab coats, so in lab I'm Dr. Thomas Roland MD. I had to explain that one to my professor!

I had my first quiz in Anatomy on Thursday, and I only missed one question! YAY! And I had that one limited down to 2 answers, so at least I wasn't too far off. I am very relieved to know that the amount of studying I am doing is sufficient (I don't know when I would get more in) and that I am grasping the concepts well. We will have a quiz or test every week in Anatomy, so this is just the first of many. I have a test in Clinical Skills this coming Monday which I'll hopefully do just as well on. Other than that, it's more information, STACKS of notecards (sorry trees!), and lots of reading.

We didn't do much for Valentine's Day. I made cupcakes for the entire class to spread some love and cheer, and they were much appreciated. They are all now calling me Mom or Class Mom. :) I even had some extras which I handed out to the professors...gotta earn brownie points when I can! The 2nd years told us that the professors all get together on Wednesdays and talk about all the students, so I need to stay on their good sides! Marilee and I went out for a fancy dinner of El Pollo Loco (oooh la la!) and ate some celebratory chocolate. We had today off for President's Day, so I have been cleaning and studying all day. Jeff is on his way down for the weekend and I am VERY excited to spend some time with him. I hope every one had an enjoyable V-Day. I enjoyed all the packages and Valentine's I received...Thank you Jeff, Mom, Cindy, and Oma! Much love to all!