Bacon = Joy

I can't remember which weekend it was...but I remember being hung over. I remember having more than the usual number of people crashed in our living room (maybe Max and Erin? Maybe?). I remember everything being very icky and unpleasant, as it always is when I am hung over (I really don't deal with it well...stupid alcohol dehydrogenase/aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes...)anyways, it wasn't fun. I don't remember what exatly I was drinking the night before (probably lots of beer), and I don't remember who it was who brought me my bacon (probably Jon...he's so great). What I do remember is how much better the day was once I'd ingested about a half a pound of the stuff though. There's something about salt and grease that just does it for me when I'm feeling icky. It's a good thing bacon is so (relatively) expensive, or I'd be decidedly overweight.

Anyways, I am awaiting the arrival of a bacon sandwich right now, which is why that thought occurred to me.

I apologize for lack of activity on this blog of late...school is rapidly accelerating towards the brick wall of final exams, and I'm desperately trying to study so that I can find the freaking seatbelt and deploy the airbags in time. Things can go two ways from here: either I can not post at all until after December 22 (the day of my last final), or I can post more and more frequently as that date approaches (procrastination...what can I say? It's my fate). I suppose there's a middle ground if I actually manage to live a balanced life until then...but I'm not holding my breath.

5 Hours of Sleep and a Double Dose of Cough Meds Makes for an Interesting Morning

I lied really, it's not that interesting. The only interesting effect so far is this odd blurring/jumping look things keep getting. I guess my eyes don't want to focus. And since my med contain pseudoephedrine, which is an alpha receptor agonist, maybe my pupils aren't constricting as well as they could be. Meh, I'm not too worried.

Basically, I have ten minutes to kill prior to this morning's edition of PBL. I've finished my little ethics case study report, printed up all the necessary handouts, and finished all the research needed for this week's PBL case. I thought I'd post a little in my free time. Be forewarned though, I am both sick and tired, and either of these conditions on their own would have deleterious effects on my sense of humour and wit. We're in for a great day.

Which has really be a continuation of the entire previous week. The freaking bacteria or viruses or whatever the hell are invading my poor sinuses are really tenacious little buggers (which leads me to think they're bacteria actually...maybe I should go get some antibiotics). It makes me very grumpy. And I've passed it on to Jon...poor guy is staying home today, trying to recuperate. I never got to stay home at all...whine whine whine.

Okay, that's out of my system. Lessee...this past weekend there was a party at Brad and (the other) Jon's place. It was pretty enjoyable (except for the aforementioned illness, and the fact that I had to work the next day...gah), there was lots of dancing and some interesting 'crab shots' which I got to participate in, but not as a drinker...only as a shot holder. Linz came out for the weekend, and I'm afraid I was somewhat less than entirely gracious (what can I say, mucous makes me grumpy), but it was a good time nonetheless. We played some Mario Party and Pictionary and so on. My attempts at drawing are as pathetic as ever, but Brad and Erin kick some serious ass.

Okay, now I am running late. I think that was all I had to say anyways.....

In Which I Dissolve Into a Puddle of Mucous

I am sick. God damn, I hate being sick. I find it incredibly frustrating not to be able to breathe or sleep or go two minutes without sneezing or coughing or sniffling. And christ, is there anything more gross than snot? It's all oozy and warm and guishy and it comes in the most unappealing range of shades. Apparently, my sinuses are partial to a pale chartreuse. I imagine it might be hell to be an ENT doc and have to lok at this stuff a lot. Though really, our bodies make so much mucous from so many bits and pieces of epithelia, I guess it might be hard to avoid it altogether. Maybe I'll go into psychology. Or dermatology (though that has its own nightmares).

At any rate, I am whiny as all hell right now. So this will be short, lest I irritate the heck out of the last few people who give a damn about what I have to say. Just a quick update, really, as it's been a long time since I posted last.

Um, well, I went to the Island last weekend. Saw Erin's parents (a thoroughly enjoyable visit with lots of excellent food and conversation and adorable cats everywhere!) and went to Linz's party in Vic on Saturday night. Jon and I went to Spinnakers (or however the hell you spell it) beforehand (their beer came highly recommended) and enjoyed some very fine pints (perhaps not quite on the same level as Swans, but damned close. And the spiced pumpkin porter was very interesting.) and played lots of pool so maybe we will go back. I felt the food was pretty mediocre, but microbreweries don't have to have great cuisine as long as they have decent beer. (I blame my cold on the fact that we had to walk for nearly an hour, each way, in pouring rain and wind to get to this place though...next time we go when it's sunny out).

The party was grand, with a good group of people. I passed out early (so damned tired lately...it's all this getting up at 6:30 crap. How the heck will I ever survive residency? Or clerckship even? I keep falling asleep during my lectures. If only I found histology fascinating...but alas, it does not appear to be inspiring. So much for pathology...damn I hate ruling out cushy, well paying specialties so early in the game) so I missed the drunken rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, but I still enjoyed myself. Got to participate in the ongoing soap opera of Life In Victoria...always a thrill.

Rode back home on Sunday with Brad and Jon (who are throwing another party this coming weekend, which I shall attend unless I am taken over by my goblet cells before then) and played some poker. I kicked some serious ass (though Jon stubbornly refused to die...I had him down to 2 chips a few times), which is encouraging, as I have had no luck in the poker nights at Hennings. Maybe I'm getting better after all! Somehow I doubt it.

Linz is coming out this weekend, so I have lots of work to get done. That sucks, because leaning over textbooks encourages mucous flow. I leave you to ponder that lovely image. Stay well, because November sucks at the best of times.

Happy Halloween!

My energy levels today have been very sad, and I'm convinced it's because I'm coming down off of a three day sugar high. What can I say...there's something about pumpkins and costumes and fall in general that makes me want to binge on candy. I'm trying not to think about just how much junk food has passed my lips this weekend.

We say goodbye to Max tonight (he's been staying with us for a week and a bit, waiting to move into his new place). He's been an excellent guest, fun to have around, bringing us lots of beer, not complaining when I wake him up at 6 every morning stumbling around in the dark on my way to school. It will be nice to have the place to ourselves again for a bit though...it's small even for two really. Moe will miss him though. We're all going out to the Eatery to celebrate with sushi! Yay!

This weekend has been pretty busy actually. I managed to be pretty social: there was a party Saturday night which was highly enjoyable (I went mafia, complete with a cigarello or whatever the heck you call those things. One of the pictures taken there captured me chewing on the wrong end of the thing--there's a plastic bit you're supposed to use...but I was pretty freaking drunk.). Lots of fun costumes (one of our friends went as a plane, and his girlfriend was the pilot)...Jon went as Doug McKenzie and drank stubbies all night and spoke in a horrible accent which still crops up from time to time. We taxied home at about 3 am, passed out, woke up the next morning (with Max and Erin crashed in our living room), and proceded to make a gigantic breakfast involving two whole packs of bacon and lots of eggs. A couple of the guys from the party dropped by in the afternoon and we all went to see Saw II.

The tagline for this movie is 'oh yes, there will be blood', and so, of course, I was all agog to see it (yes, you read that right, I said agog) because I love me some blood, and what's Halloween for if not scaring yourself silly. Besides, Saw (the original) was pretty decent...well, the ending was cool at least. The second installment sucked the proverbial ass. There were plenty of tense moments, and I squeaked a few times (mostly during cheap cinematic gimmicks), but the premise sucked, and it was all very sensationalistic, and the characters were so dumb and one dimensional it was almost a relief when they died (although there were a couple of entertaining deaths). Again, the director went for the jaw dropping twist ending, but it only half succeeded. One thing I will say for the movie, it lived up to the tagline. There was blood. Lots and lots and lots of it. Too bad there wasn't much else. Kory and Simon will never hang out with us again...I doubt they'll forgive us for dragging them to that monstrosity. Ah well.

As for l'ecole...ca va. Things keep moving along...I never seem to have enough time to catch up with my studying...but I AM inherently lazy. We're into muscles and neurons right now, still mostly review. And in anatomy lab, we've finished with the thorax and moved to the abdomen. You know what's really hard? Packing all the intestines back into the abdominal cavity after you've pulled them all out to examine the mesentery. Man. Talk about efficient use of space. And you know what's really cool? All the ducts and organs that carry bile are stained permanently green. It makes it really easy to identify them. I think the pancreas may be my favourite organ so far (aside from the heart, which is just wicked cool). It's just such a strange organ (all long and white and oddly lumpy, tucked way back under the peritoneum, out of sight of everything, except for its tail), and it does so many things...how the hell does that evolve? And don't even get me started on the liver. It's still exciting, but the amount we need to know seems to be increasing exponentially, and that's sort of intimidating. Two months left till Christmas break, tempus fugit.