Now the Accel 2012 class is in the third semester. I can’t believe we’re already here, the time flew by. I really think it’s the amount of work we’re given that makes the program go by quickly. Right now we’re a little bit in a lull, post-vacation, pre-craziness. We only had two classes last week, Adult health II and either OB/peds. Next week we’ll be adding on IT which judging by the long syllabus and projects, may be a little more intense than I previously thought. It’s nice and quiet for this weekend, only one assignment (besides readings), and I’m taking advantage of it. I feel like a little kid but I’m pretty surprised I stayed out past midnight last night. And today I’m going out to see a movie, get some dinner, and maybe even come home after midnight again… It’s funny because just a week ago, this would have been normal, but life feels different here in Baltimore, much more restrained and school-focused. As it should be I guess, it’s hard for me at least to keep a school/work/life balance.
At least during vacation I had fun, Christmas was busy since Eric and I decided to make gifts for our families since we’re both broke students.
A card was in the bag as well, Eric designed each one to be custom per family and had the recipe on the back. We put our talents together (me, cooking; Eric, design) and I’m really proud of these presents. We made 12 in total, the ingredients plus the jars, cardstock, etc totaled around $60, so it was about $5 per customized jar. Plus, I heard from our families that the brownies/blondies have been really good and the recipes were easy to follow. With the extra ingredients, I made more desserts (it was necessary, between both of our families).
It’s funny, Eric and I realized that now we have to do at least double the amount of family parties than we used to since we got married. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years are full day (sometimes two-day) events. This year we had two Noche Buena (Christmas eve) dinners, a Christmas brunch, and a Christmas dinner. That was the only way to see everyone we needed to see! You can imagine how full we were after all of that. It kinda felt like Man vs. Food, only with cheek kisses and karaoke going on instead of cheering.
Eric is living with my parents in my old room since it’s so close to school for him and it saves us a lot of money. One of my favorite sights in my house, or ever, is seeing my dad and Eric get along so well together. He really treats him like a son, and I realized over the vacation how similar they both are in their interests and in fixing things – which involved lots of staring, taking things apart, and more staring. Together they set up my dad’s Christmas present, a telescope, and my mom’s present, a new oven.
Vacation was fun, felt like I’d have all the time in the world the first week, but next thing I knew I was back on a plane back.
I’m looking forward to learning a lot more this semester about pediatrics and IT. Labor and delivery (OB) I’m a little more hesitant about. I’ll post more about my baby fears when I start my OB clinical in seven weeks. My clinicals in AHII and peds are both in hospitals that still do paper charting, which is really different and will definitely take some getting used to.
I was very impressed with the Kennedy Kreiger Institute; they are a comprehensive rehabilitation center. They have physical therapy, occupational therapy, school, etc. And I was surprised that it’s only six students in the group and that we can all go with our patient to their day appointments. As in any clinical rotation, I know we’re all going to learn a lot here, but because of the nature of the hospital and the patients (who come in mostly for rehab) we’re probably going to have a lot of fun during the next seven weeks.
I’m a mixed bag of emotions right now, between leaving home and starting up classes again, I can’t really sort it all out. What I do know for sure is that I have this one weekend of freedom in Baltimore, a city I want to “grow on me”, a few readings I need to get done, and some flights to book so Eric can feel what cold is.