Since I Am a Slave of a Certain Institution of Higher Education 11 months Out of the Year...

I am making two trips over the break. I leave Tuesday, Dec. 18th for Iowa and will be there until Sunday, Dec. 23rd. I am also going to Utah to visit Keri and Cody Dougless from Monday, Dec. 31st to Wednesday, January 9th.

Oh, The Lovely Goodness!

There is just something GOOD about working hard and being DONE. As Nacho would say, "Really good." !!

I had a long list of all the things I needed to do over the break. And the crazy thing is that I got about 60% of them done just today!! It is AMAZING what a day off will do for your stress level!!!

I also realized that means it really doesn't take that long to do all those little things that bug you and make you feel more stressed out than you really are. So, hopefully they won't contribute so much stress in the future.

The only things left I really need to do over the break are, in no particular order:

1.) Spay my cat
2.) Visit family in Iowa
3.) Write a bestseller
4.) Visit Keri and snowboard in Utah
5.) Watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy 3 or 4 times
6.) Memorize the complete physical exam

Yay!! Number three is in case there's a lot of spare time. Number 5 is not.

Riddle

What do the movie, "Mutiny on the Bounty" and Tara's blog, drawingontheceiling.blogspot.com, have in common?

The winner of this riddle will get a can of hominy, as soon as Summer pays up what she owes.

Updates from the Grave

I am dead to the world for the next 12 days- until school gets out on the 14th of December. But, here are some updates from the OU health science center graveyard. I mean library.

1.) I have a new kitten!!! Her name is Sehar and she is a super cute little orange tiger.

2.) I am moving to Oklahoma City!! Woo HOO! This is one I am incredibly excited about because it will mean I will save an hour of driving back and forth to Edmond every day. Since we don't go on rotations until ten months after school starts in January, this move will save me over 200 hours of driving! I will be moving into Deep Deuce on January 10th, right after I get back from Utah and before school starts.

3.) I have a new boyfriend!! Hahahaha. Just kidding.

4.) My 25th birthday is the DAY AFTER school gets out! This is going to be the best Christmas break EVER.

5.) I have to study a lot until our last final is over so please be praying for a good end to the semester! See you SOON!

Alternative Source of Reading

Things have been hectic here and, despite wildly optimistic imaginings, I don't think the last month of school is going to let up any. So instead of actually posting new information, I'm putting my old blog address up here for those who might not have known about it. It has pictures from my first trip to Afghanistan, as well as the stories of how the Afghan ESL class started in Fort Worth, life in Texas, and- of course- some really crazy dreams.

placidstreamlet.blogspot.com

Cast it into the fire!

Do you remember the scene, at the end of the third Lord of the Rings, right after Gollum has bitten the ring off Frodo's finger, fallen into the Crack of Doom, and finally destroyed the Ring? After Frodo and Sam make haste to escape from the mountain before it explodes into the fiery river of ash and lava? Do you remember what Frodo says to Sam when they reach the tiny rock that harbors them until the eagles come?

"ITS GONE. ITS DONE!"

Sitting on that rock; panting, exhausted, near collapsing, and- so darn relieved- Frodo is finally FINISHED with his impossible monstrosity of a task.

And right now, I feel just like him in that moment. Ahhh... the relief is inexpressible. But, for me it was just passing a cardiology test; I was not so fortunate as to have rid the Earth of Evil Forever today. Although apart from the Dark Lord, the Ring, and the end of the world, it was pretty much the same. Though, no one tried to bite off my fingers to take my pencil. Maybe the PA program could add that in... fifty tests, and only twenty-five pencils. Who will pass this clinical medicine test, and who will go home with just nine fingers?? Find out in Spring 2008!

I am deliriously tired and going to bed.

Zalia

Last week, we had a big physiology test on Friday. On Thursday morning, they told us that class was cancelled that afternoon, but that our class had to provide 3 volunteers to read books to children at a health fair. Since I thought we were going to have class, and had already studied a lot, I volunteered to go.

We showed up at the City Rescue Mission around 3pm. There were many unique characters loitering outside who all felt it was imperative to talk to us on the way in. I made a mental note to dress in a gigantic purple sweater with a cartoon charater on the front, cross my eyes, and look as crazy as a bat the next time I go there.

We walked inside and were escorted to our table. The PA charity coordinator for the 2nd year students had applied for, and received, a grant for 600 medical children's books. There were such classics as (Macs can't italize on blogger) Clifford Goes to the Hospital and The Magic Schoolbus. Our plan was to read the books to the children to encourage literacy and then let them take them home.

Unfortunately, there were not very many children at the Health Fair. We had around 10 come by to receive books. Only one, however, wanted to be read to. Her name was Zalia.

She picked out the Magic Schoolbus and we started to read. She was 6, and learning to read in school. I soon realized that The Magic Schoolbus was a bit over her level. Leukocytes, chyme, and villi were things I didn't learn about until college, so it didn't seem necessary to go into all the details or to read the book word for word to her. Let's just say we ended up skipping a lot and its surprising the book made sense in the end after all the alterations.

Well, one thing she did learn. At the end of the book, there's a diagram of the human body with most of the organs labeled. We didn't go into all of it, but I did end up explaining the lungs to her, and why we breathe in air. Although it was a fairly long explanation, she was very smart and really got it.

As we finished, she unexpectedly piped up, "You know my friend Charlise smokes cigarettes and she is only 4."

This was an unexpected statement, but oddly enough, we'd just gone through the mechanics of the respiratory system. So, regardless of whether she was telling the truth or not, it was the perfect opportunity to really explain to her what cigarettes do and why we don't smoke. How the nice pink lung tissue turns black and doesn't work anymore, and eventually can kill people. I think at the end, she really got it. "So that's why my dad is always coughing and going to the hospital, huh?" she ruminated.

I then couldn't resist. "So what do you NEVER do?"

"Smoke cigarettes!" she said enthusiastically and we high-fived. With the possibility that she had seen people doing drugs on my mind, I had just one more question for her.

"And what else do you never do, Zalia?"

"Say cuss words or give people the middle finger." I had to smile. Okay, that too.

Summary of My Life.

PTL Pulmonology is Over.

Approximately 10-14 days before, I can feel it. The pressure starts to build. Without beginning serious study on that day, all hope it lost. How do I know this? Here is a short two test history for you:

GI: Serious isolationism begun 2 weeks before the test. Total approximate hours outside of class studied: 60. Score: 88.

Pulm: Serious isolationism begun 1.5 weeks before the test. TAHOOCS: 45. Score: You don't even want to know. Hopefully she will give us at least two points back and I can get a low B.

And you should know that we don't get the information until a little over 2 weeks from the test. Sometimes less.

There is something about this that just drives anal people like me crazy. Something about giving up almost all social contact and not even making a B on the test!!! Something about... NOT BEING ABLE TO MAKE AN A! aHHHH!! I can't really isolate myself any more. So it looks like I will be a B student and that is a hard pill to take.

Do you want to know what the saddest part of it all is. We have three more tests in the next ten days.

But the good part is that when those are over, it won't be as stressful for awhile. Hmm. I think I have been saying that to myself every time. Hmm.

So now you know why you don't hear from me ever. December! December, my friend, will be a great month. A fantastic month. A month full of wonder and happiness and beauty. Yes, it will be a month to outdo all other months. I will spend all of December in warm, sugary joy with all of you!

A Beautiful Thing

So last night I went to an orchestra concert for the first time in years. It was totally surreal. I am so thankful, looking back, for the opportunity my parents gave me way back when to learn an instrument and be involved in such an amazing thing. I also thought about a few other things...

My parents were amazing. They really dealt out a lot of cash for me to take private lessons, play in contests, quartets, three different orchestras at the same time, uniforms, music, strings, upkeep, etc. What I got in return is priceless and I am so thankful they realized the value of their investment back when I was just eleven years old.

My parents also almost never missed concerts. Considering we had them all the time for twelve or thirteen years that is pretty amazing. I remember them always sitting as close as possible and videotaping every single one I ever played in. They were amazingly supportive.

You can't go back. I realized last night, watching them play, that the orchestras I remember will never exist again. All my friends, old conductors, even my ability to play those things are all either gone or have diminished. Its a little sad because I love playing in a full orchestra almost more than doing anything else on earth. There's no way to describe the feeling of playing a symphony in perfect unison with sixty other people. One that I think of in particular is Jupiter from Holst's The Planets. Some rare, indescribably joyful and beautiful feeling rises up within you during the main theme that makes you want to cry and kiss and scream and never stop playing it all at the same time.

I am really looking forward to getting out of grad school because I am definitely going to try and find another orchestra to play in. You can't go back, but you can go ahead.

Medical Nightmare Victims Awareness Association

We hear all kinds of crazy stories, pretty much daily now, of medical nightmares. Things you would not want to happen to your dog. Things that should definitely never happen to living human beings. I don't know if an association like the one above exists or not, but if one does, I think I should get to be an honorary member.

Everyone knows I have crazy dreams almost every night. Now, I cannot believe I didn't see this coming. I have started experiencing some medical nightmares of my own during the noctural hours. They are insane! I've started dreaming of procedures we learned about in class that day...being done on ME! But they have these horrible twists, like instead of medical instruments the PAs or nurses will be using broken pieces of glass... or they refuse to intubate me when I am suffocating and I wake up gasping for air. And these dreams are SO REAL.

I had one, early on in anatomy, the day we dissected the heart. In class, I had to wash the blood out of the heart and it took a long time so I think the visual of that human heart in my hands got lodged in my unconscious. That night I dreamed I had elective open heart surgery... to dissect my own heart while I was conscious.

OH. This cannot go on. The people these things happen to in real life get a blank check from the hospital. I'm getting nothing. My only compensation is the flood of relief that comes when I realize all my vital organs are still in working order. Where, oh where, is the MNVAA??

My Niece

Hey everyone, my niece Kiersten was hit by a car last Friday and snapped her femur in half. She was extremely lucky because that's all that happened. They did surgery Friday night and put a metal plate in it. She'll be in the hospital until Monday (the dates on my blog are messed up- today isn't Monday.) Please be praying for her and her family. We are so relieved that she will be fine.

Hasta la Vista, GI

We just finished our section on gastroenterology. I am so relieved!! The weekend after our clinical medicine tests are like a little piece of heaven. We start pulmonology on Monday.

Everything is going pretty good. We have a month off for Christmas break and I just booked a trip to Salt Lake City to visit a good friend who is living out there. I can't wait!

Right now I am just enjoying being in school and still spend my study breaks reading the news as is apparent on the next post. I probably need to find something else to do.

We have met the enemy, and he is us.

I cried reading the new all week. Why do we want to start wars with nations that haven't attacked us?

I feel strongly about the prejudice some Americans have for Iran because it is exactly that: blind prejudice. Have you read some of the comments on NYT articles lately? I was ashamed. Ahmadinejad doesn't have blond hair; he looks like the Arabs who committed 9/11. And our Zionist president has labeled him on an "axis of evil" that, interestingly, other world leaders we respect less are NOT on. After all, why aren't Sudanese militia leaders on that list? Or Mugabe? Or anyone else who has caused intense suffering in Africa? Hmm..

I'm not saying Iran is innocent. No nation is. But like Iraq, they had nothing to do with 9/11. The real terrorists in 9/11 were Saudi Arabians, who are ARABS. Iranian people are Persian. They are an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUP. They just look alike and live near each other. Not a good reason to attack them.

The CIA did a special report and concluded that is it, in fact, not proven that Ahmadinejad had anything to do with the American hostage crisis thirty years ago.

Iran was attacked by Saddam Hussein and underwent a very long and painful war in the 80's during which they were repeatedly the victims of chemical warfare. The religious head of Iran condemned this type of warfare and Iran NEVER USED chemical warfare back on moral grounds. They don't believe in using chemical (or nuclear) weapons. Reagan's administration, however, knew about the chemical warfare being used against Iranian civilians and continued to support Iraq militarily.

Countless teenage Iranian soldiers sacrificed themselves in human wave attacks- knowingly walking onto land planted with mines in order to clear it for the trained Iranian army to cross over.

Iran is building schools and clinics in the city I lived in last fall. They are also responsible for a ton of power and roads in Afghanistan. They are doing really good things for their poor neighbor in the fight against terrorism and the Taliban. Hamid Karzai himself has declared this over and over and Bush has had to belittle Afghanistan's president to try and deny it.

America has destroyed Iraq and we really need a scapegoat; so the administration is claiming that Iran is behind a bunch of attacks in Iraq. This is COMPLETE crap. I hope we don't attack a second nation that has absolutely nothing to do with Al Qaeda and destroy the lives of millions of ordinary citizens. Once was too much.

God save Iran from us.

Medicine, you have a place in my heart after all.

I realized, a few days ago, something really strange. I spent 16 months preparing and applying to a medical program AND... I never, ever thought through what medicine actually is or what it would mean to practice it. Hmm.

This is possibly the strangest realization of my life. I really spent countless hours on something that I didn't think through. I made a decision about my LIFE OCCUPATION based on zero logical thought processes. I mean, I knew I liked science but science doesn't have that much to do with medicine; I certainly never sat down and thought about intubating babies, writing prescriptions, or doing emergency tracheotomies.

It probably would have helped if the words "medical practice" had crossed my mind. But the real reason I never asked myself if I liked medicine was because I just believed that God wanted me to go to PA school. And figured that it had something to do with helping poor people in the end.

But now, I find myself sitting in our classes, LOVING learning about pathologies and treatments. I get really, really, really excited thinking about rotations and diagnosing patients and healing people. These things are making me so excited for the future!

And so I realize, on a deeper level than ever, that God truly knows me better than I know myself. He is the one who guided me into a profession he knew I would love. I entrusted my whole life to Him, and He led me to something that He knew would bring me deep satisfaction and fulfillment. And honestly, though I should have thought it through, God didn't need me to. That's how it is with the Lord; if you think it through, it will probably make sense in the end, if not in the beginning; but you really can just trust Him.

Dreams

Sometimes it really sucks to wake up in the morning. This last week, for me, its had little to do with sleepiness. I keep having these really intense, hope-I-can-sleep-a-little-longer-to-find-out-what-happens kind of dreams. Here are some synopses from the last few nights:

I wake up one morning and a friend of mine has died and left me her tiny, newborn, still pink-faced infant. The thing is so tiny I have no idea how I'm going to feed it, find it daycare, and still be on time to class at 8 a.m.

My dad convinces me to cut off my feet for an experiment and tells me it will be easy to get them back on. We do, and it doesn't hurt, and it isn't until the next day when I am trying to hobble around on stumps that I have the horrible realization that he was wrong, and its permanent, and WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITHOUT FEET?!!

Some friends from PA school and I are lost in Middle Earth. We can see the Misty Mountains but we have no idea where we are exactly or how to get to Gondor and out of the grasp of the Dark Lord... until we find the Robert L. Byrd library, look on a map, and realize that we are in Osgiliath.

I am somewhere off the coast of South America. Probably Ecuador. A good old friend and I join up with some strangers and a hoary old captain and skipper a small boat across the Pacific. Halfway through the voyage, we realize that the old captain hasn't come out of his cabin for a couple weeks and is probably dead. My friend goes in to check and...

Some lady from Blue Cross Blue Shield called and woke me up! It appears that one will remain a mystery for now. But sometimes I dream the same dream later and finish it, so if I find out what happens I'll let you know.

Those things are HUGE!

So, I have always had a hard time smelling things. I never knew why until last week. We were doing ENT (ear, nose and throat) exams on each other when the girl who was looking up my nose said, "I think you have nasal polyps!" So we get the instructor to come over, and sure enough, I have two huge, very anteriorly-located nasal polyps- one in each nostril.

So nasal polyps cause anosmia, or a decreased sense of smell. I feel so vindicated!! My lack of smell is indeed a physical anomaly that has also probably been the cause of frequent nasal congestion. Whenever I get a cold or allergies, my nasal mucosa tries to swell and has nowhere to go because those things are HUGE!

I think its funny, though, that I have been to doctors all my life and they have never, ever looked up my nose. The next time you are at your doctor just ask them to and maybe you will get a little nasaly surprise.

We started fall classes today.

This fall we have physiology, physical diagnosis, and clinical medicine. Clinical medicine will actually be six different sections that we have to pass individually (so they are a little like different classes). I am stoked and feel really excited, but I also don't feel ready. Its weird that you can work toward something for as many as five years and then feel totally unprepared when it happens!

Last weekend was a blast. I can't remember when I've had so much fun... or maybe it just seemed so fun because we weren't studying. I think this weekend my brother's family will be here to help my mom move into her new house. I am really excited to see them and hopefully things won't have picked up too much yet. That seeems to be all the news on this side... love you all and take care!

P.S., At this point the Taliban has killed two of the hostages and freed two of them. Please keep praying for them.

Oklahoma: Working Toward Not Being As Boring.

Maybe everyone already knows this. But I just found out today that part of the MAPS project was a really nice boathouse for rowing and crew along the Oklahoma river. Now finished and located just south of Bricktown on Lincoln, the Chesapeake Boathouse is a boat lover's hotspot and offers rowing lessons, clubs, rentals, etc along 7 miles of the scenic Oklahoma river. Check it out at ChesapeakeBoathouse.org. You can rent a two person kayak for $7.50 per person per hour, or a one person kayak for $10 an hour. You can also join the boathouse for an annual membership fee and dragonboat or kayak anytime.

I am stoked! I think I'll go this weekend.

Seven More Days, Happiness and Dreams

Our anatomy class is over in seven days. Sigh of relief...

However, yesterday I realized that even with all the school stuff going on, life seems to be the happiest its been for a long time. I am so thankful for that!! I don't think it would be possible to be in a better place in life or happier. I am so grateful for the friends and family who are such amazing people. I am so thankful to be in school learning so many cool things. I am so thankful to be living in great apartments that are really peaceful and have a beautiful lake that can be run around at sunset every evening. I am really thankful to have a brand new, awesome little red fish named Ivanhoe. (He's really cute, anyone who wants is invited to come see him!!!) I am just so grateful for life. Even though I know seasons of happiness and sadness come and go, I'm so glad to be in such a peaceful place for the time being.

I also went out after our last test and bought some plants to put out on my balcony. It had been looking pretty bare. As I was buying them, I suddenly remembered something that happened almost ten years ago on an orchestra trip to London.

I had never been out of the country, and the first morning we arrived, they took us on a bus tour of the city. We were driving around, seeing all these amazing things you only see in pictures- Big Ben, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace... and as we took in all the sights, I remember driving by a bunch of English flats. They all had balconies filled with bright green plants. And I hoped to myself that someday, I would have an apartment of my own with a refreshing little balcony just like that.

So, when I brought these gorgeous new plants home a few nights ago, I made a dream that was almost ten years old come true. Its such a little thing- but it was so weird how I realized that all of us, as life changes, sometimes get to see our dreams come true. Its beautiful!! But its hard to believe how long they can take. I think if someone would have told me then that I wouldn't have that balcony for ten years, I would have been really sad or wouldn't have cared if it had happened at all, ever. But now I see that it was worth the wait. (Especially since I forgot I was waiting.)

I'm really hoping that being a PA will be much the same. A dream that seems to take forever but is worth coming true...

Signs

Tonight at Lifechurch, Craig's main message from the "At the Movies" movie Signs was... when strange things happen, do you see it as the hand of God or as a coincidence?

I thought about this for awhile and was surprised to find out something a little weird about how I have always thought of things. First, it seems that if things happen out of the blue, then I totally accept them as the hand of God and his intervention into life. Don't usually question it.

But, the really weird thing I realized, is that if I pray for something from God- and then it happens, I usually wonder at least once if it was really him answering my prayer or if it was just a coincidence. Isn't this weird?

So I started thinking- have there been any signs lately I haven't noticed? All I had to do, upon arrival home from church tonight, was to look back in my journal. This shed a lot of light on the matter. Back in May, I prayed for two very specific things. I don't want to share but they were SPECIFIC. And I was praying really hard for these things... for about a month.Then, PA school happened. I was consumed with all of the new things to do and totally forgot about my prayer. Then, within three days of PA school starting, out of the blue the two things I prayed for happened.

But the weird thing? I never even wrote them down in my journal or remembered I had asked for them! It was as if these two answers to prayer came and it didn't even cross my mind that God had just provided what I had asked for so fervently. In looking back, I guess at the time they seemed like coincidences to me. Only now does it all become clear.

And I know its not just because I asked for them that they happened. They happened because they have a place in the plan of God, like all affirmative answers to prayer. "The Lord works out everything for his own ends..." And yet, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

One More

One more war rant, then I'm done for awhile I promise.

The US is almost completely finished with an almost 600 million embassy in Baghdad, the largest US embassy anywhere in the world, complete with its own power supply, water purfication system, wells, apartments, and palm tree-lined swimming pools.

As Iraqis walk by our more than half a billion dollar luxury establishment through their own blown-up streets to wait in gas lines, this embassy shows Iraqis that we do indeed have the resources and ability to build reliable infrastructure. Just not on them. And, that our current administration and their war profiteering oil mongers have no intention of leaving Iraq's huge pool of oil, ever.

I have to go buy some gas now.

Surprised by a Lovely Snack.

Last night my 8 year old niece spent the night. Now, this child has the most optimistic and precious heart and a very sweet disposition. So as we were leaving to go to my house and she told me she was going to make me a "special snack," the following ensued.

"I make it all the time, and everyone always loves it!" she said happily.

"How do you know that I have all the ingredients you'll need to make it?" I asked.

"Oh, its easy!" she replied. "Everyone has them. I just need flour, sugar, and baking powder. Do you have those Aunt Erin?"

"Yes I do," I said.

"Oh, and do you have an oven?" she added.

"Yes, I do have an oven," I replied.

"And chocolate chips?" Followed hopefully.

"Well, no. I don't have any chocolate chips."

"Okay, well that's fine. Then that's all I'll need. Flour, sugar, baking power- oh, and ham."

"Ham?!!" I said with some alarm.

"Yep, ham. You've got some ham?"

"Um, no. Actually I don't. Wait, I do have some lunch meat ham. Will that work?" I said hesitatingly, still somewhat uncertain of what this random pork item was doing being tossed into what had up to this point seemed like a harmless cookie recipe.

"Yes, yes. that should work just fine. Oh, and actually, I don't need the oven."

I was mystified at this point. "Jensen, let me get this straight. You are going to make something out of flour, sugar, baking powder, and ham- without an oven?"

She smiled up at me. "Yes! We do it all the time."

Okay, I thought. Whatever. I am a really easy going aunt. Let's just see what she makes.

After getting to my apartment and swimming for awhile, while I was in the shower rinsing off she went to work in the kitchen. Little did I know that a few new items were getting tossed into the mix- some pears that she had harvested the night before from the tree in my mom's backyard as well as a carefully hoarded after-dinner mint from Pei Wei's Asian Diner procured at a previous unspecified mealtime.

I came out of the shower to find a gigantic mess in the kitchen, and two finished, um... "snacks." Thankfully, it turned out that there was actually no ham involved. Like many things small children say I have no idea where she got that, but I know it made sense to her at the time. Here was her masterpiece.



Yes, that is an unbaked drizzle of flour, sugar, water, and baking powder on a plate frosted with granulated sugar and slices of pear.



Its a little blurry, but perhaps you can discern that mine is garnished with the aforementioned, strategically positioned after-dinner mint. Only slightly less obvious might be the whole lot of lovin' she added that made it all worthwhile.

Please Pray.

Yesterday at 5pm, 18 Korean workers were kidnapped on their way to Kandahar. At this point it seems that they were entirely a visiting group, no long term workers were among them, and they are mostly young adults. Please, please be in prayer for this group of young people who are now being held by the Taliban.

Some of you may remember the post about the doctors who stopped and humbled themselves to wash and feed street children. Those doctors and their colleagues are the long-term workers who invited this group and were expecting them. Please be prayer for the entire community of expatriate workers in this city and please pray that the Taliban will have mercy on those being held.

Things That Are Really Too Important Not to Think About, No Matter How Busy You Are.

A new study by the Congressional Reasearch Service reported that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now cost 12 billion dollars per month. That's right, billion with a B! 10 billion for Iraq, and 2 billion for Afghanistan. Now, I am the first person to really not care so much about money. BUT... doesn't this sound crazy to anyone else?? Even if you are not into math... WOW! We have now spent almost half a trillion dollars on the wars, and President Bush has another 147 billion dollar proposal for them pending!

As my sister and Nancy Pelosi have recently said, think of all that this money could have done. We could have rehauled the health care system, provided for schools and education, enforced the borders, invested in alternative energy, or heck- we could have rebuilt Banda Aceh from the freakin' ground up or educated and provided AIDS medicine to most of Africa! Anything but blowing apart other people's lives. Not to mention that we also would have thousands of living servicemen and women, and the deep and irreversible emotional and physical scarring of the recent war veterans could have been erased.

According to a recent gallup poll, 7 out of 10 Americans are now in favor of a troop pullout by April.

President Bush's approval rating is now only 29%.

Also, the principle author of the new National Intelligence Estimate on the Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland, Edward Gistaro, flatly stated that Al Qaeda in Iraq did not exist before the US invasion.

So it seems to me that the White House is spending 10 billion dollars a month to fuel a terrorist organization and a civil war. This... is... complete.... INSANITY!! There is just no other word.

Finally...

We took our first test today and I think... I am probably going to graduate from this program. Thank God! it was not nearly as bad as we all thought it would be. I just screamed for awhile in the car on the way home I was so excited that it looks like I am not going to fail this class.

Now, I happen to have one of two apartments in the entire complex which overlooks the neighborhood pool. I also happen to be able to hear, through my window, all the fun people are having when they are in said pool. It rained non-stop for almost the first three weeks the pool was open; now for the last three weeks my contact with the pool has been limited to overhearing other's great enjoyment of it.

But finally... this test is over and I AM GOING SWIMMING RIGHT NOW!!!

P.S., I just also have to thank the people who have been praying for me. I know that I made it through these last stressful weeks because of you guys. Thanks a lot. :)

Overwhelming, But Good.

Okay, it is totally overwhelming to have so much stuff to learn and what seems like never enough time to do it. For example- the last two weeks I have basically done nothing but school. I go to school and when I'm not in class I am at the library or my house studying or running around trying to get little things like student IDs and immunizations and parking permits done.

Yet, although I studied around four hours every day beforehand as well as a ridiculous amount of hours adding up to somewhere around 21 the two days before our mini-exam yesterday- I still only got 5 out of 10 questions right. And the scary thing is that I guessed on some of those!

My only relief was found in talking to other students who only got 3 or 4 right and they guessed on half of their correct answers, too. It was a sad, sad day in the anatomy lab yesterday as the reality of what we might have to give up this summer dawned.

So, I have a lot left to do before our real test next Monday. Its kind of depressing because in some ways I don't know how else I can study. Or, I can think of some ways, but they don't include sleep or food. Maybe I will give those a try this week...

Crap. This is going to be hard.

After going to my first anatomy class today, I realized that there is only one for for the next six weeks and word is-

GOODBYE. See you in six weeks.

We had a three hour lecture today on the nervous system. I was all there the first hour. I was 80% there the second hour. But by the third hour, it was down to like 40. I felt like I missed every other thing he said. It was impossible to write (OR type!) as fast as this man was talking. And I realized, that I have a LOT of studying to do.

So please understand that I am not dead, I am studying. See you sometime in the middle of August. :)

Suprise! You are going to PA school in three days.

-God

WOW!~ Now, I LOVE suprises but this one was just about too much for me. I think I have called and emailed half the world and Summer is finally back from Belize- its now all good to post the whole story on here.

Last Tuesday afternoon after work, I got a voicemail from the PA program. Just to "call them back," which is probably the most mysterious message they could have left. Unfortunately, it was 5:04pm, so calling back that night proved fruitless. I tried to calm down and not imagine that they were calling to tell me that I got in.

Wednesday morning at 11am, I found out the reason for the call. The school had not been able to contact a girl who had a prerequisite missing, and I was now #1 on the wait list. Although it wasn't an invitation to attend, it still shocked my pants off! I was totally suprised!

By Friday, I hadn't heard anything new and was about to DIE. I finally emailed the head of the program and asked if he knew what the heck was going on. He emailed me back three little words: "Call me now." So after getting ahold of him, the conversation went something like this...

"Hi Dr. McNeill."
"Hi Erin! What are you doing on Monday?"
"Well, I'm supposed to go to work..."
"Want to go to PA school instead?"

Most of you have already heard this story but I don't think I have EVER been more excited in my whole life!!!!!! I am actually going to PA school TOMORROW.

AHHHHHH!

Arkansas

So Ashlie, Evie and I went to Eureka Springs and Kings River over Memorial Day weekend.

We went up to the top of a lookout. The view was great-

But the stairs were a little steep.

Unfortunately, all the canoeing and kakying pictures were on the waterproof, non-digital camera. To be posted once scanned.

Reunions

I have been meaning to put pictures up forever and am just now getting around to it!! Here are the Johnson's with their adorable crew, Elly and Soren.

The big Q came to visit the same week. Boo to Memphis!

Edmond Christian Church Old Skool Reunion 2007, baby.
Rebecca, Holly, Chris, Casey, me, Tara and Summer.

Mina!! I went to visit my Afghan language helper from Fort Worth.

Divorce Settled

Just so everyone knows, my parents divorce was settled last week and they should be signing the papers and whatnot sometime this week. This is going to amazingly lower the amount of stress in our fam. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive. Please continue your prayers as my mom moves into a new house sometime this summer.

Intertwining Threads...

So I really have been surprised to find that in the last few months, my political apathy has all but disappeared. Maybe part of it is having hours and hours of free time at work every day to research '08 presidential hopefuls, along with all the issues and their views... maybe part of it has been realizing that our current president is perhaps a great fellow but a really, REALLY horrible president. I find that the more things I know about his administration the more scared I am that he still has a year and a half to lead America.... yikes! I have also found that many of the issues that bothered me on so many levels are also important to many Americans, and that if we could just elect a leader who believed in them, too, then we could maybe fix this giant mess.

And I think that perhaps, just PERHAPS, there is someone. There may be an answer for America, instead of military tribunals and illegal extraditions, instead of torture and wiretapping and tax cuts for the wealthy- instead of going to war with the entire Middle East- maybe there is a candidate who has a real relationship with Jesus, who cares for the poor, who cares about immigrants, who cares about the environment, who will evacuate Iraq, who is rational and fairminded and has a knack for bipartianship... perhaps Barack Obama is the answer.

Spanx

While discussing something totally unrelated at work, I found out about spanx. These new hot undergarments are set to silence anxious party-goers minds about unwanted lines and cellulite. Check it out!

Being Settled

I moved the first of six times last July 17th. It was moving all my stuff back to Oklahoma from Texas. I had only been there two weeks when when I moved to Holly’s house in another country for two weeks. Then I moved to my team leader’s house in Afghanistan for two weeks, then I moved to Dr. H’s house for three months. Then I went to Dubai for a week, and moved back to my mom’s in Oklahoma for four months, then finally moved into my apartment 2 months ago.

Part of all this moving was, in the last eleven months, having fourteen different roommates. This was an amazing glimpse into human nature that taught me a considerable amount about flexibility. I think I have become one of the most adaptable persons in the whole world.

No matter how little you bring with you, living in someone else’s house brings with it all kinds of crazy things. There are the wonderful things- like learning how to cook delicious foods from your roommates or getting to live in a house with a fishpond and a swimming pool for free. And then there are the really hard things, like waking up to find out that breakfast is served- and its rice and sardines. Or the strain between being a single person and having a separate life while you are living with a family.

I think the main thing I am thankful for now, is that I don’t believe the Lord will ever give me the *opportunity* to experience all that ever again. As thankful as I am for the insight and maturity it brought, it feels so good to be settled! So good.

Today is June 1st, 2007. And it is six months to day that I left Afghanistan.

Blood Diamond and Hotel Rwanda

Don't read this post if you haven't seen the movies and want to.

Blood Diamond was an amazing movie. More than anything I've seen before, this movie reminded me of what it is like to live in a place where, instead of bling-bling, its "bling-bang," as Leonardo DiCaprio put it so succinctly. Not that Kandahar was anything like Sierra Leone- it was nowhere near that scale of violence and bloodshed. But watching the movie transported me back to a place where human crises are happening on a totally different scale than America. There's a part in the movie where the rebels take over Freetown, shooting, looting, and burning everything. Forcing child soldiers to shoot up drugs after they kill women and other children. And then I remember my day today.

Strangely enough, there was some twisted comfort for me in realizing that Afghanistan is not the worst place on earth to be. There are still places in Africa that are much worse, where things a thousand times more horrible are happening.

And a week after watching Blood Diamond, I watched Hotel Rwanda. Now, if you have avoided Hotel Rwanda thinking it might be a little too intense for you, just watch Blood Diamond first. It will sort of numb you to the atrocity.

And isn't that what many of us are searching for? We don't want to feel guilty after seeing a movie like that, so many of us aren't watching those movies and documentaries. Like me, who refuses to watch Invisible Children and then go buy a twenty dollar pair of shoes. There's just a level of horrific pain that is much easier to pretend does not exist and buy the shoes.

And this is my huge struggle in life right now. After seeing everything I saw last fall, and movies like Hotel Rwanda and Blood Diamond, how do I come back and live in a place like America without being guilty?

And I mean that, exactly. Not without feeling guilty: without being guilty.

That Old Itching Feeling...

Its coming back... that old itching feeling to get out of the United States.

I have been trying and trying to suppress it. But after eight years of leaving the country once a year or more, I am about to go crazy!! "Its May and so it is OBVIOUSLY time to plan a trip somewhere, right???!!?" My mind won't quit asking this question. I am trying to tell her no over and over again but this crazy lady keeps bringing me back to websites like cheapoair.com and lonely planet.

Don't even mention to her that she probably won't be leaving for FOUR years. That would make her really mad.

A Little Wedding Music

I have decided to start a business. After being self-employed for a year and a half (in the eyes of the government, anyway) I realized recently that it would be really easy for me to go back to being self-employed again and start a business on the side as a wedding violinist.

After all, 14 years of private classical instruction shouldn't go to waste and I have played hundreds of concerts and events, including professional violin playing for weddings and funerals.

I will still be a receptionist, though. Receptionist by day, violinist by night. Well, hopefully. Who knows what kind of market there is in the OKC area for wedding musicians? I wonder if there is anyone else on the planet who makes ten dollars an hour at one job and a hundred dollars an hour at their other job?

Snippets on Iran (According to the BBC)

On Anti-Semitism

Although Iran and Israel are bitter enemies, few know that Iran is home to the largest number of Jews anywhere in the Middle East outside Israel. There are approximately 25,000 Iranian Jews whose cultural roots in Iran go back 3,000 years.

On US-Iran Relations

“In Russia, they eat ice cream in the winter because its warmer than the air.” (Iranian Foreign Minister, responding to Condolezza Rice’s niceties in Egypt last week)

On the President

“They held portraits of Mr Ahmadinejad upside down to mock him and then set them on fire.” (BBC reporting on a recent student protest against Iran’s president at Tehran’s largest university)

On Women

“[The moral police] are stopping pedestrians and even cars - warning female drivers not to show any hair - and impounding the vehicles and arresting the women if they argue back.” (BBC reporting on a recent Iranian crackdown on women’s dress)

On Cosmetic Surgery

Since the revolution in 1979, Iran has become one of the world's leading centres for cosmetic surgery with three thousand plastic surgeons operating in Tehran alone. Dr Navab explains that some of his patients are indeed congenitally ugly…

On Public Opinion

"I want the whole world to know that they oppress us and all we can do is put up with it." (15 year old Iranian citizen Tofiq)

*go to BBC Middle East for a more complete look at what’s going on in Iran, as this is skewed :)

Speaking My Mind

I rarely ever like a book enough to promote it on something like a blog. BUT, as Guitar Hero recently received a plug, it seemed like a good time to do the same for a great book. And so for all my friends who are evangelical Christians, check out Speaking My Mind by Tony Campolo. Here are some chapter titles to give you an idea of what the book is about:

-Are Evangelicals Sexist?
-Are Evangelicals Addressing the Gay Issue All Wrong?
-Are Evangelicals Afraid of Science?
-Are Evangelicals Too Militaristic?

Of course, if you aren't an evangelical, you have probably already said yes four times and don't need to read it. This is more of a book for those of us who would like such a thing as an evangelical left to exist in America but have had the microphone hogged by the religious right. We're not all like the televangelists.

Shout out to Maziel for recommending it.

How I Recently Became Addicted To a Video Game and Became a Hero at the Same Time

All of us would like to be heroes. Not all of us would like to be addicted to video games. But regardless of which goal you'd rather achieve, here is a quick 3 step program for GUARANTEED SUCCESS:

1) Go to local electronics store.
2) Purchase Guitar Hero.
3) Play.

If you haven't played it, go find somewhere to do so. This game WILL make you feel like a guitar hero! Everyone I know who has played it is almost instantly addicted. I have never really been into video games. (Other than Sonic the Hedgehodge when I got a Sega in middle school. But that game was not really worth all the time I spent playing it.) Besides the outrageous fun Guitar Hero provides, I also think it actually could help improve people's ability to play regular instruments by using the part of the brain I know I use to play violin. Maybe its a love for music that has turned a video game into my most recent hobby/obbsession. Or maybe there's just something about being a hero.

A New Address

I also moved last week and have a new address. It is:

157 Stonebridge Blvd.
Apt #421
Edmond, OK 73013

A New Job

I got a new job! Its as a receptionist with a health supplement company. This should be much more manageable, time-wise. And I might get more free pomegranite antioxident juice out of the deal. Its forty hours a week, Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm. And all I do is answer telephones! Yay!

I am thinking about looking into getting certified to teach biology for the state. More info on that to come.

I'm a Quitter!

I quit my job. I felt horrible, really. But it wasn't worth it. No amount of money is worth working ten to fourteen hours, three days in a row, even if you have two days off after that, and the management won't change your schedule. Not worth it.

I am thinking about becoming a marine biologist and looking for rare starfish in Africa. (What a stable life I lead...)

How Not to Spend a Monday

Yesterday I was waiting tables during lunch, out on our open air deck. Its gorgeous, especially at sunset, as it has a great view of lake. However, during the middle of the day, its also nice if its not too hot. Yesterday was perfect. A good looking couple around thirty years old sat down with no idea of the awful thing that was about to happen.

I took their order, got them drinks, et cetera et cetera; and then... a man who had been sitting inside the restaurant saw the couple out on the deck. He strided quite purposefully up to their table and started freaking out. He was angry and pointing... and at first managing to keep his comments at a low volume so no one else could hear.

I walked back out to give another table something and by this time, the man was red-faced, and getting louder and louder with his accusations. The woman was now standing up, trying to lower his hands and calm him down. "We're just having lunch! We're just having lunch!" She kept saying. I walked back out to avoid making things more uncomfortable and felt bad for everyone. The other man remained silent and didn't say a single word the whole time. The husband eventually left.

I, unfortunately, couldn't leave, and had to keep waiting on this couple. They stared down and hardly spoke a word to each other after that. It was extremely embarassing for everyone.

I felt like I was watching a weird, real-life version of Cheaters. The entirety of the waitstaff had a lively conversation following this incident regarding what they would do if their spouse cheated on them. I, for one, felt sick to my stomach. What a horrible situation for everyone involved! So messy, so painful, and no way to really even try to fix it. Unless they are lucky.

Then, without knowing what it was about, I happened to watch Lost in Translation last night. Well, its about two married people who meet in Tokyo, and take a bunch of small steps until they end up falling in love and cheating on their spouses. Wow. What a reminder that few people in our society value monogamy anymore.

Its time to watch The Notebook or go to an old folk's bingo night.

Spring Camping

The job has been going well and I've been getting lots of stuff for the apartment. Its kind of fun buying things but its really weird to go from owning practically nothing to owning lots of things. Since I am going to wait and reapply to school, and hopefully get in next year, I'll be in the States for probably five years and it makes sense to get these things now.

But without a roommate who owns things, you have to actually buy them. They seem really unimportant but... well, without an iron, all your clothes are wrinkled. Without towels, you have to air dry. Without glasses, you have to drink from the faucet. The list goes on and on of why all these 'things' really save time and hassle, and we do actually own them for reasons. (Just kidding about the faucet.)

I'm going camping today. The leaves are only tiny once a year and I'm off to enjoy them... enjoy your spring too. From a friend's letter-

"A good year is determined by its spring."

Bahama Breeze

Well, I bypassed all those other professions and decided to work somewhere a degree will not come in handy. Sorry that your votes are obsolete. This time its Caribbean food and drink... I got a job at Bahama Breeze. This week has been crazy busy with orientation. I am not super excited at the prospect of going to bed at 2am four nights a week, but its a profitable job and hopefully I won't be there a long time. As soon as someone else calls and wants to pay me more to do something less physically draining, I'm out. This is NOT normally the way I roll but at the time I applied for this job, I realized it might be awhile before the more serious jobs called and I was bored after not working for three months.

Plus, there are a ton of young, crazy people there. That's fun compared to working in a lab... at least hopefully it will be for awhile.

On a different note, I also got a car and have been buying furniture. I'll have a party after moving in... evites to come.

When having a degree in biology comes in handy...

Now that the time has also come to get a real job, its funny to sit down, look at the options, and decide what I want to do. I have been looking, and here are my choices:

-Laboratory Clinician
-Agriculturist
-Park Ranger
-Zookeeper
-Environmental Advisor
-Criminalist (like in CSI)

Please, if you have a vote, let it be known in the comment box. All comments will be put into consideration.

Moving Out

Today, the apartments called to let me know... they have an opening for me! Yay!!

I thought I would be on the waiting list when I applied to get an apartment since nothing was open, and I had no idea how long it would be. Somehow, a one bedroom opened up and I can move in anytime after March 27th.

*angels sing*

Its not that living at home is bad. Its that I haven't been settled in my own place for the last two years. So its a very settling feeling to have your own space and I'm excited about that.

Nicaragua

The view from Mumbacho Volcano

Another of Nicaragua's many volcanoes

Me & our great translators, Angel & Oscar

Nadiya, Jasmina, Mike, & Dr. Katherine from Colombia at the clinic at Las Pilas

No, Mr. Immigration officer. We were not on a goat farm.

Two sweet girls from Las Pilas

Rafa & I- reunited in a foreign country after more than 2 years!!

Mercedes: the little girl I fell in love with.

Into Each Life, a Little Rain Must Fall.

And a little wait must come. I found out that I didn't get into PA school this summer. So, I am going to reapply in October. For now I'm going to really enjoy Nicaragua and think about what to do when I get back.

A friend of mine from college, upon finding out he hadn't been accepted for medical school, once told me, "I'm not going to let 365 days keep me from being a doctor." And I have much the same intention about being a PA. I am a very patient person.

News Flash: For anyone located in the town of Edmond, Oklahoma, Steve Logan is going to host a time for me to talk about Afghanistan at 7:00pm on Saturday, February 17th at his house. If you are interested please come. If you need directions, call or email me.

I'll be back from Nicaragua on February 11th. See you soon..

US Military: Afghan Leaders Steal Half of All Aid

Sunday Telegraph (UK)January 28, 2007

Corrupt police and tribal leaders are stealing vast quantities of reconstruction aid that is intended to improve the lives of ordinary Afghans and turn them away from the Taliban, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

In some cases, all the aid earmarked for an area has ended up in the wrong hands. Defence officials in the United States and Britain estimate that up to half of all aid in Afghanistan is failing to reach the right people.

Nato forces in the south of the country say some Afghan police are guilty of corruption and will steal aid if it is handed out. Tribal and mosque elders have also been accused of seizing goods, including building materials and fuel, and selling them in markets. A Pentagon official said thousands of cars and trucks intended for use by the Afghan police had been sold instead.

Nato commanders in southern Afghanistan are deeply concerned at the level of corruption but have resolved to press ahead with reconstruction projects in the hope of winning over the local population and improving security.

In one recent example in Kandahar province, aid distribution went ahead despite fears that it would be stolen. Sergeant Major Denis Tondreau, in charge of delivering Canadian army aid to the Pashmul area, said the Afghan police unit in one village was known for corruption and extortion. "I have been told that if I bring aid to Pasab the police will steal it," he said. "They are just a bad, bad unit… extortion, corruption and use of drugs."

But people in the area said tribal and mosque elders were also guilty of stealing aid. In the nearby town of Panjwaii, workers said aid distributed by Nato's provincial reconstruction teams had not reached the ordinary people.

Abdul Ghany, 20, said: "When the soldiers came here they gave things to the rich people. The elders took things for themselves and we received nothing."

Noor Ullah, a police intelligence officer in the neighbouring Zharey district, said tribal leaders had to be persuaded that the aid was not intended for them alone. At a heated meeting he warned them: "The equipment is not to rebuild your own homes, it is for the mosques and the whole village. It is not for individuals, it is for the community. It is not for you to take and sell it."

A joint report by the Pentagon and the US state department, circulated to congressional committees last month, concluded that the Afghan police force was corrupt to the point of ineffectiveness. One Pentagon official told The Sunday Telegraph that police officers had stolen and sold at least half of the equipment supplied by the US, including thousands of cars and trucks.

Surprise! You are leaving the country again.

-God

Umm... I'm going to Nicaragua next week. Like Mama always said, "Life is like a..." (you know the rest). As I can now testify, you never know when you're gonna get more plane rides, cute children, and chances to love people who speak a language that you don't understand.

War and the Soul

I am reading a really interesting book called War and the Soul. It is about how war affects people and what happens to soldiers and civilians after living through traumatic experiences associated with war. The author has counseled and heard stories from vets and survivors from most of the 55 civil wars that have taken place since 1990 and all other major wars all the way back to World War I.

Stress, in war time situations, is actually just fear or terror. When a person experiences a continual state of fear or terror, eventually something inside that person shuts down to keep from being overwhelmed and to continue being able to function. You can call it a soul that flees, or whatever, but it will probably result in that person not feeling or turning that part of themselves on again for awhile. It may also seem that the person is extremely courageous or fearless. Actually it is that the person has been so scared they no longer allow themselves to feel fear.

I thought for a long time I was just stressed out in Afghanistan- now I realize that I was terrified. Its good to call it like it is.

I read while I was there that "fear is excitement without breath." People with an addiction to excitement are usually drawn to dangerous situations, which is maybe why I went in the first place. The downside is that now, I've been so scared, so surprised, so angry, so sad, I've turned that ability to feel off. I know this because I go through every day completely fine- until I have to meet with a good friend for pastoral counseling. And then it is like a pent-up flood of emotions let loose. But I'm not pretending all day. I just don't choose to feel it until I walk into his office.

And I've realized that this happens to lots, and lots, and lots of people. They are so hurt, so disappointed, saddened, or angered by life that they choose to stop feeling and become a shadow of who they were. They are in denial. They laugh about nothing, and are also truly happy about nothing. They are always "fine." Nothing now can move them deeply, either beauty or sorrow. The on/off switch is permanently off.

This is what I wish to avoid. I'm trying to turn it back on.

Lovely Oklahoma

The Great Sledding Adventure of 2007

Since Ice Storm 2007 is nearly over, I'd better get this in before it is 70 degrees again outside.

After three days of stir-craziness inside the walls of my house, on Sunday afternoon Summer and I went sledding. There's a lake in her addition with very small hills on two sides. We walked out there and all we had (even after a search at Wal-mart for a sled) was a laundry basket.

Although the hill was small, you got going pretty fast and by the bottom, Summer first made the mistake of leaning forward in the laundry basket to stabilize herself. Unfortunately this led to her, face-down in the snow at the bottom of the hill, silent and not moving. Which led to me running down the hill yelling, "Suuuuuuuuu--mmmmmmm---eeeeerrrrrrr!!!". Although, actually I was trying to be funny because I thought she was faking. But by the time I got to the bottom and rolled her over, she wasn't breathing and so, quite freaked out, I started to do CPR.

At this point I was really scared. I hadn't even had a CPR class since girl scouts in the 90's and couldn't really remember if I was doing it right. I stopped for a second to reach into my coat and call 911 when she took a breath and suddenly sat up. Oh my goodness... I have never been more relieved in my life. I was crying and she said, "That really knocked the wind out of me! I can't believe you just saved my life."

I can't believe I saved someone's life either.

And actually, you shouldn't either, because this is not a true story. Here's what really happened: (ha ha ha... will you ever believe a story I write again?)

Although the hill was small, you got going pretty fast and by the bottom, Summer first made the mistake of leaning forward in the laundry basket to stabilize herself. Unfortunately, this led to her, face-down in the snow at the bottom of the hill, silent and not moving. Which led to me running down the hill yelling, "Suuuuuuuu-mmmmmmm-eeeeerrrrrr!!!". Although, actually I was trying to be funny because I thought she was faking. But by the time I got to the bottom and rolled her over, she sort of laughed but said that it really hurt and knocked the wind out of her. Then we kept sledding.

But later three boys came out and were playing on the ice of the lake which was not very thick. Summer and I were discussing how crappy it would be if one of them fell in, because we were the only ones around and we would have to jump in and save them. So Summer yelled out, "Hey, if you fall in, we're not gonna save you! We're just going to tell your parents!" We turned around and were talking again and when we turned back around, one of them had really fallen in. Now we were so surprised we didn't know what to do. Summer was hesitating, so I ran over to the edge, carefully laid down, and scooted over to the ice hole where he was splashing around. I grabbed his jacket and pulled him out of the freezing water. Luckily, Summer and I had brought some extra clothes in case we got cold, which we wrapped him in, and then we took turns carrying him home on our backs.

What? Don't you believe me?

Ok, maybe this is really what happened...

Summer and I were discussing how crappy it would be if one of them fell in, because we were the only ones around and we would have to jump in and save them. So Summer yelled out, "Hey, if you fall in, we're not gonna save you! We're just going to tell your parents!" We turned around and were talking again, and when we turned back around, one of them had really fallen in. Luckily for him, that part of the lake was about a foot deep and he just soaked his foot in extremely cold water and then they all ran home.

So fortunately, no one had to save anyone else's life that day. It was just another ordinary day of sledding. But in case you don't believe the story about the boy who fell in...

A Tribute

I absolutely love surprises. Only someone like my mom, Summer, or Tara knows this.

When I was traveling back from overseas, a lot was going on and after months of being cooped up, caged up, restricted, kept in, etc… one of the things I was really looking forwarrd to was to go have some fun on my birthday, which was eight days after my arrival back in Oklahoma. And since Summer and Tara *know* that I love surprises, they planned a whole weekend of 24th birthday fun for me.

Which included (but was not limited to) sleepovers, dinner, ice-skating, brownies with candles, a hotel, games, a birthday song (not the happy birthday song, either), even a gingerbread house craft… and they wrote and illustrated a BOOK for me! I have to hand it to them for being the best friends ever.

Thanks a lot girls… you remind me how much I have to be thankful for.

A Totally Normal and Nondescript Life

Nondescript (adj.): unremarkable, ordinary, unexceptional, dull, uninteresting, commonplace, plain


That is exactly where I am at right now. I spend all day reading books, and being with my family, and sometimes friends. Yesterday I left the house and ran errands and it was an exciting day. So that's why updates on my blog haven't been frequent- 1) I am still sorting through stories and pictures from last fall to post 2) You probably aren't that interested in yesterday's last minute run to the post office or its exciting climax when I got there before the mail was picked up.

Success

The interview is over!

I did my best yesterday. And that's all a girl can do. I felt really good about it and wasn't nervous because my interviewers were really nice and made me feel very comfortable. Ashlie and I practiced all my answers about a thousand times and then they didn't ask those questions.

The girl sitting next to me, waiting to be interviewed, is a professional sprinter, holds the 5th place world record for the 200 meter dash and competed in the Olympic trials. It made me think about two things. 1) There is some tough competition. 2) If I do end up getting into PA school, I'm going to make lifelong friends with some really determined and amazing people and that makes me excited.

Now onto last few months of waiting.

NATO Laments Afghan Civilian Dead

BBC News / Wednesday, 3 January 2007

Nato has said its biggest mistake in Afghanistan in 2006 was killing innocent civilians.

A spokesman for the Nato-led force, said efforts were under way to reduce civilian deaths in military operations.

But he said Nato had killed far fewer people last year than the Taleban, who launched more than 100 suicide attacks.

President Hamid Karzai cried last month as he spoke of his inability to stop militant attacks and coalition forces "killing our children".

He has come under growing pressure over civilian deaths as violence has raged across the south and east. Bloodshed in Afghanistan last year returned to levels not seen since the fall of the Taleban in 2001.