Day Two

Day One sucked. Insomnia. QBank is buggy. Do I have swine flu? Flashcards take a really long time to make. John points out that the test is named after me: US - M - L - E. Ha ha get it? Okay, that didn't suck so much. That was maybe sort of kind of cute. Basil plant holding up well.

Pause

It's Sunday and I'm home from a bike ride, stuffed fulled of Lebanese food and two scoops of Scoops ice cream. I've officially finished the second year of medical school, and tomorrow I start studying for Step 1.

Yes! I said it! I am finished! I may be firing up the coffee pot in less than 12 hours and hitting the books again, but that doesn't make me any less ecstatic.

I mean it when I say I couldn't have done it without family, friends, and John (my rock). Taking them for granted is a terrible by-product of the tunnel vision of medical school, but they all had the infinite patience to stand by me. They are amazing human beings.

Time to put my feet up and read The New Yorker.

PS - Happy birthday, Kat!

Breathe in that desert air.

I went to Joshua Tree last weekend for a friend's wedding. I left the travel plans to someone else, and it was great to be able to pack a bag, hop into the car, and head out on a road trip. First stop, donuts.

We stayed at the Joshua Tree Inn, where rock star Gram Parsons died in Room 8 in 1973. We were in Room 4, and I sadly report no paranormal experiences, although my friends snarked that John's snoring was otherworldly.

Before we headed out to the national park, we stopped by the Integratron in Landers for a Sunday morning sound bath. The Integratron is an all-wood dome with excellent aucoustic properties. (The architect cited extraterrestrials as consultants on the building design.) The sound bath is a half-hour meditation with tones played on crystal bowls that reverberate throughout the building. The woman who played the bowls described the experience as feeling the sound "flossing your brain."

The rest of the trip we spent in the part making frequent stops for large rocks and freaky-looking plants. My favorite was the ocotillo. It blooms with orange flowers at its tips.

We wrapped up the trip with a visit to Zelo in Arcadia for corn, red onion, and balsamic vinegar pizza.

Streeeeeeeetch.

So it turns out that all this sitting at my desk not blogging was slowly, mercilessly tightening my psoas muscles and curling my spine up like a Frito (food snobs, you know what those are.) My friend and massage therapist did some incredible work on me yesterday and now I'm about two inches taller and strangely thinner around the middle. It's so nice to stand up straight again and to not be in pain. I'm proud of myself for going and getting it checked out instead of my usual course of action - whining, taking pain meds, letting it generally deteriorate for another few months.

I'm going out tonight to show off my excellent posture and to see The Tartans play. They're my friends and neighbors, and I have been telling them forever that I will learn to play the trumpet for some of their songs. That may not ever happen, but we are going with them to NYC Popfest in May. Groupies!