goooood weekend. i've forgotten what it feels like to not have to be responsible for anything for 2 entire days!!! it's amazing! that nagging voice in my head constantly reminding me 'it's T minus (enter number of choice) until that next big exam, what are you doing spending 10 minutes feeding yourself?!' not having to choose between 30 minutes of studying radiology or 30 minutes walking my dog, no feelings of guilt over spending an hour on the phone with my bff. i'm sure these all seem like very ridiculous things to normal human beings, but to a vet student, sacrificing minutes of study time to be human is a significant personal dilemma.

saturday was spent thrifting and garage sale-ing, 2 of my favorite things! adam found out about a pretty sweet event at the salvation army where walmart and target had donated boat loads of returned or non-saleable items. win!! we came out with some pretty awesome loot. i scored a thick gold's gym yoga mat (because clearly i "yoga") for $9.99, a sturdy, stainless steel thermos that will keep the coffee i never have time to drink in the morning, warm for *gasp* 24 whole hours ($7.99) i've actually had my eye on this thing but couldn't bring myself to shell out the 20 dollars for it. 2 nifty, super sharp knives for under 10 bucks, a set of oster horse clippers (the profesh series) to keep adam's new bald head trimmed AND 8 solar stake lights for the garden $11.99. we left happy.

there weren't as many garage sales going on this weekend as i thought there would be. the weather was gorgeous. BUT of course we still found lots of good stuff, and when i say found i mean it. against a tree, beside the road there was a really beautiful oil painting...just sitting there. now in my world of trash picking etiquette, if something is sitting within 5 feet of the curb, it's fair game. i snatched this thing up!

and maybe this is normal for oil paintings, but it's like the artist just smeared the paint on and then etched out the lines, it's really cool. and even the sides of it are decorated with little painted hearts. along the same road i also nabbed 2 sets of wooden garden lights. i've seen them at target and have always wanted a set, but it'd be a totally frivolous buy...can't beat free!

as far as actual garage sales, one of the best we came across was being held by a photographer who was cleaning out her studio. one of the pluses in having vintage 'likes' is that a lot of that old stuff gets passed over, particularly at garage sales. so just waiting for me towards the end of the day was this gorgeous old steamer trunk, in impeccable condition with a complete wardrobe inside, drawers, hangers, boxes for hidden treasures. it's dinged up and smells musty, but adam and i immediately gravitated towards it. while investigating it's innards (love that word) the woman walked past us and quickly whispered, pointing to the tag "or best offer." she wanted $40, but took $25. i'm going to cover the inside with pretty paper and use it as a display for market days.

we finished the day off with an ocean's 11 and 12 marathon and will probably finish 13 today. ahhh...too have so much free time!! this morning we made a big breakfast, i burned the potatoes, but sadie didn't mind. and then attempted to fly a kite with no wind. pretty impossible...so we gave up and gorged on bottled coke and digestives while sadie rolled around in the grass. i fall in love with that dog more every day!!

in one week it's vacation...the life of a fourth year!

and it has begun...

derm was up this week. i'll be on for the next two weeks. this particular rotation has a reputation as being a "good one" to start with. i'm not really sure why...i was assuming it was because it's derm, how hard, really, can it be? i'm certainly not in any danger of killing something. but take any rotation lead by a clinician who seems to be the head of every possible committee, board, or interesting class taught at this school and there's a level of desire and neccesscity to not seem like a complete imbecile. ideally a goal i can hope to achieve during every rotation.

the way it seems to be set up on most core rotations this year is we enter rooms in pairs. one student as a primary and the other as a secondary. the primary is actually responsible for the case--we have to get a thorough history, do a physical exam and dermatologic exam, all while attempting to seem completely at ease doing so, when really we are very nearly close to spewing our nervous guts all over the wall. a less than ideal situation, indeed.

i'm realizing just how easy "they" make/made it look. i spend at least the night before going over the case i know i'll be responsible for the next day. i read through every check, re-check and re-re-check i can, i review recent communications with preveious students and the client, research any previous diagnoses and have a good grasp of the current treatment plan. but in the real world i'll have a quick glance at the whole history 2 minutes before i go in to "interrogate." which is what i really like to call the taking of the history session, because i'm so focused on asking all the questions, preferably all the right questions, that the delivery DEFINITELY needs improvement. but by my powers of observation i think i'm at least slightly ahead of the curve.

one thing i do know for certain, wearing cute shoes in the real world is incredibly impractical, although i will miss the compliments! there is no room for adorable flats in colors to match every possible top or *gasp* heels! there can be only one...and that one is my ugly-ass, dutch girl looking dansko's, tried and true arch support and heel cushion. this weekend will be spent drinking copious amounts of wine (because i have absolutely no reason to be completely coherent, not a single exam on the horizon for me), cuddling with the kitties and getting another pair of my soon to be new best friends--a pair of brown, leather matte, size 8's! small joys.