that’s the sound of my life speeding past. life’s good but full of school stuff. my schedule is filled with more things this semester than ever before and I have more homework/readings/labs to do each week than ever before. yet somehow I can’t think of anything important or exciting to report so have a good weekend and check back soon.
Currently, most of the snow that was on the roof and around the pool has melted. Our apartment is still very warm. No precipitation has been seen falling from the sky in the past 8 hours. Now, back to you in the studio.
Ok, I get that it’s cold here. And that the roads are bad–covered in ice and snow and what-not. And that the Dallas Metroplex only has 45 sand trucks. But does it really need to be the only thing they show on the news?! It even made CNN and Fox News–seriously, is there anything else worth reporting going on in the rest of the world?
The university was closed today due to the weather but the actual Callier Center was open because it follows DISD–which was about the only school district in Texas open today. Wednesday mornings I’m at the Richardson clinic (which is physically on the campus) and we have class at the Callier Center in Dallas in the afternoon. So it was a bit confusing this morning trying to figure out I was supposed to do. I ended up not going to work in Richardson for the morning because that clinic decided to be closed for the day and then our afternoon class in Dallas was canceled. An extra day off…I’ll take it! I’ve been catching up on laundry and typing up class notes (yes I am that person who hand writes my notes and then re-types them–it helps me learn!).
Today was a school holiday. I slept until 9, did some homework, cleaned the apartment, did some more homework, and started my laundry. I hadn’t left the house all day and I was perfectly fine with that. It was a relaxing but productive day.
I had just started watching 24, when the fire alarm started to go off. Not the small little beeping one in our apartment, but the very loud entire building one that goes off through the sprinklers. I don’t know what it is about fire alarms going off, but no one seems to really pay attention to them. I stuck my head outside but no one was doing anything–no running, no screaming, no one else sticking their head outside to see what was going on. Finally some guy came out of his apartment and said he was headed downstairs; you know, away from the supposedly burning building. Sarah and I decided that might be a good idea for us to do as well. When we got to the second floor, we ran into (actually ran after) LB and Nick, the dog. LB had put in her earplugs because of the extremely loud, potentially damaging sound level of the alarm (we’re such dorks!) so she couldn’t hear us yelling after her. Nick had started to run down the hall (and he can’t hear anyway) and she was trying to catch up with him and we were trying to catch up with them. Very comical I’m sure. All four of us ended up at LB’s car and we decided to evacuate in the warmth of the 4Runner instead of waiting around outside in the 30 degree weather. We passed the fire truck on our way to Starbucks but the firemen weren’t exactly springing into action (they looked more annoyed and cold).
We did a drive-by with our coffee and found an office lady who told us it was safe to go back to our homes. Sarah and I stayed in LB’s apartment for a little while, and had started the walk back upstairs when the alarm went off again. Another office lady said there was more smoke in the next building (that leads to the building where our apartment is) and we couldn’t go back yet. So we went back to LB’s and played with Nick some more. Another fire truck came and sat in front of the building but again, the firemen didn’t seem to be on a mission to put out any fires. The next time I stuck my head out the door (after first feeling it to sense if it was hot and therefore if it was safe to open the door–I remember my first grade fire safety rules!), the second office lady said it was safe to go up. Fortunately, the sirens are off and I’m now back in my apartment, safe for the night (I hope), ready for the rest of Jack Bauer. So much for relaxing 
Goodness. I just got home after my first week back. Yikes! This semester is not only filled with more classes/work/clinic rotations than previous ones, it’s also going to be more academically intense. I think I’m going to learn interesting things in my classes, even though they’re gonna kick my butt. I’m glad Monday is a holiday because I already have so much to do…and it’s stuff that’s actually due next week!
In other news: Yay that today’s Friday. Becky’s coming in town for dinner and probably a movie so that’s fun. I don’t have to wake up at 6:30 or wear "professional dress" tomorrow; that’s also fun.
I start back up tomorrow and it’s gonna be a full week. I’m trying
to have a positive attitude from the get go but my schedule is making
that hard. I basically go all day, every day, plus two night classes.
eek! Pre-school assessment: Two of my four classes sound really cool;
the other two–well, not so much. One out of three clinic placements
I’m excited about. I’ll be taking a new responsibilities at my school
job–a half day of administrative work with my boss. It may not sound
so great but I’m excited about it. Apparently my boss has said some
really great things about me so she and the clinic coordinator decided
to "take it to the next level." It makes me a little proud that because
of my hard work I’m getting an opportunity that the other student
workers don’t get. Although, I don’t think they would be excited about
"administrative work." I think I have a really strong work ethic (a
sense of no matter what your job is, no matter how small or temporary
it is, you do it right and you do it well) but I don’t think lots of
other people my age have that. So thanks Mom and Dad for instilling
that in me. I’ll let you know how the week goes.
Random bit of
info for ya: I had twelve (12!) fever blisters in the year 2006. That
averages out to having a fever blister once a month, or one every 4
weeks. Stupid virus and stupid triggers–like stress and sun and low
immune system due to snotty, germ-infected kids. All things I can’t
exactly avoid at this point in my life…or ever. (Maybe the
germ-infected kids if I choose not work in pediatrics.) My New Year’s
Resolution should be to have less fever blisters in 2007, but I think
that’s biologically impossible. 
Happy New Year!
