savannah sights

Spanish moss on trees at Bonaventure Cemetery

After we got back from Hilton Head Island, the three of us headed over to check out Bonaventure Cemetery - a historic place in Savannah and resting place of some famous people.  It's just over a mile from the apartment where we're staying.  Unfortunately, it was raining, so we didn't spend much time looking around.

walking along Bonaventure Road

Johnny Mercer's memorial bench - first song listed is quite appropriate for the day

Johnny Mercer's bench from the other side.  He wrote Moon River, among other popular favorites.

a local legend, this little girl's ghost is supposed to haunt the former site of  the Pulaski House

this life-size statue of Gracie is supposed to cry tears of blood at night if you steal a toy that's been left in her lap

the sun peeked out a little bit

Monday evening we checked out Lake Mayer Park - we headed there after we all were done for the day and ran around the lake.  It was just under 1.5 miles and quite pleasant.

Tuesday after getting off from the hospital I hopped on my bike and rode over to Bonaventure Cemetery again since it was sunny.  This time I just took my time and wandered.

Bonaventure Road

it was sunny but windy

little tree with a LOT of Spanish moss

details on a railing

idyllic view across the river

just one sample of the many statues

close up of the Spanish moss

Today we took Michelle out for dinner - her birthday is tomorrow.  She chose Paula Deen's restaurant, "The Lady and Sons."  If you (like me) do (did) not know who Paula Deen is, you can find out here.

Aylin, Paula Deen's cutout, Michelle, and me

sampling from the buffet

outside of the restaurant

It's hard to believe we only have a couple more days here in Savannah, only two more days in St. Joseph's Hospital working with our clinical instructors.

savannah - hilton head - savannah

My clinical is going well, I've now been in the hospital 7 days.  I've treated a few patients, mainly getting them up out of bed and walking up and down the hallways.  It's been a great learning experience to see how one PT (my clinical instructor) does things in a setting I had never before experienced.

I've been getting off between 3:00 and 3:30 most afternoons, which leaves plenty of time to explore.  I've joined Michelle running from Forsyth Park along Bull Street to River Street.  We like to run to River Street Sweets, a big candy store that's known for fresh pecan pralines, among other goodies.

wee cokes at River Street Sweets

Michelle's and my first purchase from River Street Sweets

Spanish moss on live oaks in Forsyth Park

We took a drive to Tybee Island one afternoon and checked out the beach there.  Unfortunately it was mostly overcast, but it was still pretty.

Michelle, Aylin, and me on Tybee Island

gulls and the pier at Tybee Island

Friday we ran along River Street, avoiding the crowds at Forsyth Park since there was a free concert there.  It was a bit difficult with the cobblestones, but still a fun sight-seeing run.

Olympic torch monument

bridge to South Carolina

On the weekend, we drove out to Hilton Head Island, SC - we stayed with Aylin's parents.

Aylin and Michelle on Coligny Beach

me and Michelle on Coligny Beach

the famous Harbour Town Lighthouse

a dolphin and a pelican from the pier at Harbour Town

stopping for refreshments at Harbour Town

Aylin's family's Scottie, Maddie

driving over the bridge, back to Savannah

new car and off to savannah!

I got my new car on Wednesday, April 11, thanks to a ride from my good friend "Papa Pete."  It's another Honda CR-V, this time a 2003.  I'm now trying to figure out how to register it in the state of California while remaining on the other side of the country for the next two years.  Anyone got any advice?

happy new car to me...

 Friday was my second final of the semester, two more to go after clinicals.  On Sunday, we had our last regular season intramural games for the volleyball season - the DPT I Women's team lost our first match but still finished the season 3-1, but DPT Blue Co-Rec team finished the season undefeated.  Both teams will be playing in the playoffs this coming week/ weekend.  Immediately after the Co-Rec game, I drove out to Savannah to stay for the next two weeks.  My "new" car got a good workout - a 4 hour drive carrying everything but the kitchen sink.  I didn't want to think too hard when I packed so I brought anything that came to mind!

sunset from a Kroger parking lot somewhere between Atlanta and Macon

I arrived at our apartment at about 9:30 pm.  Aylin and Michelle were already there.  The next morning we all started our rotations at St. Joseph's Hospital.  I'm based on the Neurology floor (7th), Aylin on the Orthopedic floor (6th), and Michelle on the Cardiopulmonary floor (3rd).  My first day in the hospital, I spent a hectic day following my clinical instructor all over the place - we treated 21 patients, mainly on the 7th floor, but also on 5th and 6th.  I mainly just observed what he did, but became more useful as the day went on pushing IV poles, getting supplies, and making sure lines didn't get crossed, kinked, or pulled.

Michelle, Aylin, and I in our fabulous hunter green scrubs.

 Our apartment has had drama, NOT revolving around the residents - starting before I even got there.  There was supposed to be a lockbox on the door with our keys inside since the leasing office is closed on Sundays.  That wasn't there.  Aylin and Michelle dealt with making emergency calls (yes, more than one) to maintenance, and finally got in.  The air conditioning didn't appear to be working, but we thought maybe it just needed time to "warm up."
 Yesterday, when we got back from our first day in the hospital, it was clear that it didn't work at all.  I called maintenance, fully expecting to get a call back the next day - instead, a maintenance guy showed up at the door about 20 minutes later.  After a bunch of fussing around, they ended up shutting off the power completely in the apartment (apparently the fuse was actually dangerous!) and offering to put us up in another apartment.  Of course, none were available, so they went to work and replaced the fuse.  When that didn't solve the problem, they took a closer look at the air conditioner itself.  They figured out the problem but weren't going to be able to fix it until today - they ended up loaning us fans to at least make it bearable.

broken AC solution...

 This morning the clouds were beautiful as I left the apartment:

pretty savannah morning

 Today was much less hectic than yesterday, as my clinical instructor did a 8 new evaluations and two treatments instead of 18 treatments and three new evaluations, so I did more observing at a slightly slower pace.  I did get to direct one patient through her therapeutic exercises, however - so I can say that today I treated my first patient as a "Student Physical Therapist."
 This evening when I got back, the AC wasn't fixed yet.  I temporarily solved that problem by heading down to hang out by the pool with my binder to do a little studying for one of our remaining two finals.  The other two joined me after they got home.  After hanging out enjoying the sunshine and great weather, we headed in to make a "family dinner" of pesto on whole wheat penne pasta with chicken and onions, Texas Toast, and salad.  To top it all off, the AC was working!

Aylin likes dinner!

long time...

I left off my last post having just arrived back in Atlanta, January 7.  WOW.  A lot has happened since then.  It's been a crazy full semester.  Here are some "highlights:"
January 16 - this little bird flew at me and bit me on the lip!

January 25 - When my right eye turned bright red on the right side and was more painful than anything I can recall in my eye, I went to get it checked out, expecting that I had an infection and would quickly be sent home with antibiotics.  Instead, I was sent to an opthalmalogist and was diagnosed with scleritis, which is typically associated with autoimmune disorders.  Thankfully it succumbed to anti-inflammatory meds and has not returned.

January 29 - daffodils had already started blooming.  This does NOT bode well for summer temperatures.

January 30 - "EKG Challenge" - pitted teams against each other, then the highest scoring individuals from each team competed for a grand prize.  This used an online EKG quiz testing how well and how quickly one could identify a specific heart rhythm from a moving EKG strip.

getting ready for the final rounds

Feb 8 - While many of our classmates were in Chicago for the Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), I was among those who stayed back in Atlanta and enjoyed a few days off.  My friend Rob and I joined our classmate Pete, his wife Stephanie, and their daughter Emery for a speedwalk up Stone Mountain.  Pete claimed they'd be slow, but their pace was fast enough that Rob didn't bother to join in the conversation on the way up to save his breath.

Pete on top of Stone Mountain

panoramic view from Stone Mountain with Rob in the middle

Over Spring Break at the very beginning of March, I dogsat for my classmate Hayley.  Eiger is still a puppy and therefore quite a handful...  but good fun and a good companion.  On one of the days, Dan, Martin, and I took Eiger with us and went disc golfing.  As expected, I was terrible, but it was great to hang out and take a walk.

happy Eiger

 

Dan showing off his skills

Martin teeing off

Martin putting while Dan restrains Eiger

March 21 - I came home to find my beloved car had been stolen, from my driveway, in one of the safest neighborhoods in Atlanta.  I miss it...  and am on the verge of buying another car.  This is NOT something I had planned to do within the next ten years, much less while in graduate school living on student loans.

birds left their mark on my poor car - I guess I'll never get the opportunity to detail that out.

March 25 started our intramural volleyball season - I'm playing on our women's team and one of our two coed teams.

March 31 - the Color Run.  This was a 5K fun run where color was added to your person throughout the course.  Dress code was "white t-shirt required."  I ran with some classmates, and am proud to say that I ran ALMOST the whole thing - Meg and I took a short walk break after about 4K - Angela and Jackie, our "real runner" classmates, set too fast a pace for the two of us to maintain the duration of run.

me, Jackie, Hope, Meg, and Angela before it all started

Meg, Angela, Jackie and me afterwards

Color Extravaganza at the Finish Line Festival

April 4 saw our two coed volleyball teams pitted against each other - DPT Blue vs. DPT White.

post game camaraderie

April 8 - Happy Easter to everyone, He is risen, He is risen indeed!  I celebrated Easter by attending Veritas church and then driving out to Acworth to join family for a delicious Easter dinner.

 the feast - ham, yams, mashed potatoes, broccoli and green salads, green bean casserole, gravy, cranberry sauce, with homemade key lime pie and triple chocolate brownies for dessert!

very full stomachs in this picture...

My first final of the semester was two days ago, my next one is this coming Friday, and then they sic us on real patients for two weeks!  I'm apprehensive/ excited about my first clinical, I'll be in Savannah on the neuro floor of a hospital.  Two other classmates, Aylin and Michelle, will be at the same hospital, and the three of us will be sharing an apartment.  When we get back, we'll have two more finals before our week-and-a-half semester break.