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.