the next step in the journey: July 2012

14 July 2012

keeping busy

The Fourth of July turned into an active day - I slept in, then ran 3 miles, cleaned house, did laundry, and went out to watch fireworks from the top floor of a parking deck on campus. From that vantage point, we could actually see 5 or 6 different fireworks displays, and as a bonus, we got to see the one-day-past-full moon rising.

katherine, nadele, and me on michael street deck

fireworks!

nearly full moon

On Friday the 13th, it was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. Anyone who dressed like a cow would get free food - partial costumes earned a free sandwich, while "head-to-toe" costumes merited a free meal. I had never eaten at a Chick-Fil-A before, and several friends (including Moire) had told me I really should try it. I called Moire and suggested we go - she was all for it, so I headed to her place with black paper, packing tape, white t-shirt and shorts, and black flats. She also donned a white t-shirt and shorts and we proceeded to dress up a couple headbands with black paper ears and noses, add black paper spots to our bodies, and Moire made us some "EAT MOR CHIKIN" signs to wear. Rubber gloves in front as udders attached to belts sticking out the back as tails completed our costumes.

We headed to the nearest Chick-Fil-A and got our free meals, then realized that three of my classmates were also there with one of their roommates.

chick-fil-a free meal #1
caitlyn, martha, me, cow, moire, hope, and jodi

first chick-fil-a meal - people have been telling me i HAD to try it!

We weren't completely full yet, so most of us decided to make a joint venture to the next nearest Chick-Fil-A. We scored our next free meals, although this location had a weird policy that required me to pay $0.17 for choosing lemonade as my beverage instead of soda. By the time we got our food, we had decided we weren't actually hungry any more, so we brought our food home to save for later.

chick-fil-a free meal #2
moire, hope, me, martha, and jodi

It was a fun adventure in the pouring rain!

04 July 2012

full moon hike?

I had this brilliant idea on my last walk up Stone Mountain that it would be really fun to climb it on a full moon night. I checked online for the next full moon and it was July 3. I posted an invitation on my class and the first year class facebook pages. I didn't expect a huge response since many people feel the need to go out and party when there's no school the next day, especially with the first year class celebrating finishing their first anatomy exam.

As the time got closer, it looked like there would be a group of five to ten people. The plan was to drive off toward Stone Mountain around 7:15, giving us plenty of time to get to the top before moonrise (8:48 PM) and sunset (8:51 PM). Around 5:30 the rain started, and quickly turned to thunderstorms. Texts and phone calls flew back and forth, and people were still willing to try it.

Six intrepid souls chose to make the trek - one third year, one second year (me), and four first year DPT students. We started out from Stone Mountain Village in a free parking lot and walked toward Stone Mountain Park. It was raining, but not too hard - one person had a raincoat, and three umbrellas went up. The granite was a little slippery, but not bad, and the rain kept the temperature reasonable. There was still lightning, but it seemed pretty far away.

The sunset was pretty cool when we got close to the top, the sun glowing red through the clouds. The rain had let up somewhat.

red sunset

arriving at the top with raindrops glowing in the camera flash

The rain started up again as we got to the top and didn't let up again until sometime late that night. AND the lightning and thunder started up again, closer and closer.

group shot in a gazebo at the top
l-r: katherine, ashley, moire, me, sultan, dan

We made our way back down, slipping and sliding - some more than others. Right after we left the top, there was an extra-bright flash of lightning and nearly instantaneous thunder. I happened to glance back at the end of the flash, and I'm pretty sure lightning struck at the top! Nevertheless, we all made it back to the cars in one piece, and a good time was had by all. We're hoping to try again some other full moon night, hopefully without the thunderstorms.

A garden update: my plants are doing well except that some bug seems to be eating any new growth on my cherry tomato plant - leaves, flowers, and fruit!

the biggest cucumber i currently have growing

ripening cherry tomatoes

lettuce

Happy Fourth of July, all!!

03 July 2012

second year!

To start off my second year of PT school, I volunteered to help out with graduation for the class of 2012. The next day, we started right off with a full 8-hour lecture schedule. Fortunately, the schedule eased up after the first couple weeks, and we have a lot of labs now and not such full days of class. I made a second try at container gardening, this time skipping the fruitless zucchini attempt and trying cucumber and rosemary.

baby tomato plant

pickling cucumber and rosemary

In early June, the DPT Class of 2015 showed up. Each incoming student is paired up with a second year as a "big." I met my "little" a couple days after she got to Atlanta. That Friday the second years hosted a welcome party for the first years.

moire (my little) and me

She joined me for a walk up Stone Mountain with some of the women from Veritas Church. The night before, I chopped off nearly a foot of my hair and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

over 11 inches!!

panoramic sunset shot from stone mountain

moire and me at the top of stone mountain

some of the women from veritas church

The last full weekend in June I joined a bunch of classmates as well as PA students, med students, and other volunteers to go to Valdosta in south Georgia. We held free medical clinics to help the many migrant farmworkers and impoverished locals in the area. The PA students acted as primary care with volunteer MDs supervising, referring as needed to PT and marriage and family counselor students from Valdosta State. It was an amazing experience, treating patients under the watchful eye of Emory PT alumni who volunteered their time as well.

a couple of farmworkers picking blackberries

setting up the PT treatment areas

group shot of the Valdosta team

Alan arrived in Atlanta for a work conference shortly before I got back from Valdosta. We were able to coordinate busy schedules and get together for a little bit on Monday, since he was conveniently located in the Emory Conference Center Hotel, just up the hill from the main Emory campus.

alan with a borrowed bike from the emory conference center hotel

The first three weeks of June were mercifully cool compared to last year, followed by a week of increasing heat, culminating in a new all-time heat record for the city of Atlanta on June 30.

I've been helping out in the anatomy lab with the first year class. It's been fun getting to know them a bit, and really great review as I am forced to remember or look things up each time they ask me a question. Several of them have joined me at the climbing wall, as well!

02 July 2012

the rest of the midwest trip

The morning after Enzo's birthday, my parents and I packed up and drove off to Michigan to visit extended family on my mother's side. On the way, we stopped at Hazelhurst on Lake Michigan, where my mother and her family had often stayed, and our family also visited when I was little.

on the shore of lake michigan at hazelhurst

We arrived in time for dinner, and the next day headed off to Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, MI. My cousin Annie works there as a zookeeper, so we got an extra special behind-the-scenes view of the zoo. We watched 3 tiger cubs at play - Annie bottle-fed these three when they were tiny because illness caused their mother to abandon them.

Next, we watched as Annie fed Koda the lion and Sivaki the tiger. It's amazing how she's got them trained to respond to certain cues so that it's possible to have them into certain positions when necessary for inspection or medical interventions.

face to face with koda

sivaki yawning

When Sivaki's food was mostly eaten, Annie offered us the chance to feed him ourselves and test his trained behaviors. Most of us took her up on that offer. Here's Cousin Neil getting him to go up for food.

Our next stop took us to see Dopsee the rhinoceros. We got to pet her, both outdoors between logs of an enclosure for humans, and inside through the bars. She definitely enjoyed it!

reaching between the logs to pet dopsee

it's intimidating to face down a full grown rhinoceros, even with metal bars between!

We watched the penguins being fed, then got to go "backstage" and be within 18 inches of them when Annie opened a nesting box (with a pair that wasn't currently nesting).

my parents, cousins neil, ellen, alan, tami, and annie watching penguin feeding

up close with the penguins

We got to meet Logan and took some nice three-generation pictures, then went out for a delicious dinner.

ryan, leslie, logan, aunt joey, ellen, and alan

ellen's face is hidden behind alan's but otherwise everyone's visible!

The next day was low-key and finished off with barbecue at Cousin Neil and Tami's house. Possibly the highlight of the entire trip for my father was using the riding mower in Cousin Alan's back yard that afternoon.

cruising on the riding mower - look at that grin!

We drove back to Wisconsin the following day and had dinner with Alan, Elizabeth, and Enzo at the Terrace at the University of Wisconsin on Lake Mendota. We enjoyed the sunset, good food, ice cream, and exploring before heading back.

enzo and elizabeth walking on a dock

enjoying popcorn and the sunset

hooray for ice cream!

Our last day in the midwest, we met Alan, Elizabeth, and Enzo at their house, then joined them for a picnic at a park with a playground Enzo says is magical.