An Update...

At work, when someone is asked how they are doing, the response is often "Just living the dream, baby!" The response is usually sarcastic as alarms and bells and the phone ring, noxious smells fly by, etc etc. But it's actually very true for me right now: I have always always wanted to go to nursing school and now I'm doing it!
Last semester was pretty cushioned as I cut down my work hours and had very easy classes. This semester my hours at work doubled and class is much harder. I'm actually acting like a nurse--giving medications, starting IVs, doing assessments. (That's right, you should all stay out of the Tucson hospitals for a while!) I feel like I did when I was 4 years old tromping around in my mom's high-heels. But I love it! I learn so much each day and feel my goal becoming a reality.
As for the rest of my life, it really doesn't exist, so that's that. Just kidding--I am having a blast with my new baby (my road bike), my beehives, and occasional visits from Spencer :) He is studying really hard right now, but we have a great time making the most of his/my breaks.
In a nutshell, we are living the dream! And blessing the person who invented air conditioning...

Boards studies...

I laughed out loud while coming across this fact from the great Wikipedia. I am studying the central nervous system, just to put it in context.

"There are many ways to acquire radial neuropathy.
The term Saturday Night Palsy refers to nerve damage that can occur if a drunk person falls asleep with the back of their arms compressed by a bar edge, bench back, or like object. Radial neuropathy is also called honeymooners palsy, since it can be acquired by sitting with an arm draped over the back of a neighboring chair (or movie-theater seat) for a long time, or when somebody sleeps with his/her head rested on another persons arm, as for instance in a newly married couple where the partner doesn't yet want to tell his or her partner to use a pillow instead.
Both Saturday night palsy and honeymooners palsy refer to the fact that the nerve damage is generally forewarned by arm pain to a degree that only excessive love or liquor would drive a person to keep their arm in such an uncomfortable position."


I think Anna and I might still be on honeymoon because she complains of wrist-drop. What a sign of love for the hubby :)

Here's 150,000...and signing off for a while.

Buying an American made car at 97,000 miles can be risky. But in Safford, AZ lives a man named Tigi. He cares for his cars as meticulously as a junior high boy styling his hair with L.A. Looks gel. The oil changes are regular. Every update/fix/alteration on his cars is noted in a booklet located in the glovebox. And the car never sees a dirt road. A little extreme, maybe, but it paid off for me when I bought his Pontiac Grand Am exactly four years ago. And today the Grand Am hit 150,000. Besides minor bleeding of antifreeze out of a leaky hose, the car is running perfectly sound. Oh, and the A/C doesn't work, but you hardly notice that in AZ :) So while GM is taking a bad rap these days, here's a "hip, hip hooray, for the American-made car and the American-mad man who takes care of his car, Tigi. My next ETA on this blog is in two months, so unless you hear from Anna, just assume we're sweating pretty here in Tucson, AZ. Tchau!

One more reason we love...the Phoenix Suns

Ariziona

 
 
 
 

Things You're Not Lucky Enough To Experience

The other night Anna returned home from her 13 hour work-day a little fatigued. I studied late into the evening at our desk, located just a few feet from our bed. The desk faces away from the bed. Anna's calming breathing patterns were beckoning me to bed with more force than the Siren's calls to Odysseus. Then she got up and wandered to the kitchen. She evidently grabbed some bread and went back to bed because I could hear her munching on bread crumbs. Then, she was asleep. I went to bed shortly after. That morning we woke up covered in bread crumbs. Our arms and legs were grating against the dried grain in the sheets like sand on a beach. She fell asleep before she could finish her snack! Anna rocks. She works so hard at her job that it prepares for some of the funniest fatigue moments at home after her shift. I hope someday, when I'm on call, I can work as hard as her. You rock banana!

Road Cycling

Anna and I have found a new hobby we both love to do together. We have fun getting frustrated in tennis, running, canoeing, football, etc, but it's nothing but love in road cycling. Two weeks ago her parents and I teamed up to get her FELT road bike and we have biked almost 150 miles together since. We love planning our day around a sunset ride in Tucson. We are riding for pleasure now, but look forward to training so we can keep up with the Dad, the Kaelbaerers, Rich Boyer, and maybe the Johnsons during El Tour de Tucson this novemeber. One hundred miles around the greatest desert on earth.

Beaches

As a history major, I feel I should be more aware of past and contemporary events. But I am always confusing the Hundred Years War with the War of 1812 with the French and Indian War, etc. However, I have two dates I always remember, without even trying: June 6th and July 3rd. June 6th marks the anniversary of D-day and July 3rd of the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg. But it's to June 6th that I want to blog. One of my favorite quotes by Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." I think was Burke means is that ball can and should always be in the court of the good. No movie, narrative or photo can make any of us understand what it feels like to step off the ramp of a boat to plunge into cold water holding a hundred pound of ammunition and gear, only to face a storm of oncoming enemy fire. In those moments, I can only imagine you don't think about anything. You just move. And I guess that's what inspires me about D-day and Gettysburg. These men were so disciplined they turned off all emotion of just moved forward. I remember learning in high school from Mr. Helsel, my history teacher, about a man who wrote in his journal the morning of Gettysburg: "Today, I died." How do you write that, close the book, put a piece of salt pork in your mouth, and then walk out into a field displaying more carnage than any other American war combined? But the men moved, and good, I believed triumphed. D-day and Gettysburg were terrible in the number of casualties, but I believe they saved the lives of countless others because of the objectives accomplished. Can you imagine what it must be like in the next life to sit down and talk with a soldier about his or her experiences in combat? I imagine may of these soldiers are or will become effective missionaries in the spirit world if they accept the Gospel. They, more than anyone, will testify of how the Atonement can redeem man's folly.
The above pic is me and Anna walking the beach at Caesarea. I don't think we'll ever be called to charge Normandy. But in a lot of ways, we can look to those who did charge and remember, sometimes the only good course of action is to keep moving. At the end of the summer, Anna and I will spend a week on the beaches of Balboa with her family. We have a summer of Boards studies and Nursing school before that. To study for the boards requires a 10 hour daily commitment for 6 straight weeks. I have a sweet little cannon that has a place reserved on my study desk to remind myself, in moments of doubt, that I need to keep moving. My good buddy Aaron up at BYU noticed how I barely mention life as a medical student on our blog. Well, I'll mention a little about the transition from second to third year. Each student must take, and pass, a national boards exam. If you don't pass, you can't proceed to your third-year clerkship. At any given moment in May or June, you can walk into a medical school's library and as you pass the study rooms you will find medical students studying flashcard, lectures, notes, and powerpoints from 7 am to 9pm. Each student will usually find his or her niche in the library, and by the end of the six weeks, I suspect there is enough dandruff, pulled-out hair, bitten finger nails, and soiled table tops to build a huge castle stronger than Camelot. So while it is not comparable to D-Day or Gettysburg in any philosophical or realistic view, the concept is the same, just keep moving. I can never complain. I have Balboa at the finish line.