Discover Lisa

My last first day of school (ever)

2012-01-11T21:37:00.004-05:00

And we're off! Today was my first last day of class ever. Technically GT started school on Monday, but this semester, my research release days are Monday-Tuesday, so we didn't start class until today (Wednesday). I did go to clinical rotations on Monday, and I have 487/500 hours complete. I am so very excited to be almost done!

This semester, my classes are Upper Limb Orthotics (which is conducted as a short class - we have 4 very intense weeks of class and the final is on February 3!), Upper Limb Prosthetics (starts in early February and continues until May), Clinical Practicum (which is just where we get credit for our clinical rotations), and Research Seminar (where we get credit for our capstone research projects).

I'm very excited to graduate in May, but thinking about getting there makes me sort of ill, so I stick it in the back of my mind and try not to think about everything I have to do in less than four months:

Finish (or really rather, START and FINISH) my capstone research project. Progress has been slow (practically nonexistent) and frustrating thus far. I have to build a device, test it on 3 subjects, analyze the results, and make a poster, presentation, and report.
Complete my 13 clinical rotation hours. Not a big deal, but I still have to devote two days to it.
Pass my classes (eek). This short class is really freaking me out.
Find a residency. This in itself isn't the scary part. The scary part is finding one in a region of the country that I can tolerate living in for a year, where Kevin can also find a job. How do couples do this? We have both found a bunch of places to apply, but I just feel like the chances of us both getting an offer in the same vicinity is not super likely.

Finding a residency also entails flying to various interview sites and this will take away from my research days. And I have to spend money on flights. I do have over 30,000 miles saved up, so that will help a little. I'm also banking on companies conducting interviews at "Residency Interview Day" at the Academy meeting in March here in Atlanta to cut down on my travel costs and time.

That's all of the major stuff I have to do. Obviously finding a job is my biggest stressor, besides, well, meeting all of the requirements for graduation (namely, completing my capstone research project).

I don't generally get stressed out, but now is definitely a time that I am. Especially because we had 250 pages of reading assigned for this week and four quizzes in three days. I need to knit... I've found that knitting is my biggest de-stressor. I think a trip to Michaels might be in order this weekend...

Date Awry

2012-01-08T13:33:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I posted a new entry about my Christmas knitting. I had started the post on December 15th, when I was waiting for my flight, since I had most of the pictures and everything. I finally published it since I gave everyone their gifts, but I guess it didn't show up in anybody's readers since it was backdated to 12/15/11. I tried changing the date but apparently Blogger doesn't allow that, so anyway, this is just to say that for anybody who did not see that post, it exists, and also for me to remember that I didn't post all my Christmas presents on the internet 10 days before Christmas :)

Christmas Knitting 2011

2011-12-15T22:21:00.001-05:00

For Christmas this year I tried to do handmade gifts for everyone. I did this not only to fuel my knitting obsession, but also because standard run-of-the-mill Christmas gifts weren't doing it for me this year. I succeeded in everyone but two: Kevin (who I just bought things for) and my dad (whose gift is not handmade, but it is custom-made). Kindly ignore the cheesy and bad photography.

First up, my mother.

I knitted her a cardigan in her favorite color. I got the pattern from here, but I made some changes: I added two more buttons and I made the sleeves full-length. The yarn is Red Heart Artesano in Purple Mist.

Next up, my father.

I didn't know what to knit for Dad, so I somehow decided that he needed a hat that says his partnership name on it. I recruited my sister to help with the graphic design because my designs looked like a page straight from the 90s. I got it printed at Zazzle.

My sister and her family:

I read in my sister's blog about six months ago that she wanted a gold/yellow rug for her kitchen. I found some "country print" yarn from Lily Sugar'n Cream and a pattern here (I adapted the size).

I had some leftover yarn so I made up some matching potholders, just making up the pattern. I also knitted two dishcloths (matching, naturally) but on two different occasions they both went missing. I have no idea, I tore my room apart looking for them and they are GONE. I am beginning to doubt my sanity.

Baby Jared's sweater. The proportions are wrong so it's far too short and wide, but it's still pretty cute. Yarn is Vanna's Choice and the pattern is from here.

My brother:

A blanket. I literally knit this, start to finish, in six hours. I used size 50 needles. Best idea ever! Yarn is Lion Brand Homespun (I used three different colors held together) and the pattern is from here.

I also knitted gifts for Kevin's family.

His mother:

A scarf using Red Heart Boutique Eclipse yarn in "Sunset" and the pattern from here.

His father and stepmother:

Blanket using Bernat Softee Chunkee yarn and the pattern from here.

His sister and her family:

For Kevin's five-year-old nephew John, I made a football. Pattern from here. Red Heart Soft yarn.

For Kevin's two-year-old niece Gwen, this bear (same pattern I used when I made Jared's bear). Deborah Norville Serenity Chunky yarn was used.

I also made each a hat. I think I used this pattern as my base, but I changed it somewhat. Red Heart Soft yarn.

Kevin's sister requested potholders. I found this really fun plaid pattern and had to try it (it's actually a dishcloth pattern, but I held double yarn throughout and also attached a plain red piece to the back). Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn.

And I also made some pi holders, exact same pattern I used for my sister's.

pi!

I started knitting in September and I got everything done in time for Christmas! I still have no idea how I found all that time to knit so many things. I seriously love knitting.

Jingle Jog 5k

2011-12-10T15:50:00.001-05:00

This morning my roommate and I ran the Jingle Jog 5k in Sandy Springs. This event had horrible planning. Google maps told us it would take 20 minutes to drive there, so we left an hour before the race was supposed to start. It was all good until we got off the freeway... it took 20 minutes to drive about a half mile to get to the parking lot. Then it took 20 minutes to pick up our race numbers, so by the time we got to the start line, the race was starting and we didn't know exactly where the start line was and it was chaotic and crazy and "holy cow we're running RIGHT NOW."

The race had a HUGE HILL that we both died on. Not literally, but we had to stop and walk. Surprisingly, my official race time was 32:18 (only 23 seconds slower than last time! what?) so we apparently ran faster than before, because we walked for at least two-three minutes.

I still love 5k's, and I'm really glad I did this one because it energized me for studying today. One final on Monday (3 hour written, 1 hour practical, 30 minute oral) and one final on Wednesday (same format). Then, IDAHO ON THURSDAY!

Baked Beans!

2011-12-04T12:45:00.001-05:00

Stores carry slightly different products in Georgia than they do in Idaho. Sure, most of what I bought back home I can buy here, but there are a couple of my favorite things that I can't find: Sunbird Sweet & Sour sauce mix, Nalley chili, and B&M baked beans. Until today, that is, on the baked beans!

I'm used to looking for them in a can, not a jar! They were on the very top shelf of the beans aisle in these funny little jars. So, yes, I bought some. I probably won't eat them right away, because of the reason I was getting baked beans in the first place. One of my instructors (who is Canadian) is leaving after Christmas to take a teaching job in the Philippines. This Tuesday we are having a goodbye potluck lunch for him. We call him "Mac" and so everyone is trying to bring things that are either Canadian-ish or have "mac" in the names. Examples: mac'n'cheese, macaroons, macadamia nut cookies, maple muffins, etc. I decided to make maple baked beans to bring. Hence the reason I was in the baked bean aisle, and why I found these!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-26T21:54:00.001-05:00

Back at good ol' UI, we got a whole week off at Thanksgiving. Here at GT, we get Thursday-Friday off. Luckily my department is semi-understanding and gave us Wednesday off as well. Not that I was able to go home due to outrageous ticket prices and because it's such a short time, but at least we got a small break.

My cousin Mike is stationed at Fork Polk, Louisiana so he drove over to Atlanta to spend Thanksgiving with me. He arrived Wednesday evening. Of the 19 students in the MSPO program, 10 stayed in Atlanta for the holiday. Two who stayed are married and spent the holiday with their wives; one had other friends in town and had Thanksgiving with them. That left 7 of us to act as a family and have "Friendsgiving." So, Mike joined my friends and I for a good day of food, drink, and more food. We had a pretty good time. I kind of went overboard on the baking and contributed rolls, apple pie, pumpkin pie, and a pumpkin roll to the feast.

Friday we went to the shooting range and taught my roommate Shannon how to shoot (she had never shot a gun before in her life). Mike did most of the "training" since he's in the Army. We shot a .22 pistol, my .357 magnum revolver, and... a full-auto AR-15. It was fun to introduce someone new to shooting. Shannon loved it and wants to go shooting again! Luckily we found out that Thursday nights are "date night" and two people shoot for the price of one... can you say roommate date?

Saturday was the much-anticipated football game of the season... Georgia vs. Georgia Tech! "The South's biggest rivalry." The stadium was packed and Mike managed to scalp a ticket to get in. He was able to sneak into the student section to come sit with us. Unfortunately, the game was really not super interesting. There were no big plays, it was continuous inching toward the goal line by both teams. We ended up losing 31-17 but we left in the 4th quarter because we were all bored. So it was a little bit of a let-down after all the hype, but we had a good enough time anyway.

Now, it's back to school tomorrow for 2 more weeks of class followed by 2 finals. I have to finish up the usual semester-end projects and study, and then I'm on a plane headed back home to Idaho on December 15th! This is the longest I've ever been away from home (it will be 4 months and 8 days by the time I leave) and I'm feeling it. I get homesick a lot, but usually I'm busy enough that I can get over it. Hopefully the next 2.5 weeks will fly right by!

Foot Radiograph

2011-11-15T21:54:00.001-05:00

I've been curious for some time if I have an accessory navicular (a navicular is a bone in your foot; some people are born with an extra little bone near it called an accessory navicular) because mine is quite prominent on the medial portion of my foot:

And since I've been experiencing bilateral foot pain at my navicular, I decided to go to the doctor to see if I could get an x-ray of my foot. Here's the radiograph:

Nothing too exciting. No accessory navicular, and no other bony problems, so it means my problem is a soft tissue injury. I'm guessing posterior tibial tendonitis. You can see my rather large navicular sticking out though!

A New Life!

2011-11-08T15:41:00.001-05:00

Everyone who knows my family knows that we are obsessed with cereal. Growing up, we had exactly ten different kinds of cereal open at any given time. And none of it EVER went stale. We eat cereal like it's going out of style. A particular favorite is Life cereal. The problem with Life is, it's so expensive! I never buy it for myself because it costs so much. And unlike every single other kind of cereal, I have never found an imitation Life cereal. That is, until this weekend:

Kroger brand Life cereal! It was only $2.19 a box! The name is a little hokey, but I'm not complaining. It tastes exactly like the real thing. I haven't eaten Life cereal since August, so this was an incredible find!

Officially addicted to 5k runs

2011-11-05T12:02:00.000-04:00

This morning I ran my very first 5k road race. It was SO MUCH FUN. My time was around 31:55, which is okay. I feel like I probably could have ran quite a bit faster, but that's alright. I ran with a bunch of people from my program, plus spouses and family members. We all separated throughout the race, as some people wanted really good times, and other people walked it. I had a blast, and am officially addicted to 5k's. There were flyers for more 5k's in the area, and I already signed up for one in December! There's also one on Thanksgiving, but I decided not to do that one. Now, if I can figure out a way to prevent my feet from hurting... they are hurting pretty bad after this morning. We shall see. Tally ho!

Update: Team picture with the CHOA mascots :-)

Octobery notes

2011-10-30T16:06:00.001-04:00

October has come and gone (well, almost). It's crazy how quickly this month has gone. Updates in the life of Lisa:

My 5k is in 6 days. I have continued running regularly and I should be able to get a decent time. Not stellar, but acceptable. My feet have recently starting hurting a little (pesky feet, who needs 'em?) but I'm hoping I can make it to race day before I have to give them a break. I plan on reverting to the elliptical machine for a couple of weeks post-race to let them have a little break from the impact.
Last weekend (October 22) I participated in Team Buzz, Georgia Tech's day of service. Our project was just going to POCC to do our monthly hours, but at least we got a free t-shirt, breakfast, and lunch! We also had students from GT who weren't in our department come join us to learn about what we do.
School has been going really well. I can tell that my skills are improving and that I'm learning a lot eery day. I have only 40 hours left (out of 500) to meet my clinical rotation hours requirement, so that's a big relief to be so close to finished on one requirement!
I have been knitting up a storm, but I can't post any pictures until late December, if that's any indication what I've been knitting :-)
Last night, my friends and I went to the Georgia Tech-Clemson game. It was highly anticipated, even though everyone knew that we would lose to Clemson (they were ranked #5 in the nation, and GT was unranked). It was a night game (started at 8pm) and we went and ate tacos and drank margaritas/beer before the game, then made it to the stadium. It was an awesome game, and... we WON! We trampled Clemson 31-17. It was our Homecoming, which is always nice to win.

I think that's about all that's been going on lately. Busy busy busy!

My Carol moment

2011-10-15T21:17:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has been in a chemistry lab for any amount of time in relatively recent years has probably seen the Carol poster: "Carol never wore her safety goggles. Now she doesn't need them." I recently had an experience which is similar, except not at all.

In our fabrication lab at school, we have these fancy vise-things called vertical fabricating jigs (VFJs). They are used in order to align prosthetic sockets in the correct fashion before gluing them onto all of the lower components. Here is a picture (I had to crop some people out, so ignore the body-less hands and hair).

VFJ

Anyway, you get all your settings correct and mark them with permanent marker so that you can get all the settings back at a later stage in the process. We were using them at school this past week, and the marker had not been cleaned off in months, so there were marks all over, making it hard to find the most recent marks. I volunteered to clean them and asked for acetone or similar to remove the permanent marker. My lab instructor gave me Solvent Replacement Wipes, which are GREAT. I set to work wiping off all 5 VFJs. They looked gorgeous. Really.

The next day, I woke up and the skin on my hands (my right one especially) was so tight I could not straighten my fingers all the way. Literally could not. My skin was glossy and I had no grip. I was practically incapable of sliding my phone open to text. I realized that I should have worn gloves while using the wipes. Yes, should have worn gloves. I am pretty careful to wear safety glasses and hearing protection when using power tools, but I admit that I am fairly lax in wearing gloves. But I definitely should have worn gloves, because today, my hands look like this:

Sorry if this grosses anybody out, but it is so strange. It's my "Lisa never wore gloves. Now her skin is falling off" moment. Lotion doesn't help. Scrub brush doesn't help. It's horrible. Knitting isn't fun because the yarn catches on every single little flake of skin that is falling off. On my WHOLE HAND. BOTH HANDS.

You can bet that I will wear gloves a lot more frequently from here on out.

Kids II Strong Legs Run

2011-10-03T19:35:00.001-04:00

One month and 2 days from now, I will be running a 5k to support Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). Training has been going well; I actually feel like I'm in shape already after only 3 weeks of running, and my feet haven't hurt at all! I have done clinical rotations at CHOA and it's one of my favorite sites, mostly because you get to see really cute kids all day. On Saturday, my class is actually going to CHOA to cast patients for our scoliosis class. I've definitely gotten a lot from from CHOA, so I figured I would give back. Not only are we running, but we can collect donations to support the children. If anybody wants to donate (I'm not asking for donations, but if anybody who reads this feels moved to support Children's Healthcare of Atlanta), the site for that is here. I won't hold it against anybody if I don't get any donations though, since nobody I know has any connection to any child in Atlanta :-)

Knitting for baby Jared

2011-09-27T18:02:00.000-04:00

I've done a little more knitting for Jared!

Knitted teddy bear!

First off, Mr. Teddy Bear. This yarn was leftover from the blanket that I knitted him before he was born (Deborah Norville's Serenity Chunky in Forest). The pattern came from here. He turned out pretty cute!

Baby hats!

Next up, six baby hats of various patterns, colors, and sizes. The little brown cabled one is too small for any baby who is not several weeks premature, and I'm not really sure how the other ones are sized (it's hard gauging how big a baby is when you've never had much exposure to babies before). I hope they will fit now or in the future at some point! Some of them seem quite large, but I know that babies have disproportionately large heads, so we'll see. Patterns came from here and here; yarn is all Vanna's Choice except the leftover blanket yarn (see above).

awwww.

I know, I know, I didn't knit this, but I found it in Cracker Barrel and I couldn't resist. I can't get the color to display quite correctly... it's a very vibrant, bright John Deere green.

Special Olympics Scarves 2012

2011-09-21T09:33:00.004-04:00

I got started early this year knitting scarves for the Special Olympics USA Scarf Project. I had bought two skeins of each red and blue (Red Heart Soft yarn) and finished it up over the weekend. I made 3 scarves:

And I may buy more yarn and make more if I miraculously get bored before the deadline. I used the "Drop Stitch Scarf" pattern on Lion Brand's website (you need to create a free account in order to view the pattern) but adapted it for my needs. It is an amazing pattern, it works up very quickly!

Spontaneous sink-chipping

2011-09-18T19:30:00.001-04:00

The strangest thing happened today. I was just sitting at my desk, chatting with Kevin on the computer, when I heard a "plink" in my bathroom. It sounded like metal or glass being dropped on the counter, but it was fairly quiet. I was home alone, there were no windows open, nor the A/C on... so I went in to investigate. I checked the lightbulbs for burned-out filaments, I checked to see if anything had fallen on the floor, I checked the bathtub for anything out of the ordinary, I climbed up and peaked at the ceiling fan, but everything looked normal. Everywhere. I was so confused. Then I noticed. Black "stuff" in my sink. I had literally just cleaned my bathroom this morning, so I knew it wasn't dirt/grime:

It looked like bug parts. Like a bug had crash-landed in my sink and exploded. But the pieces were white on the other side. What in the world?

Then I looked at just the right angle:

A piece of my sink spontaneously chipped off!

Close up:

Yes, I'm officially confused. A piece of my sink spontaneously chipped off. It had been at least an hour since I had last used the sink. I didn't drop anything in the sink. I didn't think I scrubbed that hard when I cleaned earlier.

I have no idea.

Driving: part two

2011-09-15T16:16:00.001-04:00

This is semi-related to yesterday's post about driving, but is more related to finding my way around Atlanta. Last year, I was perpetually lost. I could get from my apartment to the grocery store and home again; I could get to school and back; I could get to a couple of friends' houses and home; that, however, was the extent of how well I knew my way around. Try to go to the store from school? Forget it! I practically had to go home first in order to know how to get to the store.

For some reason, the freeway really threw me off. I had never driven on a freeway before coming to Atlanta, and in my head it was just some floating road that had no correlation to the streets around it. When I exited, I had no idea if I should turn right or left at the end of the exit, even if I looked at a map (thankfully, I always had Tom with me--my GPS unit). I couldn't figure out which way was north or south or east or west. I never knew where to go or which way to turn.

I'm not sure what happened, but this year I have way better intuition. I figured out that if I am going north on the freeway, and I want to go somewhere that's west of the freeway, that I need to turn left at the end of the exit (unless it's a U-turn exit). I know that's ~~kind of~~ really simple and that most people have always known that, but I never understood that concept before. I just KNOW where I am, even though I live in a different part of town and go to different grocery stores and take a completely different route to school. If I look once at a map, I can get there (unless it's really complicated). Poor Tom doesn't get much use anymore.

I guess I'm finally getting used to city driving. I would still rather drive from Moscow, Idaho to my parents' house than anywhere else. I feel so free driving that road. It's really relaxing (unless it's snow-covered). I didn't appreciate it when I was in college, but when I was driving it this summer, I loved it. Makes me miss home!

Driving

2011-09-14T19:36:00.000-04:00

One of the hardest things to get used to here in Georgia is driving in the traffic. It is arguably the worst in the country, and I recently learned why. Until 2007, Georgia did not require driver's education in order to get your driver's license. If you were the correct age, you just went to the DMV, paid the fee, and got your license. This explains SO MUCH about the poor driving habits that I see in Atlanta.

One of the worst things somebody can do to me when I'm driving is tailgate me. The worst is when I'm on the freeway, there are 5 lanes, I'm in the middle lane, and there is hardly anyone else on the road. For some reason, drivers always insist on tailgating me in this condition. There are 4 other lanes they could be driving in, at least to pass me, and it's not like the middle lane is the only lane from which you can exit or something. It drives me crazy. And they don't just tailgate, they get so close I wonder how they aren't rear-ending me. I don't understand. I purposely let my foot off the gas and slow down just so they will go around.

Another thing is how fast they insist on driving. The speed limit on all the freeways within the perimeter is 55mph. If you go less than 65, you will be honked at and flipped off (trust me), and if you go with the speed of traffic, it's at least 70 or 75. Until of course they see a cop (even if it's on the other side of the freeway, where obviously he can't pull anyone over) and then they all slam on their brakes.

Stoplights are also obnoxious. Every single time I have gone through a stoplight on yellow and thought "Maybe I should have stopped for that one," at least 1 other person behind me goes as well. I'm surprised I haven't gotten rear-ended yet, because I usually stop on yellow (isn't that what you're supposed to do?!), whereas every other driver in the city guns it, even if it's red far before they get to the intersection. I've witness SO MANY near-accidents from people who are trying to turn left, and have crept into the intersection, and the light turns yellow, and then they go because the oncoming traffic SHOULD be stopping. Inevitably, those people gun it, stranding the left-turner in the intersection far after the light has turned red.

Anyway, I think that's it for my complaints about Georgia drivers. I'm convinced that driver's ed, combined with some extensive work on traffic light timing in Atlanta, would help the traffic problems in this city so much.

One more thing related to driving. I find it really really weird that so many people don't know how to drive a manual transmission, and have no desire to be able to. 6/9 people in my class do not know how to drive a manual. I say "What if you ever needed to drive a car with a stick shift?" and they say "Why would I?" ...umm, I don't know, just in case? I'm not saying everybody should be stellar at it, but it's just weird to me that people have no desire to learn. I've offered to teach them all (since my car is a stick shift) but nobody wants to learn. I guess I'm glad that I am capable of driving nearly any passenger automobile in the United States.

5k in the future

2011-09-11T18:42:00.000-04:00

I recently volunteered myself to run a 5k. It benefits a children's hospital in Atlanta where we do clinical rotations, so it's nice to support them. Most of the people in my program plan on running/walking in this event. Running a 5k isn't a huge deal, but I haven't ran seriously in 5 years. Sure, I've ran here and there, on the treadmill and off, but not 3 miles at one time. Luckily the event isn't until November 5th, so I have a little less than 2 months to train for it. I've decided to take the "Couch to 5k" approach. I want to avoid injury (last year I started running and within 2 weeks my posterior tibial tendon insertion hurt so bad I could barely walk, let alone run, and it took almost 2 months to recover. I'm pretty sure I ran too much too quickly without letting my feet get used to the impact) so I'm going to take it slow and easy. My goal isn't to get a stupendous time; my goal is more to run consistently the whole way and get an okay time, and then work on improving my time for the next time I run a 5k (hopefully the Pi Mile at Georgia Tech in April).

I'm pretty excited to get back into running. Yesterday I put the custom inserts that I made for myself this summer into my running shoes and I ran a bit. After about 20 minutes, I got a huge blister on each of my heels since my feet no longer sat as deep in my shoes as they normally did. The blister on my right foot was 1" long x 3/8" wide x 1/4" deep (it was HUGE) and the blister on my left foot was about half the size. I drained the blisters, taped them up real good, and put my running shoes on this morning (sans inserts) and went for another run. It went much better, and I could hardly tell I had the blisters. So besides the slight blister setback, I'm excited to dive into running!

9/11

2011-09-11T11:23:00.000-04:00

10 years gone since the day that changed so much. It's hard to believe that it has been TEN YEARS since 9/11/01 - I remember the day so vividly. I was 13 years old and in the 8th grade. My siblings and I were waiting in the yard for the bus that morning when my parents called us into the house and pointed to the television screen (the neighbors had called to tell them to turn on the news). We watched video of 2 airplanes crashing into 2 tall buildings in New York, and before we could really comprehend what was happening, the bus came. We scampered onto the bus, where the radio was blaring news about the event. Everyone was buzzing about what had happened.

All day at school, in every class, the TVs were on and we did not do any work--no lectures, no problems, no reading. Some classes we just watched the news; in other classes we had discussions about the terror attacks and what it might mean for the USA. I still have perfect recall of the footage of the planes crashing into the twin towers, since it replayed over and over not only that day, but for weeks afterward.

For the past few years, I have listened to 3 songs on 9/11 in remembrance. I jokingly call it my "9/11 mix."

Alan Jackson's "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning"
Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (Angry American)"
Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA"

10 years gone, but not forgotten. 9/11/01-9/11/11.

Baby Knits #1

2011-09-06T20:39:00.001-04:00

I am so excited that I am an aunt! Jared Matthew was born August 22, and I have been working on his projects ever since I found out I would become an aunt! Of course I haven't had much spare time since then, but I have tried my best.

Baby sweater! Made from Vanna's Choice yarn.

Close-up of the puppy buttons my mother found that match perfectly!

Baby sweater. Made with Vanna's Choice yarn.

Sports buttons found by... my mother!

Baby blanket made of Deborah Norville's Serenity yarn in "Forest." (photo by my sister)

I also have some more projects in progress for baby Jared :)

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-09-05T10:43:00.000-04:00

Last year on Labor Day, my classmates and I floated the Chattahoochee River. This year, we planned to do the same thing. Unfortunately, tropical storm Lee made us change our plans to shoot the Hooch on Sunday instead of Monday (Monday's weather: downpours, thunder, lightning, high in the high 70s, etc.), so we lost a few people to other obligations. We still had a great time, despite the fact that it was only low 80s, cloudy, and sprinkled on us a few times. There were 10 of us altogether; 4 from my class (plus one significant other) and 4 from the class below us (plus one significant other).

The water was warm and slow-moving; everyone was floating on tubes except one on an air mattress (and we had a cooler tube for the beer). It's pretty lucky we had that cooler tube, because the guy on the air mattress hit a rock and gashed a huge hole in his air mattress. He lost most of his air and filled most of the mattress with water. Luckily the deepest spot on the Hooch is only about 4 feet deep, so he was able to just stand up and try to dump the water out of his mattress before hopping on the beer tube. We were all strapped together for most of the trip, except when we would straddle a rock and have to disconnect to get around it. We had a great time despite the mishaps.

Afterwards, everyone came over to our apartment for "amputation movie night." Recently two movies have come out on DVD regarding upper extremity amputation: "127 Hours" and "Soul Surfer." Both movies were decent, but the portrayal of prosthesis delivery in "Soul Surfer" was definitely made up entirely by Hollywood with no input from prosthetists.

Today (Monday) I plan on doing a little schoolwork, a little knitting, a little relaxing... nothing too strenuous. Happy Labor Day!

Earrings!

2011-08-30T17:15:00.000-04:00

Prosthesis earrings!

My friend and classmate Marina made prosthesis earrings for all of the girls in our class. These are mine! The sockets are teal (my favorite color!) and the toes all have toenails, even though they are so small (they are standing on a quarter). They are so realistic and amazing. She even remembered that I have a nickel allergy and got special clasps (platinum-coated copper) that I am able to wear. I wore them all day, but it was the first time I have worn earrings in a couple YEARS, so my ears are a little sore. I love them!

My new apartment: living room and kitchen

2011-08-28T14:35:00.001-04:00

View walking in the door: table and kitchen straight ahead, living room to the left.

Living room. We have a fireplace!

Kitchen. The washer and dryer are too deep to allow the doors to close (they were accordion-style closet doors), so we just took the doors off. We may or may not get a curtain to put there.

More kitchen.

Living room.

View looking toward the dining area from the living room (my roommate's door is on the right side of the picture).

I think that this apartment is far more homey than my last apartment was in Atlanta. I love it!

My new apartment: my room

2011-08-21T19:33:00.000-04:00

Here's some pictures of my room in my new apartment.

First, here's the floor plan to give some perspective. My apartment is a mirror image of the original drawing, so that's why the writing is reversed:

I have the bedroom on the right (the master bedroom).

The view looking in the bedroom door (the duck hanging in the middle of the room is my pull chain for the light on the ceiling fan).

Looking toward the window.

Looking toward the bathroom.

Looking toward the door.


My closet.

My bathroom (complete with a garden tub!).

I will have pictures of the rest of the apartment soon; for awhile we didn't have the decorations up and now it's getting dark so I can't take pictures of the living room and kitchen.

I love the apartment so far. It's quiet, has a decent view (a grassy hillside with trees and another building), and is much cozier than my last apartment. I also love having more storage space! I have 4 cupboards in my bathroom as well as a huge linen closet (which is where I'm storing all of our boxes and other moving supplies). There is a coat closet and another closet where the water heater is with some storage space! Our last apartment didn't even have a coat closet, or anywhere to keep the vacuum!

Pictures issue fixed

2011-08-21T19:05:00.000-04:00

I believe I fixed the issue with the pictures. They should be working now. If not, please let me know! The problem was linked to the fact that I technically have a Google+ account now (I haven't done anything with it except make it; so far I prefer Facebook) and I wanted to tighten up the privacy on my Google+ profile. Since Blogger is tied into my Google account, those pictures showed up on my Google+ profile... so I changed some settings but apparently accidentally made the entire album private instead of just preventing Google+ from having access to the Blogger album. But I think I resolved all of those issues.

Gearing up, again (but for the last time)

2011-08-21T09:31:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is my LAST EVER first day of school. I know people say "you never know if you're going to go back to school, so don't count on it," but believe me, I am done with school after this. I have been in school for 18 consecutive years already, and at the end of this year, it will be 19 consecutive years. I think that's enough school! Sure, I will have to do little classes each year to earn continuing education credits for my profession, but I can handle that. I'm just so excited to be almost done with homework, studying, and most of all... being a poor college student :)

I am finally settled back into Atlanta. Probably the hardest thing to get used to again was the atrocious traffic and aggressive driving of the South. On the trip from Idaho to Atlanta, Kevin and I observed the driving habits changing as we drove across the country. For most of the trip, we went about four to five miles per hour over the speed limit, and we were the ones passing other vehicles on the freeway. About the time we got into Kentucky and Tennessee, we noticed that we were the slowest ones on the road when we went 5 over. And by the time we got to Atlanta, going 5 over felt like we were crawling compared to the other cars. I had forgotten that if you don't go AT LEAST 10 over, you WILL be honked at, flipped off, and tailgated, even in the slow lane.

The humidity was something I was worried about getting used to again, especially in conjunction with heat! We had an extremely cold summer in Idaho, while the rest of the country experienced a heat wave. Atlanta is hot and humid, but surprisingly manageable. This is probably because the only time I actually spend outside is getting to and from my car.

The classes I'm taking this semester are:

Transfemoral Prosthetics (above the knee)
Spinal Orthotics (back braces, especially for scoliosis)
Clinical Practicum (clinical rotation hours)
Assistive Technology (wheelchairs, etc.)
Research Seminar II

Pretty excited for them! I need to figure out what my research project is going to be and get going on that. I need about 130 rotation hours still, which means I will spend about half my days off going to rotations and the other half doing research. It's going to be a crazy year. I also hope to go to Belize for a few days for Project Hope Belize, which is where we provide prostheses for underprivileged amputees living in Belize. My instructor is the clinical director of this project, and he goes down about 4 times per year, always taking students with him.

One other thing I'm really excited about is becoming an AUNT! My sister is technically due Saturday the 27th, but will be induced tomorrow (Monday the 22nd)! I'm excited to have a little nephew! I will make a post later about the things I've knitted for him so far.

Also, are the pictures from previous posts loading properly? Kevin told me they aren't, but they load just fine on my computer... just wondering if I changed some setting or something to make them invisible to viewers.

This Blog is Under New Management

2011-08-14T14:52:00.000-04:00

I (Lisa Huffman) have not made a post in a very long time! My strong and powerful boyfriend (Kevin) will be taking over this post!

Lisa has been moving into her new apartment for her last year at Georgia Tech! It's been rather crazy the last week. Crossing countless states, passing numerous police vehicles, and even being hit by a gate arm in a U-haul truck! We are finally here in Atlanta. The apartment is a mess and I must admit that this is my fault because I will be leaving this afternoon back to the great potato state of Idaho.

Now that that is over with, Lisa says that she will start making new posting in the near future now once she gets in the swing of things. Possible new topics could include but are not limited to:

Terraria
My life in the South. Y'all!
It's just a lamp it's not like it's a nunchuk or anything!
Spines: Much harder then feet!
Light Switches: If backwards was forwards it would be great!

With those possible topics (that I just made up on the spot) we hope that you continue to enjoy this blog.

Mt. Rushmore

2011-07-15T00:01:00.001-04:00

On our trip home from Atlanta, my mom and I stopped at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. This was, of course, way back on May 9, but better late than never, right?

We were surprised at how small the Presidents' heads were from the viewing balcony. They're wayyy up there!

Close-up of Mt. Rushmore. Couldn't have been more perfect weather!

A mountain goat on the trail that goes right to the base of Mt. Rushmore.

At the base of Mt. Rushmore.

This was in part of the museum of Mt. Rushmore: the scaled-down version that the artist originally did.

It was fun to learn about how long the process took and to wander the gift shop. I'm glad we stopped on our way home!

RIP Raessa and Aragorn, 4/21/04 - 7/9/11

2011-07-14T23:28:00.000-04:00

My dearest duckies, Raessa and Aragorn, have gone on to ducky heaven.

It was Saturday morning, July 9, and I was getting ready for work as usual. Around 7am, I pulled on my rubber boots and went outside to feed the ducks. I went over to the corner of the garage where I keep their food, and got half a coffee can full. I scooped a small handful of cat food (their favorite treat) and headed out to the pen. Almost immediately I noticed something wasn’t quite right: every morning, Aragorn (the drake) is standing on his sun deck, eagerly awaiting my approach. As soon as he sees me, he just starts quacking, which in turn sets off Raessa to quacking, and they run over to me when I step in the pen to get their cat food. This morning, though, Aragorn wasn’t on the sun deck and I couldn’t hear any quacking. I figured they were in the big house and didn’t see me coming. I stopped at the water faucet to turn the water on to fill up the water dishes, and I was kind of concerned at how quiet it was. The ducks are ALWAYS waiting for me to come feed them.

I walked over to the gate of the duck pen and I noticed Aragorn in the pen, but he was laying down, which is exceptionally odd for the morning. THEN I noticed that he wasn’t just laying down… he was sprawled on the ground, all rumpled up, and there was blood. I couldn’t see his head, but I knew that he was dead. I didn’t even look for Raessa, I just turned and ran to the house, tears welling up in my eyes. I burst in the door, where Dad and Brad were sitting, and I shrieked “The ducks are dead!” I don’t remember the next few minutes real well, but Dad and Brad ran out to the duck pen and Mom came downstairs, having heard a commotion and didn’t know what was going on. I was crying and Mom was trying to comfort me. After a few minutes, I calmed down enough to go outside and talk to Dad and Brad. They had found Raessa, and she was more torn up than Aragorn was. I didn’t go near the pen; I didn’t want to see my babies’ bodies torn up.

Dad and Brad discussed it, and we suspect a raccoon got my poor babies, although it is unusual for a raccoon to leave so much meat there (Aragorn was barely touched). I had to go to work, so Dad and Brad took care of burying my beloved ducks in our pet cemetery in the woods. I was way too upset to see their bodies. Work was difficult that day; the tears were always ready, but I managed to hold them in. When I got home, I probably cried again, and Dad took me to the ducks’ grave. They were buried in the same grave, with Aragorn on the south side and Raessa on the north side (Dad said they did that so that Aragorn could protect Raessa from the dogs buried farther south of them). I dropped a piece of lettuce (another of their favorite treats) for each of them and remembered my babies.

There is good in them going now. Just like with any pet that is getting older, you have to wonder when they are suffering more than they are happy. My dad was especially worried about deciding when they needed to be put down. Ducks aren’t commonly kept as pets (most are slaughtered after just a few years, when their egg production decreases) so we really aren’t sure how long they are expected to live. My ducks, at 7 years old, were definitely getting older… Raessa went through menopause this spring, and had a lot of white feathers in her previously jet black plumage. Aragorn was obnoxious as ever. So it is good that we know that they didn’t suffer at all, that they lived their entire lives in happiness. I’m also glad that they went together. Raessa and Aragorn have NEVER been apart. The farthest they have been apart is on opposite sides of the yard. I was exceptionally worried about one of them dying before the other, and then the surviving duck being heartbroken. When I left for Atlanta last fall, I told my dad, “if one of them dies, please [humanely] kill the other so that it won’t be lonely.” I wasn’t really kidding.

So while I am heartbroken about my ducks’ deaths, and I still look out the window facing their pen every time I walk by it (old habits die hard), I am trying to remember the good in this situation. I will never, ever forget my sweet babies, but it was their time to go. They joined their friend Jolonna in ducky heaven (RIP Jolonna, 4/21/04 – 7/14/04) and I’m sure they’re all splashin’ around in the pools and eating all the worms, lettuce, cat food, and cherry tomatoes that they can. My dearest Raessa and Aragorn, may you rest in peace, 4/21/04 – 7/9/11.

Not the most recent picture (taken in 2009) but it shows my babies on an adventure in the yard, one of their favorite activities.

Ankle Malalignment Project

2011-05-01T13:19:00.000-04:00

It's hard to see, but here's the "sketch" I made of my model in MS Publisher.

Here's how it turned out. Made of foam, covered with packing tape. The yarn holds the tapestry needle which went into the holes (easily seen in the "sketch") to allow the joint to be normal, up, down, forwards, backwards. The idea: when the joint is not aligned properly, the calf band (the 70s colored fabric) moves either up or down and forward or back, which causes pressure and shear on the skin. It worked moderately well to demonstrate the calf band movement. [Note: in the poem below, distal=down, proximal=up, anterior=forward, posterior=backward].

Ankle Malalignment Poem

Making a KAFO can be hard:

Bending metal can leave you quite scarred;

Smoothing edges can be such a pain,

And correct trimlines we sometimes must feign.

The orthotic joint needs to align

With an ankle that’s NOT oh-so-fine.

Putting it in the wrong place

Can lead to a very unusable brace.

So sit back and watch as I show

The misalignments that you need to know.

It’s better to get it just right

But if you don’t, here’s some insight.

First, here’s how the ankle should be

When the joints are aligned perfectly;

The calf band does not move at all

And the pressure is equally sprawled.

If you put the joint too far distal or down,

You’re going see your patient frown.

No matter which way they move their foot,

The calf band isn’t going to stay put.

Dorsiflexion moves the band up the calf

And into the anterior half,

Causing pressure on the back of their leg

For mercy of which they will beg.

Plantarflexion, too, causes upward movement;

However, it causes an anterior indent

Due to the posterior travel of the band

The pressure they just can’t withstand.

When the joint is too far proximal, or up

The patient may cry like a young wolf pup.

Dorsiflexion moves the band down and back

Of which the anterior tibia feels the smack.

Plantarflexion in the “too proximal” state

Will cause pressure on the calf during gait.

The band moves forward and down

When you’re in the “too proximal” town.

If you put the joint posterior to, or behind

The ankle, well, your patient WILL mind;

Both movements of the ankle will make the calf hurt

Due to anterior movement of the band – red alert!

Dorsiflexion also will cause distal band travel,

While plantarflexion causes proximal gallivantle.

And last, but not least, the orthotic joint in front:

This placement will make your patient grunt;

Each foot movement causes anterior pressure

On the tibia, which is not exactly a treasure.

Dorsiflexion also travels the band up the calf,

Like the neck extending upwards on a giraffe.

Plantarflexion causes downward movement

Like a plane during its rapid descent.

I hope you enjoyed this presentation today,

And if there’s one thing more I can say:

For words like “posteriorly” it’s hard to find rhyme,

But I hope you still had a good time.

And here's a (bad) picture of the award I won :)

What other people think of Idaho

2011-04-30T17:06:00.000-04:00

Responses I've gotten to "I'm from Idaho":

Well, if you're here, who's left there?
You're the first person I've ever met from Idaho!
You look too civilized to be from Idaho.
I've been to Iowa before!
Wow, lots of corn, huh?
Idaho? I've never heard of Idaho before. Is that in Georgia?
What part of Idaho? "North-central Idaho." I'm not sure why I asked, I'm not even sure of where Idaho is.
Are you from near where that axe-murderer was? [referring to Villisca, Iowa in 1912]
How 'bout them Broncos?

End of School!

2011-04-29T20:17:00.000-04:00

Wednesday was the last day of class for me! I went to rotations on Thursday but decided to skip on Friday to get some stuff done (namely, study for finals and pack). Now all that's left is 2 finals (one Monday and one Thursday) and packing and moving.

This week we had so many projects due. One of them was a joint malalignment assignment, in which half the class was assigned the knee and the other half the ankle (I got the ankle). We had to come up with a teaching model to show what would happen if the orthotic joints do not line up with anatomical joints, that is, if they are too far forward or backward or up or down. We were given "full creative license" to do whatever we wanted to show the concept. They told us there would be a prize for the person who was most creative and demonstrated the concept the best.

I'm not exactly artistic or anything, so I made a model of an ankle out of foam with a hinge for the actual joint (I meant to take a picture, but I forgot. The model is at school so I will take a picture of it later). I then made an "orthosis" out of a goniometer. Kevin helped me with some of the design (thanks, civil engineer!). It worked pretty well, but the competitive nature in me just wasn't satisfied. I decided to write a poem to supplement the model. It's not that interesting to anybody who's not an orthotist, so I don't think I will post it, but let's just say that it was ridiculous, and I used the word "giraffe" at one point (it rhymes with "calf"). By luck of the draw, I happened to go very last of all the presentations. Well, about 30 seconds into my poem reading, my teacher just started LAUGHING. I mean, gut-busting, holy-cow-is-he-okay laughing. Needless to say, I tied for first place (a children's storybook also won) and as a prize, I got a paperweight. I will also take a picture of THAT when I'm at school.

Today was a very productive day for Lisa. I packed up a bunch of stuff, finished my last assignment that's due Monday, made my study sheet for my final that's on Monday, got my oil changed, did laundry, made zucchini bread, went to campus and got maps to send to the incoming MSPO students, and loaded up my brand new mp3 player with audiobooks for the drive home. T-8 days until the road trip begins!

Falling into place

2011-04-17T09:36:00.001-04:00

The past few weeks I've been not only trying to get a bunch of schoolwork done, but also trying to figure out where I will be living next year, where I'm going to store my stuff for the summer, and the whole car trip home. Finally, everything has fallen into place and I'm ecstatic about it :)

My current roommate and I will be rooming together next year as well. We don't want to stay in our current apartment complex because we've had a couple small issues with maintenance requests and the management in general. Nothing major, but enough to make us want to move. We've been searching since February. Well, actually, we searched in February and have been in the decision process ever since. We narrowed it down to 2 complexes in February and were trying to choose between them. Then, our department moved over spring break. The new building is literally not even 100 feet from an apartment complex. We went over there this past week to check it out, because how cool would it be to live next door to our building? We were satisfied with its security; the price was a little more, but it would be worth it to be so convenient to school. The only problem was that one of the bedrooms was triangular. It was decent sized, but... triangular. Not a lot of usable space.

We were going back and forth about it until yesterday, when I pulled up the ratings for the complexes on an apartment rating website. The one close to school had only 40% positive feedback compared to 70% positive for the other two complexes. So, we threw the one next door to school out the window and were back where we started: choosing between those 2 complexes. We finally just made the decision about where to live, dropped off the applications yesterday, and found a storage unit 1 mile from our new place. And this storage unit is awesome. It's all indoor storage (none of the storage units face the outside) and it's completely temperature- and humidity-controlled, so we don't have to worry about mold. And, they provide you with a moving truck for FREE so we don't have to rent a U-Haul or anything. And we don't have to go on the freeway at all to get to it from our current apartment or from it to our new place, which is a huge bonus.

And, lastly, my mom booked her flight to drive home with me, and I figured out the route we will likely take. We have to avoid Illinois like the plague since I will have my firearm with me (it's technically legal to have it locked and unloaded in the trunk... I think... but I'd really rather just avoid the entire state so I don't have to worry about it) so we're going through Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas to Missouri and then up to South Dakota, and then over through Montana. We will be on the road for 3 nights.

Now I just have 2 more projects to finish, 2 finals to study for, and 3 weeks until we head home!

Oh yeah, and I also have my rotation site set up back home for getting clinical hours in, and I have a summer job lined up, so I'm seriously ready for summer at this point.

Ducky menopause

2011-04-10T21:17:00.000-04:00

Googling "duck menopause" gives you some strange results. Not overly strange, but just not what I expected, I suppose. I guess most people don't keep ducks long enough for them to hit menopausal age! But according to what I hear from my dad, who is lovingly taking care of my duckies while I'm away, my duck Raessa has hit that time of her life.

This egg is her "latest creation" (direct quote from an email from my dad). The protuberance is apparently a calcium deposit. A few days ago she laid one that had a leathery shell. She used to be such a good layer (see these posts) but I think those days are over. I mean, she will be 7 years old this month, which is quite old for a domestic duck. Poor thing. If she stops laying usable eggs, I can't quite justify keeping the ducks around anymore (my fallback always was, "but they supply eggs!") but hopefully they'll be allowed to stay ;)

Less than 4 weeks to go

2011-04-10T17:37:00.000-04:00

I'm entering crunch time. In the next 3 weeks, I have 5 rather large projects due. Then, enter finals week. This will be followed by a flurry of packing and moving, then hopping in the car to drive 2400 miles home. Even though I spent the majority of this weekend working on projects, these next 4 weeks will be kind of tough. I just have to keep telling myself: get through it, and I can go home!

Seriously Stupendous Weather

2011-04-03T20:34:00.000-04:00

It's been around 80°F here in Atlanta this weekend, and it has been AMAZING. I had quite a bit of work to do this weekend, so I didn't have a chance to enjoy it a whole lot, but just having the windows open and seeing the sunshine did wonders for me. I drove around a bit with my sunroof open and radio blasting... that made it a little easier to go back to the computer and keep working on a project for school.

It also helps that my project is fascinating... I'm writing a paper and presentation on running modifications for transtibial prostheses, and it is seriously awesome. Remember Oscar Pistorius, the bilateral South African sprinter who was ruled ineligible to compete in the Olympics in 2008, but the decision was later reversed and he was allowed to compete? I read the scientific paper that overturned the decision and many others that compare high-level amputees' muscle output, joint moments, and metabolic expenditure to able-bodied individuals, as well as examining the supposed "mechanical advantage" of prosthetic feet and legs. It's seriously incredible that people without anatomical ankles and the associated musculature can achieve that level of athletic ability.

Anyway, there are only 5 weeks left in this semester, including finals week! It's insane how quickly the time has passed. Before I know it, I will be packing up to drive home for the summer. And, as much as I love my program and the people in it, I can't wait to get away from Atlanta for 3 whole months!

It's Been Busy

2011-03-31T21:38:00.000-04:00

After a joyous spring break in cold(ish) Idaho, I returned to Atlanta near midnight Sunday night after a very turbulent ride into a thunderstorm. That night I didn't sleep much because of the extremely loud storm. We had to be at school early Monday morning at our new building for casting patient models! It wasn't as chaotic as I thought it would be, but it was still sorta crazy. That afternoon and Tuesday, we modified our casts and readied ourselves to pull our test sockets. However, our oven still hadn't been moved as of Tuesday evening, so we were unable to pull the sockets... which was a problem since our patients were returning the next time we have class (Monday). We each had to give up a rotation day this week to go to school and pull our test sockets. I chose to go on Friday since my rotation site wasn't able to have me come that day anyway.

Wednesday we had a test. That's all I'm going to say about that. We also finished assembling our KAFOs (Knee-Ankle-Foot-Orthoses). Getting the joints square to themselves and each other is tedious and took forever.

Today (Thursday) I went to rotations and learned a lot. I'm still really tired from lack of sleep but that's okay. Tomorrow (Friday) I'm going in to pull my test socket, and then I'm going to finally unpack (yup, still haven't done that) and do the MOUNTAIN of laundry in my closet, and maybe even tidy my room a bit.

Only 5 more weeks til summer break!

Orlando!

2011-03-20T19:12:00.002-04:00

The AAOP conference in Orlando was a blast. We left early Tuesday morning and only stopping once for lunch in Valdosta, GA, we made it to Orlando in good time.

The Florida state line! Sorry for the fuzzy picture, we were going like 75 mph and I only had one shot at it.

There are billboards galore along I-75. I was taking a picture of them and someone threw a peace sign in there too. The billboards were this frequent for over 200 miles.

This is what most of Florida looked like... swamps and grass and trees.

The hotel! The Caribe Royale in Orlando.

Unfortunately my camera didn't get much use after that. There wasn't a whole lot I was allowed to take pictures of though - photos weren't allowed in the exhibit hall or any of the presentations I went to, and we didn't really do a lot besides these things.

I was staying in a room with the 8 girls in my class. We had a suite with 2 queen beds and 1 pullout sofa, and we brought 2 air mattresses so everyone would have a place to sleep. The only bad part was that there was only 1 bathroom! But, by staggering showers in the night and in the morning and creating a schedule (and, thankfully, having the sink outside of the bathroom) it really wasn't bad. I now know the girls in my class better than I probably wanted to, but it was a blast.

The first day (Wednesday) was spent in workshops. I happened to go to a foot biomechanics workshop in which all the participants got a free pair of shoes! Yes, they are diabetic shoes, but they are quite cute. I haven't actually received them yet but they should be coming in the mail. That night there was a reception for a prestigious award winner with an open bar.

The second day (Thursday) we went to quite a few presentations and also wandered the exhibit hall, where hundreds of vendors were gathered to display their finest products. I got quite a bit of swag. The list includes:

a travel coffee mug
a t-shirt
a nail brush
shoe inserts
a hat
3 tape measures
a luggage tag
a glasses case
a bike wrench (very useful in my field)
a shoe horn
a USB drive
a goniometer
a password directory notebook
a pen with a level, ruler, and screwdrivers in it
4 nice bags
and a bunch of promotional materials and free pens

Thursday night (St. Patty's Day!) there was a residency workshop for students to learn about how to go about applying for residencies, the different types of residencies, etc. Immediately following was a student social with an open bar and refreshments where we mingled with the students from other schools. After talking with these students, I realized for the first time just how awesome Georgia Tech's MSPO program is and why it's so prestigious in the world of orthotics and prosthetics. It seems like our educators are more experienced, the labs better run, and all in all, our program is in general better than the others. After the social, there was a St. Patrick's day party in the hotel bar (with free beer) with live music.

Friday was spent much in the same way as Thursday. There was a Women in O&P Social that evening with an open bar (there must have been thousands and thousands of dollars spent on alcohol for this meeting) where we mingled with the women in the profession.

Late Friday night, after the social was over, we decided to head to Universal City Walk. We didn't get there til after 10pm and hadn't eaten yet. We ate at Margaritaville (awesome burgers) and then wandered around for awhile. One of the girls wasn't feeling well and I was quite tired from a lack of sleep so a bunch of us went home at midnight.

Saturday morning we had more presentations to listen to, and then we left at 12:30pm to drive back to Atlanta. I was riding in a car with no air conditioning (nobody told me this fact until we got in the car). Going 70mph on the freeway isn't exactly conducive to having the windows down, so for most of the ride the windows were in fact, rolled up. It was hot, considering that it was 85°F in Orlando when we left. But, we finally made it back to Atlanta at 9pm Saturday night.

I spent today (Sunday) doing laundry and packing for my trip home to Idaho for spring break. I leave early morning Monday for my flight! I'm so excited :)

Orlando bound!

2011-03-15T07:31:00.000-04:00

I'm off to Orlando this morning for the AAOP meeting. Low 80s the whole time we'll be there! I'm excited. I am unsure of internet access yet, so to those trying to reach me: phone is best.

Orthoses from last semester

2011-03-10T19:51:00.000-05:00

I cleaned out my lab drawer yesterday in preparation for the big move coming up that I've mentioned a few times previously. I threw out some plaster models of feet and some other random trash, but I kept the devices that I made last semester. I only have the orthoses I made last semester--we aren't done with the ones this semester yet and I didn't bring my prosthesis home yet. So without further ado, here's what I've made:

First, we made foot orthoses (shoe inserts). These are basic foam inserts of different materials. The one on the left is REALLY easy to trim (that's why it's about 2" too short--found it out the hard way).


Next came the UCBL foot orthosis. UCBL (also spelled UC-BL, which stands for University of California Biomechanics Laboratory, which is where this orthosis was developed) orthoses are used when a foam insert doesn't provide enough support to the foot. It provides arch support and helps prevent the heel from "turning" in or out.

Lastly, here is my PLS AFO (Posterior Leaf Spring Ankle-Foot Orthosis). It was originally a solid AFO, but we cut them down to PLS for a second project. These are used often in post-stroke situations where the toe drags on the floor, and this keeps the toe up to prevent falls. There's a lot of other uses for them as well, of course.

The next couple weeks

2011-03-08T18:12:00.000-05:00

I am finally not as busy. Today I took a midterm, and tomorrow we are just finishing up our articulated AFOs (almost done, just gotta finish smoothing the edges and make sure the trimlines are correct). Then, two days of rotations. Then, over the weekend and Monday, my department is packing up everything we own in preparation for the big move to our new building! The department of Applied Physiology at GT is being shuffled off campus to accommodate the aerospace engineering program's expansion (we are currently housed in the basement of their building). We are being moved to a warehouse that was remodeled for us. The space is HUGE and we can't wait to get over there. Except for the fact that it's 4 blocks (long blocks) north of campus. We get to park at the new building, so we don't have to walk through the sketchy neighborhoods, but what if someone forgets lunch? Can't just run to the student center and buy it. So there's good and bad, but we are excited.

Then, Tuesday morning, I am headed to Orlando for the AAOP (American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists--"the academy") annual meeting and conference. We will be there until Saturday. Then, the following Monday, I get on a jet plane to head home to my beloved Idaho for spring break.

It'll be a fun couple of weeks, and I'm excited to be done worrying about school for a little while!

Yogurt

2011-03-06T14:56:00.000-05:00

I've never really liked yogurt. I'm not sure why. It's not the consistency--I love pudding, and I would consider yogurt to have essentially the same consistency as pudding. I'm not sure exactly what it is. I've tried all sorts of yogurt, but to no avail. The weird thing is--I've always wanted to like yogurt. Is that weird? Yes. But I've always wanted to like yogurt.

So, I decided to try and force myself to like yogurt. For the past couple weeks, I've been eating vanilla yogurt with granola and strawberries. If I make my yogurt taste like granola and strawberries, it's awesome! I tried to eat some yogurt plain, but I still can't do it. But I think I'm getting there. Just trying to ease into it.

I'm not even sure why I decided to post about this, but I just ate some and just realized how ridiculous it is that I'm trying to force myself into liking yogurt... it just sounds so good.

I feel so... old

2011-03-04T18:43:00.000-05:00

Kids born in 1995 can legally drive.

I feel so old. I remember distinctly the day I got my driver's license. It was October 4, 2004. I was essentially 15 years and 3 months old. It was a Monday. It was my high school's homecoming week, and Monday was pajama day. We also had a Knowledge Bowl competition that night. After school, we had a couple of hours to kill until the bus left for Knowledge Bowl, and I had taken my written test the week before and my driving test the past Saturday. So my sister drove me to the courthouse (in our pj's) and I got my driver's license. I was wearing my green duck pajamas. It wasn't readily apparent in the photo that I had pajamas on, but I always knew. I remember I got angry that my sister wouldn't let me drive back to the high school--she was scared of me driving. But it turns out that it was a good thing, because I technically wasn't covered by our insurance until my mom called them the next day.

Seriously, it feels like it was just yesterday. It's crazy that six and a half years have passed since then. And even crazier that kids born in 1995 have gotten to be 16 already... I feel so old!

Last time (I promise)--flowers update

2011-03-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

Here they are, all beautiful and blooming. Well, the Star of Bethlehem actually started dropping flowers right when the tulips bloomed a couple days ago. I think I can pinch the buds off and it will bloom more. So much fun :)

Update on my flowers

2011-02-28T08:09:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, it seems like I'm obsessed with my flowers. I just can't believe how fast they've grown! My hyacinth bloomed overnight (last night it was just starting to peek one little flower and now there's several!) and my tulip will probably bloom today or tomorrow. Here's some pictures:

All three. I had to tie up the Star of Bethlehem because it was falling over!

And my little hyacinth. Gorgeous little flowers 14 days after arrival :)

These plants came from ProPlants, which I obviously recommend. They're more fun than just getting a dozen roses (which don't get me wrong--I love that too!) and they last for a lot longer. You can also keep the bulbs and start them outside. It's awesome! Thanks again Kevin for picking out an awesome Valentine's Day gift!

Turkey Meatballs for the win

2011-02-27T18:29:00.000-05:00

Spaghetti with meatballs. Meatball subs. Meatballs over rice. However you serve them, I love them! Although I tend to prefer beef to poultry, I actually think I may prefer turkey meatballs to beef--I think the texture is better. Plus supposedly turkey is better for you than beef, but whatever :) On Friday night I made a batch of turkey meatballs using this recipe. They are above and beyond the best I've tried. I used dried parsley instead of fresh and used 1/2 cup grated "Italian blend" cheese, and I just pan-fried the meatballs (didn't add sauce). I'm sure they would bake well too.

I'm still eating them and they are only getting better. I made a meatball sub for dinner today and it tasted almost exactly like Subway's meatball subs (which are easily my favorite sub). Seriously, if you like meatballs, you have to try the recipe.

In other news, when I made my spaghetti and meatballs Friday night, I tried a Pillsbury product I had never tried before: Country Italian bread that comes in the little blue can that you unroll and it pops and you bake it. I love Pillsbury biscuits and breadsticks, so I thought I'd try the bread. Heads up: in my opinion, it's not very good. The texture is off and it tastes sorta like soap. I'd recommend just getting a loaf of bread from the bakery instead of this.

Research Topic: Chosen

2011-02-25T20:15:00.000-05:00

Part of the requirement of my master's degree is to complete a capstone research project. It's not a thesis, because we don't have to defend or anything, but we still have to conduct a pretty hefty research project and have a big poster presentation, oral presentation, and of course, a paper, at the end of our 2nd year. Our instructors hope that we will all get published as a result of our capstone projects, so it's pretty big.

Last week we had our Draft Day, which there is a little blurb about in a post a few days back. Our instructor presented all of the research topics which there is currently funding for and we had breakfast and other hoopla. We all had to email in our top 3 picks by early this week, and on Wednesday we learned what our topics would be. I got my first choice and I have a research partner (we were the only two paired in the class, because we specifically asked to both work on a specific topic together. It was stated that it would be ideal to have 2 work on this project and we both liked it, so we requested to be together). I can't give many details on the internet due to the proprietary nature of research, but I will be looking at mapping pressure tolerant and intolerant areas of the foot.

I know, I know, it may sound boring, but the foot is actually quite intriguing. Now, I don't have a foot fetish or anything, but how the foot articulates and moves (look up the windlass mechanism) is really interesting. I'm excited about my research topic and will start conducting a literature review this weekend to learn about previous research done and the gaps that need filled. Then starts the process of designing the experiment, conducting a pilot study, getting IRB approval, recruiting subjects, collecting data, analyzing data, making sense of data, drawing conclusions, and all of the other fun parts of research. These next 14 months are going to FLY BY, especially since I will be home and thus not working on my project for 3 months this summer...

1st Prosthesis Fitting!

2011-02-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks, we've been making our first prostheses. Here's kind of the basic steps of the process:

Take a history of the patient and learn as much as you can about their amputation and other medical problems.
Cast the patient's residual limb and take measurements.
Fill the cast with plaster.
Modify the plaster (add reliefs for bony areas, etc.)
Pull plastic over the plaster model (bubble or blister forming).
Cut and smooth the plastic (now called a "socket") to shape.
Assemble the prosthesis. This includes choosing the correct foot (there are many kinds of prosthetic feet!) and attaching all the components together.
Bench alignment--your "best guess" of how the components are aligned for proper balance, etc.
Try the socket on the patient. This is kind of a nervous moment because it's fairly common for first-time prosthesis makers to make the socket too small either in circumference or length, which means that you have to start alllllll over.
Heat and relieve (push the plastic out) the socket in places of pain.
Static alignment (having the patient stand and adjusting the position of the foot, etc.).
Dynamic alignment (having the patient walk and further adjusting).

That's what we did! There are more steps AFTER that to make a final prosthesis, but this is all we went through in our first project. It went really well for our entire class! Nobody "short-socketed" their patient and everyone was able to get their patient up and walking. Quite often, there are so many problems with the sockets (since this is the first time we've ever done this before) that all the time is spent trying to get the socket comfortable enough to stand in, let alone walk in. But our entire class was able to progress to walking. I really enjoyed making and assembling the prosthesis, but mostly I enjoyed the interaction with the patient. We had "model patients" who already have a leg professionally made for them, but are willing to come in and let us learn on them.

Long story short: prosthetics is awesome.

Special Olympics Scarves

2011-02-22T17:57:00.000-05:00

Well, school got crazy and I only managed to knit 3 scarves for the Special Olympics. I'm mailing them off tomorrow so I thought I would share a picture:

The pattern for the middle one was entirely made up in my head, and I borrowed ideas for the other two from a variety of places to make them my own. It was fun and I wish I could have made more! Scarves are the kind of project that they're easy, mindless, and you don't have to worry about shaping or gauge or them fitting exactly right, and they're done soon enough that you don't get tired of them by the end!

My plants... 8 days later!

2011-02-22T17:52:00.000-05:00

We have blooms! The first ones actually showed up yesterday (only 7 days from when I got them!) but I waited until today so I could take a picture in some semblance of daylight:

And here's a picture of all 3 to show how much they've grown!

Come ooooooon, Georgia

2011-02-20T21:22:00.002-05:00

I happened to see this as I checked my yahoo! email (my "spam" account which is infrequently checked, so it's completely random that I saw this).

The title reads: "Texas poised to pass bill allowing guns on campus."

Even though Texas passing the bill may not directly affect me, it may help to encourage other states (ahem, Georgia) to pass similar legislation. Atlanta is a scary place and I would appreciate being able to carry on campus. One night I could not avoid walking across campus in the dark by myself and let me tell you, I had my spring assisted knife in one hand and my keys in the other. Luckily for ME, nothing happened, but there are plenty others who haven't been so lucky, even in broad daylight.

Would carrying a firearm have made me feel safer? Yes, indeed, it would have. I'm pretty sure a girl pulling out a handgun would make a "bad guy" run faster than seeing her with a knife, which is really only effective for self-defense in extremely close proximity.

I know there are a lot of people who are scared of guns and think that making carry legal on school campuses would increase crime, but let's be honest: the ones who are going to commit a crime aren't scared to break another few laws. At least give me a fighting chance against them.

Come on, Georgia. I hope you're next!

(Random sidenote: I looked up "gun laws in Georgia" on Wikipedia for additional information and saw that Kennesaw, GA [about 30 minutes NW of Atlanta] has a city ordinance requiring all homeowners to own a firearm and ammunition. Interestingly, it's not an obsolete section "left over" from the old days. It was passed in 1982!).

Flowers are growing!

2011-02-19T08:12:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of my beautiful plants as of this morning:

The hyacinth is the middle one, and I guess it just doesn't grow as fast as the tulip and Star of Bethlehem (which, I'm pretty sure, the tulip is on the right and Star of Bethlehem on the left). But they are growing beautifully. Thanks again Kev!

Pictures from my phone

2011-02-16T19:40:00.000-05:00

I have taken a few pictures on my phone in the past few days, and I figured, why not share? They're random, but that's the fun of it right?

This is a blister I got last week while hammering plaster out of my thermoplastic socket. I've never gotten a blister from hammering before! It's almost healed now.

This is dinner I made one night... I got the recipe for the chicken from Kevin, who got it from a friend who used to be a chef. I ate it with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. It was delish! I took the picture to send to Kevin to show him that I made the chicken :)

Today was MSPO Draft Day, and I was a first-round pick! So was everybody else--all 9 of us ;) We got to hear the options for our capstone research projects! It was very exciting and kind of a big deal. It was great. Cheesy picture and all.

This is my Valentine's present from Kevin! Live plants! They will turn into red tulips, white hyacinths, and a star of Bethlehem. The pots are red (they look orange on my screen) and they're awesome! I took the picture on Monday when they arrived and they've already grown and turned green! I will take another picture in a few days and of course when they've bloomed. Thank you Kevin, I love you!

February thus far

2011-02-13T21:06:00.000-05:00

Nothing new has really been going on in the life of Lisa. School, homework, studying, and school about sums up my life. For real. I have 4 presentations in the next 3 weeks along with the usual reading and assignments for class. We have started making our first prostheses and it's a blast. Right now I'm leaning more towards prosthetics than orthotics but you never know what will happen. I mean, I imagine I will become certified in both (because I can choose one or the other, or both) but I think I would prefer prosthetics.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and it will be Kevin and I's 5th one together. It's also the first one we've spent apart. We've spent every other holiday, birthday, celebration, etc., apart before, but never Valentine's Day. I guess that's part of the package deal of living 2,300 miles apart.

I have 4 weeks of school before I have a 2-week hiatus. The first week will be spent in Orlando, Florida, at the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists ("the academy") annual meeting and convention. It should be fun--we booked a hotel suite for the 8 of us girls to share and it will pretty much be a giant sleepover for a week in between going to talks and socializing.

The week after THAT will be my spring break!! I am going home to the beautiful state of Idaho to be with Kevin and family. I am getting soo antsy for that already. I hate the trip but love being there. I can't wait!

After that... well, I will have 5 more weeks of class and then a week of finals. Then I will pack up my apartment into a storage unit and journey across America. Yes, I am driving home for the summer. Yes, that's like 2,300 or so miles of driving (which, as everyone who knows me knows, I HATE DRIVING) so I'm in the market for a road trip partner. It's tricky because both Kevin and my brother (both of whom would be good road trip partners) get out of school a week after I do, so I would have to wait around. My mom would have to take time off work, and my dad will be in the middle of spring work. Most of the people in my program want to start working right away, so that leaves me in a pickle. I will get it figured out sooner or later!

Now that I've rambled on and on about nothing of importance or interest, I will wrap it up with: it's supposed to be in the high 60s all week long this week. I am SO excited, bring on the warm weather!

70°F in January!

2011-01-30T15:58:00.000-05:00

Today is a warm day in Atlanta, and wow is it nice! I feel like I'm on vacation somewhere tropical (except, of course, for the mountain of homework/reading I have). But don't worry, it's supposed to drop back into the 50s and rain this week.

I think I'm finally adjusted to school (it only took 2 weeks!) and having a set schedule again. It is really weird only having 3 days of class though--even though the other two days I have clinical rotations, it's just different than going to school and sitting in lecture. I enjoy it a lot, and the week goes by much faster this way!

I've been knitting up a storm for the 2011 Scarves for Special Olympics project. Okay, maybe not a storm, but I've knit 2 scarves and working on a third so far (it's hard to squeeze in knitting these days!). What's been fun is essentially making up my own patterns--I have seen scarf ideas that I like but that aren't exactly what I had in mind, so I just base my pattern on several ideas and go from there. I will post pictures when they are all done.

Other than that... it's just grad school life as usual.

Inanimate Stickers

2011-01-17T22:37:00.000-05:00

While browsing an amazing website (thinkgeek.com) for Christmas presents a few weeks ago, I found these stickers. I of course had to get them, and have animated my entire desk!

First had to be the stapler. I got the idea from the website.

Next had to be my mini-stapler that I carry in my backpack. It's ultra portable and actually a better stapler than the yellow one. But wait...

He has teeth too!

Tape dispenser was next.

The printer is now very happy to complete all of my print jobs for me.

My lamp seems nervous these days.

And my water bottle is licking its lips :)

I had wayyyy too much fun with this. I took them to school and we put them on the microwave and staplers there. I still have more than I know what to do with. But they are amazing. I highly recommend them for endless entertainment ;)

Gearing Up

2011-01-16T17:23:00.000-05:00

Just one more day until school officially starts. In some ways I'm relieved, since this week in Atlanta has been so uneventful, but in other ways, it's still the usual "dang, I have to actually do stuff now." Since we missed class last week, the instructors sent us the syllabi and some reading to do so we don't fall too behind in the class schedules. I've been trying to work on doing some of the readings, but I guess I'm still in denial about actually doing schoolwork again :)

This semester, I have a very packed schedule. The classes I'm taking:

Transtibial Prosthetics (transtibial means "below-the-knee")
Lower Limb Orthotics II (continuation of LLO I from last semester)
CAD/CAM (taught in conjunction with transtib)
Research Seminar
Clinical Practicum (not exactly a class, but it's the credit we get for clinical rotations)

I have class packed solid from 9am-5:30pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (and it will probably extend past 6 quite often), and clinical rotations all day (8am-5pm) on Thursday & Friday. I am going to be cooking a lot on the weekends and having leftovers all week it looks like! But I am very excited for my classes. They should be amazing, even if they are really long!

We are also beginning our research projects this semester. My degree does not require a thesis, but we still complete a capstone project. I'm looking forward to getting started on the project. I have no idea what I will be researching yet, but I'm sure I will have an idea in the next couple of weeks.

There is still quite a bit of snow left over from the "storm" a week ago. It just hasn't gotten warm enough for long enough to melt it much. The main roads are fine, but the back roads are still fairly icy. I can still see snow from every window in the apartment. I guess this is unheard of for Atlanta, where it might snow but melt the next day. Crazy winter weather.

Retrospection

2011-01-15T15:37:00.000-05:00

I read every single one of my blog posts today (all 408 of them). 365 were my photo-a-day project that I did in 2009. I noticed some kind of interesting things, going back. 21 of 365 were literally pictures taken of homework/papers strewn about. How boring is that? 4 were my computer (days 49, 83, 292, and 300):

Literally, JUST my computer. What was I thinking? A whole bunch were really REALLY bad pictures that I'm almost embarrassed of now. Oh well, life goes on! I might try another photography project at some later date, when I'm not in school, because as was seen in the previous go-round, that's just a bad idea :)

Anyway, disregarding the photography skills of Lisa in 2009, I had a pretty good walk back in time, remembering my Amgen summer, senior design project, living in Moscow, my car breaking down and being pushed home (still a hilarious story), my food allergy (I had almost forgotten about that), etc.

New Background + New Name

2011-01-13T22:19:00.000-05:00

For awhile now I've been thinking of changing the background of my blog, and I finally did it tonight. Let me know if there are any issues with your ability to read it or any other problems that may arise.

I also changed the name of the blog. I don't know why, I just did. The url should be the same though!

I will probably be going through all my posts in the next couple of days and re-labeling all of them. It kinda goes along with my renaming all of the pictures on my hard drive, which I'm in the process of doing. I hope my new method will be a little better organized than previously.

When Mom reads my blog...

2011-01-13T21:54:00.000-05:00

...she sends me pictures of the things I don't have pictures of!

Here is the picture of the mobius scarf mentioned in the previous post:

and here is the picture of the tote bag I made:

Thanks, Mom!

Some Knitting Projects

2011-01-12T17:42:00.000-05:00

Georgia Tech is finally opening tomorrow, with a delayed start until 10am. However, I don't even have class, so I still don't have anywhere to go! Hopefully the roads are good enough to at least venture SOMEWHERE so I can have a little change of scenery.

Well, needless to say, I've been doing a little knitting since I've been stuck in my apartment all week. Here's an idea of what I've done:

I knitted this dishcloth. I found the pattern here.

I knitted this ninja hat, maybe for Kevin (he said it may be too nerdy)! The idea came from here and the pattern for the beanie came from here.

I'm also working on something else, which I will post pictures of when it's done!

These are some dishcloths/"pie holders" that I made for my sister Amy & her husband Nate for Christmas. It's called Illusion knitting! When you look at it straight on it just looks striped but when you look at an obtuse angle...

...pi appears! The pattern came from here. Amy's a math teacher and Nate's an accountant so I guess they both kinda like math, and if you like math you HAVE to like pi, right?!

Let's see, for Christmas I also knitted my mom a tote bag from this pattern. And during break I knitted her a mobius scarf out of some fun purple yarn in this pattern. I didn't get pictures of either of these items.

I also had a brilliant (Kevin says otherwise) idea about making a Christmas card for someone with a tiny knitted sweater ornament in it... and right around that time my cousin Xenia posted on her livejournal about a Christmas card exchange! So, I knitted a little sweater (you can see it here - picture #9 - and the pattern is here) and stuck it in a card. It was so much fun! It gave me an idea about making a bunch of them and having a Christmas sweater party next year and giving them out as little party favors. We'll see how that goes!

After doing all the linking for this post, I realized how much I rely on the internet for my knitting patterns! So much creative genius out there.

Snow Week!

2011-01-11T11:02:00.000-05:00

After a fantastic Christmas break back home in Idaho with Kevin, my family, and friends, I am back in Atlanta. School was supposed to start yesterday (Monday) but 3" of snow the night before canceled class. The university is still closed today, and since my professor for Wednesday is stuck in Illinois, we won't have class on Wednesday either. Thursday and Friday are my clinical rotation days this semester, and since we missed the intro (where they tell us where to go, etc.) which was supposed to be today, I don't have anything to do for a WHOLE WEEK (Monday is a holiday, so school will officially start for me next Tuesday the 18th).

It kind of sucks, really. The roads are pretty bad (according to Atlanta standards) and I am worried about idiots hitting me if I were to venture out, so I am staying in. Everyone says "oh you are so lucky to get an extra week of break!" but honestly, it's not that great since we are effectively stranded inside our apartment. Luckily I have some yarn and knitting needles so I can knit. Hopefully I don't run out before the end of the week!

It is baffling to me that 3" of snow can shut down the ENTIRE city. All of the government offices are closed, all of the schools are closed, a lot of the stores are closed... yesterday our leasing office was closed! The grocery stores are wiped clean. Back home, 3" hardly even counts as significant snowfall. Oh the differences between northern and southern climates.

A Different Perspective

2010-12-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

Last night it got down below freezing while it was precipitating. The roads got a little icy. But not really. Supposedly there were "hundreds" of accidents and Georgia Tech delayed opening until 10am. Coming from the mountains of Idaho, last night's road conditions were pretty good compared to what I'm used to in winter (especially considering that all roads leading from my house are downhill and twisty) but EVERYONE freaked out. Atlanta drivers are SO bad--they don't believe in gently pressing on the brakes. It's either the gas or the brake pedal ALL THE TIME, so no wonder they slid off the road. They are also REALLY aggressive drivers--they lay on the horn if you accidentally cut them off, and they also lay on the horn if you're nice and let someone in. I just do not understand why the slight amount of ice was such a problem...

1st Semester of Grad School -- Finished! (Almost)

2010-12-14T22:02:00.000-05:00

I survived the crazy past few weeks. Everything was done and done well (or at least good enough). I've taken all my finals (including an oral exam that I had today--it was a bit nerve-wracking but really not that bad!) and finished up all my projects. All that's left is a group presentation tomorrow (Wednesday) which should be pretty smooth. And then, I have to wait around all day Thursday (except a Christmas cookie party that evening) and all day Friday (except a departmental Christmas party that evening) for my flight HOME TO IDAHO on Saturday.

All in all, it's been a great semester. There were rough times (academically, emotionally) but I'm really glad I chose this program. It's turned out to be exactly what I had hoped for. I love the classes, I love the faculty, I love my classmates. I don't love Atlanta, but that's alright. My time here will be over before I know it. Only 507 days until graduation!

I'm SO EXCITED to go home and see Kevin, family, friends, and pets. I miss Idaho dearly. I REALLY miss being in the middle of nowhere, as strange as that probably sounds to most people. I just feel so confined in the city--almost like I can't breathe. I feel safe most of the time (I would feel safer if I could carry on campus... but that's another story) but there's always this lingering thought. I never had that growing up on the farm, or in Moscow for that matter.

All in all: wish I was closer to home, but loving the program :)

Idaho ≠ Iowa

2010-11-30T19:58:00.000-05:00

'nuff said

Kevin's visit and Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T16:42:00.000-05:00

Kevin arrived in Atlanta on the evening of November 20th. Luckily I was watching his flight because it landed over a half hour early! I had just parked my car when Kevin texted me to say that his flight had landed. We went out to dinner to a little Italian place that night (Figo Pasta) and their ravioli is amazing.

On Sunday we drove around a bit so I could show Kevin the city, but we mostly just relaxed at home. I had to go to school on Monday. Tuesday I went to clinical rotations but upon arriving (and it's a 30ish minute drive) found out that the person we were supposed to shadow had the day off, so I drove back home and we went to IKEA. I had never been (except once when it was really just a mad dash to the warehouse to pick something up) so we took a couple of hours and wandered through the entire store. Pretty much I'm in love with that store now :) Wednesday I had to go to school in the morning (what school in their right mind has class on the day before Thanksgiving?!?! Apparently GT). Then I made a pumpkin roll and some apple crisp for the holiday.

Which brings us to Thursday: Thanksgiving! That morning I made a batch of rolls and 2 pumpkin pies. Then my roommate, Kevin, and I headed over to a friend's house for "Friendsgiving." It consisted of the people in my program who didn't go home for the holiday--10 total (including a few extras not in the program). We had a fabulous meal (turkey and all the fixings and scrumptious desserts) and a great time. It was a good substitute for "real" Thanksgiving, but I definitely missed home and my family!

I normally go shopping early in the morning on Black Friday but this year I elected not to since traffic in Atlanta would probably be CRAZY that early in the morning, and I really didn't have any big things I wanted to get. We did go a little later in the day and got a bit of Christmas shopping done.

Saturday was pretty much spent doing Kevin's laundry and getting him packed up. I had to drop him off at the airport at 4:30 to catch his flight. Luckily I'll see him (and my entire family!!) in 3 weeks for Christmas break so it wasn't extremely difficult to say goodbye--but there's always that lump in your stomach when you watch your loved one leave.

Now I'm gearing up for the next 3 weeks of craziness and being busy. I have a to-do list a mile long including papers, presentations, exams, and projects that are all due within the next 2.5 weeks! I will be officially done with everything on Wednesday, December 15th. Unfortunately my flight home isn't until Saturday the 18th since I booked it way back in August to get a better deal and it's $200 to change it to a different day! I may try to schedule a rotation to watch some surgeries or something--who knows!

I doubt I will have time after this to post anything until after the time of great craziness. Oh joy :)

Knitting again

2010-11-17T17:58:00.000-05:00

Since I posted my last entry, Kevin was a little worried about my dishcloth obsession and gave me something else to work on. It's done!

It's a Space Invaders hat! Kevin found the pattern here and I took on the challenge (but it was really easy to make). I made up my own pattern for the earflaps though, I wasn't a huge fan of them on the original pattern. I got the yarn on Sunday afternoon and here it is, Wednesday evening and it's done. I really like it and I'm a bit jealous that I have to give it to Kevin (who, by the way, is coming to visit me in THREE DAYS!). I guess I will just have to make a matching one for me :)

Knitting

2010-11-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

I just thought I'd share a picture of a couple of the dishcloths I've been knitting lately:

I'm not sure why I'm obsessed with dishcloths! I guess it's because they're fast, fun, and easy to explore new stitches. I got the pattern for the yellow duck here, the green one here, and the blue one from this book (except the one I have isn't hardcover, but oh well).

National Prosthetics Day

2010-11-09T17:40:00.000-05:00

Today is National Prosthetics Day! I was at the Atlanta VAMC today for clinical rotations and I happened to be rotating through the prosthetics department this week. So, I spent my day in the hallway at a table talking to patients and employees about prosthetics. I was hooked up to an i-LIMB Pulse via electrodes on my wrist flexors and extensors (just below my elbow). Extending the wrist (back of the hand toward the arm) opened the hand and flexing the wrist closed the hand. So many people were interested! I was also hooked up to a WalkAide for a little while, which is a myoelectric device to help with dropfoot in stroke patients (or anybody else with weak dorsiflexors). It electrically stimulates the peroneal nerve in your leg to lift your toe while walking. It was an interesting experience!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T16:01:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween! It sure doesn't feel like it's Halloween to me. The weeks have been going by so quickly, and besides, it's about 75°F outside today, and that just isn't Halloween weather to me!

School has been pretty quiet this past week. On Thursday afternoon, I was in my Lower Limb Orthotics class and we were fabricating our AFOs (ankle-foot orthoses) when we all kinda stopped and looked at each other and said "Do you smell that?" Our teacher realized it smelled like natural gas and he thought maybe the propane torch was leaking. He checked and it wasn't, but it was getting stronger and we were feeling slightly light-headed, so we left the room. The hallway smelled even worse, and other teachers were coming out into the hallway too. We decided to head outside, so we grabbed our stuff and headed upstairs (we are in the basement of the building). We emerged and not too much later, the fire alarm was pulled and the entire building was evacuated. Seven firetrucks arrived on scene and we learned that the natural gas smell was because a main gas line was hit by a construction crew immediately adjacent to our building near the air intake. Our teachers told us to just go home (2 hours early!) since it would be awhile to get the line fixed and the building aired out.

In other news, I have the data from my duck Raessa's egg-laying this year, and have compiled the statistics for the past 6 years (last year I did a similar post) here (you can click on it for a larger view):

She did better than last year on total eggs, but did not quite get the same number of eggs per day! She's laid a total of 1156 (±10 or so) eggs!

A trip home, a licensed car, midterms over, TORNADO

2010-10-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

Well it's been a little while since I last posted. The weekend of October 16-19th was our fall break here at Tech (instead of getting a whole week off at Thanksgiving like I'm used to, they give us two days off in the middle of the semester and only Thursday-Friday off at Thanksgiving). I managed to snag a cheap flight back home to IDAHO! For a long time I didn't think I would go because it's only 4 days, but the homesickness was getting pretty bad and my roommate's mom and friend were going to be here, so I decided to get out of Atlanta! It was such a welcome break from the city and the South. I got to hang out with Kevin and my family and get a little taste of everything from back home. Of course it was hard to leave, but I am so refreshed after being back in familiar surroundings, even if for a short time.

While home, I registered my car (a lot of people were surprised that I could register my car in Idaho, considering that this car has never even been to Idaho, but it's very easy to do) so I was finally able to drive around without worrying about getting pulled over for having no license plate. Down here in the South, they only have one license plate, in the back of the vehicle! No front plates exist anywhere. So of course, my car does NOT have a front bracket for a license plate. So for now... my extra plate is hanging out in the trunk of my car, I'm hoping that Georgia cops don't know that Idaho requires a front license plate, and I'll figure something out when I drive back home.

Let's see... the only other thing of import is that our midterms are OVER! We had three midterms (luckily spaced out over 3 weeks) and they were kind of brutal. One was a 3-hour exam that was 26 pages long. But I think they went relatively well. It's nice to have some down time again. In fact, the past few days I knitted a scarf (kind of weird considering it was over 80°F outside today, but whatever). It matches a hat that I made last year.

One more thing... right now (actually it may have been over about an hour ago) we are in a tornado watch... there is a tornado in Georgia and we're having some crazy winds here. I don't think it'll come our way but it's kind of fun :) I don't think I take natural disasters seriously enough!

New Car!

2010-10-12T20:57:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about getting a car for some time, because I will without a doubt need one next semester, as well as the end of this semester, and it's just nice to not have to rely on others to go anywhere. So I started car searching about 3 weeks ago on craigslist. I had a price limit, and I knew that I wanted a Toyota (preferably Corolla) since they last so long, and I wanted fairly low miles. I found a few within my price range and test drove 2: a 1999 Corolla with 95k miles, and a 2002 Corolla with 116k miles. Even though they were both automatic transmissions (not my kinda car, but it would do), I really liked them, and decided to buy the 1999 (it was in better condition and had power everything).

Then, disastrous news: Amy clued me in that her husband's car (same year, make, and model as the one I wanted to buy) burned oil. Uh, Toyotas... don't burn oil. Not until they get up to 287k miles like the one I had back at home. So I did some research and found out that Corollas from 1998-2002 have a FLAW that causes them to start burning oil around 80-100k miles and the problem eventually causes the head to crack. Eeeeek, that is not a car that I want to buy.

So, back to square one. I did a lot more searching... Toyotas newer than 2002 were too expensive, but Toyotas older than 1998 had too many miles and weren't in good condition. I considered not getting a Toyota, but the thought broke my heart (I guess driving my dad's 1981 Toyota Tercel in high school and my 1987 Toyota Camry through college kind of solidified my love and need for Toyotas). I was just about to start looking at Hondas when I found it. A 1997 Toyota Corolla (with a manual transmission, even!) with 105k miles and in excellent condition! I called immediately and test drove it as soon as I could. I knew I wanted to buy it and told the seller so that day.

Then the most frustrating thing I have ever attempted to do sprung me. The seller wanted cash (understandably) so I needed to find a way to get that amount of cash. My bank (US Bank) does not exist in Georgia, so I opened an account at Wachovia so that I could cash a check there. So we (my roommate and I) stopped at Wachovia on Friday afternoon after class. Their computers were down and they sent us on to the next bank 3 miles down the road. So we get to that bank, and I found out that you have to have an account for 90 days before they let you do transactions over $1000. So my roommate tried cashing it for me (she's had Wells Fargo for a long time) but since she didn't have the amount of the check in her checking account (she keeps most of her money in a savings account and pulls it out when she needs it), she couldn't cash it either. They directed us to a Western Union. We get there and it was the shadiest place I've ever seen... and there is a 10% fee for cashing personal checks (heck no!) and they told me you have to be a homeowner to cash a check that large?! They really only spoke Spanish so I can't be sure that's actually what they said. But the gist was that I couldn't cash my own check.

So... what next?! It was Friday evening after 5pm and I was supposed to buy the car that night. So I called the seller and said that it wasn't going to work that night, but that I would definitely buy it from him and to please hold it for me. Luckily, the man is a saint and even though he had 3 other people who wanted to buy it from him, he held it for me. Also very luckily, I have an amazing roommate who was willing to transfer money out of her savings account into her checking account so she could cash my check for me. The transaction was supposed to go through Monday, but Monday was Columbus Day! So it went through Tuesday (today), and we were able to get the cash and buy the car!

So I now own a black 1997 Toyota Corolla DX with power everything, a sunroof, a spoiler, and a CD changer in the trunk (I don't have any CD's newer than about 10 years old, so that's kind of useless to me, but oh well). The body is in perfect condition, the tires are brand new, the upholstery is perfect... it's amazing. Here's the pictures from the craigslist ad (it was too dark to take pictures of it tonight):

Oh, and on my way home from buying it, I drove on a freeway... for the first time ever in my life. Two freeways in fact. It was slightly traumatic but no permanent harm was done. Except the fact that the speed limit is 55 on those stretches of freeway, I was doing 65 trying not get run over, and I was still getting passed left and right. Atlanta drivers are crazy. Can't wait til we get a dusting of snow and everybody freaks out...

6 weeks down, 10 to go

2010-10-01T17:27:00.000-04:00

Well, this semester is 3/8 done (crazy to think about! It's gone by in a flash). Monday, we have our first exam of the semester! It's in Gait Analysis class. Luckily, the material is fairly straightforward and pretty intuitive, so I think it will go fine.

Tomorrow we are going to POCC (Prosthetics & Orthotics Components Clearinghouse) through MedShare for our second time. The members of my program generally go once to twice a month, and tomorrow is through TeamBuzz. TeamBuzz is Georgia Tech's campus-wide volunteer day, so we decided to coordinate our POCC trip with that day.

There's not much else going on with me, just same old Atlanta! The weather finally took a turn for the cold (it got down to 56°F one night!) but it still gets into the 80s during the day. It's definitely a relief though!

The rain has begun

2010-09-26T12:39:00.000-04:00

I was checking out the weather the other day, and I read that the Southeast is supposed to get heavy rains throughout October due to hurricanes that are forming in the Atlantic. Of course, Atlanta is too far inland for hurricanes themselves to be of worry, but with the hurricanes on the coast come heavy rains further inland. It's been a drought here since I've been in Atlanta, but it's over now. It is pouring rain today, with 1-4" expected through Monday night. It's kind of nice, because it finally cooled down! Atlanta is on a flood watch, so I hope that doesn't become an issue, but the rain is a bit of a relief.

In other news, school is still going great! We have finished our first sets of foot orthoses (FO's) and are just about done modifying our UCBL's (UCBL stands for University of California Biomechanics Laboratory, which is the place that came up with the idea for this specific orthosis). An FO is typically what you would think of as a shoe insert--a foam or cork insole molded in a way as to prevent arch depression, or to relieve pressure in a certain area. A UCBL is a rigid plastic that is molded to the foot to treat certain foot pathologies.

Yesterday a group of us went to the Georgia Tech-North Carolina State football game, but it was so hot and humid and miserable that we left halfway through 3rd quarter. GT ended up losing so I guess we didn't miss too much!

School is definitely starting to pick up. I have my first exam in a week, and a presentation for a class in a week and a half. I still have bunches of reading to do and lots of pathologies to learn. But it's great, and I really love this program!

Cracker Barrel: A Must-Go

2010-09-12T22:20:00.000-04:00

The restaurant Cracker Barrel is where everyone must go at least once in their lives. It is half country store and half restaurant! The food is amazing. Pure southern amazingness. I tried real grits... not a fan. I think they could grow on me though, if I ate them enough. But the biscuits are spectacular, the hash browns divine, and the fried apples are to die for. But really, it is such a cute restaurant--very quaint! I found out that there's one in Boise and one in Missoula. Other than that... there's not a lot in the West.

The rest of the weekend was also quite nice. I went to Six Flags Over Georgia on Friday night. It was Georgia Tech night, so the tickets were dirt cheap and the lines were pretty short. I rode most of the roller coasters and only Batman made me sick. Goliath was AMAZING! Superman was really really cool. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday morning, a club that I belong to, Promoting Orthotics & Prosthetics (POP), volunteered at POCC (Prosthetics & Orthotics Components Clearinghouse) through Medshare. It is an organization that accepts used prostheses and orthoses, disassembles them into their basic parts, and then ships those parts as needed to clinicians doing missions overseas. Reusing these parts is not allowed in the United States, so otherwise these orthoses and prostheses would just be thrown away. It was pretty fun and I got to see a bunch of different kinds of devices.

Other than that, I just kind of hung around the apartment this weekend relaxing. I made zucchini bread and peanut butter cup bars (yummy!) and did some reading for class. I'm feeling pretty relaxed and ready for the week :)

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-07T20:34:00.000-04:00

What a great Labor Day weekend! Saturday a group of us went to Georgia Tech's first home football game! It was against South Carolina State and we steamrolled them 41-10.


Left to right: Jessica, Allison, Natalie, Kaitlin, me, Shannon.


The stadium.


They make pretzels in the shape of GT! And yes, I'm wearing a Vandals hat with my Tech shirt. I don't have any other hats besides a Vandals one, and it was very sunny and I didn't want my face to get sunburned... so I wore my Vandals hat :)

Sunday was a nice lazy day. We (being my roommate and I, and her boyfriend who was here visiting for the weekend from California) went to a friend's house for a BBQ in the evening.

Monday... we shot the Hooch! Apparently "shoot the Hooch" is the way to say that we floated the Chattahoochee River. A group of us from the program went together. The current is very slow and the water is very warm (well, I thought so... when most of the people got in they said "This water is FREEZING!" but compared to the water I'm used to, it was quite warm). It took us almost 5 hours to float about 2 miles. For a good portion of that 2 miles, the water is smooth as glass and you don't really think you're going anywhere. There were about 5 spots where there were rocks and miniature "rapids", but it was nothing serious. I was in a tube and I never even came close to thinking that I might fall out. Most of the people floated on air mattresses because Walmart was out of tubes (I had gotten one the previous weekend for the lake party for $6 on triple clearance). I don't have any pictures because my camera is far from waterproof and it definitely would have gotten very wet! But it was very fun and we came home very exhausted, but surprisingly not sunburned.

Today (Tuesday) I started my clinical rotations! For my program we are required to have 500 contact hours with patients in order to graduate. We start at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) this semester and rotate through various departments:

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R)
Podiatry
Vascular
Prosthetics
Physical Therapy (PT)

And we also rotate at a pedorthics facility. The next 3 semesters we will rotate mainly through prosthetics & orthotics companies in Atlanta.

I started out in PM&R. Pretty much, PM&R is about treating pain that affects how you move (as in, relating to the musculoskeletal system and/or nervous system) without surgery. This includes injections, PT, OT (occupational therapy), and lifestyle changes. I shadowed a couple of doctors who were seeing patients (I can't go into any detail of course) and it was really interesting. I learned quite a bit! We stay at our rotation sites for 2 weeks, then go on to the next one. I'm excited!

On another exciting note, I made my first orthosis last week! It was a very basic shoe insert, but a classmate and I designed and built it. It was VERY exciting and fun! I can't wait to make many more :)


Top view. We created a lateral wedge for a fictitious patient.

Rear view. It was very rough but it did what it was supposed to :)

Week 1 of School: Complete

2010-08-28T21:18:00.000-04:00

1 week of grad school down, 63 to go :) So far, it's been pretty good -- a little boring since we've been doing a lot of intro stuff and going over syllabi, but I think I'm going to really enjoy my classes. One HUGE difference between grad school and undergrad is the amount of reading that we have to do. Sure, in undergrad they always suggest that you read the textbook chapters before you go to class -- but who does that? I never did, and I sure did fine. Here, you really have to read them, and there's a whole lot to read! At least it's really interesting since it all directly pertains to the field. That is one really nice thing about being in such an intense professional program in a focused field: everything is directly related to what I want to do "when I grow up." The classes that I'm taking this semester:

Lower Limb Orthotics I
Clinical Pathology
Gait Analysis
Biomechanics & Kinesiology
Clinical Methods/Clinical Practicum

It's 12 credits but it's pretty much 9am - 5pm everyday. We do off-campus clinical rotations once a week, and the rest of the time we're in class! Our program is technically 48 credits total, because that's the maximum allowed for a master's program, but according to our director it's actually more like 66-70 credits just because of the shear amount of work that we have to do in 2 years.

Anyway, it's been a great week and today the department hosted a lake party! We went to Jackson Lake, where one of the staff members has a lake house! It's literally ON the lake, and they have their own private dock. The lake was very brown, and SO WARM! It was like bathwater! We had a lot of fun.

Tomorrow will probably be spent reading for class, cleaning a bit, and maybe baking a little bit? Who knows :)

Differences: Continued (again)

2010-08-20T07:15:00.000-04:00

Here in Atlanta, when you take a shower, the bathroom fan does nothing... because it's ALWAYS hotter and ALWAYS more humid outside than inside. I'm used to turning on the fan and when I step out of the shower, the mirror is barely fogged up, or not at all. Here... not so much.

Also, I'm used to stepping outside at 7 in the morning in the summer and it might be a tad bit chilly. Here, we step outside at 7am and it's already hotter than inside. It's really weird to get used to.

I do love the Southern accents people have though. I doubt I'll pick one up because only one person in my program has the accent, but I loooooove listening!

One more thing that's weird about Atlanta

2010-08-19T21:28:00.000-04:00

I just remembered something else weird about Georgia. Every day the weather is pretty much exactly the same. Seriously, look up Atlanta weather. Every day, the high is 90°F and the low is 75°F with a 30-50% chance of thunderstorms. Seriously. That is weird to me.

Atlanta: Adjusting

2010-08-19T19:39:00.000-04:00

I've now been in Atlanta for 4 days (is that it??!) and finally have a bit of time. Mom and I got in around 3:30pm on Sunday, and by the time we got out of the airport in the rental car it was almost 5. We made it to my apartment really easily (thank goodness for GPS!)!

My apartment is SO amazing--I will post some pictures later. It's a gated community and has a pool, gym, and amazing "European gardens" all around everywhere. The apartment itself is huge for a 2-bedroom, and fairly cheap. It's so amazing.

Orientation started bright and early Monday morning, and I met everyone in my program (there are 10 of us). They all seem like such interesting and great people, I can't wait to get to know them all better. The week has been pretty boring so far actually... we've sat through a lot of training sessions and "helpful" information sessions. But it's all necessary to do the program so I guess I can't complain tooooo much.

There are a lot of just different things in Atlanta compared to Idaho. The cars here have no license plates in the front, for one! The drivers are CRAZY and traffic can be awful at rush hour. The humidity isn't nearly as bad as everyone made it sound.. sure, my hair is a bit poofier than normal but it's not a total frizz-ball like I was picturing. It doesn't feel nearly as hot as it is, but you do feel a lot stickier and wetter. Today it was 95°F and probably 90% humidity but it honestly only felt like about 85°F and like it was about to rain or something. It's really strange. There are a lot of other things that are just weird but I can't remember them right now!

Anyway, there will be more about Atlanta in days/weeks to come. I do miss Idaho but I don't think Atlanta will be too terrible :)

Summery

2010-08-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

In response to a couple of requests for me to update my blog (you know who you are!), I am posting a summary of my summer (hence the title "Summery"), which may be long and somewhat tedious to read. It's been almost 4 months since I last posted anything to this blog, but I am going to try to update once in awhile from here on out--we'll see how that goes!

Okay... first things first. I graduated Summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biological and Agricultural Engineering in May from the University of Idaho. It's nice to be done with undergrad! It flew by so quickly, even though there were plenty of times when it seemed like it would be impossible to ever fulfill the requirements for the degree.

Three days after graduation, I started work at Dworshak State Park--Freeman Creek Campground on the maintenance crew. I worked 4 tens all summer cleaning bathrooms, mowing grass, and other maintenance-type tasks. It was amazingly mind-numbing, which was so nice after a hectic senior year in college! The three-day weekends were also nice.

On Father's Day weekend in June I went to the Seattle area to meet up with some friends from my Amgen program last summer. One was road-tripping all the way across the country from New York, and we met up with another Amgener who lives in Shoreline. We went on a day trip to the San Juan islands where we biked and kayaked. It was so much fun to see them again!

My 22nd birthday was in July and it was uneventful. I had to work, so that about sums it up.

Kevin had been living in Boise with his parents for the summer, but in early July he moved up and lived at my parents' house, so it was really really nice to be near him for the rest of the summer.

By the end of July I had started packing for moving to Atlanta for grad school at Georgia Tech. Fitting one's entire life into a couple of suitcases is pretty difficult. There's still a lot of things that I have to buy once I get to Atlanta (a bed, dresser, desk, etc.) but I fit a whole bunch of stuff in! My mom is coming with me to help me get settled. I have an apartment with another girl in my program; it's off-campus and is supposedly in a really safe neighborhood. It's a gated community and it looks really nice!

Yesterday (Saturday, August 14th) was my sister Amy's ring ceremony/reception for the Idaho family. It wasn't a "real" wedding (that's September 4th in Salt Lake City) but we had a bit of a pretend wedding for our side of the family. I was in the wedding party and helped a lot with preparations and all that. It was pretty nice, and we had pretty good attendance.

Currently I am sitting in the Salt Lake City airport waiting for my connecting flight to Atlanta. After breaking down the reception last night, I finished up the last-minute packing and went to bed--but it was hard to sleep because I knew I was leaving in the morning! I got up at 3am to get to the airport on time, so I'm not running on too much sleep but I think the adrenaline of being in a new place will keep me going. We get into Atlanta at 3:30pm local time and have to run around and get the basics for the apartment. I start orientation bright and early tomorrow morning and it lasts all week. Then, school starts the following week (August 23rd).

That's my life in a nutshell, and I think I rambled a bit and didn't make a whole lot of sense, but that's okay. At least I updated my blog!

Tech it or leave it

2010-04-25T22:31:00.000-04:00

Over the past few weeks, I have told a number of people that I am going to Georgia Tech's MSPO (Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics) program in the fall. I've gotten some congratulatory remarks, but mostly people have responded with "Why? It's so far away. It's a big city. There's a lot of crime. Why don't you go somewhere closer?", etc. Yes, I know it's a huge step up from Moscow, Idaho. Yes, I know Atlanta is HUGE city and that there's a lot of crime. Yes, I know that things are just different "down South." Yes, I am scared of moving so far away from everything familiar to me. But this is what I want to do! There are 3 programs in the nation for prosthetics and orthotics: GaTech, University of Texas-Southwestern, and Eastern Michigan University. From my research on the net, Tech is above and beyond the best. And I got in.

I know that people are just looking out for me, but I've thought about this for a REALLY long time. I want to go into prosthetics and orthotics. It's a 2 year program, meaning that even if I may hate it in Atlanta, it's only two years. The 4 years I've spent at UI have flown by faster than I could have imagined. I figure it's probably good for me to experience something else other than small-town Idaho. I know that I'll have to get used to a different style of living... and yes, I already checked: Georgia does recognize Idaho's concealed carry permit. I will be taking my Ruger SP101 .357 with me. I will also invest in pepper spray, the biggest knife I can legally carry, and I plan on getting back into shape... those thugs in Atlanta will be sorry if they ever mess with an Idaho girl.

I'm going to Georgia Tech's MSPO program in August. That is all.

What a Day

2010-04-08T16:44:00.000-04:00

Today, I had some excitement. I was ALMOST hit by a pickup. I was crossing the Moscow-Pullman Highway, going away from campus, at the designated crosswalk with all sorts of blinking lights and rumble strips and everything. Nobody was coming in either direction, which is pretty rare, so I didn't even have to have stare-downs with the drivers to see if they are actually going to stop or not. There's a road (Peterson Drive, I think) that meets the highway right at the crosswalk. There's actually all sorts of construction going on because they're making the intersection into a stoplight to help with pedestrian safety and traffic congestion. Anyway, as I was just about to start crossing the 5-lane road, a pickup pulled up at Peterson Drive to turn left onto the highway, and didn't see a pedestrian crossing the crosswalk there (he was walking parallel to the highway), and almost ran him over, but slammed on his brakes when he noticed him. I was just about halfway across the highway when the driver started turning and headed STRAIGHT FOR ME. He didn't even see me and I leaped/ran/jumped (I don't remember) away and right then he saw me and swerved (away from me, luckily) and ran over a wooden sign that says "Crosswalk" that's in the turning lane. Then, he gunned it and was gone. The other pedestrian that he almost hit ran out to me and said, "Are you okay?!?!? That was so scary!!!" I had massive amounts of adrenaline in me but of course I was fine. We stood the sign back up and then we each went our own ways.

It was a very windy day in Moscow and when I got home after the above incident, the power went out. It was off for probably about a half hour, then came back on. I had forgotten how much I rely on electricity for pretty much everything in my life. Now, I get to spend the rest of the day studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam that is in 9 days (eeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!) and doing some other homework and studying.

What a day.

Spring break is here!

2010-03-13T11:15:00.000-05:00

Ah, spring break at last. It started yesterday after I got out of class at 2:17pm. My brother Brad and I left directly from campus and came home and it feels SOOOO good to be on break! This semester is really flying by, that's for sure. For break I plan on staying home the entire time except for Wednesday, which is Kevin's birthday, so I'm going to go to Moscow to visit him :)

It's been a really mild winter; it's only snowed a few times and has been fairly warm lately. Of course, the first day of break it snows a few inches! But that's alright, it's supposed to warm up this week so I think I can deal with a little bit of snow. We (my dad, brother, and I) were going to bring a new combine home today (the 5th one in 3 years...) but the snow postponed it.

Raessa (my duck) started laying eggs yesterday! They're a slightly different color than usual; in the past they have been an ugly green/gray/brown color. They're still ugly but now they're more red/gray/brown. I'm not sure why they're different now when for the past 5 years they were the same, but oh well.

Lastly, I was accepted into The Georgia Institute of Technology's Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics program! I will be living in Atlanta the next two years learning how to build prostheses and ortheses for people. After I finish the program, I will have a one-year residency, then will sit for an exam. If I pass, I will be a Licensed Prosthetist or Orthotist, depending on which I choose to do. If I choose to become both a Prosthetist and an Orthotist, I will have to do two residencies (one in each). I'm definitely nervous about moving so far away, and to such a HUGE city, but after the two years are up, I can live wherever I want! Prosthetists and Orthotists are in pretty big demand and even fairly small cities have a need for them. I'm so excited!

Beautiful Day

2010-02-28T16:58:00.000-05:00

It's such a gorgeous day outside! Kevin and I went on an amazing walk at the Arboretum. I love that place. Even when the trees are bare and the flowers aren't blooming, it's still so pretty. It feels like spring and that makes me incredibly happy! I'm hoping for a long spring this year, to make up for the utter lack-of the past 2 years.

Time flies

2010-02-24T22:33:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's already almost the end of February! Time is flying by so quickly. I realized a few days ago that I have not taken a picture in 2010. I guess I was just a little burned out from last year :) Hopefully I will start taking pictures again soon! I think I just need to make an effort.

School is exceptionally busy, but it's a good kind of busy. I enjoy all of my classes, so I don't mind doing homework or studying for them. It's almost fun. I thought that since I have a pretty light load this semester that I would have more free time--yeah right! Pretty much ALL of the time besides when I'm asleep, I am in class, in meetings, doing homework, studying, or "working." I say that in quotation marks because it's kind of homework but kind of work. I am working with my academic adviser; she's on sabbatical this year developing a biomedical engineering course for next fall. Since she knows that I'm interested in biomedical, she asked me to listen to lectures, do assignments, and help her structure the course. I get 1 credit, which usually means 3 hours of work outside of class per week. Any work over that amount, I get paid for. I really enjoy it and am kind of bummed that I won't be around to actually take the course in the fall! Except, then I remember that I am graduating and hopefully moving on to bigger and better things.

I am trying to think of something cool to post about regularly. I think once a week would be ideal. We'll see if I can come up with something.

Senioritis

2010-02-15T23:09:00.000-05:00

Yup, I've caught it... I had heard it was going around, and then suddenly, BAM, it hit me. No motivation to do homework or study, excessive feelings of "I know this, I don't need to study," and urges to just play on the computer allllllll day. This 3-day weekend didn't help either (although it was VERY nice!). Luckily my panic mode for procrastination is a lot earlier than most people's, so I should be fine for getting everything done this week... I only have two tests, lots of work for my senior design project, FE studying to do, grad school application to finish off, a couple of homework assignments, and some lab stuff to get done. Okay, I think I just set off my panic mode...

Doppelganger

2010-02-05T21:53:00.000-05:00

I've seen the craze on Facebook called doppelganger, in which you post a picture of a celebrity whom you look like as your profile picture. (According to this website, it's illegal, but that's okay). I don't usually do these fad/craze things. However, as more and more of my friends did it and they actually look like the celebrities they chose, I got to wondering--which celebrity do I look like? Nobody has ever told me that I look like a celebrity, and honestly I've never really thought about it. I've never understood the whole "worshiping celebrities" thing that a lot of people do--I mean, they're just people, not gods. Anyway, I found one of those online things in which you upload your picture and they "analyze" your face and tell you which celebrity you look like. Well, I found out that I am 62% similar to Jim Carrey and 58% similar to Elton John, with no other matches considered close. Apparently I look like a man. I tried a different celebrity lookalike website and it gave me the same results, except that I was also 52% similar to Maria Sharapova (thank goodness, a woman).

Here are some pictures of my celebrity "lookalikes" that I found here, here, and here, respectively (I wonder if this is illegal, too?) and I did not do this on facebook, so this doesn't really count as participating in a craze, right?:

and this is the picture I used to generate my lookalikes.

busy busy busy

2010-02-03T22:40:00.000-05:00

I can't even hardly begin to explain how very busy I have become. Last semester, I had six exams total, including finals. In the next 3 weeks, I have five. It's so weird how very different this semester is compared to last. On top of the tests, homework, and labs, I have my senior design project which is suddenly becoming very time-intensive. We are finalizing our design (which is a clarinet reed-blank forming machine) and will be getting into the machine shop next week to start fabrication. Machining is very time-intensive. But it will be incredible to see and feel the design we've been slaving over since September. AND, I take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam on April 17. It is an 8-hour exam and pretty much covers EVERYTHING engineering-related that I've done in the past four years. Talk about some major review...

school & future plans

2010-01-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

It's been very very weird not posting every day to my blog since my project ended, and now I feel like I don't know what to do or write on here... so here goes nothing.

School starts tomorrow, it will be my final semester (of undergrad anyway) and I am very excited! I am only taking 14 credits and only one of them is 400-level, and that same one is the only class in my major! I am looking forward to all of my classes: biomechanics, physiology, linear algebra, and the continuation of my senior design project. I'm also taking a 1-credit review class for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam in April.

I'm very excited to graduate in 4 months, except--I don't know what I'm going to do yet. The plan is graduate school, but I need to see if I get in where I want to go. I decided that, yeah, I like engineering and all, but I really have always wanted to work with artificial arms/legs. There is actually a degree specifically for that, called Prosthetics and Orthotics. There are a few schools that offer bachelor's degrees in it (which maybe I would have done had I known about it earlier), and only 2 that offer a master's degree: Eastern Michigan and Georgia Tech. I don't meet all of the prerequisites for the EMU program, but I do for GaTech, so I am applying there. They only accept 10 students per year, so I hope I can get in! I'm also applying to a few biomedical engineering graduate schools just in case I change my mind and decide I do want to continue in engineering.

If I don't get in to GaTech... then it gets a little more complicated. I will probably try to get a job/internship/something working at a prosthetics company--there are a few in Spokane and Boise--and then re-apply the following year. The University of Washington will be converting their bachelor's program to a master's program and will start accepting students in Fall 2011, so I could apply to that one too if need be. I am just hoping that I can get into Georgia Tech this year, even though Atlanta is certainly not my first choice for a city to live in! But, I decided that I could handle living there for 2 years since I will getting a degree to do something that truly interests me. We'll see what the future has in store!

2009 in review

2010-01-01T23:28:00.000-05:00

Below you will find the slideshow of all the photos that I took during the year of 2009!

Unfortunately, the slideshow-maker I used DRASTICALLY reduced the quality of the photos, but at least we can still see all of the pictures :)

All in all, I took over 4,300 pictures in 2009, which is probably about 10-20 times more than I would usually have taken in a year. I learned a lot about photography but definitely still have a long ways to go. Most of my pictures were uninspired and just plain boring, but there are a few that may actually be considered "good" pictures. I found out that I don't really like taking pictures of people--I prefer animals, landscapes, inanimate objects. I think that doing a project of this sort would be far easier while NOT in school, because usually I was just so tired from being on campus and doing homework and all of those things that I just snapped a picture of the nearest object and went to bed. Maybe I'll try again in a few years?!

day #365

2009-12-31T22:00:00.001-05:00

I found some slippers with my Christmas money! Ducks of course :)

What a year 2009 has been! I can't believe this is my last picture!

day #364

2009-12-31T21:59:00.000-05:00

We went to the Humanitarian Bowl and watched our Idaho Vandals WIN against Bowling Green, 43-42, with a 2-point conversion in the last 4 seconds to win. It was the BEST football game I have ever watched, even though it was weird watching Vandals play on Smurf Turf (BSU's Bronco Stadium).

day #363

2009-12-30T00:22:00.000-05:00

Kevin and I made it to Boise. We opened presents from his dad and dad's wife and Kevin got Firefly on DVD! It's our new favorite TV show. I got some amazing lotion and body wash and an Amazon gift card :) I'm going to order some books to read!

day #362

2009-12-28T22:28:00.001-05:00

I made Kevin a ninja pillow to match the shirt I designed for him a couple years ago :) It was going to be a Christmas present, but I just didn't get it done, but oh well!

Tomorrow we are headed to Boise for the Humanitarian Bowl (the Vandals are playing!) and then we will spend most of the rest of Christmas break with Kevin's parents.

day #361

2009-12-28T00:39:00.001-05:00

Smokey and I watched the birds outside eating the bird feed I put out for them.

day #360

2009-12-27T01:24:00.000-05:00

We got Dad a new computer! It's sort of his Christmas present. His old one was SOOOO outdated, and it could hardly function. This one is SO fast!

day #359

2009-12-26T01:42:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Ironically, Amy and I both got Brad a hat clip light for Christmas. It just so happens, however, that one clips on top and the other clips on bottom, so he can wear both at once :D (and it doesn't look ridiculous AT ALL... ;))

day #358

2009-12-25T01:51:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve! This was my favorite picture of the day (that I took).

day #357

2009-12-24T00:23:00.000-05:00

My Grandma Seeley's Christmas tree - it's fiber optic!