I survived!

Physical Therapy school started last Monday, and I managed to survive the entire first week. For awhile it seemed unlikely, but now there's only 16 more weeks in the semester (yes, we already have a countdown going)! All the PT students take the same classes as a group, so the 50 of us will grow to be a family (hopefully, a happy one). We are all taking 18 credit hours - anatomy, physiology and foundations of PT. I think this is deceptive though, because anatomy is secretly 5 classes - anatomy (lecture, lab and living portions), embryology, and neuroscience. We started right in on our cadaver dissection on Monday and currently have all the skin removed from the back, chest and upper arm - let me tell you that's a lot of muscles, nerves and blood vessels to learn in a week. Because our anatomy and physiology grades are based solely on tests with no assignments, etc. it's a little hard to figure out how, what and how much to study. But I've kinda come up with a plan this weekend and hope to stick with it and see how well it works for the first test (a mere two weeks from tomorrow). In living anatomy (where you have a partner that you essentially feel up to identify landmarks in a living person) on Friday, the professor was walking around observing. We all had our shirts off since we were looking/feeling the back and shoulder region. The professor, who has been teaching anatomy for 55 years, came up and pointed to my stomach and said "what's that?" I realized he was pointing to the healing incisions from my gallbladder surgery and I replied with "gallbladder." He said "why?!" I replied with "gallstones" and he looking aghast said "at your age?!" I said "yes" and explained that I had a long family history of gallstones, but I was still semi-amused at his reaction.

Before classes started I finished Arch-shaped Sock #1. I am of course suffering from second sock syndrome (SSS) and broke my number one rule for preventing SSS by not immediately casting on the second sock after finishing the first. The toe ended up very square which I'm not thrilled about but the pattern was not spectacularly clear and I don't feel like ripping back to try and change it, so it will stay square. I also feel like these socks (because they are made with sport weight yarn) will be boot socks not shoe socks, so I won't have to worry about trying to shove the extra bulk into the toe of a shoe.

While I was school supply shopping at Target, I walked passed the scrap-booking isle (which usually presents no problems for me as I have yet to get into scrap-booking), but they had a small area of clearance jewelry making supplies
that screamed at me. Jewelry was another hobby that I had managed to avoid getting into, but the birdcage pendant caught my eye and then I had to figure out what else they had that I could use to make awesome jewelry cause it was all so cheap and then I got home with all of this and was $25 poorer and couldn't understand how I lost all self-control. But, hopefully, when I have time, (aka three years from now) I can make some pretty awesome jewelry. This same DIY and save money urge came over me while I was looking at big hair accessories (like the one I MacGyver'd for Diana's wedding) at stores and being shocked at the price for how cheaply made they were. So, I now also have a bag of fake flowers, feathers, felt, etc. to make hair accessories, but seeing as I probably won't make them anytime soon they aren't really doing me a whole lot of good :-(.

The most exciting thing, though, is my finished Hyrna Herborgar!!! There's not much I can say about it, that isn't expressed in how beautiful it is, so just admire it and then try to resist spending the $65 on the book. Hard isn't it? Granted the picture is kinda crappy but that's what happens when you take it off the blocking boards at 11:30pm. Hopefully I can get some cool outdoors pictures or something soon. I told Timm he needs to come down and go to a fancy restaurant with me so I have an excuse to wear it, although I'm considering just wearing it to classes tomorrow, just gotta figure out what I can wear it with that will do it justice.


Well, I need to get back to studying; Voodoo keeps assisting me (by laying across my books) Today, he tried to attack and eat the pencil I was using. I keep trying to move him to my lap, but he insist that the books are more comfortable.

Wish me luck on week 2 and the forearm muscles (which there are waaaaaayyyy too many of, I don't care if they help me knit, it's just obnoxious)!