And I though A&P was tough…

College Algebra is kicking my butt!!! Holy cow… I just don’t get it. I’m also taking Medical Terminology this quarter. And I have started a new job. So there is not much time for blogging these days. Hopefully soon.

Until then… later my friends.

Waterlogged

Check out this slide show from the floods in Georgia.

Your Flooding Pictures .

Brain Freeze

I’m finally done with Anatomy & Physiology! Today was the final for A&P 2. I studied my butt off for the past two weeks and managed to get a 93 on the written portion of the final, an 88 on the lab portion. The written portion is the biggie. After failing the final for A&P 1 and dropping my final grade from an “A” to a “C”, I am super pleased with this quarter.  My final grade for this quarter was an 89.8. I’m a little disappointed with that… I mean .2 away from an “A”. But I was determined not to fail this final. It has been on my mind for the past three months. So even though I got a “B” in the class, I got my “A” on the final.

I had told myself on the way to the school that if I passed, I would treat myself to a Chick-Fil-A milkshake. These things are so good, they could be illegal. I hesitated afterward, I’ve been trying to behave, but I went and got my reward anyway. Of course I drank it down so fast I repeatedly got a brain freeze.  I would wait until it passed and then do it again.  I can’t help myself, these things are so good.

I’m Working My Way Back

I’ve been absent from here for a while for a few reasons: school, life, and a bit of a “funk” I have landed in. This one has been particularly bad. I guess the reality and uncertainty of everything finally caught up with me. I’m really not sure what triggered it. One day I seemed fine, and then suddenly I was experiencing some severe anxiety. I couldn’t sleep no matter what I tried. I was getting maybe one of two hours a night. If you’ve never experienced insomnia, it’s kind of like getting the rug pulled out from under you. It’s a vicious cycle. The less sleep you get, the more you know you need sleep. The more you think about it, the less sleep your gonna get.

It finally got bad enough that I listened to my wife and went to see a doctor. She was great. Not like doctors I’ve experienced in the passed. She actually took time to talk with me and not just hand me a prescription and boot me out the door.  Oh, I got the prescriptions too (one for sleep, one for anxiety\depression). But talking things out with someone really helped as well.  I looked into getting some counseling, but under our current situation we can’t afford it. But the medicine seems to be helping a lot, anxiety level is way down. I have good days and bad days, mostly good. I wish I could say my sleep was back to normal. It is better. I’m at least getting five to six a night. There is something about 4 am though, I seem to wake up at 4am like clockwork. Not sure what that’s all about.

Things are looking up. I’m doing well in Anatomy & Physiology this quarter. Despite this little episode I’ve still managed to keep an “A” average. I also got a part-time job. Something I’m looking forward to. I know this may make studying a little harder, but I think I need to get back into the workforce (even if it is only part-time).  Football season has started. That is always a mood lifter for me. Although as a lifelong Atlanta Falcons fan, that can change in a hurry.

I almost forgot; I quit taking my pain management medication. I feel great. My back actually feels better now that I have kicked the pain meds. I think the weaning process may have intensified this funk, but I am so glad to be done with that crap. I have also managed to lose 12 pounds, which is good for the old back. Partly because I lacked any appetite for a couple of weeks. But now that the appetite has returned I am making an effort to make better choices in my eating.  Next step is to increase the exercise.  The lack of decent sleep is making for low energy levels though. But I’m going to try and do it anyway and maybe that will help with the sleeping.  I just gotta make myself do it.

All that said, I’m glad to be back.

And the Beat Goes On…

Last quarter I struggled with Anatomy & Physiology 1.  It was a ton of information to digest in a short amount of time. On top of that I had a demanding math class as well, Quantitative Skills & Reasoning. I managed to keep an A in A&P until the final which I blew and dropped my final grade to a C. So this quarter I decided to concentrate solely on A&P 2 and redeem myself for last quarter.

Once again I have underestimated how demanding my classes will be. I thought for sure taking only the one class would be so much easier for me.  And I guess it is because I couldn’t imagine having to take another class on top of this one. Anatomy and Physiology is such a demanding class. I spend 4 to 6 hours a day studying. I have had to get a white board out and write down a daily schedule for me and my girls to keep me (and them) on track for getting my tasks done from day to day. So far so good.  They have been very helpful and know that when it is time for daddy’s class, they play by themselves or with each other and leave daddy alone with his books and computer. It helps having the schedule up because they know when it is play time they have my undivided attention during that time.

Some cool stuff this quarter is I am getting to put some of what I’ve been learning about to work. Not literally work, but I have begun a dissection of a cat this quarter. I know gross, but it was cool to see some of what I have studied in front of me. To see the different layers of tissue. Connective tissue looks very similar to spider webs. I got to see the different types of muscle tissue and fibers. That’s as far as we got this week, next week we will open it up and study the internal organs and systems. I also got to go down to the lab where my sister works and look at some blood cells I have been studying.  It’s one thing to read about them in a book, it’s another to put them under a microscope and take a look for yourself. It was also very helpful to have someone knowledgeable sit with me and explain everything I was looking at.

So while this quarter is yet again challenging, I am having a ball. I can’t wait to actually get into my program of study. I know it is going to be another challenge but I am really looking forward to it.  So much better that being stuck in the rut I was in for so long.

Temporary Bachelor

This week the girls have been in Kentucky vacationing with one Kari’s older brothers and his family. The question I’ve gotten most this week is, “Are you enjoying the peace and quiet this week?” ; or “Are you enjoying being a bachelor this week?” The answer I give seems to come as a surprise to those who posed the question. The honest answer is… NO. I am not enjoying being a bachelor. If I enjoyed being a bachelor I would have never gotten married.

Now if I’m being totally honest, I do enjoy some times when I get the house to myself for a couple of hours while the girls go to a friends or to a movie. But I always like to have them home with me at night; or at least be with me where ever that may be. They all come home tomorrow and I can’t wait.

Funny How We Change With Age

In my youth, if you asked me what my dream car was; I wouldn’t have hesitated… Laborghini Countach

Ask me today….

1949 Ford F1 Pickup

On the Road Again

I’m back in full studying mode again, so I don’t get a chance to get on here as much to post. My last post mentioned a possible change in direction. The change I was referring to is a change in schools and a change in my program of study. Back when I first decided to change careers and get into the medical field, I wanted to get into Ultrasonagraphy (Ultra Sound)… Cardiovascular Ultrasonography in particular. When my mom had her heart attack I did some studying of the heart and was fascinated by it. My Aunt introduced me to the idea of Cardiovascular Ultrasonography. You see, she works for the Cardiologist who saved my mom’s life. (That was a story worthy of a post someday)Dad’s subsequent bypass surgery and this quarters study of the cardiovascular system has only strengthened this fascination and desire to get into some mode health-care pertaining to the heart.

The problem with my plan was I couldn’t find any school in Georgia that had an Ultrasound program. I was advised to go into a Radiography program and then work my way into on the job training.  This was cool with me because I am also fascinated by Orthopedics. My back condition has exposed me to many modalities in Radiologic technology: MRI, CT,Myelograms, floroscopy. All fascinating stuff.

About two weeks ago my wife came home telling me about a school in Atlanta that a noncompetitive MRI program. All other programs in GA. including the one I have been working toward are competitive entrance programs. At the information meeting held a few months back I sat in a room with about 150 other prospective Rad Tech students hoping to get one of the 17 available slots that open every fall. This new school that my wife told me about is a private school, not state funded.  They do not use a competitive entrance. You pay the tuition… your in, providing there is room for you. If the class is full, they move you back until the next class starts. Instead of one class starting every fall, they start classes 3 times a year. The real exiting part of this school for me is they have an Ultrasound program which allows me to study cardiovascular ultrasonography in particular. So if all goes well I will be transferring to this school in January after completion of my core classes.

Another Curve in the Road of Life

In the life and times of me, things can and often do change abruptly. I’m off to meet with someone today and if all goes well, the course I’ve been steering this past year could change in the very near future. Not necessarily to a different goal, just a different route to get there.

To be continued…

Friday Flashback

Certain songs have a way of taking me back in time in my mind. This song for instance takes me back 11 years when this song was all over the radio. I had recently started a new job as an electronics technician which I was studying in school. I was making the most money I had ever made to that point (It wasn’t a lot, but it was the most I had ever made). I was working with a cool bunch of guys and we had a blast in our little cubby hole (we had modified a little hallway in the back of the building as our repair department). I had just started dating the girl of my dreams, who a year later would become my wife. Life was good. And it has only gotten better.

One Week by the Barenaked Ladies was all over the radio back then and it when I hear it today it always brings me back to those days. (I heard it today if you haven’t guessed already).