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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Have ever been a witness to someones life that you just knew was going to end up bad? It could be someone in the public eye, a neighbor, coworker, or just someone you knew of. But you could tell if they continued the lifestyle they were living it would lead to one of three results: 1) prison, 2) death, or 3) both. I was witness to one such young man recently. I didn’t know him. He was the neighbor of a family member that I visit regularly (I visit the family member, not the neighbor). Ever since this young man and his family moved in it has been clear that he was headed in a bad direction. Numerous visits in the middle of the night from the police. I would watch him and his buddies getting drunk on their porch and raising all sorts of hell: loud music, arguments, fights, cars squealing tires in the middle of the night. I knew from a friend of mine who happens to be on the police force in this town I’m speaking of, that this fellow was no stranger to them. Auto theft, drugs, simple battery were among some of his hobbies. This kind of life was only going to lead to bad unless something drastically changed.
Today I watched as the medical examiner wheeled him out in a body bag. I don’t know how he died, but I have a good suspicion. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young man and his family as they watched him being loaded up into a van. I began to pray. Then a since of real shame came over me. Why had I never thought to pray for this young man before today? I knew that if something didn’t change this could happen. I talked about it before with my wife. “He’s going to end up in prison or dead soon” I would say. I would even tell my family member, “Once he goes to prison you won’t have to put up with this crap anymore (referring to the loud drunken parties on the porch).” But even so, it never occurred to me to pray for him until today. Why? I say all the time that no one is so bad that they’re out of God’s reach. There are examples all over the bible. The Apostle Paul himself was a great persecutor of the early church and Christians. I am ashamed of myself today.
I started this blog for friends and family to be able to keep up with the goings on in the Bobo household. Soon it became an outlet for me to share my thoughts on current events and even use it as a sort of online journal. It is basically all things pertaining to the life and times of me. Since starting my Watkins business, I have incorporated some of it into this blog. But I really don’t want this to be an outlet for that, even though that is part of my life now. This blog is to remain a personal outlet for me to express thoughts and feelings and such.
So I have started another blog dedicated to my Watkins business. I even purchased a domain name for it. Brace yourselves, my creative juices were in overdrive when I bought it: bradleybobo.com. Head on over and check it out sometime.
I got a new grill for my birthday and I’ve been breaking it in a lot recently. The latest recipe I tried this week was one for kebabs (Recipe is here). They were goood! A little warning though, they’ve got a kick to them.
While listening to Daniel’s prayer this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder if the United States has lost favor with our Lord. I’m not comparing our current state with that of Jerusalem’s, but I’m just wondering. I know our country has been through hard times before, and I’m sure people have thought the same thing. Have we as a nation rebelled against our Lord? Is there a lesson to be learned from these hard times so many of us are experiencing? Is it time we as a nation set our face toward the Lord and seek him by prayer and supplications (Daniel 9:3)?
I believe that now more than ever is the time, regardless of who you voted for, to pray for our leaders in Washington. It’s not just what I think, it’s biblical.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (English Standard Version)
Pray for All People
1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
1949 Ford F1 Pickup
I got a new grill for my birthday and I’ve been breaking it in a lot recently. The latest recipe I tried this week was one for kebabs (Recipe is
