The Changing Wind

..."The Winds of Change" would've been better. Still, catchy title, right? Really draws you in...

I'm going to call it! Today, on the Somethingth of April in the year two-thousand and oh nine, Summer has come to the shores of Maine. Let us rejoice and be glad.

Studying this afternoon on my private beach (empty beach), the sun beat down on my tepid chest and stray nipple hairs as I flipped through last block's Bacteriology notes. After a half hour or so, a chilly breeze riffled through the pages and I looked up to find patchy clouds disrupting my otherwise even burn. I put on a shirt and blanketed my legs FDR style before flipping forward to more current notes and continuing.

The weather was still declining when I saw a line of dark clouds migrating in from the ocean. The temperature had already dropped from 85ish to low 70's, so I planned to head in whenever the shadows reached the shore. A few minutes later I checked again and the sky was the same: sunlight on one side; clouds on the other. A few minutes later: the same. What had once been two undulating currents of sky were now frozen in flight. Just hanging out.

Hmph.

I was getting tired of all this waiting. Had this been a cloudless July afternoon, I'd've been inside twenty minutes ago studying with Dr. Beam, but there's something about a sliver of springtime summer that makes you want to take in every photon. So I stayed. Waiting.

With a tinkling, the sand around me began to move. I looked up: The sky had changed. It seems the dark clouds had won the battle and were pushing on toward shore - a meteorological Normandy in the making. I began to gather my things when thwap! A river of hot air hit me square in the chest. Looking up, confused, the current swept my fedora away with it and sent me running. When I returned with my hat a few moments later, squinting against the wind, I realized my notes had been swept away as well. Awesome.

Collecting my my own personal brand of High-Maintenance, I flopped back down in my low-rider beach chair. Wondering. The dark clouds were moving fast now, overtaking the shore like a stampede and bringing with it this intense heat. Curious that a cloud-laden wind blowing in from the sea should be this warm...

Too windy to leave them on the beach, I brought my things inside and went back for a walk. It was glorious. The 90 degree wind was blowing harder than before, sandblasting my already inflamed skin and fighting my eyelids for sclera. I was standing at the crease between Hot and Cold fronts and, quite literally, reaping the whirlwind. It was fantastic.

As accomplished pre-frontal lobers, we're pretty good at predicting the future. We see the signs, pick the outcome that fits our experience, and watch the inevitable unfold.

Today was a nice reminder that dark clouds don't always bring with them the cold and wet.

Sometimes they bring Summer.

Tween Bots

This is a neat story.

A Candid Shot from the BacT Lab

Just a friendly reminder to always get a second opinion when diagnosed with a medical condition: Here's a shot from the bacteriology lab* at UNE:





That's right! There's E. coli! There's N. gonorrhea! And, that polka dotted gem to the right is a respiratory infection resistant to 9 out of the 12 of the antibiotics we tested on it!

As for the small culture on the final "S" of the Hershey's bar, I'm gonna call that one Neisseria gonorrhea. Who can tell me why???








(*To be fair, this was a learning lab populated by untrained first year medical students NOT laboratory trained technitions. Still, when you find yourself sore of throat and rapid-strep-test negative,

request a culture...)

.

The Soloist:

Harry Potter Trailer. Neat!

The Placebo Journal

Ever wonder what happens to narcotics at night?
(Click Here to find out!)

I Take It Back

After failing Immunology, I need to study my ass off. I'll be back in just over ten days.

Anyone wanna study with me?

Hey all,

I'm finding myself a little sluggish getting back into writing after my last set of exams. If you're a med student you know what this is like. It's in part a creative slump, but there's this phenomenon among us students of humanity where in the curse of learning (i meant to write "course of learning" but i'll leave it...) we lose our vocabulary. *poof* it's gone. The end. Game over.

Over the summer, I hope I can find a few of the missing words.

Until then, anyone have a jumping-off point or writing assignment for me?

Today's Exam an Hour Later - the facebook Files:

Sue wow...what was that? I feel like I got hit with a baseball bat made of drugs&bugs!

Katie thinks that if they curve today's exam, she might pass.

Lauren need to forget that happened... a walk in biddo pool maybe? dinner out? drinks?? hmmm.

Elizabeth is really looking forward to spending the long weekend with the family :).

Tyler well that exam sucked...long weekend woooo.

Cathy is looking forward to watching the sun come up while she's driving.

Emily intends to spend the next 72 hours not thinking.

Andy is done, feeling like I might . . . MIGHT . . . have passed everything.'

Michelle is having a mid afternoon beer....oh wait - is it even noon

(that last one was a spouse. lucky...)

Oh well,

chalk that one up to a learning experience and move on. Wait. I should have phrased it: a lack of learning experience.

Still,

drinks are on me. Wait. I should have phrased it: drinks are in me.

Still,

I wish you all a very good Friday.

Creation

I shall call you, "Blinkers McGee!"

Jon is a testee...

It's another block exam week, friends, and I'm a schtudying...

But,

Here's a clinical pearl: a patient presents with high fever and no other symptoms. What is it?

Herpes 6 or Roseola. They only get skin symptoms after the fever breaks.

In the words of Matt Libby:
"You know, when she gets all rashy and isn't hot any more?"

So, yeah, gnaw on that for a while.

Dr. Me

"Dr." Kate

Dr. Walter

Dr. Nick, The Phantom Limb

Frank Willard

Dr. Scotty

Dr. Gil
(Sorry, Gil, Family Medicine was taken.)

Dr. Andy

Could Be Dr. You!
(And your hyphenated last name...)

War and Whatnot

(Actual Cost of Iraq War on Your Community)