The move...

July 14th--> July 30, 2006

Hello everyone!

I just got my new cable services, so I am finally able to make an entry and add an entry to the “chronicles” :o)

So after a long tiring week I am finally all moved in to my new apartment. It definitely has been loads of hard work, but well worth it…

Summer session ended on Thursday the 20th. After class in the morning we had a quiz, and then later on a farewell party. Oh my, the food was excellent!!! I just love cheese! The party was real fun, it was nice to see everyone for one last time. Later on that day, I went to help Dr. K with a research project she is working on. She needed people to help her with her wording of the questions—I did just that, it was fun. For all the help, she gave us a small gift certificate at Barnes and Noble, and I decided to give it to Omer.

On Friday I went with Vega and KC to Dr. K (a different Dr. K) the veterinarian. I got some calming medications for the cats (which we ended up not using), one last check up for Vega and weighing for KC. Dr. K said they were both nice and healthy and ready for the move.

On Friday night I continued packing, and did just that on Saturday. On Sunday Omer flew in, and I picked him up at the airport, stopped to get some food for home and enjoyed a small lunch at ‘Applebees.’ Omer was excited about helping me with the move, but was worried about his cat allergies. As it turned out, the Benadryl worked great, but sure made him sleepy.

On Monday morning, I showed Omer around my school and said last goodbyes to the wonderful Dr. Cole and Dorothy. At around 10am we went to get the rental truck. …then we couldn’t avoid it anylonger… we had to work…

OY! Packing wasn’t too bad, but fitting everything into the truck (in essence playing “Tetris” in the real world), lifting and carrying was pretty hectic. We got almost everything in, and had a few leftovers for Tuesday morning. We were both tired and fell asleep really fast.

On Tuesday morning (my move out day) we got up at about 6am to finish the last moving bits… Well, it is amazing how the few little things I had left took us over three hours to finish fitting into the truck. By 10:00 I was ready to check out, and so we put the cats into their carrier (they were most unhappy by it, and the minute I opened the carrier door to give them some water they ran straight back into the now-empty apartment.

In anycase, we finished my walk-through with one of the people from the front office, and I promised them I’ll come say hi during graduation week in two years… Then I went downstairs to the loading-dock, put the cats in the car, said goodbye to Sasha, Phuc and Vivien who were all standing there, and took off.

On the first day of drive we drove all the way to Indianapolis. The drive was easy, but long, and when we got to our hotel, we were both pretty tired. That night, the cats decided to hide under the hotel beds.

The next morning, Omer and I had a nice breakfast (gotta love motel waffles!), we managed to get the cats from under the bed and then took off again, driving across gorgeous Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania (we were in that state for a really long time) and finally, New Jersey. We found our hotel, but this time around the hotel were smart and put a surrounding area around the bed to prevent any pets from going under the beds… Well… that didn’t work too well, because KC found a small hole and hid under the bed again.

Well, this time we decided to go to a nearby restaurant, which happened to be Applebees again… We were both tired of sandwiches and snacks. When we came back to the room, we convinced KC to come out. When he came out he brought with him a big ball of human hair…. EWWWWW!!! GROSS!!! Omer threw it away and I was revolted. Blah! Well, we then managed to block the hole and KC had no choice but to join Vega in the room.

Both of the cats did extremely well on this trip. They did not need any calming medications. KC sat in the small litter box I put in, and Vega sat on top of the upper shelf I built for them. They meowed only when the calming sound of Jim Dale reading “Harry Potter and the Half Blooded Prince” ceased. I did not mind listening to Harry Potter on a CD all the way to NJ, and the ‘Furry Bunch’ needed that noise to calm them down.

The next morning I moved to my new apartment, and this was the hardest day of the whole trip!!! Although my electricity was working, the apartment was very very hot and the air conditioning was not working properly. With 97 degrees outside and about 100% humidity, I thought I was literally going to melt. It was horrid.

We got everything put into the apartment (that was much easier than fitting everything into the truck), and then we started cleaning and building. Omer built my bed while I was cleaning the bathroom. Both Omer and I had flushed faces, and we were just miserable! I couldn’t hold the frustration down anymore and shed a few tears—Omer was quite abashed by my ‘girly’ behavior, and I had to explain that this is how I take my frustration out. But all in all, during the moving in day I just wanted to go back to my very bad neighborhood in Kansas City! I really did not want to clean other people’s dirt.

I don’t know about you, but if the dirt is mine, I don’t mind it, but if it is someone elses… well… I hate it and have to clean very thoroughly. And so I did…

The next morning we continued… I cleaned the kitchen, which was just awful… someone had a food explosion in there, and I cleaned every last bit of it. During that time, Omer was putting together my living room and computer area. By the end of the day we had put almost everything in place. I still had a few boxes that needed to be put in place, and a few more small cleaning projects, but overall, the place looked definitely livable. Before dinner we drove down to my new hospital and I got very excited about it. It is one of the rotation sites where we will end up at. It is fairly close to my place, which is nice… We ended up eating in Olive Garden again… we both like Italian dishes. Then we decided to drive up to the mall and were quite disturbed to see a ‘dying mall’… basically, no cars, very few open stores… very scary!

The next morning, Omer and I drove to the airport, and I said a sad goodbye to my brother who has been just wonderful during this move! Then he went on his flight and I drove back home… I was amazed I did not get lost and then I continued with my cleaning projects.

Today (Sunday), I finally finished all that was needed to be done. All the dirt is now mine (well… hopefully), everything is put away and any mess that I have here is mine! This is much better!!!

I actually enjoy living in the suburbs… it is nice! And now my apartment looks really nice and it feels like home again. My cats are not in hiding any longer, and are actually playing, which is just great. Overall, this wasn’t too bad!

Well… That is it for now.

I hope you all had a great two weeks—
I’ll write soon later,

Love,

Reut

From here on, these are new entries.

Wow... transfering the blog portion of the old website took a long time... I had to fiddle around with the spacing until I got it right.

Anyhow, this tiny post is just a separation of the old postings from the new ones.

Well, it is getting way too late at the moment, so I am off to bed,

I'll write a real entry tomorrow.

Night!

Reut

July 2006

Monday, July 17, 2006
3 more days until summer session is over :o) !
07-09-06-->07-14-06

Hello everyone!

We are really almost done with 2nd year… it is really exciting! We have three more days of school, and for me, an additional selective class day. I am very excited to be moving on to 3rd year.

Let’s see… This week was a bit slow. On Monday I had my sign language class and my Spanish class. It was just a very long day. I think no class should be taught for more than 2 hours max. 4 hours of Spanish just kills me! My brain fights any new information after the 2 hour mark, and then it just gets to be a drag.

On Tuesday, we had CV cases, and my group was not called. That is too bad, because we were very prepared. We then had a HIPAA lecture, and an OSHA/Bloodborne pathogens presentation. During lunch time we had a lecture about how to use the new computer system for next year (they fed us lunch). Then we had a very long “Parenteral Nutrition/ Hyperalimentation” lecture. It lasted for 4 hours, and by 5pm I was so tired that I couldn’t even think straight.

On Wednesday morning we had two pediatric pain control lectures. It was very interesting, in my opinion. Then we went through Human development cases, and yet again, we were not called to go up there and present. This was followed by an hour and a half of a lecture about how we need to take care of ourselves.

Thursday started of with two ethic lectures. Followed by “The impaired Physician” lecture. Interesting, but… well… I was tired during that day. We then had two hours of a panel that consisted of two lawyers, a risk management person, a physician, and a philosopher. They all talked about what happens if you make a mistake. It was definitely an eye opener. Very informative and important. We then had GI cases, and yet again our group was not called up. THEN… we had a short COMLEX PE review.

Today (Friday), I woke up very early and practiced my sign language conversation and then helped my friend Katie move some of her things down to her car. Later on, I went to my sign language class. Also today, I said goodbye to Dorothy. She is going on a vacation, and by the time she comes back, I will already be gone.

Well… and that is truly the extent of my week,

Only one more thing—I passed the USMLE!! Now I am waiting the results for the COMLEX (which will be given sometimes in the middle of September to the beginning of October.)

That’s all folks!

Talk soon,

Reut
17 jul 06 @ 5:17 pm

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Saturday, July 8, 2006
you know they need to give you more homework when you have the time to learn how to say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" backwards...
06-30-06 -->07-08-06

Hello everyone!

This past week has been nice and semi-relaxed, which was great! I left you off right before Friday. That day was quite busy. I met up with one of my group members and did two cases together with her. I’m glad we did because we got it done, and it was nice to be prepared well in advance. Following our 4 hour meeting, I went to the library to use their fax and contacted my new apartment complex and received the lease from them. I have to sign it and it will all be official. It is very nice to know where I am going to be moving to in less then a month… I’m very excited! After that I rushed back home to get ready for Julia and Riley’s wedding.

Their wedding was not far from Wichita, Kansas, and it was about three hours drive from here. I drove together with my friend Ayo, and another friend, Chei Hsin (sorry, I misspelled that for sure, phonetically it is pronounced: Jay-Shen) rode in another car in front of us. We ended up splitting in the middle of the way, because I chose another route and haven’t quite discussed it with Chei-Hsin, but we all made it there on time, and it was not a big deal. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and we stayed there until they cut the cake, and then drove back home.

The 4th of July weekend is a bit hazy. I slept a whole lot and worked on more cases… I also read a few books, but all in all, it was just a very relaxing wonderful weekend. The only annoying thing was that all across my very bad neighborhood, people were putting their own personal 4th of July fireworks display until 4AM… it was quite scary, as I was certain one of the buildings will catch on fire. Even as we speak, almost a whole week later, I can hear the fireworks exploding just down the street. Apparently people have loads of them left to keep exploding until the end of the summer.

The week started on Wednesday with Neuro and Renal cases. We were not called up front again, which makes the likelihood of our group been chosen for GI, Cardio and Reproductive cases much higher. I was very prepared for these cases and was a bit disappointed not to have been chosen to go up there. You know how it works… when you are ready, you are not called, but when you are unprepared, you are sure to be called… ugg.

Then on Thursday we had a quiz… I am not quite sure what to think about it, so I’ll wait until the results are back to even worry. We then had a short “Staying out of Trouble” lecture and then we watched the movie “Wit” with the wonderful Emma Thompson. This movie was all about the grueling journey of a patient together with a very medically-oriented-humanity-lacking medical staff.

“Wit” had moved me. What an amazing movie. Nevertheless, I had a very difficult time sitting all the way through it. Let’s just say that crying in public is NOT what I choose to do in my free time… OY! It was important to see this movie, but really… they should have told us what the movie was about… Knowing ahead of time might have prevented my snotty nose and puffy eyes from occurring in the first place (probably not, as I cry at all sad movies.) I don’t think I will be able to sit through this movie again anytime soon, but I think I could manage reading the play, so I might have to check it out of the library and read it to get a second look at all the difficult topics this movie brought.

Okay, after this we had an ethic lecture that was all about stem-cell research and stuff. I was still thinking about the movie, so I didn’t pay too much attention, but that’s okay.

On Friday we started earlier than normal. We made up the Sign Language class that was canceled on Monday, and then we had Spanish. The night before, my friend James had very slowly taught me how to conjugate the verb ‘Estar’ in Spanish. So now I know: Estoy, estas, esta, estan, estamos… etc. (misspelled again, but you’ll forgive me). I was so happy to finally understand it. I guess I just needed a friend to go slowly over this with me! Sheesh! As a result, the class on Friday was much better than the first one last week… It is still difficult to sit for 4 hours straight in a completely new language. I think my brain shuts down after about two hours.

Well, today was not as productive as I wanted it to be. I cleaned the house, played with my two fur-balls did laundry and… fell asleep on top of the very warm ‘straight out of the dryer’ clothes for about two and a half hours. Oh man. I guess we can say that watching another Emma Thompson movie, this time a nice comedy—Nanny McPhee, and learning how to say “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” backwards (“Dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupus”) were also some very ‘interesting’ things I manage to have done today :o) (they need to give us more homework!)

The only other big news this week is that I received another scholarship! I am much honored be the recipient of the Arizona Silver Anniversary Scholarship (through USA Funds).

That’s about it,

Loads of kisses from here,

Reut
8 jul 06 @ 10:03 pm

June 2006

Thursday, June 29, 2006
It sure is hot in Arizona!
06-19-06--> 06-29-06

Hello everyone,

The past ten days have been pretty exciting, we have some really cool stuff during summer session, and overall I am having a good time :o)

The most important thing is that we had Suture lab a week ago. Basically, we were taught (pretty much one on one) how to tie sutures (stitches). We used “sterile chicken” and basically made incisions in the piece of meat we got and then sutured it up! I absolutely loved it!!! They taught us pretty well, and I caught on pretty fast. It was almost therapeutic to sit there for a good hour and put stitches in and then cut them out… After a while someone showed me how to make square knots while using just the hands without the needle driver and the addson (not sure about the spelling here...). Hans showed me how to tie in this way about 7 months ago, and although since then I forgot the sequence, it came back so easily!

On Wednesday we had Anesthesia lectures… I don’t think I want to do anesthesia… there is too much simple arithmetic involved, and I am just not good at it! OY! During that afternoon we had complementary and alternative medicine lectures—to tell you the truth, I forgot what we learned there, so I better go and review my notes before our quiz… Later on during the afternoon, we reviewed and completed our Endocrine cases.

On Thursday morning, we had our endocrine cases—our group was not chosen again (but we will be soon), and it was actually a really good review! Dr. P and Dr. P want us to truly understand, and it was a calm learning environment. I really appreciated it. Afterwards, we had a lecture about how to survive in surgery rotation. I never thought I’d be interested in surgery, but… I am very intrigued and this is a potential avenue I might explore! During the afternoon we had an ethic lecture which was interesting. And then we had a lecture on how to present a pt to the doctor… I was pretty tired by that point but decided to stick around and get important pointers for next year. I’m glad I stayed…

On Friday morning I cleaned my apartment because it looked like a tornado went through it… I also packed and got ready to fly home to Arizona for the weekend. You can imagine how impatient I was to sit in class and wait until it was over so I could drive to the airport and fly home.

Home was absolutely wonderful!!! I got there on Friday afternoon, and Omer picked me up from the airport, then we got home and I got to meet the new addition to the family—Sancho-Pancho is our new dog’s new name. Our family really struggled with naming him, but finally dad (I think) came up with Sancho-Pancho, which has so much character. If you remember, Sancho-Pancho followed Don-Quixote on a donkey and believed all of the bizarre tales that Don-Quixote came up with…

In anycase, Sancho is smaller than my cats, he weighs about 7lbs and he is a Chihuahua mix. He was so afraid of me that he barked for about 20 minutes until he got used to me. He is just hysterical! I had a good time playing with him… He makes the funniest sounds when he chases the big red ball… to give you a clue to how funny it sounds, Saba Tzvika said that over the phone it sounded like a chicken! :o) Midnight isn’t jealous of Sancho-Pancho, but he gets more one on one attention time because we all don’t want him to feel neglected in any way.

On Saturday, dad went to donate blood at the donation center, and mom and I went with him. They have such a great need for blood that as my pathology professor ERF said: “If you can give blood and you don’t, you are a jerk!” This is so true! I did not donate at that point, but I am planning to find a center with platelets so I can donate the (also) much needed platelets.

On Sunday we stayed home and got all the supplies and materials for the chicken wire we had to put outside to prevent Sancho from running away. It was too hot to actually work… we had to wait until 5am the next morning to get that done… Dad and I put the whole fence in two mornings and it was really great fun! I really like our home improvement projects! I have learned so much, and I can basically do anything at the home with the exception of electricity, which I didn’t get to see yet, and plumbing (installing toilets and sinks). I’m sure there are other things I haven’t done yet, but we really did many projects up to this point that I feel like I can do almost anything without too much trouble!

On Monday we finished the fence and then basically the whole day sort of slipped by and by the time Tuesday came, I remembered to show mom my Spanish notebook… Too bad I didn’t do it earlier, because practicing Spanish with mom was great fun, and well… I am not too good at it yet and need all the practice I can get.

That afternoon I flew home and landed at Kansas City back at around 11pm or so. During the flight I finally got to my school work… I had to memorize a few algorithms for the ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) course that we had the next day. Oh boy, I am sure glad I memorized everything!!! The next morning I went down to Deepa’s apartment and she quizzed me over it until I felt confident. At 1pm I went to school and our very long day begun… We learned almost everything we needed to know about how to run a code in the hospital—how to analyze cardiac rhythms, know when to shock a patient and when not to. We learned what medications we needed to give, when and at what dosage and duration. We learned many things, and by 6pm my brain was saturated. After dinner break we were called in for a written examination, and then after we were done, we went upstairs to run a mega-code… basically, what it means is that they simulate a real life situation and we have to decide how to treat the patient. It was really fun, and even though I was a bit nervous, I did well. Yes, I forgot a few things, but any mistake on a dummy is better than mistakes on real people!!! :o)

I got home at around 10pm and went straight to bed!

Today I woke up super early to review my soap note formation. I pretty much remembered it, but wanted to make sure I covered the tiny details… At 7:30 I went to school and at 8 o’clock we started our interviews. This was the first interview I tried something new… when I had to perform treatment, I used that time to talk with the patient and explain to them what I was doing and why I was doing it. It was really interesting, because my simulated patients responded with questions and played along with it :o) I also realized I enjoyed treating the elderly patients much more than the average middle age person… so there, I might have to try and get a geriatrics rotation during 3rd or 4th year... Basically at this point I am finding out what I like and what I don’t like… but next year will be the point where I will figure out what I really want to do…

Tomorrow I am going to my friend’s Julia’s wedding which is at Wichita, KS. It is going to be great fun. It should be about a 3 hour drive and my friend Ayo and I will got here together.

Cats update: KC and Vega are doing great! They absolutely love the boxes I brought home to start packing with… They think it’s this big play ground, and who am I to tell them otherwise? :o)

That is truly about it... this was a very busy week and a half!

Many kisses to all, especially to my one and only e.ma! (*Smooch*, mom!)

Reut

29 jun 06 @ 4:40 pm

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Sunday, June 18, 2006
~Summer~
06-12-06-->06-18-06

Hello everyone!

Well, summer session has begun, and I think it is safe to say that we are all having a good time! I missed having normal classes…

On Tuesday morning, we had a short “how to write prescriptions” lecture and then long medical jurisdiction lectures. It was long and the terminology that came out of that lawyer mouth was very foreign to me, yet it was interesting.

On Wednesday morning my group and I met in the morning to review cases for the next day. We managed to get through one case in the morning and finished the rest by the end of the day. Then we reviewed information for the COMLEX PE (that’s another part of the boards that we will have to take before we graduate) and then we had a long Advanced Cardiac Life Support lecture.

On Thursday we had an important lecture on IV fluids. I understand the main idea, but definitely need to review this. Then we had a lecture all about blood transfusion. Afterwards we had two lectures—one regarded herbal medications and the other acupuncture. Then in the afternoon we had our respiratory cases. Uggg… I really don’t like cases. Basically, we have a bunch of case-studies, we then read them, give differential diagnosis, write admit orders and answer a bunch of questions. That part is not the problem; I always enjoy working the cases out. What I don’t like is that fact that during class who ever is leading the cases picks groups numbers out of a hat and then drill them in front of the class. It is really nerve wracking to stand in front of two-hundred people and concentrate. Well, our group was not called on this time, but we will be called on eventually.

On Friday I have some of my elective courses—I enjoy learning sign language! As I had a little bit of it before, it was not a big deal to have missed one class on Monday. The class was real fun, definitely interactive, and since it is really small (we had less than 15 people), we got a lot done.

Let’s see, what else? Today I did absolutely NOTHING!!! Okay, that’s not quite true… I did nothing school or medicine related! I went out to a movie with one of my friends—“The Lake House.” It was a bit slow, but I truly enjoyed it :o) Then I came back home and listened to my CD, fell asleep on the sofa, and played with my cats and my neighbor’s cat (whom I am taking care of this weekend).

Check this out: although I look nothing like my parents, and the only person who looks like me is my brother, the way to tell I am my parents’ child is by the pure fact that we are animal lovers… Guess what my folks did this week? The found a dog!!! Abba was walking Midnight on Tuesday morning, and this tiny little dog came out of nowhere and started following them all the way home! He is so tiny and cute! Midnight doesn’t mind the little guy at all (maybe it has to do with the fact that he is much bigger than the other dog, and if he bug him too much he can just sit on him). Mom said that Midi is being super gentle with the tiny one. So far he has been called: “Pinch”, “Boten” (that’s peanut in Hebrew), and now “Peanut”. I am not sure which name is going to stick… I’ve gotten used to ‘Boten’ but I would change as soon as we pick out a name. I’ve put his picture in the picture section, so make sure to check it out (Nany, I’ll send you a picture as soon as I get them developed from the computer).

Well, that’s really about it! Congratulations again to Paz and Tal for their wedding!

Love,

Reut
18 jun 06 @ 12:59 am

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Monday, June 12, 2006
Done with step 1!
06-05-06--> 06-12-06

Hello hello!

To everyone who has wondered… I am done with the COMLEX!!! No more!!! We get the results sometime in August or September— In anycase, that’s done, and it feels great not to have to worry about it.

The first day of summer session started today, and I missed the first two elective classes. I chose to study America Sign Language (I really enjoyed learning it in the past), and beginner’s Spanish. Uggg, it hasn’t even been a full day yet and I am already behind :o)

Mandatory classes begin tomorrow, and I didn’t even bother to look at the schedule… I am too tired, and I think I will save it for 7:30AM tomorrow morning. I can just tell though, it’s going to be tons of topics and then a nice quiz after a few weeks, and the same thing again a few weeks later… sheesh… I am ready to move out of the classroom study mode… I want to go to rotations (In just about 3 months!!!)

What else? During the past 3 months my life has been revolving around boards, but the real world has gone on (is it actually possible that people have lives?) My cousin Paz is getting married in three days, and I am very happy for her and Tal, but sad for not being there. My friend Funky (Karen) just got engaged to Matt. My other friend Julia is getting married at the end of the month. This is just the wedding month :o) congratulations to all!

Well, that is truly about it from here… hopefully next time I write you will hear all about my packing and moving plans and all about my two furry friends (KC is mad at me at the moment for washing poop off his leg (yuck!)…nothing much to tell…)

Night!

Reut
12 jun 06 @ 9:07 pm

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Monday, June 5, 2006
Half way there!

Hello everyone!

Half way done. Today I took the USMLE, which is the MD boards. I decided to take it as well, even though I didn’t have to. It was a difficult exam, but I did my very best, so whatever happens… happens. The next step, and the one that is much more important for me is the COMLEX. This one is the DO boards, and I will be examined next week. I am very happy I had a chance during the test today to mentally outline things I didn’t feel too confident in and wanted to review before “my boards”. So for the next 6 days I’ll review these.

In anycase, what else? My friend Sasha came in the other day to ask for advice and a bit of help c this cute little orange kitty! Oh! He was adorable! I helped as much as I could, and it looks like the kitty found a new home with Caroline (a first year who adopted “Calyx” way back when). Before Sash gave the kitty away he named it “Merck” like the Merck menual! What a cute name!

Well… that’s the major things at the moment… School is starting up again next Monday, and I am missing the first day (due to boards). In a way I wish I would have scheduled my exams differently, so I would have had a bit of a break, but in a way, it’s okay to keep going strong until the end of July.

The weather has been a bit crazy in the past few days. We had loads of rain, which I just love!!! It is so green and beautiful outside :o) Just lovely!

Well, I am off to do some laundry and resting a bit from this long day.

Many kisses!

Reut
5 jun 06 @ 6:10 pm

May 2006

Wednesday, May 24, 2006
not much...
05-24-06

Really… not much to tell… :o) I’ve been reviewing for the boards, doing a whole lot of questions and just wanting to be done with it already.

Exciting news though! I found an apartment to live in next year!!! Hurrah! Well… actually, my friends found it, and after realizing that 3 of my classmates will be living there, I just said: “well, I’ll just cancel my flight to NJ next month and rent in this place too”. This is the right thing, and I am very happy I decided to do it.

The weather has been… disgusting… it is really humid. It’s not too hot, but I am just not used to the humidity. It wasn’t this humid during the winter, or at least, it didn’t cause me to sweat all the time. My solution: shower!

My cats are doing great! KC decided that he must wake me up every morning at 6:30. He stands on my belly and stares at me until I have no choice, but to wake up and ‘entertain’ them. For the most part, I have been turning the alarm off good 10 minutes before it was suppose to go off… It’s a good thing that in the wintertime, when the outside is so dark, both of my cats enjoy sleeping.

Well gang, my life is boring… I’ll write some more later,

Many hugs and kisses,

Re
24 may 06 @ 6:45 pm

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Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Board review...
05-09-06--> 05-16-06

Hello-Hello everyone!

I am officially done with 2nd year now. The only thing that is left is the summer session, and I am not including it in 2nd year academic material, rather… an ‘in-between period.’

The theme of the past week has been—“review for boards”… I am enrolled in a Kaplan class, and in about an hour we will start our last subject with them: Pharmacology. We have just finished pathology and OMT, and I am so excited to move on to pharmacology. More than anything I am ready to review the information by myself! I think a more accurate explanation is that I am ready to be done with it all together…

In any case, in addition to all the studying, I have been a tad under the weather. I got this cold and I am trying to get rid of it. I am feeling much better this morning, and am very much hoping I am done with this gunk!

Sometimes last week I received my schedule for next year: Psychiatry, two blocks of Family medicine, specialized surgery, OBGYN, Pediatrics, two blocks of internal medicine, General surgery and an elective. I am SO excited! This is going to be an interesting experience.

KC and Vega have been doing great. They are both running around chasing one another at the moment, and they have been doing just that for about 3 days straight now…

This is a shorty, as I need to run to school.

Many kisses,

Reut
16 may 06 @ 7:07 am

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Tuesday, May 9, 2006
'Integrative' is over!
04-24-06-->05-09-06

Hello everyone!

I am finally done with the last section of the year. I am so tired!

So, since the last time I wrote, we have finished integrative. Yesterday we were tested over the material, and I can definitely say that I have gotten better at micro, but need to keep working at pharmacology.

Before I forget, I have to tell you about something in score 1 that I enjoyed—a week and a half ago, we were in the middle of performing physical at one of the inner city schools. Everything was organized, until all of the sudden one of the kids started to run around from medical student to medical student and grabbed medical equipment, gloves, alcohol pads—everything basically. Everyone were shooing him off, and his teacher wasn’t anywhere around. I was in the middle of a physical on a little girl, and I saw that the kid was heading towards my table. I turned over and said hi to him, and he started grabbing stuff. I told him that instead of taking my stuff, he should be my assistant, and practice on becoming a doctor… his eyes twinkled, and this huge toothless smile came out and he said with much enthusiasm: “YES!”. So I told him doctors don’t take each other medical equipment, and that I would give him his own ‘tools’. He got so excited, and waited patiently for me to set it up. I gave him a pair of gloves and a tongue depressor. Then I had him ask the little girl to “Open up your mouth and say: ahhh” and so he did, and she followed, and I looked in her throat. Then I had him shine the light and look at her throat. Then we continued like this until I was done with the physical. That kid was so excited at the end and kept saying: “Thank you! thank you! I am a doctor!” The little girl was also very amused by the whole thing and she asked me to also look in her friend’s throat. All in all, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed working with the kids, and that we can’t forget to have some fun!

So… after the exam yesterday, I went out to eat with a few of my friends, and then went shopping, came back and cleaned my very messy apartment! I was SO happy to have time to clean it.

Today I have off, so I am working on scholarship essays—I have to write one and then write a thank you letter for a school scholarship I received a few weeks ago. The rest of this week I have Kaplan and then it is just board studying until the 5th and the 12th.

That’s about it from here,

Many kisses from me, Vega and KC…

Reut
9 may 06 @ 9:34 am

April 2006

Sunday, April 23, 2006
...so tired...
04-16-06-->04-23-06

Hello to all,

Wow, what a week… Last Sunday I came back to Kansas City—the weather here was quite sticky. Can you believe it? Phoenix had cooler temperature than they did here. That’s okay though, the weather has been a little bet cooler in the past few days.

So, back to the week—we started “integrative” which is basically a section that is for all intent and purposes acting as a board review course. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we had Pharm, path, anatomy,and immuno—I’ve been working on Pharmacology, and it is still difficult. Then on Wednesday we had Score one for Health—remember? This is our health screening for the children. I was suppose to man the blood pressure station, but the nurse students that were there took care of it, so we enjoyed doing physicals instead! I didn’t find anything unique or interesting. With the exception of a few red throats and runny noses, the kids were fine. Wednesday afternoon was filled with class, and on Thursday we had pharm again. On Friday we changed gears and had physiology classes.

On Friday afternoon I donated blood—I enjoy doing it. One of the workers had a great idea for Ad campaign for blood donation: “Will donate for ‘Nutter-Butter’ ” :o) For those of you who don’t know, Nutter-Butter is delicious cookies that are normally set out for all those who have donated blood. YUM!

After this, I went and visited our academic counselor and asked for help in creating my board schedule. He explained to me the basics. Basically, you write out all of the testable subjects, and then you rate them from 1-5 on your comfort level with them (1 being—I know this stuff well, 5—I really don’t feel comfortable in this material). Then you add all of those up. After doing this, you calculate how much study time you have (study hrs multiplied by the number of days you can study in). Then you go back to the list of subjects, and you divide the number of potential study ours by the number of added-units in the list of subjects, to figure out how many hours each unit is worth. THEN… you multiply each subject total number of units by hours per unit and voila, you figure out how many hours you can afford to spend.

So, I did that… I created such a schedule, and although it needs some modifications (mainly scheduling some free time and resting), I will use it as a base.

After this, I went back to Ricci hall to “enjoy” a weekend of Kaplan physiology. My behind is hurting from sitting so much, and I am glad this was over. I learned a lot, but I was just so tired.

Anyways, that’s about it from here—Vega and KC are doing great also!

Many hugs,

Reut
23 apr 06 @ 10:38 pm

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Saturday, April 15, 2006
Long month...
03-29-06 -->04-15-06

Hello everyone!

The past three weeks have been very busy, and I am just now getting to write a small entry. At the moment I am at home in Arizona, and collecting my strength for the last part of this school year. Sadly, I have to leave tomorrow to go back to Kansas City, but… I do have two beautiful cats who are waiting for me, so that’s okay.

Last I left you, we were about a week into “Human Development” section. On That Wednesday we had pediatrics lab, which involved about 100 children and parents and us… I really thought I would like it a whole lot more, but it was a bit disorganized, and I was personally not quite sure if I was doing things correctly. Basically, it would have been much easier to perform in a smaller quieter environment. But, overall it was fun.

During that week I had to take KC to the vet again because he still had blood in his urine. The poor guy. The vet finally told me to just wait a week more and see if it goes away. It did, and I hope that we are finally done with it for good.

Thursday was all about Geriatrics. I really enjoyed it! We also had pharmacology that day, and I realized how much I need to review the material (ugg…) Friday was a continuation of geriatrics and also a wonderful Spiritual lecture—it was titled: “aging gracefully”.

During the weekend I studied for the final, fixed my presentation, studied for OMT and studied for boards. On Monday and Tuesday we had to present our cases. I ended up concentrating on Embryology (no surprise here) and pathophysiology, and I truly liked the presentation I created, and I really feel I presented it well! My hunch is after I’ll complete my education I’ll come back to medical school as a clinician.

On Tuesday we had OMT review and a class in the morning, and then for the next two days I studied for the final and the OMT practical. From then on it was a race—On Friday we had our final exam for the section (I did really well on it!). Then on Monday we had our OMT practical which we thought would be so much harder than it actually was. I studied much more than needed. Then on Tuesday we had our Shelf exam, and I found it to be difficult. And last we had our cumulative examination on Thursday, and that one was difficult also (as it should be).

Throughout this week my kittens have seen me a whole lot, as I studied at home— On Thursday afternoon, I gave my friend Katie the keys, bid goodbye to the furry fellows and flew home.

And there I am :o)

My family decided to have our seder on Friday instead of Wednesday night. We had a great time! Everyone was here, and the food was great. Omer was suppose to be the chef, but he got stuck in school, so we ended up making the food… I told him that there is no excuse on the next big holiday—he has got to cook the meal! He is the greatest chef ever, and even though he got there after we made the food, he added a few ingredients and made the food so tasty! whenever I protest about him adding stuff into the dish he always says: “Do you trust me?” —and I always admit that, yes, I do actually trust him, and then he does his magic, and voila! The food taste even better! YUM!

Tonight Omer and I will go see a movie: “thank you for smoking” and I hope it will be good.

Much love from here,

Reut
15 apr 06 @ 9:11 pm

March 2006

Tuesday, March 28, 2006
A short one!
03-20-06-->03-28-06

Hello everyone,

It is Tuesday morning, and I thought I’d write something in here before I hop into the shower and go to school :o)

Spring break is over… :o( We have started human development last week—It’s not too bad so far. I really wish they’d give us more free time than they are (and they really are giving us free time)—because I’d like to study much more for boards. This week was filled with: embryology, family medicine and loads of pediatrics :o)

Yesterday we had a quiz, and I think I did alright—It’s just a pain in the butt… that’s all…

Last night I worked on a lecture we have to do—It’s only 15 minutes worth of talk, but there was so much work involved in making the lecture. I’m sure glad I finished it and I can now worry about other things…

What else? I am almost done with the anatomy portion of the Kaplan tapes! I have 4 more tapes, and then I can move on to another section… I normally do it during lunches, but yesterday I studied OMT with some of my classmates, and didn’t get to do it. In a few minutes I’ll ran to school and sit and finish watching a tape before the first class starts (we are starting late today).

Oh—I don’t remember if I told you, but a few days ago I got notice that I am one of the finalists for USFunds scholarship—I really hope I get this…

Cats update: KC is feeling MUCH better!!! He stopped peeing on my coach and in the laundry basket, and he is being just himself. He is still on medicine, and I am crossing my fingers that this won’t come back. Vega is doing fine—she gets hysterically funny. For example, yesterday she was chasing some imaginary demon that no one but her can see… she ran so fast around the house and knocked KC over twice!

Many kisses from here—I miss you!

Reut

28 mar 06 @ 7:22 am

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Sunday, March 19, 2006
It's (almost) spring!
03-03-06-->03-19-06

Hello hello!

The last time I wrote was just a day before the pelvic examination… This was a very unique experience, and I just loved it! We had 4 people in our group (normally there are three), and I went first. Our patient was so knowledgeable and helpful—it was definitely educational and interesting. …I guess OBGYN is not off the list just yet :o)

Then the rest of Friday and the weekend was devoted for studying for the final—we had a few more classes during the week, and then we had our pathology practical on Thursday and the final on Friday, and then… I went home to Arizona! Hurrah!

Home was great—I basically did no school work at all, but did get to see Dad’s colonoscopy, which was really interesting and fun. I saw a bunch of movies, TV (mainly “The Nanny” and “Golden Girls” and enjoyed being together with my mom, dad, Omer and Midi. It was perfect.

Omer’s birthday was on St. Patrick’s day (St. Omer’s Day!!!). After a lot of bugging him, he finally told me he wanted a coffee maker and a coffee grinder—so I got him that (not a big surprise, but it’s nice to get what you want). We went out to Macaroni Grill for his B-day and had a good time!

That’s it, yesterday I came back home and found my cats doing well (with the exception of KC’s urinary tract infection that isn’t getting better. I think he has a stone… got to take him to the vet on Monday again). My neighbor’s cat, Luna, is going to be under my care for the next week, while Sherri (my neighbor) is out of town. Luna doesn’t like me too much yet, but she is eating alright and drinking, and I think she’ll get used to me eventually….

Anyhow, loads of kisses from here!

Reut
19 mar 06 @ 9:33 am

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Friday, March 3, 2006
Two and a half weeks worth! :o)
02-14-06 --> 03-02-06

Okay, okay, okay… Sheesh! I got so swamped with school work that I neglected my journal—I hate when that happens :o)

We are almost to the end of the reproductive section. The last 3 weeks have been very busy and fun. I still haven’t had my pelvic exam (doctor, not patient…) but I’ll get to enjoy it tomorrow afternoon!!

Two weeks ago, we had research day—a few of my friends presented their research projects, and my friend Ayo won first place!! How exciting. Later on during that day, we had our Kaplan weekend—this time we reviewed biochemistry. Our professor was hysterical, and we went through another section. With the weekend gone, I had a difficult time catching up… this was mainly due to the OMT examination we had on Wednesday. I’ve been studying for it every day, and together with board studying, school work just got put on the back burner. That’s okay though, because I finally managed to get through everything and do really well on the last quiz... Phew!

This week was really nice—we had about 10 OBGYN lectures and then a little bit of everything else. I’ve been very good about reviewing board material during lunch time, which is cool, but time consuming. I had my patient interview on Wednesday, and did fairly well on it— tomorrow is the big “break it or make it” day for me… the pelvic exam—I’ve been joking with my friends that this experience will either direct me straight into OBGYN as a future specialty, or completely gross me out… :o) I’m just kidding, of course.

The weather has been amazing—I’ve been wearing just a light jacket and I am hoping this will last forever!!! :o) Not likely, but a nice thought nevertheless.

Well, I’m pretty much a spazz-ball with everything that needs to be done— Next week will be busy—I have a practical and a final and then I get to go back to Phoenix!!!!!!!!!!! Yaaaaaaay! I am so happy to go home!

Much love to all—sorry for the short and spastic journal entry…

Reut
3 mar 06 @ 12:42 am

February 2006

Monday, February 13, 2006
2 weeks worth! (btw, the weather is ugly again...)
01-28-06-->02-13-06

Hello all!
I will capture 2 weeks in this short entry, as I went home last weekend and did not have a chance to write an entry until just now (…just a tad busy…)

Two weeks ago, I was in the last section of endocrine—final week is always hectic, regardless of which section we are in. On Monday we had the last quiz, and then we had 2 days of lectures followed by two days of tests—Pathology practical and the Final. It wasn’t all that bad, but the weather was PEFECT, and I really just wanted to go outside and run or bike, or just do something… but I had to contain all of that and sit and study in the very stuffy inside. Uggg.

All of my tests went okay—I felt kind of weird coming out of the final, but I ended out doing very good in it… I don’t know… I don’t usually get too worked out about exams and stuff (especially after they are done), but with this one I was rethinking all of my answers for days later.

In anycase, following the melodrama of the final, I went home!!! I went to the airport and flew home :o) I was so happy!!!! On the way there I fell asleep for a good hour or so, and when I woke up I had a very interesting conversation with a lady by the name of Marilynn. She is a reverend in a church here in town and she was just a joy to talk to! I love it when people don’t try and convert me to their religion… she had an interesting idea of “asking for God’s kisses” … well, you all know that I was raised secular and just really love the Jewish tradition, but normally I am not overly spiritual, right? Well, the idea of “God’s Kisses” was so interesting, that I still keep thinking about it (and hence writing about it here).

Well, soon enough the flight was over and I got home!!! Omer picked me up from the airport, and I had such a fun time driving home with him, talking over this and that (he is planning to go to Japan this summer!!!! How exciting!!) We got home and I had such an awesome weekend! I can’t say enough of how much I love my family. I just think they are super! :o) (‘Kifak-Hey’ to the ‘mishpoocheh!’)

After fun 2 days I came back to Kansas City. It is amazing how much the weather had changed in these 2 days… it was SO cold when I got here, and it was that cold ever since. BRRRrrrrrr! My 2 kitties loved it that I was back. I was so happy to see them and play with them—they are getting to be big, and they are very very fluffy =^.^=

The next day we started our reproductive section. It is mostly OBGYN. So far I think it is really exciting—we had about 7 OBGYN lectures, some histology, path, pediatrics and pharmacology… and then for some odd reason they decided to have a quiz on Monday (today) yuck!... I don’t like quizzes on only the material of 1 week, it never feels like I truly know the material, it is not enough material as a whole—I like to have a bit more material. I studied for the quiz during the weekend, but I also wrote scholarship essays—I’d like to turn them all in by next week.

After the quiz today, my friends and I practiced some OMT and then I went to a CV (curriculum vitae) workshop. I still keep using Seth’s (Himelhoch) CV format—It is very organized and clean, but it was still important for me to do this workshop. As I updated my CV two days ago, it felt so awesome to see how much I really have done throughout the year!

Well, I just finished 2 out of the 4 lectures that I needed to finish, and I think it is almost bed time for me… so off I go

Loads of kisses from me—

I miss you all!

Reut
13 feb 06 @ 10:03 pm

January 2006

Friday, January 27, 2006
1 more week till we are done with endocrine!
01-19-06-->01-27-06

Hello to all,

Well, I’m about a week and a half behind on writing my entry, and my (now regular) apologies to all who follow my journal.

Last I left you, I believe it was last Wednesday… the rest of the week wasn’t too bad—we had a collection of pediatrics lectures, internal medicine, Female Athlete Triad, more peds, more internal medicine and radiology. All in all, it was very fun.

On Friday afternoon—from 2-10pm we had our Kaplan review course—it was very fun (and loooooooong), Saturday 8am-4pm we continue reviewing microbiology and then Sunday 11am-7pm we finished up. Wow… what a weekend! I loved the review, but had to work hard on making sure I didn’t get behind. So I worked hard, finished going through class material in between the breaks, and at the end I was fine.

This week wasn’t too bad—I have been going to bed earlier and earlier, and it is making my life so much nicer! I exercise at night, take a shower and off to bed before 10:30. Going to bed so early made it much easier to wake up early in the morning and go to Smith Hall to do Board Review in the morning—Sleep is just amazing :o)

On Monday we had histology of the parathyroid gland, physiology of the parathyroid gland and pathology of the thyroid gland. The afternoon was free for independent study (hurray!!!) Tuesday was just SUPER! We had only a path lab in the afternoon, which means that I had time to get to all of the material and make sure I reviewed again some of the material from last week. I was in nerd’s 7th heaven…

Wednesday was really easy too—only 2 internal medicine (hyper and hypocalcemia) and then on OMM lab (we learned to palpate the thyroid)—then the afternoon was free again!!! (I am very excited about all of it because I am normally overly busy and don’t have 3 free afternoons in a row!

Thursday wasn’t too fun… we had a full schedule and it was hard not having extra time… We started the day with 2 pediatrics lectures by an Israeli doctor… it was hard for me to think in English when he had the thick Hebrew accent going… the whole day afterwards I was thinking in Hebrew. Later on we had a looooooooong physiology lecture and then the great Dr. McCandless with prevention medicine. I think very highly of her, and it is nice to get a lecture from a clinician who wants to teach us the important stuff.

Today we had 2 pediatrics lectures again (they were great!), internal medicine and pathology. I spent the afternoon in Smith hall finishing everything I could. I wanted to go chat with Dorothy, but she was busy the whole afternoon, so… I got loads of work done instead :o) Always good, right?

The weather has been just amazing here—in the 60’s, absolutely gorgeous! This is much-much nicer than the frozen January of last year!!! I have been in a great mood these past few days, and I have to attribute it to: sleep, working out, and this great weather!

The Cats are doing great—Vega is my ‘wanting to be outside’ cat, and KC is my scardy cat… I’ll post new pictures of them as soon as I can.

Well, that’s about all,
Love to all,



Reut
PS-- I'm flying home in 1 week!!!!!!! I can't wait!!!
27 jan 06 @ 10:08 pm

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Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Forgot to mention-- Mom and Dad, thanks for all of the great wonderful delicious lemons!!! everyone just LOVED them! :o) (and... I made some lemonade tonight... yum)
01-09-06-->01-18-06

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the late entry—this past weekend I was studying for a quiz and then went out on Monday night, and by Tuesday I was already behind and had to finish everything up and… well, you get the point… I have caught up now and decided it was the perfect time to put in an entry.

This past week was really fun. I love biochemistry! I spent a lot of time understanding the pathways and it was just great fun! As you all know, I hate memorizing… biochemistry is anything but memorizing. The way I look at it… it is a story—a process, and it is just explaining how we work on a very basic lvl.

In anycase, sadly there are no more biochemistry lectures for this section :o(

Monday was… Monday… we had a pediatrics professor in the morning and I couldn’t hear a word he was saying—I mean, I heard it, but I wasn’t able to make anything up from his mumbling. Uggg! It is a very good thing some of my friends understood him and took notes, because the material wasn’t difficult (infants of diabetic mothers) and it was interesting. Following that we had a biochem lecture, then a long pharmacology lecture and another biochemistry lecture :o) That afternoon was spent going through everything and figuring it out.

Tuesday was kind of long—we had 2 biochemistry in the morning and then we had internal medicine (ugggg…. Now that is straight ‘list memorization’), preventive medicine and a pathology lab. One of my friends told me that I would probably change my mind about internal medicine when we go on rotations… I hope so.

Wednesday was too short—we had a histology lecture and then a clinical skill lab that was a tad too short. That afternoon I reviewed everything we have had up to that point. Not a very exciting day, but important one, b/c I integrated everything together and made sure I was really understanding the material

On Thursday morning my KC had to be neutered :o( I felt very bad taking him to the vet to have him fixed. I suppose it is the right thing to do, but it really broke my heart. After I drove there, I hurried back to school and had a pathology lecture, an internal medicine lecture and then 2 online physiology lectures and a med-case. All of the online material was a bit time consuming.

Fridays was filled with internal medicine, anatomy and then at the end we had a patient conference—we had a presentation on how the insulin pump works, and then later on, my friend Melissa presented her family’s experience with her son’s type 1 diabetes. She did a wonderful job. That afternoon I picked Mr. KC up from the vet and brought him home. Vega (who enjoyed being an only cat for a day) begun hissing at him… how bizarre! Well, she got over it pretty quick, and now they are back to their normal self. KC is fine, by the way—he is running and playing and is having a good time.

My weekend was filled with studying, and then Monday morning we had the quiz…
Monday night I took my friend Katie out for dinner as a thank you for taking care of my cats when I was gone during break—we had a great time eating in California Pizza on the plaza—yum!

Anyways, that’s about it. We have started a new week, and this coming weekend I have my first Kaplan course—I joined it to study for the boards… it has always been easier for me to study for standardized examination in a group. As this weekend is basically shot, I have been trying to catch up on all of my school work and go over everything enough times that I don’t feel like I’m missing important study time during the weekend.

Much love to all,

Reut
18 jan 06 @ 11:15 pm

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Sunday, January 8, 2006
"back to the grind"
01-03-06-->01-08-06

Hello friends and family,

As my friend Kendra says… “back to the grind.” It is so true. It’s amazing how fast days of vacation seem when you have loads to do. That’s okay though… I like endocrine a lot better than Renal section!!!

This week started out on Tuesday (Monday was still vacation) with internal medicine lecture, physiology lectures, biochemistry and a pathology lab. I really think our biochemistry professor is great! He has been teaching here for about 20 years or so, and he is just so good at it. Then again, I might be biased… I like biochemistry (sick? Nah… I just like logical things that has a story to them, a path—something I can see versus memorize.) In any case, I decided not to waste any time and went full force during lunch and afternoon.

Wednesday started with a BANG… Vega apparently attempted to eat one of the plants, and it dropped on the floor and broke at about 6 in the morning. It gave all of us a startle, but it was a better alarm clock than I have had in a while. Beside that early excitement, the rest of the day was a little boring… we had an OMM lecture, internal medicine, biochem (that wasn’t boring), Histology (That wasn’t boring either) and another biochemistry (not boring)… Later on in the afternoon we had End-of-Life lab—it was interesting, but I was a little tired and wanted to go finish my studying.

On Thursday we had two biochemistry lectures in the morning and then two internal medicines. Fairly normal day. At night, my friends Matt and Erika came to visit me and the cats—they were so sweet and brought me a really cool present (brownies mix in a jar—all ready to bake!!! How fun!—it was all pretty in a basket with candy around it). I gave them some home grown lemons from Arizona—I think they enjoyed playing with the cats and hanging out.

Friday was busy with Pathology, biochemistry, pharmacology and immunology. I would like to get better in my immunology. I really need to review the old material from last year…

I spent the weekend reviewing everything (alone, as Tala was sick)—I feel like I understand it all, and yet have to review it a few more times for it to really stick. After I was done today I went shopping—It is so nice to have fruits and vegetable in the house…

Oh… I changed my boards date, time and place one last time—it’ll be on June here in town. So much better than having to drive up north to a place I don’t know.

Much love to all, have a wonderful week!

Reut
8 jan 06 @ 9:39 pm

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Monday, January 2, 2006
Back to school
12-23-05-->01-02-06

Hello friends and family,

Happy 2006! May it will be a healthy, happy and exciting year!

That’s it, I’m back at Kansas City—this is after a nice vacation :o)

Dad and I finished so many projects (yet, we still have a bunch on the list… next vacation I guess). This past week was fun—we finished installing the handles in the kitchen, and I finished painting the gate and the bridge. Both turned out really nice.

Just the other day Mom and I watched Pirates of the Caribbean—I loved this movie! How fun! Last time I saw it, I saw it all in mute (someone was sleeping, I didn’t want to wake anyone up)—this time it was so much more impressive and fun!

Well, I can’t say we did a whole lot, but just resting and enjoying one another was wonderful :o)

On Sunday afternoon I packed my stuff (Midnight was sad when he saw the suitcase), and then I flew back here. The flight had turbulence and it wasn’t too pleasant, but I finished half of “Code Blue” by Tzvika Amit (קוד כחול/ צביקה עמית) I still haven’t finished the rest of it, but I’ll do so during the next week or so.

I got home at around Midnight, and found my fur balls in good shape—I am so glad Katie is the one who took care of them these past 2 weeks—I felt so much better about leaving them knowing that she’ll be here with them. Thank you Katie! It took me about an hour or two to get the house cleaned up (my two cats have the unique ability to move stuff around in the house for no apparent reason), and then I went to bed. This morning I woke up late and made my way to the store to get some groceries.

Now after the food is made, and the binder is ready for tomorrow, I am going to enjoy the last few bits of vacation.

Love to all,

Reut
2 jan 06 @ 7:46 pm

December 2005

Friday, December 23, 2005
It was lovely 76 degrees here in Phoenix today!
12-09-05--> 12-22-05

Hello to all,

It has been a while since I wrote here… mainly because I got busy during the last week before finals, and then was busy being on vacation :o)

So, I’ll start with the week of finals-- by the time we got to the last week, I was completely burned out… I really wanted to go home and basically had to push through that one last week. We had classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We had our Pathology practical on Tuesday, and then our final on Friday. I was SO happy it was done and over with.

You all might be wondering why I want to go home all the time… well… I just love everyone here- I love Omer, Mom, Dad and Midnight. I enjoy being with my family so much, and I just don’t like being away from them. If I were to do it again I still would have chosen my school as my school, but I truly would have thought the distance over again.

Following the final on Friday, I convinced Tala that we needed ice-cream, but before we headed out to Cold Stone Creamery, I took Ms. Vega to the vet to get her stitches out. I begged them to let me take them out, but they said it was better if I held the princess so she doesn’t move so much. So I did. Oh… she was so humiliated! They took the 2 stitches out, and all she could do was to curl up in a tiny little ball and lay in my lap. My baby… I brought her back home and then Tala, James and I went out for ice-cream. It was just lovely! I think we all needed something sweet. That night, Sarah and I went out for Pizza, and had a good time. It is nice to just hang out with good friends!

As I got home to late to clean the house, I got up early the next morning and cleaned my place really good. Poor KC and Vega almost had a heart attack when I got the vacuum out; they absolutely hate it. In anycase, I finished a few hours later, and packed my stuff really fast. A few days prior, Dorothy had offered me a ride to the airport, and I was so glad to catch a ride, especially when I looked out and saw that the whole world has become white. Ugg… snow and ice, once again. YUCK!

The flight home was really long. I planned on sleeping the whole way to Arizona, but as luck had it, we were delayed, and as I sat in the plane to be de-iced, I fell asleep for a while, woke up, and that was it… I was SO bored the rest of the flight… I’ll never do that mistake again—I’ll always have a book from now on.

Well, I got home on a Saturday, enjoyed dinner and just talking. Sunday, we started with our ‘projects’—basically, all that needs fixing or cleaning was put on a long list and we are just working our way down the list. We have gotten a few things done already! Today, Dad and I cut the rose bushes and attempted to fix the broken light in the garden (no success on the latter).

As Omer has been working hard, I didn’t have too much time to hang out with him. Today he had a little bit of free time, and he took me to see “Walk the Line”. OH! I loved it so very much!!! The story of Johnny Cash and June Carter needed to be told, and I am so glad that finally Reese Witherspoon played a dramatic role. I’ve been telling everyone for the last 2 years that she needs to venture out and try the full spectrum of acting. She was excellent, and so was Joaquin Phoenix. What a lovely movie!

Well friends, that’s about it. Omer wanted to take me to an early screening of the Producers, but I was so tired that I decided to stay home, write a little here and go to bed.

Good night to all,

Reut
23 dec 05 @ 12:20 am

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Thursday, December 8, 2005
I tried to post this a few days ago, but the upload site wasn't working right... grrr. Well, here is another entry from snow land (BTW, we have a snow day today :o( )
11-30-05-->12-06-05

Hello friends and family,

Last time I wrote, it was almost Wednesday. A lot has happened since, mainly school stuff.

Wednesday was OMT day all day long. It was wonderful! We worked on Still’s techniques, and I had a good time. That afternoon I had off for studying, and so my friend Keith and I went to a coffee shop and study there. For some reason, I just needed to be away from school… I think I might be having school overload :o) It was fun to hang out with him.

On Thursday, we had a ‘professionalism’ lecture. I don’t know if I liked it too much… it was just way to early in the morning to talk about professional conduct in the medical field. Then we had immunology and two pharmacologies. Yeah! (I like Pharm…) Then in the afternoon, I went with my friend Deepa to a coffee shop again, and sat there and worked my tail off until… I was disrupted by a guy who insisted he needed to stop me from learning pharmacology. Uggg. It was nice to talk to him, but he was way too young, and a little too bizarre for me. All I wanted, was to go back to my notes.

Friday, sweet Friday… Derm and Healthcare policy. I like Healthcare policy. It was interesting to learn about the new change they are going to offer in medicare in 2006. But I do wonder what the elderly population thinks of this offer with its many flaws and the big ‘donut hole’ it has.

Saturday I was feeling very sleepy all day long, which made it very very difficult to study. Oh man, that was a tough day! Sunday was fine—we got everything done for the quiz, but both Tala and I were just exhausted.

Monday… well… the quiz was difficult. I did study enough for it, but I really did not like it. After the quiz we had phyiology, and off I went to study. During night time, I prepared my paper for the debate. I am presenting on Thursday, and wanted to make sure I got everything in. During the evening, I took Vega to the vet to be spayed. I was so sad. I know it is the right thing to do, but I really wanted her to be a mommy… :o( K.C. is next in line in about 5 weeks. :o(

Today (Tuesday), I woke up early and went to school early. We had Pathology, 2 pharms and a pediatrics lecture. All was related to hypertension. Very interesting indeed! My afternoon was spent studying with Tala in Smith Hall. Pretty typical afternoon…

Well, that’s about it from here, I’ll write some more after this week. Next week is going to be crazy—we have full classes and all and a pathology practical, and a final. I am flying out on Saturday night, and I am SO happy!!!

Love,

Reut
8 dec 05 @ 8:00 am

November 2005

Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Back at KC
11-22-05-->11-29-05

Hello everyone,

Sorry! Another late entry… this is really beginning to look like a trend… ugg!

I had a wonderful week at home!!! I LOVED it!

Last time I left you when I got home, and I think I told you that I went with Omer to see Harry Potter 4 (which I enjoyed very much).

My Wednesday morning started with Midnight coming up to my bed at 6am and asking me to let him out. Later on during the day, I took ‘Shooloo’ (Midnight) on a Teeyool (walk). He just loved it—we walked through the ‘Village’ next to our house. Midi got all of the dogs barking. They barked in one yard and then the neighbor’s dog heard it and started barking too, and on and on. During the early part of the afternoon, dad and I went shopping for a few last ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. I love shopping with dad!

Thursday, mom and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. We made our rendition of a turkey (we made chicken), amazing mashed potatoes, Banana’s grandmother’s secrete cranberry-sauce recipe (not a secrete any more…), Broccoli, Matzo ball soup, and loads of other stuff that I don’t quite remember. In anycase, the table was full and beautiful at the end! When Omer came back from work (he had to do that instead of help cook the dinner), we all sat together and had a wonderful time! Even Midi got to enjoy—he ate a bit of chicken and was in 7th heaven.

Friday, mom and I got me some new scrubs, and visited the Hallmark store to look for some birds (for the window above the fireplace). We found a neat collection of birds drinking from a pretend fountain, which were very cute.

Somewhere in the middle we cleaned the house real good… not sure exactly when.

Everyday up to Saturday Midi got a nice walk in the morning, but on Saturday, he got a nice walk during noon time… I slept in until 10am :o)

That’s it… after spending much needed time with mom, dad, Omer and Midi, I had to fly back here to Kansas City. Again, thank goodness to the cats, because I really didn’t want to leave my family.

On the flight home, I met Michelle (one of my Arizona friends who also go to KCUMB), and we got to talk a bit. This time I didn’t have a kid sitting next to me… so I got to read a whole lot.

On Sunday I had loads of stuff to do… I bought food, got caught up with school, and played with the furry trouble makers!

Monday was great… we only had online presentation and then 2 pathologies and a micro lab. Nice and easy.

Today (Tuesday) we had 2 internal medicines, physiology and a radiology class. Then we had path lab. I tutored during the morning and during the afternoon. Then at night time, my friend Keith and I went out for dinner, coffee and studying. It was very fun.

OH! The other thing I did today… I saved another cat from the cold Midwest weather! My friend Melissa was standing outside, when a cat came to her and tried to rub at her feet. She is allergic to cats, so she came into class and asked me to go catch it. I went out but couldn’t find it. After an hour of class we went back outside, and she showed me where the cat was at last. We couldn’t find it anywhere. Then we thought that perhaps he went down the storm drain—so I laid on the pavement and looked down—called it a few times, but nothing. Then I went to the other side of the street and looked down. Nothing. So I called it a few times, and then I heard it meow back at me. It came up, and of course, ran straight to Melissa with the allergies. I grabbed it and brought it inside.

Once inside, the cat started to freak out, and jumped out of my hands and started running in the first floor. After talking calmly to it, I caught it again and brought it up to the 4th floor to awesome Dr. Cole who took the stray straight to the vets…

So the only thing we got to do now is find it a home…

That’s really all about it, I have got to go to bed,

Much love,


Reut
30 nov 05 @ 12:43 am

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005
I'm home!!!
11-14-->11-22-05

Hello hello!

Well, another late posting (I’m starting to become a procrastinator or something… ugg!)

At the moment, I am sitting at my home and Arizona, and just enjoying being with my family. This past week (or I suppose, last week) was a little hectic, but it is all the past now, and all is left is to enjoy this holiday :o)

Monday of last week was a decent day—in the morning we started late due to some independent study and “case of the week” which I have already finished. We had 2 physiologies followed by biochemistry lab. This was the “pee-lab”, where we learned how to test urine. It was really fun, and I truly enjoyed it! After the lab I think we had path lab, but I am not 100% sure…

Tuesday was a bit hard: pathology first thing in the morning, two microbiologies and a pharmacology. I absolutely loved this pharm—all about medicine for urinary tract infections. It was not overly difficult, and I just had fun with it. During the afternoon, Tala and I conquered biostatistics.

Wednesday was Score One for Health all morning long. This time I was in the blood pressure station. It was quite boring, but that’s alright… I got to do plenty of physicals before, and it was my turn to enjoy blood pressure.

Thursday was quite interesting—2 pediatrics, family medicine and surgery. That afternoon it was biostatistics once again. Friday was also short—internal medicine, pathology and surgery.

In anycase, during the weekend, Tala and I studied hard and were prepared to take the quiz on Monday morning. By that afternoon I was going crazy! I couldn’t wait to fly home, and so I bid goodbye to my little fur balls—made sure they had enough food and water for a day (to last them until my friend made it there the next day), gave them many smooches, and drove to the airport an hour early :o)

The flight was neat—I was sitting next to a 20 year old with a 2 year old child. I had a great time playing with the little kiddo, and I think that lady was happy she had me as ‘the person in the next seat over’—she got a tiny bit of a rest.

Then, finally finally I got home! Mom, Dad and Midnight all came to pick me up from the airport. I got home and had a wonderful dinner with them. Then today (Monday), Omer called early in the morning and told me he is skipping a class in order to come see a movie with me. We watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire together, and it was just so much darker than I imagined it in my own head. They did a decent job with the movie!

That’s about it for now,

I’ll write a tad more at the end of the week.

Love to you all, and to all
Happy Thanksgiving!

Reut
22 nov 05 @ 11:34 pm

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Monday, November 14, 2005
Miracles do happen
11-07-05-->11-14-05

Hello everyone,

Last time I wrote I was in a pretty crappy mood—mainly because I was tired from the delay in the flight, but mostly because really missed home. Well… this time around this entry will be influenced by happiness!

First of all, renal is cool! As much as I thought I was disliking it during the first 3 or 4 days, this weekend, when I was reviewing everything, things started to click, and it all became like a game. It is definitely nicer.

But first thing ‘s first, Monday morning… Oh man, I was in a really grouchy mood. Getting only 3 hours of sleep after that delayed flight was not enough. I was planning on missing the first lecture in order to sleep a tiny bit more, but I forgot to re-set my alarm clock, and so it happened that I woke up for the first lecture, which was only an introduction to the section plus administrative stuff.

The first real lecture though was an hour later with 2 histologies, and a physiology. Ugg… physiology was not pretty. We have a different professor than Dr. K, and… well… I really like learning from Dr. K, so it is hard to get used to a new person. In anycase, that afternoon we had path lab and an anatomy thing on the computer. Not a big deal, but I was really tired and missed everyone.

My friends decided that we need to work on path during lunch time—it is totally cool, but during that sleep-deprived Monday I was not too happy to review the material. Oh well…

Tuesday we had 2 hours of physiology, a sexual development in the male and ethics in health care policy (with an amazing speaker). Path during lunch, and then… a miracle (for me at least)à I’ll tell you about it after I finish my review of the week.

Wednesday morning was devoted to boundary setting with patients—a nice presentation, then 2 physiology, sexual development and hooray for score 1 for health!!! This time I didn’t find anything too interesting, but I had a really great time.

Thursday was all about finishing physiology, then a short biochem lecture and then a histology of male reproductive system. Quite interesting! Then we had End of life lab—I had Dr. McCandless (the daughter)—she has to be one of my favorite people I enjoy listening to. She always has pearls to pass on, and is just compassionate and… I have just nice things to say about her—I hope that she always keep working with our school.

Friday was great—just a histology class and an inter departmental conference. Nice and easy!

This whole weekend was devoted to studying, catching up and playing with the cats—I did a whole lot, but worked a tad too slow for my taste. Oh well…

So… you read all the way down to the end of the entry, and you want to hear about my miracle…

Well—two amazing friends— my angels, got me a way to fly home for thanksgiving. They have requested not to let the whole world know who they are, but I’ll just let you know that in about 8 days I will be with my family for five whole days, and this has to be the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I am not even sure how I can thank them for this, but I will somehow.

They are just wonderful

And that’s all I have to say—



Well, love and kisses from here—I will write next week, right before my quiz.

Loads of kisses,

Reut

OHHH! I forgot one important thing! The match results are here—I will be in… New Jersey next year!!! Wow, what a change!
14 nov 05 @ 1:04 am

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Tuesday, November 8, 2005
Late post-- sorry!
10-31-05-->11-07-05

Hello family and friends

This one is a really late entry…

I’ll start with last Monday and try to catch up. I got to school pretty early in the morning (7:30AM), and was so excited to have a nice Halloween breakfast that student affairs has put on—yummy bagels and muffins!!! I don’t quite remember what we had that day, but in all reality, I just was so excited that at the end of the week I was going to fly home!!!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were devoted for studying… nothing major. I was excited to be done with ‘mind’ This was not my favorite section.

Friday morning I had the final examination, which I hope I did well on… In the middle of the exam I did the mistake of thinking : “in about 3 hours I’m going to be on my way to the airport!!!”… after thinking that I couldn’t quite concentrate on the exam. Oh well.

In anycase, finally finally the final was over, and I came home, cleaned the house, talked to Katie one last time about everything with the cats, and then I went downstairs and waited for Matt and Erica to show up. When the did, we all got in the car, and I was SO excited to be driving to the airport!!! I just couldn’t wait!

In any case, the flight home was fine—I got loads of sleep. When I got to Sky Harbour, I met Erica’s parents, and than I went outside to wait for Omer. It was SOOOOO nice to be back home.

So home update—I had a wonderful time, and really really didn’t want to come back to Kansas City. It was nice just being there with mom, dad, Omer and Midi. We somehow managed to watch a movie—“Dreamer” it was quite cute.

On Sunday I had to leave, and got to the airport. My flight was delayed, and then right before we boarder the plane, we had maintenance problems, and so the delayed it more. All in all, we left when we were suppose to have landed… we got here at 1:40AM, and we made it home at around 2:45. Needless to say that today (Monday) I was really tired… definitely not a way to start renal.

Loads of kisses to all, this was just a short update—so sorry for not have written earlier.

Love,

Reut
8 nov 05 @ 12:37 am

October 2005

Sunday, October 30, 2005
Beautiful autumn!
10-24-05-->10-30-05

Hello everyone!

This week was decent—it started out on Monday with a quiz—they are holding the scores until everyone come back from the AOA convention in Florida—so I am still waiting to see how I did in it. Following the quiz, we had a spirituality panel and a spirituality lecture. Basically, we had a discussion regarding important topics and how each religion views them. Definitely important. The lecture emphasized end of life care and spirituality. I thought the speaker was phenomenal. It is so important for us to understand that no matter what our religion (or lack there of) is, we must respect our patients and their religions beliefs, and actually use the patients beliefs to their own benefit.

Right after this lecture I donated blood—this time, the blood just poured out of me like crazy! It was great… I was done after a very short amount of time.

On Tuesday we had a whole day of pharmacology; first Dr. Mizinga with sedatives and Hypnotics, and then Dr. McCandless with substance abuse. Pharm is definitely fun, but later on when we review the material, it takes forever to get through…

Wednesday morning I tutored my little sister Sarah and her friend Monica in OMT. It was just so much fun teaching the material!!! I think I might have to come back and teach at a medical school after I will become a clinician :o) I just enjoy it too much. After an hour of tutoring, I went to my physiology classes, and then studied all of the afternoon.

Thursday and Friday were filled with psychiatry. I don’t know about it… so far, we are still in the introductory part, and I just don’t know enough about it to decide if I like it or not. Also on Thursday, I tutored the girls, and it was fun.

OH!!! I forgot to tell you, at the beginning of the week (it must have been Monday), it was freezing cold, and ‘Kitty’ was crying outside the apartment complex doors. I finally had enough. I grabbed a carrier that someone had left there, grabbed the cat (he wanted me to hold him and pet him) and put him in the carrier. Then, I took him to Dr. Cole (she is AWESOME!!!) who called the vet and my friends and I drove him there. When I came back to campus I wrote a mass email to both classes and asked if someone had a home for “Carbon” (Dr. Cole (rightfully so) decided that Carbon was a better name than Kitty). LOL! In any case, a girl from the first year has decided to adopt him, so now that saga with “Kitty” is over, and I am so happy that he has found a home! :o)

Saturday and Sunday were devoted to studying. I tutored OMT on Saturday again. Overall, I didn’t get enough things done on the weekend, but I will definitely get them done during this last week of the section.

After my final next Friday, I will be flying home to Arizona!!!!! Yes!!! I am SO excited and cannot wait :o) My friend Katie will be watching over the little fur-balls, so I am set to go. Also kind of neat, my friends Matt and Erica will be flying to phoenix on the same exact flight as me! How fun!!! It would be so much more exciting to fly over and back with friends.

In any case, much love to all,

Reut
30 oct 05 @ 10:32 pm

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Sunday, October 23, 2005
It is really cold here... brrrr. I don't like cold weather... brrr!
10-17-05-->10-23-05

Hello friends and family!

So… we have started our “Mind, spirit and Behavior” section at the beginning of the week. In comparison to Neuro, this is much slower.

This week was really fun—On Monday we had an interesting domestic abuse lectures. It is very scary to see the control the abusers have on the victims, and it is so sad that this is very common in our country. Monday night my friends and I continued studying for OMT—since we started studying for it on Saturday, by Monday we all felt pretty confident with the material.

Tuesday came rolling around with Pharmacology, Physiology and Pathology lectures, and during the afternoon pathology lab and medical informatics (biostatistics! YEAH!) After that we studied some more OMT. But, we stopped at 5, because… that night was MY night!!! In the middle of ‘Neuro’ student affairs started advertising for a movie night. I decided back then that I was going to go, no matter what… and so I did just that. The movie was Batman (the new one), and it was actually really good—I truly enjoyed it.

Wednesday was all about pharmacology, preventive medicine and physiology. That afternoon we had Score One for Health. This time around, we went to the Woodland school (which is right across from my apartment). It was difficult to work there, because the light was awfully dim, and we didn’t appropriate chairs, but it was still very fun. I found a few interesting things—first one was ring-worms. In all reality, I wouldn’t have recognized it, because it didn’t look like typical ring worms, but the kid kept saying to me that it’s ring worms and that her friend told her that, so I decided to ask Dr. P. The kid was right, and I learned something new! Ring worms look much different on darker skin—how cool! Then I found a kid with slight rails, and on the same kid I listened really good and found a Grade II systolic murmur. I really enjoy listening to hearts—I tune everything out—and then I close my eyes and just listen really carefully. It is great. That was about it—the rest of the kids were normal. It was really cute when one of the girls said that she was “either going to be a doctor or a model” :o) I told her she was pretty enough to be a model, but being a doctor was just so much cooler! Of course I had to let her try some of the different tools… I mean, she is a doctor in the making, right? She thought that my ophthalmoscope was way cool. What a cutie.
After all of this, I returned to school (after playing with my ‘tzemed-chemed’ (my cats at home)), and finished a pharm lecture and then studied some more for OMT. Trust me, by the time we were done, I felt so confident and ready for the exam… I wish we always had so much time to study for it :o)

Thursday was the OMT examination. I really wanted to get a cranial station… I really knew that material well and wanted to show-off, but apparently showing-off isn’t acceptable by the gods or something, because as luck had it, I didn’t get that station. Oh well, I had a lower neuropathy station lecture, a cervical lecture and a cranial nerve examination. Then at the end everyone had to write SOAP notes (subjective, objective, assessment and Plan)—with all of the things that go with objective. Also at the end we had to read some x-rays and identify some pictures. It was great.
After I finished the exam, I went straight to Smith hall and studied until night time.

Friday was fun! We had a psychologist come and teach two presentations. It was very interesting. At the end we had interdepartmental conference and then Primary Care Day. Primary Care Day is a day where all of the clubs organize and each takes upon itself to teach a clinical skill to the 1st years. Docs 4 Tots showed how to perform BMI testing. It is a really easy skill, but necessary for our screenings. I too learned some new skills—I once again intubated a fake pt. And… I finally conquered surgical knots!!! Hans explained to me how to do it, and I got it! All I needed was the right person to show me :o)

That night I begun studying for our quiz, and also begun tutoring Sarah for OMT.

That’s about it from here. It has been a fun week, and as Hans says: “Good times… Good times…” He cracks me up!

Loads of kisses,

Reut
23 oct 05 @ 11:58 pm

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Monday, October 17, 2005
Goodbye "Neuro", hello "Mind"
10-10-05--> 10-16-05

Hello family and friends,

That’s it, we are done with Neuro—I am kind of sad and happy at the same time.

This week was filled with lots of hard workà On Monday we still had lectures: we had 3 hours of neurology and then an hour of pharmacology. I always feel like lectures on the last day are difficult to internalize, but… Dr. Hon did such a great job with the neurology lectures, that it was very doable. After an afternoon neurology review, I continued reviewing for our pathology practical and our neuro-case presentation.

On Tuesday morning, Tim, Julia and I presented our neuro-case. It was very interesting to do, yet kind of nerve wracking! Two or three weeks prior, we chose a neurology case, analyzed it, and then prepared a short presentation with: patient’s history, sign and symptoms, neuroanatomical analasis, and diagnosis. It was so nice to be done with the presentation… for we still had to finish getting ready for path. Path practical was decent.

Wednesday and Thursday were kind of a blur… Tala and I reviewed non-stop. By Friday morning, we were pretty ready. It was nice to be done with the final examination, and that Friday night I took off!!! I went and saw “Just Like Heaven” with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. Very very cute movie!!

Saturday and Sunday, we attempted to study for our OMT examination, but I bet we will do more studying this week… :o)

That’s about it. Vega and KC are just cute—at the moment (6am) they are running from one side of my apartment to the other playing!

Well everyone, have a great week!

Reut
17 oct 05 @ 6:09 am

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Monday, October 10, 2005
Five more days of neuro!!!
10-02-05-->10-09-05

Hi family and friends, Shana Tova! שנה טובה ומתוקה!!!

What a crazy week! We had a quiz on Monday, and even though I thought it was very very hard, I ended up performing very well—I really am hoping that the final (this week) would be just as successful.

In any case, after the quiz on Monday, we had 2 Pharm lectures—it was all about anesthesia and such. Fairly interesting. Later that afternoon we had clinical conferences, and independent study. As it was Erev-Rosh ha’shana, I went with a few of my friends (Erica, Matt, Elisha, Adam & his girlfriend Jen) to a local synagogue (Beth Shalom) for their services. It was fun, but mainly much more fun just being out with my friends. When we were there, we met Mike (also from our class) and his girlfriend. All and all: decent service, great company.

Tuesday was lovely—we had the last two lectures of neuroanatomy (HURRAH!!!!!) We had a path lecture and some physiology. That afternoon I was working hard to catch up from Monday.

Wednesday had to be the greatest. The morning was filled with OMT and treating TMJ dysfunctions, but the afternoon was even better. Once again we had score one for health—working at the local schools doing physicals on children. This time around, I actually got to perform physicals, which was so much better than dental screening. I actually found a bunch of stuff, but these were the main things—the first child I assessed had a grade II systolic murmur. I saw a child with a bifurcated uvula. The main thing I was proud of was catching an undiagnosed asthma… It definitely is exciting to help children.

Also on Wednesday… I caught another cat! (this one is the last one). I was coming to school, and talked to Dorothy between classroom B and Smithhall. All of the sudden, I saw this cat following Dorothy. I stopped and grabbed Kitty’s cat food (Kitty is the cat from outside that doesn’t want to get in), and gave a bit to her. I dared and touched the cat and it started purring right away. Naturally (to me, that is), I picked her up and took her to Dr. Cole’s office. Dr. Cole was just awesome and took her to the vet for me—the cat had to stay there until Friday.

Dr. Cole is the nicest lady—she has a cat carrier in her office and she always take in stray cats—as I had to be in Score one for health that afternoon, I couldn’t just leave

Thursday was filled with pathology, physiology and clinical conferences. I just wanted to go home and sleep, but to no avail.

Friday was fast—an hour of oncology and then two hours of pharm. My memory is getting to be so much better now. It is much easier to memorize stuff. I guess they are right: it is possible to train the brain :o)

As I was finishing reviewing the pharmacology lectures at Smith hall, Dorothy came knocking on my door letting me know that a certain little white and black cat was waiting downstairs with Dr. Cole.

Ooooo! This cat is SO cute! About 20 people were standing next to Dr. Cole petting the cat, and I was just in 7th heaven.

I brought her home, and had a very entertaining hour or so of hissing competition from Both KC and the new cat. After that, they started chasing one another and playing. They are so good together.

This weekend was dedicated for studying… we have our path practical on Tuesday, Presentation on Tuesday morning, and final on Friday morning.

As I am very tired, I have got to go to bed,

Much love to all of you,

Reut
10 oct 05 @ 12:07 am

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Sunday, October 2, 2005
neuro... aka how to reshape one's brain!
09-26-->10-02-05

Hello everyone,

Wow… it’s October once again—this section is flying by!

This week was very difficult, especially our neuroanatomy lectures. I am not going to vent about it here, but it took me a long time to really understand them and I was quite frustrated with it at times. …However… now that I get it, it is very rewarding.

Monday was maily neuroanatomy and physiology—I just love physiology… I wish I could study it more in depth. It is very fascinating. That afternoon we had Clinical conference and pathology lab. I went to the later path lab, and found it to be relaxing with the smaller group. I am going to keep going to the later lab.

Tuesday was a breeze—we had neurology, pathology and physiology. We had a directed study that I still didn’t get to yet (oops)—I’ll do it tomorrow afternoon.

Wednesday was the greatest day this whole week!!! We had a lab with Dr. Karty—“eye exam” lab. It was just great! But the best part of the day was actually during the afternoon. We had our Score one for Health—we went over to inner city schools and performed physicals, dental, BP examinations etc. I got to work in the dental station. All I have to say is… thank goodness I’m not in dental school!!! I had the basic knowledge to perform a dental screen, but in all reality... this is probably all I will ever know about it. I had a few cute kids—I’d ask them “How many times do you brush your teeth everyday?” and they would respond with “Seventeen!!” or… “59, no! wait! 72!!!” I thought they were adorable. I saw some very bad cavities and decay, but also some kids that were proud of keeping their teeth nice and clean. Next week I get to perform physicals!!! Hurrah!

Thursday was nice—we had ENT, and two pharmacology lectures with a guest speaker who was phenomenal. I like exciting people, and she was one of them. That afternoon, we had clinical conferences that lasted until 4pm.

Friday was cool—we had 3 neurologys, one of which was with Dr. Hon- Another very exciting person—definitely great to learn a lecture from her—All I need to do is listen, and it just sticks… I wish this was the same with Stephen’s lectures :o)

That’s about it—I studies all weekend long—reviewing and quizzing. Tala was sick on Friday and today, so we got through less quizzing, but that’s okay.

My little KC is sitting next to me purring like a tractor—I think I should have named him John Deer, or “CAT”… The cat outside “Kitty” has been eating all the food that I (and some of my friends) have been leaving it/them. Tonight however, I dared and touched his tale and belly. Oh… he was very upset with me… he gave me a warning meow and a mean look…Sheesh!!

Loads of love from here,

I have to get to bed tonight!

Reut
2 oct 05 @ 10:39 pm