School, Engagement and Kitty

16 weeks have gone by and I finally have the chance to sit down and catch up my blog. When I left off, I had just finished my surgery rotation (the first of my third year). I have since received word that I got an Honors grade.

I did five weeks of Pediatrics next; 2 weeks on the wards at Doernbecher and 3 weeks in the Mother Baby Unit at OHSU. I had a great time and especially enjoyed the MBU. I have always been a little nervous around newborn babies (especially when they cry), but two days into the rotation I had figured out how to examine the babies and then get them nice and bundled up so that they wouldn’t cry at all. Apparently my magic touch earned me another Honors grade. They were soooooo adorable. Speaking of adorable little bundles… we got a new one!!!

ZANE!!! He is our 2^nd little black kitty. We found him online through Cat Adoption Team and went to see him one day while him and his sister were at PetSmart. We fell in love with him and although we weren’t planning on adopting a kitty that day, we didn’t even make it to the car before we turned around and got him. He had been with his litter since birth so he wasn’t scared of Colbie. She, on the other hand, was terrified of him. There was a good week of hissing, swatting, and Ryan and I sleeping in separate rooms so that neither kitty needed to be alone. Eventually, though they got used to each other and now are best buddies. They chase each other all around play fight like crazy. He is such a little boy (meaning “trouble maker”) but we adore him.

Also while I was on my Pediatrics rotation, my family and I ran in Hood to Coast. We certainly didn’t win, but we had a great time. I was so proud of all the team members who really trained hard and completely the 197 mile race! In my van, it was myself, Dad, Christie, my dad’s law partner Bob, Gabe, and Mia. In the other van it was my Aunt Sue, Uncle Les, Aunt Kathie, cousin Kortney, cousin Jon, and second cousin Ryan. Many of us were pumped to do it again next year, but I just received word that we did not make it into the raffle for teams.

In between my Pediatric and Family Medicine rotations, Ryan and I traveled down to Eugene with my mom and Pete for the Utah State Duck game. We arrived in town a little early so Ryan and I walked around campus. We went and saw the remodeled Hayward Field and then went to see Willamette Hall (the building where we met in physics class). While we stood outside the doors and reminisced about our meeting, Ryan got down on one knee and pulled a diamond ring out of his pocket!!! I couldn’t believe it! Before answering yes, I asked him “Are you serious?” at least five times. I was happy that I started to cry, but tears barely came out because I was so surprised and the physiologic response of the tears wasn’t fast enough. We went back to the car before the game started where we drank mini bottles of champagne that Ryan had brought with him. Then we headed to the game, watched the Ducks kick butt, and found some friends and family to share the big news with. Ryan has often said he doesn't think it is fair that the girl gets an engagement ring and the guy doesn't get a gift.... he thought an engagement bike was fair. So, Ryan got his new bike. We have since decided that we are going to have a long engagement secondary mostly to our school schedules. We have decided on May 8, 2010 at Sunriver Resort. We haven’t made many other decisions yet, but I’m looking forward to winter break so I can have some quality time with bridal magazines.

Following the excitement of the engagement weekend, I started my Family Medicine rotation with Dr. Charles Webb, a Sports Medicine doctor. I really enjoyed myself and admittedly was quite tempted to change my mind about orthopedics. For the time being, I’m staying with my original goal, but have certainly made some decisions about the type of career I eventually want. Sometime during the rotation, Ryan and I moved into a new place. Our old apartment was going into foreclosure and we decided to move out before we were forced to move out. We found a great 3 story townhouse in the same building (Meriwether in South Waterfront). It is a beautiful, big place with lots of stairs for the kitties to run up and down.

Next up was my Psychiatry rotation. I was at the VA for 5 weeks and met all kinds of crazies! It was an eye opener to see how sick some people are and to see how little can often be done for them. I learned a lot, but know that I do not want to be a psychiatrist.

Other events that have come and gone are Halloween and Ryan’s 26^th birthday. For Halloween we went to the Tinkle’s place and Ryan and I dressed up as Colbie and Zane. Meanwhile, the kitties had their own costumes that my mom made for them. For Ryan’s bday we went out to an amazing dinner at Carlyle. The next day we went to Rogue Brewery with some friends for lunch and then watched football and played Wii Mariokart ALL EVENING at our place!