If Medusa had a moustache...

If Medusa had a moustache, would it be made of teeny snakelets?

I would study, but...

I'm worried it would not be productive. It's 3AM. I had extremely productive studies this weekend. I made 100 on 4 quizzes online in various subjects and I think I'm off to a great start for a good grade on my next pathophysiology test. 

My strategy has been to shoot for the middle of the pack, and I seem to be on target. I made 84 on my first three exams-- what are the odds of that??? Anyway, I'm very pleased. Next weekend, though, I'm going to take at least one day for total goof-off.

One big challenge was to figure out how and where to study at home, and I've learned not to try to do reading on the recliner or supine on the sofa, because the dogs pile on and put me to sleep. I've also started printing the teacher's study guides and jotting on my own notes and noting the corresponding pages on the notes in case I need a refresher later. Being very thorough the first time means that my review can be just a read-through of the guide with notes and I'm good to go. It's very noble to plan to read through all the material twice, but it's just not possible-- too voluminous.

Um, it feels really odd that I need to correct the text on this, but in the Patho text where they are talking about drugs, they give the street names for stuff like PCP et al, and they list "blow" as a street name for heroin. Uh, I've always heard cocaine referred to as "blow."  Heroin is "smack" and other illustrious terms, no doubt. This seems significant, because if someone is in the ER with a cocaine overdose, you'd be doing the wrong things for them if you think they're overdosing on heroin. But maybe I'm wrong about this??? I've had exactly zero experience around people on heroin. I hope. Yuck. 

*******

Completely unrelated note: on Facebook about an hour ago, an acquaintance from a past job posted photos of herself and a bunch of friends in a bar doing shots of liquor. Whoopsie! She's just posted that she is in the ER with a stomach problem. I'll bet. Reminding myself to un-friend her. 

Probably a good idea for ER admitting people to do quick searches of FB to see what the patient was up to prior to coming in. Maybe there's a "hey, Bubba, watch this" photo that will aid in diagnosis.

People. What're you going to do?

*********

I gather that folks in the armed forces are shown photos of diseased wedding tackle as an incentive to be careful where they put their own wedding tackle. I have to say my Patho textbook has the most sobering photos of pudendae EVAR.  Srsly.   Remember the driver's ed films with all the crash/corpse photos from the 50s?  Well, this is a sort of equivalent. Definite deterrent material. Yay, penicillin!

I also am more and more convinced I want to work in wound care. With the MRSAs running rampant and diabetes on the increase, there will be more and more call for folks who can help with that. There's a huge psychological aspect, as well, and I think I could do some good there. I have very steady hands and excellent manual dexterity, so I think I'm a prime candidate for that area. I'm generally excited about the prospect of working in a field to help people on the most profound level. I hope I'll find a level of job satisfaction that has heretofore eluded me. 

I'll try to post more frequently, but no promises. Ridiculously busy here, but happy. Going to try to catch some more sleep. Have a wonderful week!

Sunday, Puppy Sunday: new collar for Le Chooch

Okay. No more coffee after noon.

I need to get into a better sleep habit. This insomnia stuff is for the birds. 

Instead of watching the new Madonna art film, I recommend a nice cuppa Sadie!

Here's a performance from earlier in the year by the always luscious, ever-gorgeous Sadie:


LOVE. HER.

I adore how blissful she looks. 

Color theory

Miz Minka has a link to a super-neat color site wherein you can rearrange colored tiles in a spectrum to test your color acuity.  Nifty, innit?   I was very happy with the 15 I scored (my age category has a range of 0 to 1530), but she scored a very impressive 3. 

Eye-rolling 101

Article:  The Secret American Subculture of Putin-Worshippers


Seriously??? 

As opposed to the Public International Culture of Obama-Worshippers???

Did  a chill just run down my leg, or what?

Annoying. How could anyone admire someone canny, capable, active and no-bullshit who actually doesn't want to help the people who killed so many Americans on 9/11???  That's just nutty, right???

Dreaded locks.

I can't believe I'm composing this post. Composting?  Um. If it's funny, enjoy it while you can, because I might pull it back down at any moment. 

If you have dogs, then I'm sure like me, you've noticed that a dog hair occasionally gets in your mouth, right?  Well, it stands to reason that they would occasionally ingest some of our hairs, right?  What is problematic for my dogs is that my hair is fairly long.  I don't know that Chuy has ever swallowed my hair, but in the past with dear, departed Valentine and definitely with Praline, there has been an occasional uncomfortable *aherm* outcome related to having ingested my hair. 

Ever-so-long ago, I noticed Valentine had been in the yard for a great long while and when I called her to come in, she seemed embarrassed, still hunched over in mid-poo stance.   I went to see what was the matter, worried I'd find distended bits of innards only to find that one of my hairs was embedded in a dangler and the end of the hair was still in cheekero.  I looked around and found a leaf from a tree, grasped the pewp with the leaf and pulled the rest of the hair from her bum and bob's yer uncle.  Had to do that from time to time.  No idea if she intentionally ingested my hair or not, but it was something to watch for.  To my knowledge, no deleterious health effects resulted from these hair events, other than the embarrassment of a rather tidy little dog.

Flash forward to Praline, who is bizarrely fastidious(she'd rather die than have an accident indoors), and when she has a dangler (rarely), she is very embarrassed about it.  She would probably spraddle-walk the yard for an hour if I didn't come to her rescue, poor darling, but even then, she'll get embarrassed about her sorry state and will try to hide her shame.  It's comical (and heart-rending) to chase her in that state, because she is mortified.

Mochi, as I've mentioned, is nomnivorous and is ever trawling the universe for something in appropriate to ingest.  Seriously.  She LOVES chewing up pens.  Unraveling a chenille bedspread is a great joy to her, and I once had to pull a chenille strand of about 18" from her mouth and it was quickly apparent the strand had traveled a goodly distance into my long little doggie.  Goober.  She's a walking hazard and there's no telling what she's eaten. *sigh*

This morning, it is particularly fine and beautiful, so I stood on the back step when I let them out.  Mochi was having a poop event, and the, um, ejecta seemed unwilling to disengage.  I watched her for a wee bit, but quickly realized it was in some way attached.  Like a good mommy, I scanned the area for an amply-sized leaf with which to liberate the reluctant turd.  Mochi was most amenable to having assistance, to my relief, because I didn't want to run all over the place bare-foot.  Come to find it wasn't just one hair, but a fairly dense mass of the things that had formed a little dreadlocky turd thing with hair extending up into her bottom.  Seriously, it was a fairly impressive tangle of hairs, and it actually took a little tug to get it the rest of the way out. Wow.

Made me think of what my mom says about dread locks-- she said they remind her of those monkeys (or apes) that roll dung in their fur?  Anyway.  I hope this does not become a regular thing around here-- Mochi seems precisely the sort who would get bored trying to lose it and would just flounce her dreadlock back into the house.  Ew.

Sunday, Puppy Sunday: Praline the vigilant

Late in the day, Praline is watching through the uncovered windows, lest anything need its arse kicked or neck wrung. 

I'm a busy bee.

Had two massive tests and a group project this week. Freakishly, I made an 84 on both, to my delight. On one, though, I worried that I got a 48 and they accidentally transposed the numbers and they'd tell me later. This perhaps conveys the level of anxiety, to some degree. 

It's good, though. I'm finding a great deal of satisfaction in the process.  Also, finding my way a bit with Excel, with the help of some good friends. I was lead on a project for statistics class and that has been something of an ordeal, to say the least. I hope I should do as well as an 84 on that, but we shall see. 

Busy weekend. Lots of quizzes to take. Major test on Tuesday. At least the weather is finally cooling off, thank goodness!!!

Just a hunch, but

I'm guessing Miss Mochi harvested the sharpie from the pen cup on the desk. 

Crap. She's a monkey-dog. Everything not bolted down will need to be under lock and key. And she's nomnivorous-- she'll nom anything she can get her paws on. 

Sigh. 

Fortunately, she doesn't have thumbs (yet) and may never achieve her plan for world domination. Still, she'd be a wonderful little dictator. Come to that, I'd prefer her to other "leadership."  Next time, write in Mochi on the ballot. Chew-pens for every pot!

Big birds.

About a mile from my house on Saturday I saw a bird so enormous that I doubted my senses. The wingspan had to be at least 6 feet- it definitely seemed wider than my car-- breathtaking!  Then I saw its mate sitting on top of a telephone pole.  A pair of Golden Eagles.   I've seen Golden Eagles here before, but only a couple of times and farther out in the country. I saw a Bald Eagle about an hour away from here in winter about 4 years ago(I 'bout dropped my transmission- I was so excited), so it's not the first time to see a massive raptor in the region.  It was the first time to see one so close to home. 

I realize their primary diet is little morsels like prairie dogs and the like, but it did not comfort me that when I googled images of Golden Eagles, I found one of a pair feasting on the carcass of a fox in a treetop.  Um.  That fox probably weighed about the same as any of my furballs, or more.  Made me nervous, so I voiced my anxiety to Himself, who said that in light of their huge wingspan, the canopy of my huge pecan trees would make them unlikely to come to my yard for easy puppy pickins.

I hope so. Still, I'm going to be a lot less casual about leaving them free-ballin' in the back yard for long periods of time.

Is it wrong that I hope the incessant yappers one block over would pull focus?

Um, scratch that. I don't want any raptors feasting on any dogs in my neighborhood, because sooner or later, they'd set their sights on mine.  Bird sanctuary be damned.

Thoughts and prayers going out to all the folks in the Washington Navy Yard

Such horrid news. :(

We are going to be friends.

Fall and school always make me think of this wonderful song by the White Stripes, beautifully rendered here by Jack Johnson.



Stop motion animation charmingly rendered by Alison Work.