But never, ever on a Sunday, a Sunday, a Sunday...

...'cause that's my day of rest...

Well...sort of. This weekend has been one of those weekends that didn't quite feel like a weekend. It's probably because I'm still coming out of my super extended weekend of winter break but it just seems like Sunday night came too quickly. Here are a few tidbits floating around in my head. Do with them what you will:

1.) The bird flu is, for lack of a better phrase, scaring the crap out of me. Those of us in the health professional or public health fields have been lectured ad nauseum about the terrifying global implications of this bird flu variant (think virtually unstoppable pandemic) and with all the new reports lately I'm starting to get the willies. Perhaps I should swipe a few inhalation masks from the lab just to be safe...

2.) This transition might be in poor taste but I saw my first cadaver on Friday. We had an anatomy lab at the medical school to see the spinal cord and other parts of the nervous systems. I was a little weirded out at first because you literally walk into a room of "specimens" laying on tables covered in white sheets, much like what I'd imagine a morgue to look like. There were shelves labeled "heads" or "arms" that sure enough had real, plasticized human body parts on them. But despite all of this, it was amazing to see the real thing and the fascination with the science quickly trumps the ickiness factor. Thank goodness because we'll be doing our own cadaver dissections from the diaphragm up in the spring term. I have a newfound respect for people who donate their bodies to science--it truly is an unparalleled learning tool.

3.) Now that we're on the subject of anatomy, a bunch of my classmates and I want to road trip up to Toronto to check out the Body Worlds exhibit. I've heard it's incredible and Toronto is such a great city that a tiny trip to the great up north would be a blast. If you'd be interested in joining, drop me a line!

4.) I ordered this awesome new alarm clock from L.L. Bean that uses a gently illuminating light to wake you instead of a jarring bell or buzzer. It's amazing how much our bodies respond to light and dark cycles in terms of circadian rhythm; they've actually (successfully!) tried to use light patches to treat symptoms of jet lag. I'm hoping it's a more pleasant alternative to my current alarm clocks that practically give me a heart attack every morning.

5.) I'm not sure I'll ever outgrow patterned socks. I just got two new pairs of Valentine's Day socks with all kinds of hearts on them. I'm just glad I can take pleasure in the small stuff sometimes :)

6.) Josh and I got awesome half-price tickets to the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra's tribute to John Coltrane on January 22nd at Hill Auditorium. I'm a big fan of Coltrane and I'm really looking forward to our relaxing night of jazz.

7.) Today marks the birthdays of both Elvis and my good friend Christin. I hope 24 is another fabulous year of life for her!

Happy Birthday, Christin!



xoxox