Monday, January 31, 2011
New Photos!
So, in case you have not noticed, I have uploaded all of the photos from this last Christmas visit in AZ with Kristen and the family. I failed to mention that in my last post. Anyways, today our lectures were cancelled. We were supposed to have three ophthalmology lectures but apparently the lecturer has the flu. I had to be at the university for one practical though. The practical was on urinalysis, which I have done MANY times. They had the urine dip sticks out and the refractometer so that we could practice doing that, but I've done that so many times before that I didn't even bother with it. I focused more on reading the urine sediment cytology, which was much more fun than staring at urine dipsticks. We finished the practical and I caught the bus back home. I have yet to start on any notes...but eventually will. I hope the weather is warmer in AZ than here! It has been a wee bit nippy this week, but not horrible. So, on with this study thing... I hope everyone is having a good week so far. Talk to you all soon!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
No Resits For Me!!!
So the university finally submitted our grades. They released the Clinical Foundations Course grades on Friday and I passed the written exam along with the suture and hand washing practical. Grades for Pathology were released today and I passed that as well. So I will have the entire summer break free without having to be back in Edinburgh to resit any of those exams! So relieved! Those were the toughest exams I've ever taken in my life and I feel so sorry for the people that didn't pass. Studying for those again will take up the entire summer break! We do have one exam before the Easter break and its a multiple choice exam that's worth 20% of the Integrated Dog and Cat course. The remaining 80% is on the exams right before we break for the summer. Hopefully that one won't be as difficult...
The weather has been getting nicer here and the days are getting longer. The sun has been out for the past few days with small bouts of rain, which isn't so bad. I started carpooling with a friend from class and it is so much nicer than riding on a bus! Plus, I get to class and have a plethora of seats to choose from rather than showing up late on the bus and having nothing but first row neck breaking seats to choose from! I've gotten my ticket to come back for Easter break and will be back in AZ for a little over a week and then heading up to Washington to see Kristin, Mike and Michelle! Then, when I'm finished with that trip, I'm going to be in Canada for two weeks to see Kristen and her family! What an amazing Easter break I have to look forward too!
I've also started physical therapy for my right shoulder now and it seems like it is getting better. The pain isn't as intense as it was before physio. The physical therapist told me that my posture is bad and that because I've been studying and sitting in a hunched position, my scapular muscles have become weakened and cannot support my shoulder like they should be. When she pressed against my scapula and told me to raise my arm, there was no pain. When she did not do that and I raised my arm, there was pain. So I have been working on my posture and doing my physio exercises as well as going to the gym and working on building up my scapular muscles and back muscles to help with posture. Hopefully this all pays off and I can go back to playing racquetball and lifting weights.
So sushi was on my mind this last week and I decided to have a go at making my own sushi rolls. The first sushi roll I made was a spicy tuna roll. I made it with too much rice though. The second roll was much better. I had three days of sushi and my rolls kept getting better and better. I've decided to hold off on making any more before I get too sick of them. I had baked haddock with a tomato sauce for dinner tonight that Kristen gave me the recipe for and it was DELICIOUS! Well, I better get going so I can get a restful sleep for tomorrow's TWO lectures! I have two dental lectures from 9am - 11am tomorrow and then finished for the day. Hope everyone is having a great week so far! Talk to you all soon!
The weather has been getting nicer here and the days are getting longer. The sun has been out for the past few days with small bouts of rain, which isn't so bad. I started carpooling with a friend from class and it is so much nicer than riding on a bus! Plus, I get to class and have a plethora of seats to choose from rather than showing up late on the bus and having nothing but first row neck breaking seats to choose from! I've gotten my ticket to come back for Easter break and will be back in AZ for a little over a week and then heading up to Washington to see Kristin, Mike and Michelle! Then, when I'm finished with that trip, I'm going to be in Canada for two weeks to see Kristen and her family! What an amazing Easter break I have to look forward too!
I've also started physical therapy for my right shoulder now and it seems like it is getting better. The pain isn't as intense as it was before physio. The physical therapist told me that my posture is bad and that because I've been studying and sitting in a hunched position, my scapular muscles have become weakened and cannot support my shoulder like they should be. When she pressed against my scapula and told me to raise my arm, there was no pain. When she did not do that and I raised my arm, there was pain. So I have been working on my posture and doing my physio exercises as well as going to the gym and working on building up my scapular muscles and back muscles to help with posture. Hopefully this all pays off and I can go back to playing racquetball and lifting weights.
So sushi was on my mind this last week and I decided to have a go at making my own sushi rolls. The first sushi roll I made was a spicy tuna roll. I made it with too much rice though. The second roll was much better. I had three days of sushi and my rolls kept getting better and better. I've decided to hold off on making any more before I get too sick of them. I had baked haddock with a tomato sauce for dinner tonight that Kristen gave me the recipe for and it was DELICIOUS! Well, I better get going so I can get a restful sleep for tomorrow's TWO lectures! I have two dental lectures from 9am - 11am tomorrow and then finished for the day. Hope everyone is having a great week so far! Talk to you all soon!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Back in Edinburgh and attempting to get back into the study groove...
So after an amazing 3 weeks back home, I am finally back in Edinburgh. I had such an amazing time with everyone and had a great time with Kristen coming to AZ to meet the family. I took her up to Sedona and the Grand Canyon and it was so beautiful when we were there! The red rocks of Sedona and the snow / sunset combination at the Grand Canyon made for some amazing photos! I can definitely say that while I was back home, I had my filling of food! I went out to so many restaurants and had a lot of great dinners at home from mom! Sapporo was by far my favorite place that I ate because the teppanyaki table was awesome! There sure was a lot of food that came with the meal though! I was sad to leave on Thursday, I really was and I miss everyone so much.
I finally got in to Edinburgh on Friday morning 8.20am. I nearly missed my flight in New York. I got off of my first flight and made my way to Terminal 1, however, I managed to take the wrong train so I was going backwards away from terminal 1. I noticed this right away and got off of the train and got onto the right train. I made my way through security and while I was standing in line, I heard an announcement for final boarding call for flight AF023, which was my flight! Okay, so I had about 20 minutes before departure and I still hadn't made it through security, let alone up to the person checking boarding passes/tickets! I was so stressed out! I got through security and quickly put my shoes on, grabbed my laptop, coat and backpack (didn't even bother putting anything back in my backpack) and RAN to my gate. I finally got to the gate and there were about 5 flight attendants waiting at the gate looking towards me. I walked up to the ticketing desk and before I even handed over my ticket, the man said, "hello Mr. Fonza"! Wow, I've never been greeted by name at the gate before! I guess that means they were definitely holding the gate open for me! Thank god!
I made it to Paris and then on to Edinburgh with no problems. Arrived in Edinburgh at 8.20am and got through customs and made my way to baggage claim. I walked up just as I heard my last name being announced. So I walked up to the lady and confirmed that she said my name. Apparently, my baggage and the baggage of some other people was lost in transit to Edinburgh. So we had to give out our information and they said the bag would be delivered between 4-5pm or the next morning. I dropped off my backpack at the flat and took a bus down to the city. I walked around a bit, picked up some groceries and stayed out as long as I could so that I wouldn't be too tired. By the time I got home, I had been awake for over 24 hours and the lack of sleep was getting to me. The bus rides were putting me to sleep each and every time I got on. By the time I got home, made dinner and wound down from a hectic journey and busy morning, I was absolutely knackered! I went to sleep around 7.30pm and at 8.45pm I received a phone call that woke me up. It felt like I had been asleep for 5 hours when it had only been a little over an hour! I answered the phone and it was the courier with my bag. He showed up 15 minutes later and I slowly made my way to the front door, grabbed my bag, signed the device the guy had, closed the door, went back to my room and fell into bed, where I was to sleep until 12pm the next day! I guess I really needed the sleep! I was so tired the next day. Because I waited to sleep, I did not get jet lagged and was caught up on the time change by the next day.
So I am now catching up with the notes on the lectures that I missed and am halfway through. I have class tomorrow until noon, so will be able to get a lot done tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I miss you all already! Sorry I was unable to get to see some of you, it was a busy 3 weeks I had in AZ and did not have much time to see every person I wanted to. Hopefully I will be back in Easter, if not, I will definitely be back in the summer for a month and a half. Talk to you all soon!
I finally got in to Edinburgh on Friday morning 8.20am. I nearly missed my flight in New York. I got off of my first flight and made my way to Terminal 1, however, I managed to take the wrong train so I was going backwards away from terminal 1. I noticed this right away and got off of the train and got onto the right train. I made my way through security and while I was standing in line, I heard an announcement for final boarding call for flight AF023, which was my flight! Okay, so I had about 20 minutes before departure and I still hadn't made it through security, let alone up to the person checking boarding passes/tickets! I was so stressed out! I got through security and quickly put my shoes on, grabbed my laptop, coat and backpack (didn't even bother putting anything back in my backpack) and RAN to my gate. I finally got to the gate and there were about 5 flight attendants waiting at the gate looking towards me. I walked up to the ticketing desk and before I even handed over my ticket, the man said, "hello Mr. Fonza"! Wow, I've never been greeted by name at the gate before! I guess that means they were definitely holding the gate open for me! Thank god!
I made it to Paris and then on to Edinburgh with no problems. Arrived in Edinburgh at 8.20am and got through customs and made my way to baggage claim. I walked up just as I heard my last name being announced. So I walked up to the lady and confirmed that she said my name. Apparently, my baggage and the baggage of some other people was lost in transit to Edinburgh. So we had to give out our information and they said the bag would be delivered between 4-5pm or the next morning. I dropped off my backpack at the flat and took a bus down to the city. I walked around a bit, picked up some groceries and stayed out as long as I could so that I wouldn't be too tired. By the time I got home, I had been awake for over 24 hours and the lack of sleep was getting to me. The bus rides were putting me to sleep each and every time I got on. By the time I got home, made dinner and wound down from a hectic journey and busy morning, I was absolutely knackered! I went to sleep around 7.30pm and at 8.45pm I received a phone call that woke me up. It felt like I had been asleep for 5 hours when it had only been a little over an hour! I answered the phone and it was the courier with my bag. He showed up 15 minutes later and I slowly made my way to the front door, grabbed my bag, signed the device the guy had, closed the door, went back to my room and fell into bed, where I was to sleep until 12pm the next day! I guess I really needed the sleep! I was so tired the next day. Because I waited to sleep, I did not get jet lagged and was caught up on the time change by the next day.
So I am now catching up with the notes on the lectures that I missed and am halfway through. I have class tomorrow until noon, so will be able to get a lot done tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I miss you all already! Sorry I was unable to get to see some of you, it was a busy 3 weeks I had in AZ and did not have much time to see every person I wanted to. Hopefully I will be back in Easter, if not, I will definitely be back in the summer for a month and a half. Talk to you all soon!
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