1/6th of a PA!

Well folks, I did it.  The hellish last push that was finals weeks took a lot out of me but it's over now!!  Yesterday I slept until 8:40!!  It was like Christmas.  Felt amazing.  I happily spent the whole day cleaning and doing domestic things.  JP has been absolutely wonderful at keeping the house up, getting clothes cleaned and making sure I eat, but the last two weeks he was working crazy hours (like 3am-1:00pm for a website launch) and everything turned into a tornado disaster zone that our eyes just glazed over in order to ignore...  BUT yesterday I turned up some music and washed dishes and counters and did three loads of laundry..and that was also like christmas.  There is nothing like the lift of pressure that I now feel.  It sounds pretty silly, but whenever I was trying to wash dishes or do anything helpful towards our household during the semester, I was so stressed out about losing studying time, that I would rush through it and resent everything about it.  I know JP is super glad to have a partner back again, even if it's only for 10 days!

The grocery situation was getting dire...you can only eat so much hummus and probiotics..

In any case, it feels absolutely amazing to have my first semester of school behind me.  People from the program have said that the summer semester is like PA boot camp, and I am glad to be done with it.  I am actually super excited for the next semester!  I have learned SO MUCH, not the least of which includes learning that I can actually do this and succeed.  We are moving on to modules instead of a mis-match of classes that don't really relate to each other much.  By modules I mean when we do pulmonary, we learn everything pulmonary.  Pathology, drugs, presentation...etc.  All our classes focus on one thing, which will be a complete change of tune from summer, and I think works better with how I learn.  Plus I never have to step foot in a cadaver lab again, so that alone is worth it!

Just as dorky as ever...here I am practicing for my last final exam (a full physical on a "patient" classmate), playing the part of patient...with a stethoscope.

So, what am I going to do to fill all this beautiful free time?  My little brother flew in from Minneapolis last night!! True to form, we picked him up and went straight to a comedy club that had open mic last night.  It was a pretty ridiculous place, but Micah got up on stage and did great!  He works really hard on his stage presence and his jokes and timing, it's been so fun to witness his evolution from the first couple of times he went up to now.  Awwww.  In any case, the great sibling hang of 2012 is commencing in just a few short hours!!  Emily is arriving in Portland in time for lunch (even though she is in the midst of her own crazy grad school semester...no rest for the Walshes), and Joe is getting back in town later tonight.  We are going to a bluegrass festival for the weekend that Joe is playing in.  I found a great place for the pups to stay, and I'm super psyched for a little vacation!  Since I have to pack all of summer into these next few days, an outdoor festival seems like the perfect way to start!