My tests are over! I’m pretty sure I passed them all. I have only gotten one back so far and I did a bit better than I expected, so I feel fairly hopeful.

I had an excellent and relaxing weekend. Tim and I went to a state park south of here for hiking and smores-making and that sort of thing; it was very pleasant.

Sadly, all the leaves were gone from the trees. I was expecting that to be the case in November, but then I got my hopes up when the St. Louis leaves were still around. I guess that’s the result of the urban heat island.

We also visited a winery and went to the zoo. The baby elephant wasn’t on display but the other animals were exceptionally cute. The bear was making himself a bed with some straw.

The big cats were all out and moving around; I guess when it isn’t hot outside they aren’t so lazy. The jaguar looked just like Ellen’s cat:

The new course block is going fine so far. We’re learning GI (digestive system), endocrinology (hormones), and dermatology (skin), as well as pathology (looking at specimens) for all of those. It’s very lecture-heavy, which is not particularly pleasant, but it may end up being fine. I decided that taking my computer to class doesn’t work very well, because listening to lecture is not something you can really Alt-Tab back and forth with. However, taking notes doesn’t work that well for me either - partially because all the slides are available, as are transcripts and lecture recordings, so I’m not motivated to take excellent notes. Also if there’s enough going on that I’m constantly writing, I’m not really understanding; while if I’m not constantly writing I tend to drift off. I need something I can do constantly that doesn’t take much attention. So, my new plan is to knit during class. Judging from my excellent performance in small group yesterday, it seems to work very well.

I’ve also got some projects going on at home. I’m entering the home stretch with the cabinet I’m refinishing. Now that it’s cold I can’t work outdoors anymore, but luckily the polyurethane doesn’t stink too badly, so I’ll put a dropcloth down in the living room, open the window, and crank the heat. I should be done with a week or two of occasional evening work.

And I ordered a new headboard and footboard for my bed. They arrived yesterday. I had to clean my room before I could put it together, so I didn’t get to that point last night. I am hoping to succeed tonight. Now I’m thinking that I should do something about my desk - I don’t like it very much and could use one with drawers and possibly shelves. So I’ll be watching Craigslist for a new one.

Next weekend I will be in Cleveland for Thanksgiving and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!

Posted by Amanda in My Life |