Fall Term 2012, Weeks 4 & 5--Two-fer

Because I didn't have to write about week 4 last week, you are going to be treated to a double blog post! Lucky you! You're even luckier because I will try to just include the highlights so that this thing doesn't stretch on forever.

On Tuesday of Week 4, my aerobics class got to send a special Happy Birthday message to our instructor's guy friend Domingo, who lives in the Dominican Republic. Kind of ironic. But anyway, she happily showed us his picture and gushed about how attractive she thinks he is. Then, we performed one of our Zumba routines for him and videotaped it so the instructor could send it to him. I felt really silly, but if it made her and him happy, I'm glad I could be a part of it.

During Cadaver last week, we got to dissect the posterior thoracic wall, observing the intercostal arteries and veins as well as the sympathetic trunk near the spine. We noted the azygous vein and greater splanchnic nerve, as well.

On Friday, I submitted my Lincoln Laureate application, so it is currently being reviewed. I probably won't find out whether I have been selected until late October or so. In the afternoon, I checked my mailbox, and waiting for me was a package from home with a book and some DVDs in it. I love my family.

The book on the right is from home. It's The Rise of Nine, the third book in the Lorien Legacies series, of which I Am Number Four is the first (they made a movie of it). The book on the left is Vet Tails, a collection of short stories from a small-animal vet that I found on the library website and ordered from Joliet Junior College to be delivered here for me to check out.

 Later that night, Sarah and I went to see the Olin movie again. This time, it was Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which was an okay movie. I really enjoyed the last half-hour. Before that it was kind of stupid and ridiculous because everyone in the movie was just doing drugs and stuff. But it got poignant near the end when the main character goes to reconnect with his estranged father and seeks his true friend for the end of the world. After the movie, Sarah and I went back to her place to watch more Big Bang Theory, but I didn't stay long because I had to get up the next day for Mutt Strut.

I would say that Mutt Strut was a pretty decent success. We sold about $50 worth of items. The day was very sunny and warm, and I got to pet lots of dogs. I even bought myself a cute dog magnet from among the wooden magnets we were selling. Probably my favorite part of the day was watching four Dachshunds riding in a red canvas wagon. I called it the Wiener Wagon. I also liked rocking out to the music they were playing with my fellow vending-table partner.

My new puppy magnet!

Wiener wagon! They were so happy!

I did a lot of studying that weekend for my midterms, so that took up a lot of my time, too. I think all of my midterms went well, though, so it was worth it to spend all that time going over notes and such. In fact, I got my Physics midterm back on Friday (as in, two days ago), and I got 90%! Normally, I would think I could do just a bit better, but it's mechanical physics, which is not really my strong suit. Plus, 85% in that class is the bottom line for an A, so I think 5% above that is pretty great. I will take it without complaint. I'm still waiting to get my Immuno test and Biochem test back, but if they went as well as Physics, I'm not too concerned.

Luckily, this past week was much better than Week 4. I didn't stay up as late as I had to Week 4, so I felt a lot less stressed. Not much happened during the week. Yesterday, I didn't have much to do because I thought I'd be going to Bishop Hill. It turns out that the Fall Festival isn't until next weekend, so I had to quick find something else to fill my day with. I did have a bit of reading to do for Immuno, but I felt like I needed to reward myself for a busy couple of weeks. I figured first, though, that I should volunteer since I probably won't be able to next weekend when I actually go to Bishop Hill. Luckily, there was the Walk for Babies, which is like March of Dimes only in the fall instead of the usual spring time period. I helped set up tables for passing out water along the route and basically sat in Westerlin (a residence hall) until 11 AM, which was when people were supposed to start coming around. I guess the power went out in certain campus locations earlier on Saturday because the lights were all off and the dining hall and C-Store at Westerlin were closed. A bunch of confused freshmen and sophomores were wandering the halls asking each other if they wanted to go to the College Center for breakfast instead. A security guard had to come disable some alarms that were blaring. It was a pretty comical scene. The power eventually came back on, but by that time, it was near 11 AM, so my Circle K companion and I headed out near Pepsico to start getting ready for the walkers. I walked into Pepsico to toss out some plastic from unwrapping the ice and bottled water for the walkers, and while I was inside, the whole group of walkers passed by. I was gone 30 seconds and missed the most important part of my job! Figures. I have such bad timing...

On Saturday night, I went to a magic show with my junior friend Sarah (it's funny because both she and my best friend Sarah both have last names that start with "Ma," so I can't even distinguish them that way, and I don't know their middle names, so that doesn't help, either). Anyway, it was mind-blowing! The magician was Mike Super, the winner of the TV magic competition The Phenomenon. He is fairly young--I'm guessing just a couple of years on either side of 30--and hilarious. It was like going to a comedy routine on top of a magic show. But this guy is good! He took a dented, empty Coke can and fixed the dents before re-sealing it and filling it back up with Coke. Amazing! He also had us help him shatter a pitcher with our minds. Another incredible trick was when he took a napkin, folded it into a bird, and made it dance on his hands and on his arms. He then refolded it into a rose. He lit the rose on fire, and when the blooming flame subsided, a real rose had taken its place! Perhaps the most incredible thing was a trick where he performed voodoo on a sophomore boy. He took a piece of the boy's hair and tied it to a voodoo doll. Then he did a weird dance and "connected" them. When he tapped twice on the doll's shoulder, the boy could feel it on his own shoulder. When Mike lit the two hands of the doll with a lighter, the boy could feel his hands warm. What's more, the boy showed us his palms, and they were singed! How did that happen?? The scariest thing was that Mike took a pin and poked it into the doll's stomach. The boy immediately leaped up from his chair because he could feel it too! I'm wondering if he was somehow hypnotized. Dad explained a lot of the illusions to me, but it was still a great show.

Later this evening, I am going to a Hobbit Birthday Party with Sarah and the Tolkein Society. We are celebrating Bilbo and Frodo's birthdays, which are both on September 22nd in the books. I'm looking forward to food and laughs with the crazy nerds of the Tolkein Society.

Well, that about catches you up with my life. Tune in next week for an exciting account of my trip off-campus for the Fall Harvest Festival and much more! I leave you with a picture I took this morning while I was out for a run near the house (which I've decided to call 39 House because the first two digits of the house number are 3 and 9).