post-test weekend

What does one do when they have nothing to study, you ask. Don't worry, I'm about to tell you all about how I spent my post-test weekend (and no, I did not preview...I'm not a gunner!).

Look at how glorious it is. So much shine!! :) 

1. Birthday Party: Some of my previous classmates threw me a shindig (thanks Meredith and Annie!) There were quesadillas (every good party needs them, obviously), chips, dip, cupcakes and plenty of games! We even spent some time downtown. Lots of laughs were had. 
2. Fanny Pack: I GOT A SILVER FANNY PACK FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!! It's absolutely awesome (thanks Megan and Sydney!). Of course, I wore it all Friday night after I got it. It's so handy! I have spent a embarrassingly large amount of time since then trying to figure out how much is too much when it comes to wearing the pack in public before I become that girl. I have not yet decided what the appropriate airing frequency is, but I'm sure it will be more than most people consider normal. 
3. Setting the Table: So I'm on the World Hunger committee for the ECLA and we had an event this weekend. We brought in some awesome speakers and watched an incredible documentary (A Place at the Table) too. I'll blog on that later since it truly deserves a post all on its own. 
4. Husker Game: I watched it. We won. 
5. Family Reunion: My Mom's side of the family had a family reunion here in Omaha this weekend. Admittedly I was a bit nervous about it because I haven't seen many people in my Mom's side of the family in quite a few years, but it was so much fun! There were a handful of kiddos that decided I was an alien (unbeknownst to me) and wanted to cook alien soup to eat for dinner. Needless to say, it ended with a high speed chase throughout the house and yard--as it turns out, I'm not really in running shape when 6-7 children are chasing me. I managed to get ahead of them enough to hide underneath the dining room table. They continued to look for me for a solid 10 minutes before I moved locations and eventually gave myself up to the alien hunters. I could not stop laughing as they continually ran past me in search of the alien! As it turns out, sometimes those extraterrestrials are tricky and hide in the most obvious of places :) Oh and there was some yummy food there too! My family sure is pretty darn great!
6. Grocery Shopping: It was more than necessary. I now have food and it is glorious. Thanks Mom and Dad for buying! 
7. Things That Matter: I caught up with the gang and the most current episode of TTM. It was about the Setting the Table event, so I was a bit late to the party. But I love the Lisa/Mitch/Adam interactions nonetheless. 

It was a fun-filled weekend with just a dash of being a productive member of society. Now back to the school grind. Happy second week of September, y'all. 

Okay, my birthday just got 1,000 times better!

2 more things.

1. My incredibly awesome roommate, Megan, baked me carrot cake cupcakes tonight while I was at dance class! They even have cute little carrots drawn on top. Thanks Megan!
2. Google give you a doodle for your birthday!!!!! Did anyone know this? I did not. Greatest surprise! 

If you put the cursor over the actual thing, it comes up saying
"Happy Birthday Jenny!"
Awesome, awesome, awesome!

today was a great day

I mean it wasn't nearly as awesome as last year's birthday simply because I didn't get to hold a brain, (you can read about that here) but today was a great day nonetheless! Here are the things that made today a great 23rd birthday:

• I got to talk with/hear from people I love from all over the world via texts, Facebook messages, phone calls, email and even in person! SO MUCH LOVE! It was awesome!

  

  Thanks Dad!

• I didn't have to go into the anatomy lab today--no faint hint of formaldehyde perfume for me. It was awesome!
• SUSHI. With some of my favorite people. It was most definitely awesome!
• My delightful father sent me flowers. And my wonderful mother sent me a huge Eileen's cookie (snickerdoodle, even!). The cookie me has an uncanny resemblance to the real me. They were both very, very awesome. 

  

  Look at my frosting hair!

• My dear friend Sydney made me a locker sign for the second birthday in a row. It's still hanging up on my locker actually, so I can continue celebrating tomorrow. It's pretty mediocre (kidding, it's awesome Syd!). 
• Dance class starts tonight, so I'm off to do a few sassy jazz walks and some leaps! I expect it to be awesome.

Maybe today was an awesome day, instead of just a great day...?

Yes, definitely. Today was an AWESOME day!

Tomorrow is our Upper Limb test. I guess I should go study... 

Happy Birthday to me!

Well, today is my birthday. I am officially a 22 year old. I guess that's old, but I don't really feel that much is different from yesterday. Maybe that's because I'm amidst the medical school grind. Oh and probably because I'm still one of the youngest (maybe the youngest actually, I have yet to meet someone younger!) in my class.

Today is a really good day. Not only did I get to hear from a gaggle of my friends and family, but I also got to...

1. Hold a real HUMAN brain!!!!
2. Eat my mom's homemade carrot cake. I'm really not sure that there is a better cake in existence.  
3. Begin dance classes at a local dance studio! It's been 4 years since I've consistently taken classes at a studio, so I was nervous to begin. I've really missed dancing since HC dance team ended in February, so it was nice to be back at it. The class wasn't as challenging as I expected, but dancing is still dancing. Tonight was lyrical and tomorrow will be jazz.
4. Wear my special cupcake necklace that is for birthday celebrations only! A local artist made it and my best friend Laura gave it to me a few years ago for my birthday present. I absolutely adore it! 
5. Go out for ice cream with my wonderful roommate. But she lost some roomie points because she was a jerk and put my gift in this bag: 

For those of you who don't know, I'm absolutely terrified of squirrels.  No seriously, I HATE them. Of course the running joke is always to get me squirrel-related presents, but seriously, on my birthday?!?? Anyway, she made up for it because she got me an AWESOME scarf and beautiful earrings.

So, some of you might not understand why holding a real human brain is so cool, but don't worry. I'm going to tell you my top reasons for why the brain is so freaking awesome. It's seriously incredible, but I think it's even more amazing because it does all of its cool brainy stuff in just 3-5 lbs of weight! I suppose that means that I can't use the excuse that "my brain is getting bigger" while at med school if I put on weight from study-snacking...

Look, even this picture depicts how awesome brains are. Aren't those glasses pretty snazzy? I sure think so!

Okay, but now what y'all have been waiting for...my top reasons the brain is awesome (I don't want to put a numerical limit on my reasons, because I'm sure to find out more as the years progress)!

The brain is awesome because...

1. Your personality is in there. What makes you distinctly YOU resides just above your eyes in the frontal cortex. Scientists (whether neurobiologists or psychologists) don't really even understand how it works...how cool is that!?!
2. It works on electricity. Seriously! Just like the stuff that comes out of the wall. Except I don't suggest that you add any additional external electricity to your brain because electrocution is a bad deal. Plus the body makes its own based on ion gradients (yay, biochem!).
3. It sends out cells to receive sensory information throughout your whole body (light touch, sharp touch, pain, proprioception), BUT it doesn't even have its own sensory cells! Once you get beyond the nerves of the bone and meninges (3 protective layers over brain and spinal cord), the brain doesn't actually "feel" anything. That's the reason why patients can stay awake during brain surgery! 
4. The brain processes things seriously quickly. We have some incredible computing ability up there and usually it goes faster than any machine that humans have built to date. 
5. All of your muscles work because of electrical signals (more electricity) sent from the brain. Think about how complex the motion of waving goodbye is... (1) Visualizing person to say goodbye to, (2) Processing thought "I want to say goodbye," (3) Raising arm at shoulder joint, extending forearm, making 'bye-bye' motion with fingers and wrist involvement, lowering arm, etc. That's a gross oversimplification of the process but you get the idea. AND there are a bunch of muscles involved in each of those actions that are even given their signal (innervation) by different nerves. All of those things have to go right for us to do even something as simple as waving. 
6. You don't have to think of automatic processes like breathing, blinking, temperature control, digesting, etc. Interestingly, you can also control some of these processes consciously too. 
7. The brain doesn't sleep. Even while your body catches some Zzzs the brain is processing and organizing information and experiences of the previous day(s). AND it is repairing itself (within reason) throughout all of that.
8. Speaking of sleep....dreams. Those are some crazy things. 
9. You have memories. We don't even realize that we remember most of the things that we do!
10. The brain is also controlled by chemicals. These chemicals work with the electricity to send signals to other parts of the body. Lots of diseases/disorders arise because of an imbalance of these chemicals. 

Okay, 10 reasons will be enough for today. I probably should actually do some studying. Surprisingly, the professors didn't give me the day off even though it's my birthday ;) (kidding, I never expected them to). 

Thank you to everyone who made this day extra special! I am seriously overwhelmed by the love and support I have felt today from all of you. Here's to another great year!