A blog is a funny thing. Especially when you are fairly certain no one reads it. But just the other day Danny asked me if I had ever thought about doing a blog, and it made me realize that I’ve missed it. It’s like you are sharing your stories with a vast unknown world. haha… or something like that. Or maybe you just want a little more space to say what’s on your mind than your facebook status updates. Either way, here I am again…

A few updates from the past year:

• Survived my year of rotations
• Graduated (I am a PharmD and Captain now… who knew I would ever sound so official)
• Found out I will be moving to Wyoming in September
• Got a year older
• Realized that I probably will not be getting my kitty Toula back from my sis and her boy
• Visited a bunch of new states (lots of wonderful traveling because of rotations)
• Learned the meaning of life
• And a few other things…

Ok, so maybe too much happened in the past year to mention… let’s just say it was a fun year.

So now I’m back at home. I have turned my sister’s room into my office and I am trying to study for the NAPLEX as much as I can (unfortunately my expert ability to get distracted is keeping me a little busier that I would like) but it’s nice to be home. I’ll be taking my boards for Wyoming later this summer (and probably California also within the year) and will be heading to COT (Commissioned Officer Training) in August in Alabama.

Be back soon,

Ky/Kula

Headed to Hazard today to look at some more houses. Wish us luck!

And I Just found out that the guy in Boston gave away our rooms to other people yesterday who could pay the deposit in person right then. So we’re still on the search… probly just means a better place is waiting for us somewhere that we are meant to get …right?

So, the ants are taking over my apartment. And there’s this sound in my bathroom… sounds like a toilet running but it’s on the other side of the room… and it doesn’t go away. Doesn’t sound good. But I’m starting to get used to it. I guess I need to talk to my landlord. Hmm.. maybe tomorrow.

I’m supposed to be at a CE today on drug addiction. But I woke up at 10… and it started at 8… and the event is over an hour away. It’s an all day event, so I could get ready and go quickly and still make it to half of it. But I have a to do list waiting for me. And that’s not on it. Oops.

An update on the 22-week workout plan… I designed it to be in great shape before Ashlee’s wedding in June… and just to give me some daily motivation because I wouldn’t have to decide what I’m going to do. Well, I’m looking at it now. I designed each week to have 5 workouts and 2 rest days, and each has a checkbox to mark when I complete it. Well, the first three weeks have checks in all of the boxes. Then it gets less and less and in the last three weeks, the only things marked are the “rest” boxes. Makes me sad to look at it.

Man, I sound really lazy right now. Better go get started on that to do list!

Today was my first day as a P3 pharmacy student at the Appalachian College of Pharmacy. I absolutely cannot believe how fast the time has gone by! I will try to keep more updates going as I start my adventures on rotation (coming soon!) and as I start getting fit for the Air Force. I finally found a list of the fitness requirements for my test at COT (commissioned officer training)… and I have, let’s say, some room for improvement. But it’s going to happen! (for example, right now I can do about 3 push-ups real-style… in a year, my goal is to be doing 45 in 1 minute).

Also… today I watched a great documentary on one family’s radical take on sustainability. I remember hearing about them a couple years back, but watching their story was really awesome. Extreme, yes.. they eliminated everything that caused waste or required power and immersed themselves in the community around them, learning where their food came from and spending time with family and friends rather than in front of the TV. But it was a really cool way to wake people up and get their attention. His wife Michelle was not always on board (as a self-proclaimed high fructose corn syrup-addicted fast food junkie), but that just made the whole thing really entertaining (and toward the end, she got on board as well). Ultimately though, their goal was to spread awareness that we really don’t need all of the things we use on a regular basis. And we CAN change.

I loved this quote from the film: “If only I change, it’s not going to make a difference. But the hope is that if each of us as individuals change, it’s going to inspire everybody to change. So I believe that the most radical political act there is is to be an optimist. The most radical political act there is is to believe that if I change, other people will follow suit.” -Colin Beavan aka “No Impact Man”. After watching this, I’ve been re-inspired. Since I moved over here, away from public transit and fresh food, I’ve lost touch to some extent with many of the things I used to focus my efforts on. Maybe it’s just the busy schedule… maybe it’s the area… but either way, I’m going to get back on track!

“You’re like a boy and a girl… you’re kinda like both” -Bethany

“You’re not slow… everyone else is just fast!” -Jung

lol…. such nice friends I have…

oh, and another funny one… “I need to start gambling I think… don’t you think I should gamble?” -Bethany

So much has been going on lately I thought I would share! Today, for starters, we have a half day (we are supposed to go in this afternoon) because of the snow! But, it’s still snowing pretty good out there so I wouldn’t be surprised if they update us soon and say the whole day is cancelled. There was a crazy snow storm last weekend all through Virginia but it went right around us! Some parts of NOVA (aka. Northern Virginia… yes, I’m learning the lingo) got up to 3 feet of snow! In living here, I’ve learned an important lesson about myself. I love the snow, but I would not want to live somewhere that it snows all the time. I could handle how much we get here in southwestern VA, but anything more would be too much. Give me rain any day of the winter… let me go play in the snow.

Last month, for PDC, I organized a letter writing campaign for St. Jude Children’s Reseach Hospital. Due to weather on the day we were supposed to do the project, it was split up into a multi-day project. BUT, even with only about half of our letters getting sent out, we have already brought in over $1700 for the hospital! Back in 2007, as a collective, PDC across the nation committed to contributing $200,000 over 4 years. But we surpassed that within the first two years of the project! St. Jude is our fraternity’s national philanthropy… so along with this letter campaign, we do little events throughout the year that raise funds for them. For instance, earlier this year our pledges had a poker tournament fundraiser… and right now we are also in the middle of our Valentine’s Day rose sale where we sit around and make a few hundred… (450 this year to be exact) candy roses and sell them on campus with all the proceeds going to St. Jude. Also, as we did last year, we will send some roses to the hospital with a picture of all of us in out white coats and some messages to the kids.

For APhA-ASP last month, we made a video (called “APhA Man”) that emphasized what being a member of APhA can do for your career as a pharmacist. We only spent a few hours on it… so I think overall it was a success: http://www.youtube.com/user/Sandaj06#p/a/u/0/HDE1UoHpqvA! haha… well, I have to admit the first version Adam made was better because it had good music… but due to copyrights and all, we had to change it up a bit. Still awesome though! It was part of this year’s PharmFlix Competition… the top few videos will be recognized at the annual meeting in DC… not sure if our silliness will pull it off.. but we’ll see

This past Monday, we had a patient counseling competition for APhA. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to help with the set up, so I didn’t compete, but we had 8 people end up participating, which is more than any other year so far! And, our winner, Glenna, is awesome… she is going with us now to the APhA Annual Meeting in Washington DC in March to compete for our school on the national level! woot! (I think she can go all the way!)

Lets see… last month, we went to Gatlinburg on a national PDC retreat. It was great, as always. Our cabin was a little smaller than last year, but it still had a pool table, air hockey, pinball and video games, along with a private movie room… and of course three floors and a hot tub outside… so overall, not so shabby!

End of last month, I went as a P2 representative for VPhA Legislative/Pharmacy Day at the Capitol in Richmond. (http://acpharm.org/about/pharm%20day.shtml) It was a lot of driving (about 12 hours) for a 4 hour event, but it was pretty fun! We got to meed with a couple of the Virginia delegates, including Will Morefield (http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/a7b082ef6ed01eac85256c0d00515644/403f9e6004a18f8585257535005773b6?OpenDocument) who is only 26! He’s the youngest in the house, but seems so incredibly motivated. He is the delegate for Buchanan, Russell and Tazewell counties (we are in Buchanan County)… so he went over all of the projects they are looking at for this area. Right now, the Appalachian power company is having crazy rate increases. Like when everyone was gone over break (well, some were still here) no one had any power for a week or so, but somehow everyone’s bills were double what they usually are when there IS power. So they are trying to work with the company to figure out what’s going on. They are also talking about alternative energy to supplement coal in the area, and a highway that will connect us to the world a little better (which would be amazing for this area). We also discussed the Walmart that has been in the works for YEARS in Grundy (they still haven’t started building) and the outlook for healthcare with changes in medicare and medicaid on the horizon. After meeting with the delegates, we went down to the health fair and I took some blood pressures of the House employees… they were all coming in and out of meetings so many of them didn’t want to get their BP taken because they were afraid it would be abnormally high! haha… but it was a great experience; I’m definitely glad I got to go!

Some very exciting news… on January 25th, our school was awarded full accredidation from ACPE (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education): http://acpharm.org/about/fullaccred.shtml which is a HUGE step forward. Previously, we were Candidate status… and now, all we need is to get accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and we’re good to go! None of this has ever been a problem for us (as the Class of 2011); as long as a college is in candidate status with ACPE, you can sit for your boards at the end. BUT, the SACS accreditation is what’s going to get the federal grant and loan money for future students. Our class probably won’t see it in our time here (it might be close… maybe our last semester) but if all goes well, at least for the class below us and all the new students, it will be a little easier to get tuition paid for. Right now, all of our loans are private… most are through SallieMae or Eastman Credit Union. Since I got the Air Force Scholarship, I won’t have to worry about getting new loans, but it has been a major headache for some people. And even for me.. my last loan was up to 13% interest… I can’t imagine what it would be for another one! Anyway, so SACS came for a site visit last week. 6 of us met with them for a student visit last Wednesday which seemed to go really well. The two guys that we talked to were basically there to figure out if everything the school says they offer their students is true (they want the inside scoop)… and they asked us things like, if you were president of the college, what would you change, and what was the biggest thing that was surprising when you got to the school. When it comes to my experience here… in all honesty, I wouldn’t change it for anything. I will be in the fourth class to graduate from this college. I have been able to see it grow and develop in the early stages and see what a school goes through when it’s starting from the ground up. Sure, there are always going to be wrinkles along the way… but that’s going to be true anywhere you go. Basically, ACP is the place to be! haha

Lastly, for PDC, we had enough interest that we decided to have a Spring Rush this year. Yesterday, we just had our pinning ceremony to welcome in 15 new pledges! It’s really exciting. Our little family is growing! And we got more girls this time… which will be good to even them out for next year. Our first pledge class this year in the Fall only had one girl. Now they outnumber the guys! Ha. But, even tho I don’t know all of them yet very well, they seem like a really good group… hopefully they will all make it through initiation to carry on the Phi Delta Chi name! Last Friday, we went down to Johnson City for ETSU’s initiation of their pledge class. It’s so awesome to see how other chapters work… and how we all carry on the traditions in the same way. aww.

Ooo… and on the workout front, I made myself a 22 week plan (actually goes up until Ash’s wedding in June… for no particular reson)… but 2 weeks in and I’m going strong. I have 5 workouts planned per week and I’ve only missed one so far. For our herbal class, we have to make a lifestyle modification (they always try to put us in the shoes of our patients… so we understand how they feel when we tell them to change how they live!). I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to pick yet as my modification, but in general I’m trying to just keep some sort of consistent exercise in my life… since I don’t want to fall into the “Grundy thirty” category (it’s the saying around here… grundy thirty instead of freshman fifteen). haha… and I gotta get Air Force fit!

Anywho… that’s way too much information. But that’s my life! Gotta get back to reading about GERD! Wish me luck!

xoxo, Ky

So… apparently, I haven’t worn this jacket in a while. On Monday, I found a flashlight in the inside pocket that I have been looking for for a few weeks now (didn’t realize it was missing until the power went out one day). And just now, I put the jacket on again and found a page with the greek alphabet from pledging last year, two Dublin bus tickets from 2005 and 50 Euro cents!

You just never know what you’ll find…

Update on my mice: haven’t seen them since I got back from break, but I did have to throw out two shopping bags full of yarn because they were full of seeds, dog food and d-CON (another stash.. found!) so, haha little buddies… you can’t hide from me that well! The disturbing part was that the bags were in the very top of my closet… and from what I can see there are no holes in the ceiling… so who knows how they got up there. I’m trying hard not to think too much into it. But cross your fingers… knock on wood… whatever you feel is necessary… because I think they might be gone… (I hope!).

So… I am supposed to be sleeping right now (was planning to go to bed early) but apparently I am not capable. Tried… couldn’t sleep. So I got up to clean my apartment a little. Well, I went to put a tank top away and found the strangest thing I have ever seen in my drawer and had to share. So there I was, moving around some tank tops so that I could somehow fit just one more in the already full drawer, and I saw what at a glance looked like a piece of candy. Weeeelll… sure enough, it was. It was a gummy worm. And… the more I looked around the drawer, the more I found. There turned out to be 11 full size gummy worms in my tank top drawer. Now let me just say on a side note… the last time I think I had a gummy worm in my posession was at least a few years ago, if not more. So, apparently, the mouse that is living in my apartment is storing his treasures away for winter. Well no more little buddy; I found your stash!!! muahaha! Along with the gummy worms, there was a nice pile of seeds… not sure what kind… but not exactly the kind you would normally have sitting around in the bottom of one of the drawers of your dresser.

That’s all… just thought that needed to be shared. Now I’m off to bed! =)

“I decided early in graduate school that I needed to do something about my moods. It quickly came down to a choice between seeing a psychiatrist or buying a horse. Since almost everyone I knew was seeing a psychiatrist, and since I had and absolute belief that I should be able to handle my own problem, I naturally bought a horse.”

“Once, after several days completely to ourselves and with no contact at all with the outside world, he brought me an anthology of writings about love. He had tagged one short entry that captured the essence not only of those intense, glorious days but of the entire year as well: Thank you for a lovely weekend. They tell me it rained.“

“Science remains quite remarkable in its ability to raise problems even as it solves old ones. It moves quickly, often beautifully, and as it moves it brings high expectations in its wake.”

“We all build internal sea walls to keep at bay the sadness of life and the often overwhelming forces within our minds. In whatever way we do this — through love, work, family, faith, friends, denial, alcohol, drugs, or medication — we build these walls, stone by stone, over a lifetime. One of the most difficult problems is to construct these barriers of such a height and strength that one has a true harbor, a sanctuary away from crippling turmoil and pain, but yet low enough, and permeable enough, to let in fresh seawater that will fend off the inevitable inclination toward brackishness. For someone with my cast of mind and mood, medication is an integral element of this wall: without it, I would be constantly beholden to the crushing movements of a mental sea; I would, unquestionably, be dead or insane. But love is, to me, the ultimately more extrordinary part of the breakwater wall: it helps to shut out the terror and awfulness, while, at the same time, allowing in life and beauty and vitality. When I first thought about writing this book, I conceived of it as a book about moods, and an illness of moods, in the context of an individual life. As I have written it, however, it has somehow tuned out to be very much a book about love as well: love as sustainer, as renewer, and as protector. After each seeming death within my mind or heart, love has returned to re-create hope and to restore life. It has, at its best, made the inherent sadness of life bearable, and its beauty manifest. It has, inexplicably and savingly, provided not only a cloak but lantern for the darker seasons and grimmer weather.”

“Life is too complicated, too constantly changing, to be anything but what it is”

Those are just a few of my favorite quotes from the book I just finished for Psych, An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison (finally, I got to read something other than my pharmacotherapy textbook around here!)  . If you have any interest in mental illness, especially the inner workings of a manic depressive mind, and/or the ups and downs and challenges of a person on lithium therapy, I would definitely recommend this book. It was a perfect read for a relaxing fall break. I got two days off… it’s awesome how good it can feel to have two days off even through most of it needs to be spent catching up on schoolwork.

Went to a wedding yesterday for Samantha, a girl I go to school with (well… technically, we got there late and only made it to the reception.. but we tried!). Everything was decorated with fall colors, and they had two cakes… one three tiered with chocolate frosing and pretty swirls and colorful gerbera daisies… and the other one in the Virginia Tech colors and a hokie bird on top! =) loved it! The food was from a local Abingdon favorite… with wonderful potato soup… and she looked absolutely beautiful, as any bride should! aww.  On Saturday, the school is putting on a Gala for the community. As the students, we are supposed to be giving tours of the new building and such… I think it’s to raise awareness about the school and an effort to bring in additional funding. It should be interesting, though, because our new building has, for quite some time now, had an unrelenting sewer problem. The smell when you walk into the building will take you aback every day, even when you know it’s coming. They say they are in the process of trying to find the source… but so far that process doesn’t seem to be going so well…

Alright! I’m off… gotta get back to my to-do list! That list of fun is not going to check itself off… (but oh how I wish it would!!)

xoxo, Ky

aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

phew… just had to get that out…. ok, back to studying…