I'm done.

My Master's year has come to an end.  I am so glad it is over.

It's been one hard year. 

I missed out on a lot of things at home.  My best friend got married and I could not be there for her.  My niece was born, and I have yet to meet her.  A co-worker who became a friend passed away, and I didn't get to say goodbye. 

But with these hard things I missed out on, I know something.  My best friend knows I love her, support her, and cannot wait to celebrate with her and knows I would have been there with her if I could.  My niece, well she is too young luckily I have an amazing sister in law who puts her on skype so she gets to know me.  My co-worker, she is out of pain and I think that she knows that is what I would rather wish for her vs. saying goodbye. 

With theses things I missed out on, I have had some amazing things happen.  I feel in love with neuroscience.  It combines my love for anatomy, genetics, biology, psychology, and just a big mystery and one can always learn in this field.  :)  I fulfilled my dream of spending a year on a cadaver.  It was amazing, intense and so much more then I ever expected!  I have made some amazing friends and they are awesome people. 

My dissertation is done.  I am proud of it.  There was blood, sweat, and tears...ok, maybe not blood, but def. tears, and maybe some sweat of stress and worry.  I would offer to send it to anyone who wants to read it, but it's around 60 pages.  So, if you really want to, then let me know.  :)  (Or I have a 20 slide power point but it doesn't do it justice).




Since I have been done, I have applied to PhD programs (waiting to hear back from 2....prayers, well wishes, kind thoughts, etc...are appreciated), looked for research jobs (But they all want experience which makes no sense because how are you suppose to gain experience if no one will hire without experience....grrrr), packing, donating a lot of stuff, and watched alot of TV. 

I have watched all 10 seasons of Friends.  Never understood the craze around this show, but it is amazing!  It is hilarious and now that I am older it's even better! 

I watched the first 2 seasons of House since I have never seen them... It makes me want a full body scan and experimental tests run on me.  Just saying!  :)  I started House, originally in Season 3, and always wanted him as my doctor because no one could figure out why I was having daily headaches.  If I had watched a year earlier, my problems would have been solved way earlier by a T.V. show.  Instead, it took a friend in college and her own health issues to know what I had.  I still want a full body scan.  :) 

I have started watching Bones from the beginning since I have never seen the first few seasons.  I know I never want to be murdered.  And if for some reason something like that happens, someone please call Kathy Reichs or Sue Black.  I am enjoying the earlier seasons... and I am enjoying guessing the suspect and knowing where the anatomical landmarks are that they are talking about.  (Nerd, I know.) 

Well friends and family, it has been pretty slow since school is over.  I am ready for the next part of life to start.  I just wish I knew where. 

I hope everyone is doing well.  Miss you all. 

Long time no blog...

So it's been a while since I have written, and I apologize.  A lot has been going on.  The semester ended, and I can successfully say, I passed.  And now, I am busy writing my dissertation (Neuroanatomical changes in individuals with PTSD).  It's been crazy busy here though.  All of my flatmates left as 4 of them, their year ended.  Another one found a different place to live, and I just received word today I get new people on Friday.  Well, this new person(s) has big shoes to fill as these last 5 girls were some of the best flatmates I have ever had. 

In between school ending and starting my dissertation, I went to Edinburgh to visit the Surgeons Hall Museum, which was pretty cool.  I am finding Scottish museums and American museums quite different.  Scottish museums like to have plastic figurines of people to set the stage of what went on during an event.  American museums, will do photos, videos, wax figurines, etc...If you have ever seen Night at the Museum, when then show Sacagawea and her tribe making fire, its a lot like that, but smaller and a lot more fake.  HAHAHA.  But this museum was pretty cool. 

After that we went to a near by town where you can have cocktails in teapots.  By far one of the coolest things I have ever seen that is unique to Scotland!  If you are ever in Edinburgh, take the bus to this place!  And take the bus to Musselburg to go to the coffee shop, Borsa!  Borsa was amazing and it moved there...  If you are in the area during the winter, their mint hot chocolate is amazing! 

I have not really been to any other places.  I attempted yoga.  Not a fan.  It is now light outside till 11pm, which makes it very hard to sleep.  However, I do love this summer weather, and love that its windy and can wear jeans and a t-shirt and flip flops!  I could however do without the hay fever.  Stupid allergies followed me here.  Oh well.  I won't brag about the weather too much.  :)  But you know, the British do like to talk about the weather. 

I wish I had more to report but I do not.  Maybe once my dissertation is done (About 700-1000 words left to write up) I can relax and see England or some where other than Dundee. 

It's finally dark outside and I am hoping to get a little sleep tonight before meeting with my supervisor, writing, and PhD searching.  I hope everyone is doing well back in the heart of Texas and is not roasting. 

Love to all. 

I never thought...

I received a package from my mom today filled with candy, letters, and a pair of socks.  (Ok there was some other things, but thought you might be more interested in the socks).  I read my moms letter after I distributed the candy to my friend who had never tried tootsie rolls, peanut butter cups, or junior mints...and as shocked as I was over the sheer thought that my friend had never tried something as simple as tootsie rolls, my moms first line in her letter because so true in so many ways.  "I never thought in a million years would I be taking you across the pond..." I never thought I would be sitting in this country studying.  I never thought I would be dissecting a whole body for a year.  I never thought I would meet someone who had never tried peanut butter!  I am blessed to have this opportunity and it is the little things like the letter, or the candy that remind of that.  So here are some awesome pictures of things "I never thought" I would do... or eat... (Do not worry, no warning needed!)

 Sorry if the picture is sideways.  But this was my first ever gluten free soup!  Now, I am not a huge soup fan anyways, but I was at a cafe, I had forgotten my lunch and well...lo and behold...GF Soup!  Leek and potato! *All Natural and stuff like that...AMAZING!  None of the things I was allergic to or anything.  Greatness in a bowl!  I never thought I would find gluten free (allergy free) soup!  

Now, this is just awesome.  A girl in my Anatomy class from France was telling me about this and I had never seen it before.  (Is it in the USA???)  Anyways, I was slightly jealous because I never had one, and well its a chocolate egg with a toy inside.  She got a crayon.  So I bought one.  Not only is it chocolate, its chocolate on the outside and white chocolate on the inside...and my toy, a stupid car I couldn't figure out how to put together.  But still...I never thought I would be so happy to buy an egg with a toy inside.  :)

Now, this is one thing, I thought I would never do.  Wine Tasting.  I know mom and best friend are a little jealous.  ;)  I am not a huge fan of wine.  But I figured, what the heck and the money went to charity.  So I tried some South African Wine.  All in all, it was a fun night.  I think I would do it again, but I will bring my own crackers and cheese.  

I am sure there are more, but I cannot think of them right now.  Still loving the new flat and loving my classes.  That is about all I have to report for now.  Off to work on some flashcards.  Hope everyone in Texas is staying warm...don't wish for the warm weather too much, you know summer will be here before you know it and it will be miserable.  ;)

Neuro...

School is going great.  New flatmates are amazing!  (Irish, Scottish, and Thailand)  I love standing in the kitchen and listening to the Irish girls talk.  I love the accent and the words they use.  It is so different from America.  We do not use 'wee' or 'aye' or things like that, but its so funny.  And I try not to laugh, just like I try not to laugh at my Professors and their accents.  :)  

I must say, I do love rain, but good glory I think the Scottish gods hate me, because its freaking cold, windy and pouring for the past week. 

This semester I have Gross Anatomy 2, and Neuroanatomy.  I love Neuro.  I find it interesting and has all of my favorite parts...biology, genetics, dissecting.  It is amazing.  

 

Just like Amy Farrah Fowler, I love neuro!  :)  

Sorry to keep this short, but I need to do some reading.  I will update more later with more pictures.  Hope all is well across the pond.  Love to all.

 

New blog, new year.

Happy New Year!  

I figured the blog needed to be moved and needed a new name.  So, 'Dissecting my way through Great Britian' it is.  And it is true.  I have traveled to many different places, even if it is trying different coffee shops and different things, I am still dissecting my way through this country.  I have had much time to think about what I want to do in life, and although digging up bones of the Holocaust was my dream, there has been no path for that dream.  However, a new dream has come, one that has always struck me as intresting and that is to help doctors find cause of death.  So, this next semester I will be focusing on my dissection skills and my dissertation which is basically dissection based to help me gain more experience to put on my CV/resume for this future dream of mine.  

 
(Seems appropriate, huh?!)

School starts in a week and I have already retyped all 28 lectures of my Gross Anatomy notes, outlined my Neuroanatomy paper, and picked out the remaining paper and project topics for my other class.  My goal for this next week is to write my neuro paper and do my Anatomy flashcards.  Why do it when I have a week off?  Because 11 weeks in the semester are a killer.  They go by fast and its stressful, so if I can do it in the time I have off and pace myself and relax and do more during the school semester, then it will be great.  (Plus maybe I can update this blog more often)

This weekend I have slacked off completely and tried a new restaurant with a friend and her friend, called Medina.  It was fun.  And I can now say I am a proud owner of all 4 seasons of the British comedy, "Outnumbered"  :D  If you have never seen it, please do yourself a favor and watch it.  Find it on youtube or something.  Its similar to the USA show "The Middle" but there are moments that I think "Outnumbered" is funnier.  

Cheers for now.  I am off to dissect my way through another Season of "Outnumbered"!