Monday, October 22, 2007

Raymond's Nut Brown Ale

My brother is becoming a brewster! He made some nut brown ale and was kind enough to pass along some of the yield. Here is the brew post-pour into frosty pint glasses (Angels lunchbag in background to mourn lack of Angels in WS):


Careful analysis of flavor profile:


Final analysis: a hoppy ale with a moderate amount of bitterness and no unpleasant notes or aftertastes. Remember people, I was trained in this sort of thing in my former life, and Raymond, I must say that you have a hit! Very excited to see/taste your future creations.

Cheers!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Where My Stitches At?

I am finally a member! Ravelry is like Facebook for knitters - you can post pictures and details of your finished objects, works in progress, yarn stash and much more. I have not uploaded my info up yet - I think that might take some time, but I have surfed other's projects and patterns, and I found some great stuff. Including a limited edition T-shirt that reads, 'Where my stitches at?' If you are interested, you should sign up for the waiting list for an invitation - or wait because soon it will be open to the general public, and you will be able to join without invitation.

In other news - I finished my 2 weeks on Anesthesia, and I am happy to report that my IV starting skills have improved dramatically. I was getting them on the first try with no mess! Not hard - just takes practice. And on Monday, I start 4 weeks in the Medical Intenstive Care Unit (MICU). And Raul and I have received many interview invitations (some even in CA!) We are very excited and will keep you posted!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Human Pretzel

I became a human pretzel in my yoga class tonight. We did this:

It was kind of painful.

Life is getting better on the IV-starting front. I got one on Friday on my second try - an on a conscious patient no less! Unfortunately, I managed to get blood everywhere - all over the floor, the IV tubing, the supply bucket, my scrubs, the patient's hand. Embarrassing, but an improvement nonetheless! And progress enough to spare Raul the joy of being a human pin cushion. Lucky guy.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

On skin and general anesthesia

Thanks for all the kind words and well wishes for Myriam. She is doing much better - her pain is well controlled and she is off for a week of rehabilitation therapy at a fancy facility and then home! All is well.

A comment on my rotations - Last week I completed a two week rotation on dermatology. It is commonly referred to as "Derma-holiday" due to the short hours and supposed easy-ness of the rotation. Unfortunately, that was not my experience. Pain is watching some resident do skin exams over and over and over for 10 hours. I experienced the phenomenon of negative learning in which I turned my brain off, became a zombie and forgot things that I used to know. Fortunately for me, that experience is over, I passed the test for that rotation, and I never have to do it again. Yippee. Also, some of you members of the masses are a little nuts in the way you compulsively check your skin and come to the dermatologist demanding that every little mole and skin tag and pimple be evaluated and removed. Not that it's not good to keep tabs on your moles - just do it in moderation. And wear sunscreen.

Now I am on anesthesia. I have had to do loads of scary things that make me instantaneously break out in cold sweats. One for instance is starting IVs - the last time I attempted to start an IV was the very first week of my M3 year on a classmate - she cried. It was traumatic. Today, I tried to start an IV on a patient (thankfully under general anesthesia) five times. The last two were successful. My resident let me take home many an IV catheter and all IV starting supplies and my beloved husband has volunteered to be my human pin cushion when he returns home. That's love people. I also intubated someone the other day. Here is what I did - you take the laryngoscope (the L-shaped device) in your left hand and insert the blade into the mouth and pull the tongue and everything anteriorly as so:


Then you are able to visualize the larynx - see the vocal cords:


The intubation tube is then placed down between the vocal cords and into the lungs.




It actually takes quite a bit of muscle to visualize someone's cords. Especially if they have chubby cheeks, a short neck and a big tongue.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Think Happy Thoughts

Raul's mom, Myriam, fell and broke her leg last night and is having surgery today. I just dropped Raul off at the airport, and he will be with her to help out for the next week and a half. If you have the time, please send happy thoughts their way!
 
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