I'm still alive...

I'm still alive, but now that school has started I probably won't be blogging much. I have about 30 hours of school work to do each day and I need to work out, and eat, and etc. However, my biggest quest is to stop Face booking all the time. I have decided that February 23 I am signing off until school is over, and until then I will definitely be limiting my time. So sorry for the lameness of teh blog, I will post when I can and/or have something I want to say. :)

Sitting in the Corner Muttering (Well...not really...)

So today we had Grand Rounds, and it sucked. Why? Because if there is any time that you will figure out you don't know anything it is during Grand Rounds. The teacher will present a case and then ask questions, and it makes you feel like a prize idiot. Being crazy and paranoid, I usually assume people who don't answer questions simply do so because they don't like public speaking, or are giving others a chance to answer. I know that can't possibly be true, but it's just the same as grades. My grades are abhorrent, and I feel like I am the only one. So basically school feels like a giant cluster of information, and not only am I failing at it, everyone else is succeeding. Then I feel like I am doing everything wrong with my life.
You always see shows on tv about parents pushing there kids to become doctors and lawyers. High paid and high powered achievers, who at the end of the day go home to a pristine house, park their expensive, green, new model car in the garage next to the boat, and then sip expensive whiskey in front of the roaring fire while reviewing their latest journal article on the ease of curing cancer. Yeah, it's not feasible. Try the person who loses a patient during the day, and then comes home exhausted. Someone who has over $200,000.00 in student loans to pay off, who can't afford to do anything but work and sleep, and who finds every day more hopeless than the last. I feel like that is the reality. Really, why do we push people so hard to achieve? Why can't we all just try to be happy?
The sad reality however, is that I am not even that person who lost a patient. I'm just a student that doesn't know anything, and is worried about the future. I mean, how am I ever going to save an animal, let alone not kill one? The odds don't look good. So now that I have come off depressed, hopeless, and probably very unorganized in my thought processes, I am going to go study. Yay.

The Murkiness of the Mind

I can't remember most of my life, and I find this unusual. I think about the fact that I have lived in 5 different places in the past 7 years, and I wonder what I have forgotten. I have random images in my mind of places I've been or things that I've done...but it doesn't feel like it was me. It's like watching a blurry movie of someone else. Sometimes I wish I was like Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory), with a didactic memory so that I could remember everything I had ever done. Of course, memory itself is often flawed. Many things we remember didn't actually happen as we remember. There was a study done that showed if people were asked about a specific memory (that they had actually never experienced) they would "remember" experiencing it and be able to very vividly describe the place, etc. Of course these weren't things like being held at gun point or being in prison. They were things like being lost when they were children or going to play in a park . Interesting what are minds are capable of.

Ice Cream Recipe #2: Brownie Fudge Ice Cream

The secret to this recipe is real, chocolaty, chewy gooey brownies in the ice cream. I simply bought a package of (insert favorite brownie mix here) and cooked it for the shortest time suggested on the box so it was extra soft. Then I made the following ice cream recipe which I found originally here: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001206175
I was very pleased with the results, and so were my friends!

Brownie Fudge Ice Cream


Ingredients

1 Box of Brownie Mix (Make sure you have everything to make the brownies.)

Ice Cream:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk, divided
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Recipe

Bake the brownies according to the package directions. When they are done baking take a fork and run it through half of the brownies so that they get crumbly. If they are cool you can use your fingers, but please don't burn yourself on the brownies or the pan! I would wait a good 20 minutes before using your fingers to touch anything that has come out of the oven without hot pads. Set brownies aside.


To prepare ice cream, combine 1 1/3 cups sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in 1/2 cup milk and egg yolks. Stir in remaining 3 cups milk. Cook 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Place half-and-half in a medium microwave-safe bowl; microwave at high 1 1/2 minutes or until half-and-half boils. Add 2 1/2 ounces chocolate; stir until smooth. Stir half-and-half mixture into milk mixture. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl, or cover and place outside in the snow! Cool completely, stirring occasionally. If you do place it outside in the snow (I did make this in January) make sure you can keep an eye on it! You don't want any squirrels making your ice cream into a delicious hot tub.

Now that the mix is cool, and squirrel free, pour it into the freezer bowl of your ice cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. I added in the brownie bits as it was mixing, and it gave it a much better taste than simply freezing the brownies in the ice cream when placed in the refrigerator.

My Favorite Boys: Mighty Max !!!

Behold my wonderful boyfriend!!! This is the man that keeps me out of trouble (generally), picks me up when I fall down, and supports all of my craziness (Sometime participating himself.). Before we started going out I was pretty emotionally distressed. I was probably at the lowest point in my life actually. Max came along and helped me see that I did have value, as myself. The great thing is he didn't even have to try extra hard to do this, he just did it because he is a superb fellow. I can't brag enough about him, so lets move on.

Isn't he handsome!!! He is also a talented chef, D&D player, all around tech genius, writer, barrista, artist, music aficionado (Rock, not classical, as most people think), traveler, and soon to be Veterinarian. Did I mention he sings? Oh yeah, he's awesome!

And all the animals love him too!

And even though it's against his "No animals on the furniture" policy, I think he enjoys having the cats around to cuddle with.


And he likes playing with the dogs. He can run almost as fast as they can, so he can wear them out pretty quickly! :)


Max always laughs at my crazy jokes and shenanigans. Yay!!! We can be quite crazy when put together, as we both tend to have a darker side to our humor. Most people think Max is very prim and proper. Hahaahaaaaahahaaahaaaaa!!! No! While Max is polite and friendly with a lot of knowledge he is quite laid back, and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, being lazy, or acting crazy.


He also willingly (?) goes along with the posing for all the photo ops, even if he is too tall to fit in some of them. :)


Here is Max being an engineer, just like his dad. He has a really close relationship with his family which I think is really important! His family is really great, and they always make me feel welcome and happy when I go visit them. They are fun and adventuresome, classy and tough, and all in all a great group of people.

Max is an Eagle Scout, and like me he enjoys being outside hiking, camping, and kayaking. He started college when he was 15, because he got bored in high school, and studied abroad in Scotland for a whole year. We hope to do more traveling together in the future.

So that is a snap shot of Max! He is my inspiration to be both myself and a better self, and I am very happy he is traveling down the same road as I am, and decided to walk with me.

My Favorite Boys: Tas the Sea Cat

Once there was a cat named Tas. Tas lived on a beautiful farm in a lovely town in Illinois. There he had everything he desired: Many friends, a loving family, delicious cat food, and all the water he could drink. One day, while Tas was sleeping at home, he had a magical dream. In his dream Tas was a mighty sea captain. Him and his band of wild sea cats roamed the seven seas in search of a mighty pirate booty, of the likes which had never been found by any pirates before (We're talking loads of fish heads people. Cat nip, bells, lightsabers, you name it!!!). Yes, the legendary Treasure of Captain Purrrse Strings. Tas awoke from his dream eager to find his pirate crew and set out on his epic journey. Alas, Tas was destined to go to the landlocked state of Kansas. Cursing his fate he made every attempt to get to the sea. He became obsessed with water, sleeping in sinks, plundering bath tubs, and lapping at any water he could find. It is said that if you sleep downstairs in a certain apartment in Kansas, you may hear the lonely yowl of captain Tas in the wee hours of the morning, as he calls to his lost crew. Below we show some pictures of Tas the Sea Cat, along with his story of his captivity.

Call me Tas the Sea cat. For many years ( 3 to be exact) I have suffered in this wretched waste land known as Kansas. Surely I am happy to have my human mistress by my side, and yet, the wild sea calls to me.
Squirrel!!!
Ahemm, but I digress. I shall now tell you my tale. It is a tale of searching for the sea, in every nook and cranny of my prison. This small apartment in which I live must have a secret access point somewhere. And I am sure that with enough searching I will find it. Come, scout the perimeter with me!!!
Is the sea here? Alas, no. I smell the cat known as Danger. Once my first mate, he has grown restless, and is now in constant pursuit of me.

The sea is not up here where three of the human girls sleep (The fourth human creature lives downstairs, she seems to be mostly human, but often meows at me in random sentences. Perhaps she is a human raised by a strange tribe of cats? She is very strange, and possibly dumb. I try not to bite her as she seems ignorant.). Sometimes I sleep in the sinks up here so I can hear the sea through the pipes.

"Hi Tas! Oh boy! Ithink Jenna is giving me tuna today for lunch!!! I can't wait!!! Ohhh!!! Did you see the squirrels today??? They were talking and I heard them say....


Follow me quickly! Danger is extremely talkative today. Come, I will show you my plan to get to the sea. It is bound to work!

Ah, yes. As you can see this box is the perfect size for me. My current plan is to mail myself to the sea shore, where my crew will find me. I plan to enlist the help of Danger. If need be a bribe of tuna may be procured from the refrigerator or pantry.


In a few short weeks perhaps my plan can finally come to fruition. I can only hope, and pray.


Here is the "Sink" I believe this is short for sink hole. The humans probably do not know the proper terminology and mistake this whirl pool maker for a common hole in the ground. A vain hope is that someday when the water is deep enough I may be sucked down and then deposited far out to sea.

What's that you say?


The sink does not lead to the sea, but is in fact merely a plumbing apparatus that ends at the sewage treatment plant?!?!


Curses!


Moving on! Here is the "Bathroom". I know what you're thinking. It's just another sink. Am I right? Wrong!!!


If you walk over this way, I will show you something quite extraordinary!!! You may scoff at the sinks, but this is something totally different!

Oh yes, the bath tub!!! This magical device, while intimidating, is the closest I have gotten to the sea yet!!! Daily the human girls come here and turn on the water for long periods of time. While I have only observed this phenomena a few times, I am convinced that aside from the mail ploy, this is my next best shot at reaching the sea. Now let me show you my regimen for staying in peak physical condition in preparation for my voyage.

Ahh yes. Nothing like a warm lap, and a nice rest after a hard hour of exploration. Personally I enjoy about 15 minutes of massage followed by a nice 3-5 hour nap. Of course, the humans are not very understanding of this, and often disturb me, but this is easily rectified with a change in location. As a sea ca..pat..ai..n.. I.....

of..ten....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

My Favorite Boys: The Danger File

I love taking pictures of the animals. Maybe a little too much. Out of everyone though, Danger (Jenna's cat) is usually the one who is at hand to pose, or be extra cute. Danger likes hanging out in my room for part of the day. He sleeps on my bed, sits on my desk, and watches birds and squirrels that flit outside of my window. More than once he has spilled a few things, but how can you not forgive this face?

What? I'm just laying here.


Hellooooooooo!!! Pet me!!!

Squirrel? Squirrel? Squirrel???

Christmas Montage!!!



What? Ice Cream Maker??? I thought this was my box?!?!

Why do you disturb my nap?

Oh yeah. This is a good position.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...