People Come, People Go

Today I learned that yet another of my great co-workers is leaving our place of employ. But I'm so very happy for her, as she is a talented young woman just getting her family and her career started; she's making a good move, but I will miss seeing her every day. She has been a source of encouragement for me as I make my way through college, and I have been (what I hope she'd agree) a source of mentorship for her. Fortunate for me she is a friend and we'll stay in touch. But this all made me recognize once again how our lives are full of "comings and goings" and that people move in and out of our immediate contact on a regular basis.

Fortunately for me, I have a number of people who have stuck in there with me for the long haul, and hope to count this young woman among that group. Good luck A.E.!!

Cheers!
Ima

Three Weeks and Counting

I took a midterm exam yesterday in Anatomy and Physiology. My teacher is amazing, but this is still just so much to learn! Her exams are fair but tough. You have to know your stuff, which is fine. When you do well you know you've accomplished something great. So...I wait for the grade. But it takes so much out of me mentally and physically to do this. I came home at 5 PM and crashed. Slept for two hours...up for two...back to bed from 9PM until 7 this morning. The body was really exhausted. So, it's out for a walk and some other mental exercise besides A&P! Forgot to say that I also was so engrossed in study for this one exam that I forgot I had a Psych test to take yesterday also. Fortunate for me - with twenty-five years as an HR professional in my "former life", a test in social psychology is pretty easy to pass...with or without study. Oh the joys of having experience to fall back on! There are benefits to being older, huh!

So, just three weeks left in the term (and they will be grueling, given the material we have to learn) I am looking so very forward to a summer break. While I still have to work, 35 hours of work commitment seems like a piece of cake compared to this last 9 months. I'm hoping to carve out a week or ten day break to head out West. I miss those Rocky Mountains and my friends. But for now....back to the books!

I'm ever so grateful for my study partners, friends and family who read my blog and my Facebook site, and who are there to help me stay motivated and keep my chin up when it gets rough. We all need our social support network. I love you all!

Cheers!
Ima

Do They Still Push B-17?

Driving to work this morning, I had a 70's Soft Pop station on my Sirius. Great for memories and "mellowing" into the day. Stopped at a local restaurant for Eggs Benedict (my occasional Sunday breakfast) and thought of my Mom in heaven. She was the best. Happy Mom's Day!

Anyway, Olivia Newton John came on and did that song that goes "Please mister, please...don't play B-17, it was our song, it was his song but it's over........" Made me think. Do they still have juke boxes in burger joints and bars, and if so, do they still push buttons?

I know. This post has nothing to do with my school, or about my changing life in general, but what the heck. Just sayin'.....

Cheers!
Ima

24 Hours of No Fun

The last 24 hours have not been fun. Not at all. In fact, it was a 24 hour period of high emotion, one I do not want to repeat very often. To put it bluntly, while I studied my ass off for the lab practical exam yesterday I did not do well on it, and I knew it when I left school. My mind just went blank when I got into the room, and no amount of panic would (of course) bring the bits of knowledge to the forefront, for me to regurgitate (figuratively, of course) onto the test. I turned in my exam, walked to my car and began to cry. I cried all the way home. One hour of self-pity time. "Why am I doing this?!?" I said to myself. Is it worth the sleepless nights, the flashcards carried everywhere with me, studying terminology and pictures of body parts so foreign that they seem like some obscure language? And who really needs to know the names of all those veins anyway.

Then I got a taste of reality. I pulled into the parking lot of my neighborhood grocery store, to buy a few things. The ever-so-stylish large framed dark glasses in place to hide the puffy eyes, I spotted a woman who was struggling to get into the store due to some version of cerebral palsy. She was working her butt off just to buy groceries. All of a sudden, my "tragedy" didn't look so bad.

If getting a "C" (which is what I finally learned I achieved on the test) is the biggest of life's hurdles I face, I'm one lucky chick. Here's to keeping a positive outlook....the course isn't over yet!

Cheers!
Ima

Where Does The Time Go?

Well, it's been two weeks since I last checked in with you, my blog pals. I received a change of duties at my job - a promotion of sorts, which is fun but added a layer of stress on me that I didn't need. But all is good there and it is fun to learn new things. Seems like that's what I'm all about these days...learning new things. Sometimes I feel like my head will pop!

On the school front, we've moved into what should be the most interesting of the three A&P classes: the major organ systems of the body. It is rewarding to be able to put together components from prior quarters, and understand how they serve a larger functioning body system. As I sit in class, the "light bulb" clicks on inside my head, and I really start to get this stuff! I have enough points on my last two exams to still be in the hunt for an "A", though a "B" will make me very happy. There's just so much to memorize. I have decided to give it a rest over the summer, and won't take any classes. I'll need some decompress time by then, and I hope to visit friends out West that I haven't seen in a very long time.

So, with a new job and a tough class, I've been gone a while...I'll try not to let it become a habit!
Cheers!
Ima