Aaaaaand We're Done.

See ya dissection shoes...notice the biohazard trash bag...ick.

Love My Roommate

What I came home to after 18276498127 hours of studying last night :-)

Coyotes on the Loose...in Nashville?

            You read that correctly.  The big news in Nashville over the past few weeks...coyotes.  ON THE LOOSE.  EATING PEOPLE'S DOGS.  I'm not okay with this.  Though I know that I am in a different region of the country and the wildlife is supposed to be different (aka the rabid squirrels that live on my building and literally lounge on my front stoop) but coyotes?  I see no desert here, ladies and gentlemen.  But despite the fact that they seem very much out of place, the coyotes are apparently quite a problem in this city.  There is even a website devoted to helping coyotes and humans coexist in Nashville.  You think I'm joking but check it out.  And it case you might be wondering how to handle the coyote presence in your own town I have included some helpful tips from the Nashville local news:

• Don't feed coyotes (duh).
• Secure garbage container lids.
• Feed pets indoors.
• Don't leave children outside when coyotes are around (also duh).
• Trim shrubbery to remove coyote hide outs (I think this one is funny).
• Install fencing that is at least 6 feet tall and 6 inches below ground level (yeah okay...I'll get right on that).

This picture actually terrifies me.

Bubba...It's Been Real

            We thought this day would never come.  Anatomy lab is finally over!!  I know you're all devastated that you won't be hearing all of the gory details anymore.  But to be honest, I think the end of the semester came just in time.  You see, despite the fact that he is huge and always full of surprises, Bubba actually contained a lot of great representations of anatomical structures (according to Dr. Ohde).  As a result, pretty much every inch of him has been cut, poked, and prodded...not to mention the fact that he is starting to smell a little funky.  So last night we said our goodbyes to our four "teachers."  Though we were clearly delirious after a 13 hour day during finals week (see photos below) we did take a moment to silently express how grateful we were to the individuals who donated their bodies so that we could learn all about the human form and someday better serve our patients because of it.  Though I was certainly not sad to throw away my dissection shoes and the Vick's vapor rub forever, it actually was a really incredible experience.  And to give you a better idea of what life is like in the dissection dungeon I've included some pictures.

Dr. Ohde's Anatomy Lab 2010

Marie's not so sure about the whole face dissection thing...

So we had a little fun with George...

Did I mention we were delirious?

Sweet Dr. Ohde and his scalpel :-)

          

How was your weekend?

            Well it was a crazy weather weekend here in the Bible Belt.  As you may have heard, there were strong storms and over 25 tornados that touched down from South Carolina to Tennessee to Mississippi (literally just had to say the little rhyme out loud to remember how to spell that state).  And while the rain was coming down in buckets and the wind was gusting at unnerving miles per hour, I was spending the weekend doing tons of fun Nashville things with my parents who were in town for a visit!  Nope…the rain didn’t put a damper on our plans!  And my mom and I were actually kind of excited when we heard the warnings about rough weather.  You see when we came to Nashville just last year to scope out the city and find a place for me to live we were greeted with similar weather.  Except that time we heard the sirens.  Yep…in this part of the country tornado sirens are not uncommon and they are freaking loud.  And scary when you’ve never heard them before.  And even scarier when the people on the radio are frantically telling you to “get to your safe place!” and you’ve just checked out of your hotel and therefore, don’t have an interior basement bathtub with a mattress to pull over your head or really any “safe place” at all.  But this time we knew the drill (and my house comes complete with a basement bathtub just for the occasion), so we kind of wanted to hear the sirens to prove to my Dad that they do exist.  No such luck.

The payoff after the big storm hit Nashvegas

But, we braved the storm and successfully stuffed our faces with biscuits at the Loveless Café, got some shelter from the rain and a taste of the tropics at the Opryland Hotel, got a little tipsy (ahem…Mom J) at the Yazoo Brewery, cozied up for a late afternoon movie (well…Dad took a nap), and ate a delicious dinner at the Germantown Café complete with a spectacular view of the city.  And that was just Saturday!  On Sunday we woke to gorgeous blue skies and temperatures in the low 70’s.  Pretty much perfect after the sudden hurricane/tornado/flash flood from the day before!  Hope y’all had a great weekend and managed to stay dry!

Loveless Cafe

Uh-may-zing biscuits at the Loveless...pretty sure I ate about 10.

Inside the Opryland Hotel

Tasting and tour at the Yazoo Brewery in The Gulch!