Pomp and Circumstance

I have ten minutes before I have to take brownies out of the oven and deliver them to one stressed out law student pulling an all nighter. Ten minutes is not enough time to start reading another article for my case report :) Ten minutes is not enough time to shower and dry my hair before I have to go outside in the cold. Ten minutes IS;however, enough time to BLOG.

I just finished filling out the "Washington University In St. Louis School of Medicine Commencement 2009 Sutdent Regalia Rental" order form. In three simple words: CAP AND GOWN! I had to measure the circumference of my head exactly 1 inch above my ears. This is difficult when your right ear is lower than your left. So, I took my physical therpist tape measure and wraped it around my head...and...21 inches! I was surprised! Do I have a big head? I was curious to call friends and see what their head size was because I was starting to feel insecure. Anyway, I decided that I would just rent this lovely "very distinctive", as described by the university advertisement (you would agree when you hear this next part), POLYESTER, gown. See picture below.

Now you can understand why I am renting this piece of work! Or it could be because to purchase the gown costs $510.50 versus renting it for $91.73. Either way, I am EXCITED and PROUD to wear this sucker no matter how much you may laugh at me becuase guess what...I'll be called DOCTOR and wearing the green gown is the easiest thing I've had to do to get this title thus far!

And The Winner Is...

Here are a few pictures from the Barrister's Ball (aka law school prom). Unfortunately, due to the time of year, I was unable to see any animals at the zoo! Steve and I came up with the idea that one of the only places to have an indoor event at the zoo and still feel like you were at the zoo would be to use the reptile house as a venue. Well, for those of you who really know me, this would have been catastophic. Steve would have been flying solo for this event. Me + reptiles (SNAKES UGH!) = me passed out on the floor becuase I would be hyperventilating the entire time. So, no animals this weekend--but no reptiles either = no complaints and a fun night of dinner and dancing!

Commentary on The Title of My Blog

"Now, Chanel. You're in desperate need of Chanel. Darling, shall we? We have to get to the beauty department, and God knows how long that's going to take" --Devil Wears Prada

There seems to be some confusion about the title of my blog. So I will quickly explain my choice of wording. "The Devil Wears...Sweatpants" was adapted from a book and movie (2006) called "The Devil Wears Prada." When you are in medical school there is no time or money for Prada. For two and a half years (soon to be 3), I sat in the basement of a medical building with no windows---no need for Prada people. And, when you have a goal of paying off your tuition and loans in 10 years minimum--there is no money for Prada either.

So I wear sweatpants since I'm in the basement with no windows and no one looks at me funny becuase everyone else does the same thing. It is actually kind of amusing when I do decide to 'dress up' (usually just jeans, or occasionally nicer pants and a sweater). I get the stares and puzzled facial expressions with comments such as "What is going on today? Do we have to be dressed up? Why are you dressed up?" HAHAHA. Actually, I will admit, I have been guilty of having moments of panic and have given puzzled looks to other classmates--it's an aquired thing when you are a Type A PT student (which MANY of us are). So I've learned a lot in PT school--even that wearing jeans is considered 'dressed up' and wearing sweatpants is no longer 'dressing down' but the norm.

Cinderella v. Sweatpants

This weekend I will be doffing the sweatpants and donning a party dress! Saturday is the Barrister's Ball, a "law school prom" if you will. Steve and I will be pulling ourselves away from work and having a nice dinner and fun time at the St. Louis Zoo (the venue for the ball)! Last weekend I decided I needed a fancy party dress because not only will sweatpants not cut it when going to class in law school--but definitely are not appropriate for the Barrister's Ball. It's been a while since I've tried on dresses (even though I love them). I was by myself at Macy's and Express and of course, couldn't make up my mind which one I liked the best. Therefore, I did the only reasonable thing to do...and bought all 4 of them. I know that sounds like a lot and a lot of money; but, I didn't spend more than $17 per dress! Now the dilemma...which one to wear and which 3 to take back?! Here are the 4 dresses:

Dress #1 Dress #2
Dress #3 (only $13!)

Dress #4

I'm still undecided as to which one to choose, so if you want to take a vote, let me know what you think! I will let everyone know the winner by posting a picture from Saturday. But fear not...I haven't given up sweatpants completely. In fact, today I supported the 2nd year DPT class by making a donation/purchase....

WASH U PT SWEATPANTS!!!!

Taiji Anyone?

I didn't realize how many of my friends now have blogs. Why were you all holding out on me?! So I just got home from school and realized that I have a lot of negative energy...all focused at school of course. One of my classes is called 'Alternative Skills and Practice Environments'. Basically, it is all of the stuff that is out there in the therapy world that they don't teach us but feel we should be aware of. So today's lecture and lab was on Tai Chi (really Taiji...learned that today too) and Quigong. One may perform Taiji to balance your body, health, and spirit and/or Qigong to balance energy (you can think of Qigong like yoga). When these are out of whack (professionally speaking) you create negative energy within yourself. I began thinking about what it is that is causing me to have this negative energy? Then I counted up my assignments for the semester. FORTY-ONE. 41 projects, assignments, papers, presentations, and grades all together. Now it is apparent where all of this negative energy is coming from! Do I believe in this 'complimentary medicine'? I don't know...and I'm not sure I'll ever know (at least not before May 15) because I have too much work to do :)

I'm So Over Facebook

It is 12:15 AM and I cannot sleep because I have at least 6 group projects (no, not a bajillion but it seems like it), a case report that I cannot seem to find any supporting articles for, and 1 sink full of dishes that are awaiting my arrival in the morning. Or, maybe it is the giant chocolate bar and diet coke at 9:00. So here I am--blogging. This is way better than face book. I can let my creative side emerge, give a personal touch to my page, and connect with my friends and family-- all while procrastinating! I think this is a good cause. Now, the only thing that I must remember to do is make posts amongst all the bajillion things I have to get done! Goodnight and hopefully you will hear from me again soon :)