iPhone

I got a new iPhone on Saturday and I LOVE it! I have been looking into getting one for medical school because I know there are a lot of great clinical apps, like a pharmacology reference and a clinician guide. However, I had no idea of how many amazing apps there really are out there. I am kind of a cheap-o, so I am not going to buy an app unless I really need it, but I still have downloaded the following free apps:

1) MyFitnessPal (which allows you to type in all the foods you eat and get a complete breakdown of the nutritional factors; it also gives you a breakdown of all the exercises you do)
2) Daily Yoga (My new favorite thing... I have done yoga every day for the last 2 weeks!)
3) Jillian Michael's Recipes and Workouts (I <3 J.M.)
4) Human Anatomy Study Guides/Practice Quizzes (I am a big nerd and am studying for med school already)
5) Learn Spanish! (Because I am currently trying to learn on my own)

Its truly amazing how much technology can do these days! :)

Zoo Day!

S and I went to the Zoo on Thursday! Here are some photos from our trip:

Entrance to the San Jose Zoo! 

Capybera (My favorite!!)

Feeding the Goats

He looks sad...but still a cute miniature horse 

Other favorites that did not end up in good pictures: The Lemurs, The Cheetah, and the 100-year-old Tortoise.

It was a great day at the zoo. The only thing that was missing was the Hippos and the Elephants!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

As you all know, my boyfriend S just completed his second year of medical school at Michigan State. This means he also just finished his step 1 board exams (part of a 3-part medical licensing exam series). While he is very excited that he is done with this exam, I am excited because now I get my boyfriend back for a whole week! :)

S arrived in California on Friday night, but I was unable to visit with him (because I work) until he came to Elk Grove on Saturday night. When he arrived, we ate dinner and went to see the movie Super 8. For those of you who have not heard of Super 8, its the new Steven Speilberg movie that has been (quite accurately) described as a combination of Cloverfield and The Goonies. Overall, it was pretty good. I would definitely recommend it!

On Sunday, we went to watch the Sacramento River Cats, a minor league baseball team. I have been bragging to S for years about how good the RiverCats are and have joked about possibly seeing a no-hitter. Well, I got a surprise............The Sacramento RiverCats got their butts kicked big time. That was the worse I have seen us lose. Oh well. It was still a really fun day, minus the massive sunburn I got from sitting in the baseball seats.

Warming Up!

Goooooo River Cats!

Notice the Sunburn....ouch!

Well, thats all for now! I will update more when we go on more adventures! 

Bubbles, Baths, and Books

As a teenager, I never understood why people would read for fun. Although I have always been a good student, reading books that were outside my required reading in school never appealed to me. Over the last few years, however, my thoughts on this have completely changed. In college, I really began to appreciate how many great books there are and how enjoyable laying in bed with a good book can be. Unfortunately, I had very little free time at UCLA and, as a result, this new found thrill for reading was pushed aside. So, one of my goals for my year off of school was to read as many books as I could. 

One thing that has really helped me dig into all of these great books is my (also new found) love for bubble baths. My parents have a jet-spa style bath tub and I have found that NOTHING is more relaxing after a long day at work than a hot bath, bubbles, and a great book. Simply the best.

Anyways, I have created a "summer reading list" in my head, but thought it would be great if I could jot it down to make sure I remember all of the books I have completed and all of the books I still must pick up.

So far this summer (since April), I have read the following books:

-"A Walk To Remember"-Nicholas Sparks

-"The Pact"-Jodi Piccoult

-"The Rescue"-Nicholas Sparks

-"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"- J.K. Rowling

-"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"- J.K. Rowling

-"Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban"- J.K. Rowling

-"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"- J.K. Rowling

-"Eat, Pray, Love"-Elizabeth Gilbert

I am currently reading: 

-"The Lovely Bones"-Alice Sebold

Still on my summer reading list:

-"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"-J.K. Rowling

-"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"- J.K. Rowling

-"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows"- J.K. Rowling

-"19 Minutes"-Jodi Piccoult

-"Keeping Faith"-Jodi Piccoult

-"In Stitches"-Anthody Youn, M.D.

-"House of God"-Samuel Shm

If anyone else has any good suggestions, let me know! I have to read as much as I possibly can before I start school, because then I will unfortunately be back at a point where I will have to push this new-found love of books aside. 

Why I love science...

My senior year at UCLA, I took a 1-unit seminar that met once a week to discuss articles in the Science section of the New York Times. While I originally enrolled in the seminar because I was in need of an extra unit and it sounded much more interesting than most of the other options, I really have grown an appreciation for reading news articles about science and medicine. Recently, I have come across two articles that have left me in awe of how advanced medicine is becoming. So, I thought I would share them with anyone who reads my blog. Enjoy!

About an artificial heart:
 http://www.npr.org/2011/06/13/137029208/heart-with-no-beat-offers-hope-of-new-lease-on-life?sc=fb&cc=fp

A case of cured HIV:
 http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110603/us_yblog_thelookout/first-man-functionally-cured-of-hiv

Sickness

I haven't blogged in almost two weeks! Besides my busy work schedule, I have been pretty sick over the last few weeks so I spent any of my free time in bed. Well, today I finally made it to the doctors. The diagnosis: still unknown. However, we think I may have hypothyroidism. Im getting lab tests tomorrow and Im getting an ultrasound on my thyroid in about 2 weeks. My symptoms: my temperature was down to 95 degrees, my hands are super puffy, im extremely tired, im always cold, and (probably the biggest sign) my neck around my thyroid is enlarged. So, although I dont want to be diagnosed with something that I will be have to be treated for the rest of my life, I really hope that I can get something to make my sickness go away.

Besides my sickness, my last two weeks have basically consisted of:
1) Working almost 40 hours/week
2) Reading Harry Potter books 1-4 (I read all 750 pages of book 4 in a matter of 5 days!!!)
3) Further exploration of Sacramento (namely, the County Fair).
4) Exercise! I have really tried to stick with my lap swimming schedule and I have been trying to get my mom to work out on my WiiFit Biggest Loser Challenge game. Yesterday, we started with Kickboxing and Yoga.

Thats all for now. Its bed time for Kailyne. Cross your fingers for my lab work/ultrasound to go well!