James flew out to California last Thursday to visit for the weekend. We mostly just hung out for a few days and on Sat. he and Kevin dropped me off at the airport to come back to Kansas. They went to a beer festival on Sunday and had a really good time in San Francisco. I have a few pictures from before I left that I will try and load up soon. It was nice being able to see him and I know Kevin enjoyed having his big brother around for the weekend.
I'm back at my parents house and I've enjoyed myself so far. Mom and I are getting ready for a garage sale this weekend so we've been keeping busy. My three weeks is going to fly by!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Board Exam
I forgot to mention it earlier, but yesterday I took my ASCP board exam and passed!!! It is such a relief to be officially done. All I have to do now is wait for my California license and apply for jobs. Real world here we come....
Graduation Luau
To celebrate my graduation, Kevin and I threw a Luau at our apartment after the graduation ceremony last Saturday. We had decorations, mai tai's, ham, rice, pineapple, and more. We did our best to be festive and I think we did a pretty good job. We also have a pool and since it has been pretty hot lately a pool party sort of seemed appropriate. A lot of people showed up and I had a great time! I think our friends did too!! This is a picture of Kevin with a fellow Boxer lab member, William as well as Brian and our other friend Dan.
Irene is sitting by the pool next to me. She is another CLS student who just graduated as well. The other girl in the red is Anne, another CLS student who is graduating next March.
Moria, Brian, and Jason particularly enjoyed the pool. I eventually got in and even though it was a little cold, it was worth it.
Once dark hit we brought out the tiki torches. We had a little trouble getting them lit, but eventually we succeeded in getting a couple going.
After 10pm we decided to bring the party inside for those who were still there. (in order to not disturb our neighbors too much) We had a blast playing Singstar on our playstation (a karaoke game for those not familiar). Overall I had a great time and I couldn't have asked for a better graduation party. I'm so glad we have such good friends out here in California. It definitely makes being so far away from home a ton easier.
Irene is sitting by the pool next to me. She is another CLS student who just graduated as well. The other girl in the red is Anne, another CLS student who is graduating next March.
Moria, Brian, and Jason particularly enjoyed the pool. I eventually got in and even though it was a little cold, it was worth it.
Once dark hit we brought out the tiki torches. We had a little trouble getting them lit, but eventually we succeeded in getting a couple going.
After 10pm we decided to bring the party inside for those who were still there. (in order to not disturb our neighbors too much) We had a blast playing Singstar on our playstation (a karaoke game for those not familiar). Overall I had a great time and I couldn't have asked for a better graduation party. I'm so glad we have such good friends out here in California. It definitely makes being so far away from home a ton easier.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Graduation
It is official...I have finished graduate school. The 11th class of the San Jose State University Clinical Laboratory Science Program has graduated. (that is a mouthful) The ceremony was at the San Jose Art Museum. Here is a picture of me and Shirley, my education coordinator at Stanford hospital. She was in charge of our schedules, stipends, rotation finals, etc.
This picture includes Li, the other trainee from Stanford who just graduated also. We have known each other for awhile now since we took our prerequisite courses at DeAnza College before beginning the program. It is going to be strange not seeing her everyday. It was wonderful having someone to share the ups and downs of the year with and I am really going to miss her. On the far right is Sim who is Shirley's new Lab Education Assistant. He is in a band and I'm hoping to go see him perform sometime this fall.
After the ceremony we were all allowed to go and view a couple of exhibits in the museum. There was a really cool Robot area. There was one giant robot constructed out of styrofoam boxes and shipping pieces. The museum was okay, but I'm glad that we didn't actually have to pay to go to it.
It was a nice ceremony with cake included. I'm glad to be done, but now I have to start applying for jobs and start life in the real world. At least then there will be paychecks!!
This picture includes Li, the other trainee from Stanford who just graduated also. We have known each other for awhile now since we took our prerequisite courses at DeAnza College before beginning the program. It is going to be strange not seeing her everyday. It was wonderful having someone to share the ups and downs of the year with and I am really going to miss her. On the far right is Sim who is Shirley's new Lab Education Assistant. He is in a band and I'm hoping to go see him perform sometime this fall.
After the ceremony we were all allowed to go and view a couple of exhibits in the museum. There was a really cool Robot area. There was one giant robot constructed out of styrofoam boxes and shipping pieces. The museum was okay, but I'm glad that we didn't actually have to pay to go to it.
It was a nice ceremony with cake included. I'm glad to be done, but now I have to start applying for jobs and start life in the real world. At least then there will be paychecks!!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Lupin
Our excitement for this week has come from Lupin. While I was doing laundry on Monday night, he seized an opportunity to sneak out without my noticing. Usually he is easy to spot, but apparently his ninja moves were in peak performance that night. It wasn't for several hours that we realized he wasn't inside (when his automatic pet feeder turned and he didn't come running was our first clue). We looked around outside...but Lupin was nowhere to be found. We waited the next day in hopes that he would be back. When he wasn't we made fliers and I contacted several shelters in the area with descriptions. Wednesday night Moria came over and helped me post the fliers around the apartments on our block. The next morning I got a call that Lupin was hanging around!! I rushed back and found him across the street in the courtyard of an apartment complex. He looked fine except for being kind of dirty. He seemed happy to be home and has been on his best behavior. Hopefully he learned something about why he isn't allowed outside. We are going to get him back in his collar though. We've been bad and haven't been making him wear it. After our scare though he is going to just have to deal with it.
Tomorrow is my graduation from the CLS program. I'm really excited to be finishing. Next week at this time I will be packing for my Kansas trip and I can't wait. Kevin gave group meeting this week and that went pretty well. He is dealing with some pretty interesting stuff right now which is making lab enjoyable.
Tomorrow is my graduation from the CLS program. I'm really excited to be finishing. Next week at this time I will be packing for my Kansas trip and I can't wait. Kevin gave group meeting this week and that went pretty well. He is dealing with some pretty interesting stuff right now which is making lab enjoyable.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Santa Cruz
Yesterday Kevin and I headed to Santa Cruz with our friends Brian and Dave. None of us remembered our camera, so I found a few pictures online of Seabright beach which is where we were so you could get the idea. Visuals are always nice.
It was a pretty nice day, but like usual the water was REALLY cold! I brought my shorty wet suit from my scuba days and that helped me to enjoy the water a little more. The waves weren't at their best for body surfing, but we managed to catch a couple in. We only got a little bit too much sun this time so that is always a good thing. (four years ago when Kevin and I took our road trip out to Cali we were at this same beach and got fried.)
We were right by this cool little cave that had an underpass to another tiny beach. That beach was right next to the Boardwalk. We walked over there for a little bit before we left, but with Labor Day Weekend there were way too many people there so we left.
Kevin has to give group meeting this week and I am trying really hard to focus on studying. I only have a little longer to go so I need to push hard and finish strong! I'll be back in Kansas in only 12 days so that is pretty exciting!
It was a pretty nice day, but like usual the water was REALLY cold! I brought my shorty wet suit from my scuba days and that helped me to enjoy the water a little more. The waves weren't at their best for body surfing, but we managed to catch a couple in. We only got a little bit too much sun this time so that is always a good thing. (four years ago when Kevin and I took our road trip out to Cali we were at this same beach and got fried.) 
We were right by this cool little cave that had an underpass to another tiny beach. That beach was right next to the Boardwalk. We walked over there for a little bit before we left, but with Labor Day Weekend there were way too many people there so we left.
Kevin has to give group meeting this week and I am trying really hard to focus on studying. I only have a little longer to go so I need to push hard and finish strong! I'll be back in Kansas in only 12 days so that is pretty exciting!
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