Last night in Boston

Well, it's our last night in Boston.  I can't help but be sad as we pack up our apartment.  It's been a fabulous month.  I couldn't have asked for two better roommates to share it with!  Jayme and Catie, you guys rock.
If the last month has taught me anything it's that I'm truly a city girl at heart.  I love not driving to work.  I love being able to walk nearly everywhere.  I love that on any given night there are a dozen fun things to do and 1,500 restaurants to choose from.
It's been fun Boston.  Instead of saying "goodbye," I'll say "see you soon."

Can't believe this is our last full day/night in Boston. I'm going to miss it a lot.

Final (*tear*) weekend update

Well we survived hurricane Irene.  Turned out to be fairly underwhelming--lots of rain and wind.  Hanging out at home today and packing/watching movies.  Lots of places are closed today and the subway is shut down until the morning.  So, Jersey Shore marathon!
Love it how we prepared for the storm: beer, Mike's Pastry, and Redbox movies. Only the essentials!
Check out some of our weekend pics below.  Ate at Legal Seafood on Friday.  Saturday we got lobster rolls, visited the Harpoon Brewery (awesome tour--try it if you're in Boston), and went to the north end for dinner/pastry.

All good here in Boston--barely raining now.

Irene is def here. Subway closed and we've been advised to stay inside.

Hurricane update: trying to fit in lobster roll, brewery and north end by this evening. Then apartment bond until Irene leaves.

Hurricane Irene?

If you told me in July that I would go to Boston for my rotation and end up feeling a minor earthquake and then getting hit with a hurricane, I would have told you that you were nuts.  But, here we are.  Irene is headed this direction--ruining our Sunday plans.  I hope that's it.  I have never experienced a tropical storm/hurricane (except having a friend evacuate to my house in Austin during Rita).  I really never expected my first/hopefully only to be in New England.  The plan?  Load up on Mike's Pastry and cereal and hope for the best.
Now a personal  note to Irene...
Dear Irene,
I've had enough craziness for the month.  Please leave us alone, go out to sea, and never return.
Thanks!
Christan

Seriously? A hurricane? Way to mess up our last weekend in Boston, Irene. Please change course...

Adios presentation

Well the big "gum disease" presentation is finished.  Other than a few minor technical glitches at the beginning, I think it went pretty well.  Catie and I are now officially free!  Jayme's up tomorrow.
Can't believe it's our last week in Boston.  To say I've loved this month would be an understatement. Boston is such a cool city.  On any given night there's dozens of great places to eat or shop and tons of things to do.  Minus the crowd of tweens that nearly attacked us the first week we were here, this has been a fabulous experience.
For any of you P3s thinking of taking this rotation next year, I highly recommend it.  My recommendation is not just for the rotation itself (though it is much different than any experience you'll get in a hospital or retail setting), but for the city.  It's worth the money just to live somewhere else and experience something different. You won't be sorry if you do.

Big presentation on gum disease in t-minus 1.25 hours. Wish me luck!

Weekend Update

Sorry for the lack of posting the last few days.  My brain was semi-fried on Friday after the abstract incident.  But, we've had a fun weekend with Mr. Chris Mitchell visiting. (Technically, he was visiting Catie, but we all hung out too.) We had a repeat visit to Sam Adams and a bunch of good food at various locales.
Today was "nerd day" in my world.  I ate breakfast with my friend Lauren from P-town and then wondered around MIT. I then hit up the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Science.  Check out all the pics below.  Jayme and I are off to Mike's Pastry for a nice dessert.

Today is "nerd day"! MIT then Museum of Fine Arts and then the Museum of Science.

Me, my computer, and 450 study abstracts

Excuse me for my lack of posting today.  My brain is pretty much fried.  After further examining my APPE project, I found that the numbering was incorrect.  So, the 150+ abstracts I thought I needed to enter by tomorrow,  actually turned into 450!  I finished 160 of them today after non-stop entering for 8 hours. *sigh*

Here's hoping tomorrow is very, very productive.

Looking forward to food and friends this weekend.  I think we're going to hit up Sam Adams again thanks to a PDC Boston brother.  And, I get to see my high school friend Lauren and her cute daughter on Sunday! Super excited about both.

Mass General and tons of work

Today was one of those days that started out great and ended up stressful.  Our Mass General tour was so cool.  I can't believe the hospital has been there since 1811!  I feel like I need to work there just to be a part of something so cool.  We didn't get to go into the ether dome, sadly.  That's where the first operation took place under general anesthesia.  The museum was open, so we took a look around there.  I'm hoping we can go back at some point in the next two weeks as normally the dome is open to the public daily.

Got a huge project yesterday and now have to enter data for 173 abstracts into a form by Thursday.  This is not going to be pretty.  Took me two hours to complete 20 today.

Here's hoping tomorrow will be more productive.

PS On a non-pharmacy note, as many of you know, I'm from Indiana.  Some of my high school classmates were at the Indiana State Fair this weekend for the Sugarland concert and were caught in the stage collapse.  One of them, Andrea, was seriously hurt and is still in critical condition at an Indianapolis hospital.  For all those out there, she could use as many prayers as possible.  I hadn't kept in touch with her over the years, but I did see her in May.  She's still one of the sweetest people I've ever met. So, if you think about it, say a prayer for Andrea and her family.

MGH Photos