HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Seems fitting that I'm ringing in a new decade with friends that have been behind me for the entire 10 years (most of them for almost the last 2 decades!). I'm looking forward to all the laughs to be had this evening!

Pictures of my wonderful Christmas break are on their way!

D.O.N.E. done done done!

I finished my didactic year of PA school today. It feels like just yesterday we were in the triple digits of our countdown... I never thought the day would come! YAY!

The past 6 months...

It's been awhile since I've updated but here are a few highlights of the last 6 months of my life.

In August, Kara and headed to Atlanta for the Brett Dennon and OAR concert, quick trip to Six Flags, Big Ten Bar Crawl (where I caught up with Erica and Amanda, two of my fellow Spartan Athletic Trainers) and a Braves game. All in about 36 hours... it was a wonderful escape from reality.

The last weekend in August, Will joined me to meet up with Mike and Danielle and Mike and Heather for a weekend of camping and relaxing. It was wonderful to get together with some of my Michigan friends!

My family, including Aunt Jan and Corey and Jacob, came down for Labor day weekend and Boomsday. We had a lot of fun just relaxing around the pool, hanging out in Knoxville and, of course, watching the fireworks on the river.

After quarter 4, Kara and I hopped in the car and were Gainesville bound for the Tennessee v. Florida football game at "The Swamp". It was INCREDIBLY hot but, a great weekend. I was able to meet up with Tom and go to the game with him and his friends from UF. On Sunday, Kara and I continued our trek south to her hometown of Bonita Springs. We stayed with her grandparents, laid on the beach (and got incredibly sunburned one day. Her back. My front.), and hung around town until I boarded a plane back to Knoxville midweek. Then, I drove home for 10 relaxing days in Michigan. My dad and I attended our annual UM v. MSU football game in East Lansing. We tailgated with my fellow Hartland Spartans then made our way to the game. It poured for most of the game but the sun began to peak thru just as time ran out for another Spartan W. Dad and I have been going since 1990, when I was in kindergarten and we've only missed the game one year since then. Such a fun tradition. After such a WONDERFUL break, I headed back to Knoxville for my 5th, and FINAL, quarter of PA school.

 In October, Melissa and Paul were able to come down for a weekend. We were able to hang out with my PA school family one night and attended the Knoxville Brewer's Jam for the day on Saturday with a lot of my class also. It was a very fun, muddy, mess.

I spent Thanksgiving in North Carolina with Mike and Heather, Mike and Danielle, Steve and some of Heather's friends from college. It was amazing to be able to get away and relax for a few days with some of my best friends. Dinner was absolutely amazing and our non-traditional Thanksgiving evening beer pong in the garage was tons of fun.

On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, I got in the car with Nicki, my favorite Tar Heel, Rob and Will (our pseudo-fans) and we were on our way to Chapel Hill (about 5 hours) for the MSU v. UNC National Championship rematch. Though my Spartans didn't come out on top, (or barely at all for that matter) I had a blast exploring Nicki's old campus.

 

Now I'm 1 OSCE, 1 Ethics Quiz and class, 1 surgery class, and 3 finals away from being done with my didactic year of PA school (that's only 5 more days too!). Clinicals start January 4th and I can't wait!

My Heart Belongs in Michigan

Molly and Jeff got married June 27th. The weather was perfect, the reception was beautiful and even Jeff cried. My friends are the best around and I can't imagine my life without them. We had tons of fun the entire week I was home. Can't wait to be back in Michigan!

San Diego!

The AAPA national conference this year was held in San Diego. So, for memorial day weekend, Kara and I hopped on a plane with Shelly (another classmate) to attend a weekend of lectures and sunshine on the ocean. I had never been west of the Mississippi and I was itching to get out of Knoxville so this was perfect timing. It was perfect timing to remind us what our ultimate goal is and why we're doing it, and to relax and have some fun. We spent Friday exploring the city and going to a Padres game at Petco. We went to a place called "Extraordinary Desserts" - truly extraordinary. On Saturday we slept in because we didn't go to bed on Thursday night then went to the conference in the afternoon. Kara's sister met us on Saturday night at an Italian restaurant owned by the chef that was her instructer for her study abroad in Italy. Truly amazing. Sunday we went to the San Diego Zoo. I thought we'd spend a few hours because it would be like any other zoo, not at all. We spent 5 hours there and it was pretty amazing. Sunday night we met up with another classmate, Josh, and went out to a piano bar for a night out on the town. We went to the conference and laid by the pool with mojitos for a wonderful Monday and unfortunately had to fly home on Tuesday morning. One of our friends was able to get us an amazing discount at the Marriott on the bay and stayed on the 21st floor overlooking the ocean. It was amazing. Perfect script for some stressed out PA students.



The conference was incredibly rewarding. It reminded me of my purpose for spending countless hours with my nose in a book or my eyes glued to my computer screen. Kara and I have vowed to use the conference as a reason to get together each year, an excuse to have at least one reunion (though hopefully there will be more throughout the year).

2 1/2 quarters done and, 2 1/2 Quarters to go!

Yesterday marked the half way point of my didactic year of PA school. As far as classes go, I only have as much ahead of me as I've already put behind me. So exciting! Once I'm through this quarter I'll be 1/3 of the way through my entire 27 months of school. Graduation is only 588 days away.

With all that being said, it's absolutely incredible to me that I've been a resident of Knoxville, TN for almost 8 months now. I feel like just a few weeks ago Mary and Amy were helping me pack the trailer to move down here. Time flies when you're having fun... or just busy.

Nashville Half Marathon

Since January my roommates from 121 Center St. at MSU have been planning to get together to run a half marathon. It's was a weekend I've been looking forward to since Kristen planted the idea in our heads. Though the training was minimal, the mission was completed and we had an incredible time in the process. We arrived at our hotel on Friday afternoon and had been laughing since the moment we were all in the same car. I knew this was going to be just what I needed away from Knoxville and PA school. However, I kept letting the idea that I was running 13.1 miles the next morning slip my mind. We graced corral 10 about 6:50am, ready to go. At this point it was already 70 degress and the sun was just peaking over the Nashville skyline, it would gradually climb to about 85 and the sun would be out in full force.

The run was rough, probably one of my most challenging in my long running career but having 3 incredible friends running with me (and a little bit of stubborness) kept putting one foot in front of the other and Jessie and I crossed the finish line just 2 hours and 21 short minutes after we started. Once I streched the cramps out of my calves and hamstrings and replenshed my water, I started walking backwards down the course to meet up with a fellow classmate brave enough to face the full marathon on this beautifully miserable day. I ran what I could with her and was able to help carry the, self-proclaimed, Torr-nado across the finish line. The entire experience has motivated me to think about trying to complete another full. I'm so proud of Torrey for finding what it took inside to finish the race and not give up. Three of my other classmates also ran the half marathon and we all wore purple shirts in honor of a fellow classmates father who was recently diagnosed with multiple myeloma.



We went out to a dueling piano bar that night after a cold shower, Gigi's gourmet cupcakes and a good nap. (It was 85, sunny and we were on "vacation" in Nashville and we laid in our beds in the hotel for a good portion of the afternoon, lame). By about 11 we were all too tired to make a decision about whether or not to move on to the next bar and explore Nashville or go to bed so, we went to bed.



After a beautiful, sunny weekend, 13.1 miles, and a dozen jort's pictures with awkward poses the three other former girls of 121 center street boarded their planes and went back to their hometowns. It was an incredible weekend and we're already thinking about the next one.

Here's the breakdown of the dedications to the people most important to me for all 13 miles:
Mile 1: The 47 people I sit in class with everyday. This one's for you Lisa!! ;)
Mile 2: Chappell's Angels. My love for running was established and grew with these 12 girls and they're some of the best friend's I've ever had.
Mile 3: Chappell. Mrawwww.
Mile 4: The HHS Cross Country and Track teams. From volunteering to coach while I was in transition I met some inspiring teenagers and a great friend.
Mile 5: Grandma Grace. Breast Cancer Survivor.
Mile 6: My dad.
Mile 7: Everyone who got me out the door for a few miles since January, especially Torrey and Taylor
Mile 8: The end to my line segment. Kelly Genei.
Mile 9: Coach Danna. Every time I step out the door in my running shoes, I know you're with me.
Mile 10: My grandfather, who I never really got to know and wish that I had.
Mile 11: My family. Momma, Broheim and Club
Mile 12: Kirsten's dad, who's name I wore proudly on my back.
Mile 13: Kristen, Aly and Jessie
The final .1: Me

Final Four 2009

I finished my second quarter of PA school and absolutely could not wait to get out of here to spend some quality time on my parents couch in Michigan and with my friends in the mitten. Fantastic.

The highlight of my break was by far final four weekend. It was a highlight of my life. The chances that it would be in Detroit, I would be on break and MSU would be playing on the 30 year anniversary that Magic Johnson won it against Larry Bird in 1979 couldn't be written for the movies. Saturday was absolutely incredible. I am so incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of it. Bobby, my roommate from college, and I bought tickets on Wednesday night (at 1am) from the UCONN website when we heard that they had not sold their allotment for a price we thought was way too good to be true. We were not the only Spartans in that section, that's for sure. We headed down about noon to take in the atmosphere and ended up meeting my other college roommates, Kristen and Alyson for some people watching on the patio of the Hilton (where UNC was staying). Then, about an hour and a half before game time Bobby and I headed to Ford Field, WE WERE GOING TO THE FINAL FOUR!! The crowd was absolutely incredible. I would estimate that about 70% of the 72,000 were in green and white. I have never experienced anything so exciting in my entire life. Hearing "GO GREEN"/"GO WHITE" and "LETS GO STATE" among the 72,000 packed in the stands gave me goosebumps. Michigan State came up with a big win over their second #1 seed of the tournament, UCONN. We'd be back on Monday to play for the National Championship.

Monday night I headed down to Detroit with Matt because Bobby had to work. We met up with Kyle and Kumor and several thousand other Spartans for some hearty "GO GREEN" "GO WHITE" cheers in the bars and on the streets of Detroit before the game. Incredible. Words, pictures and videos absolutely cannot do this experience justice. Though the outcome of the game was not in my favor, this weekend trumps every single sporting event experience I have ever attended (including Tigers v. Yankees playoff game, 18 UM/MSU football games, Justin Verlander's No-No from behind homeplate, Red Wings v. Colorado playoffs games... I'm a spoiled brat). Sorry Dad! I'm a proud Spartan fan and can't wait for next season.



I got in my car at 1:48am to head for TN. I drove alone all night to get back to Knox in time for class. I ended up getting home around 10am and being able to sleep for 2 hours before class. Dayton and Cincinnati are much more pleasant to drive through at 5am. I surprised myself and made it the full 8 hours without even needing a nap and only one coffee and a fruit and yogurt parfait.

Cheers to being done with Quarter 2 and wish me luck for Quarter 3

Erinn Kelley's Bed and Breakfast

I've had visitors for the last two weekends, but I LOVE visitors. I've had plenty to entertain myself, let alone keeping up with school. While my dad was here 2 weekends ago, we went to the Knoxville Ice Bears hockey game with some of my classmates on Friday night then celebrated Kara's grandma's birthday on Saturday night. We went to dinner and then to the UT v. Florida basketball game. My dad had never been to an SEC sporting event and there's only one team he hates more than the University of Tennessee, The University of Florida. Regardless, I'm pretty sure he enjoyed himself. Kara's grandma is from a small town in Canada (It was so refreshing to hear THAT accent again!) and Kara surprised her with the tickets to the game, we had to keep it a secret until we were walking into the arena. She was pretty surprised so, between the two of them, I think the night was quite the success.

Ryan and Andrea came down for an impromptu visit this past weekend. Ryan called me Thursday night while I was in class and when I called him back about 10:30 that night, he informed me they would be there about 5pm on Friday. Perfect ending to a really long week, I was really excited. When they got here, he spent about 42 seconds in my apartment and wanted to go for a run because "it's too nice outside not to." So, I took him to my favorite place to run, Cherokee Hills for a nice little 3 miler. We went line dancing at Cottoneyed Joes and downtown to the UT bars that night. On Saturday night I introduced them to the Old City, my favorite, and on Sunday we went down to the Brewery for dinner after sitting on the balcony and taking turns in the hammock all day because it was 70 and sunny out. We had a really great time and I even managed to get some school work done while STAYING IN THE MOMENT (sometimes Kara has to remind me). I've known Ryan since 8th grade but only in the past 5 or 6 years have we become really good friends. I've never seen my best friend as happy as he is with Andrea. I'm so thankful that he's got someone in his life that not only makes him happy but that I can also be good friends with (regardless of how much that bothers him sometimes, ha.).

Here's to the start of this quarters hump week!! (I feel like I just started...it's FLYING by!)

SNOW DAY!!

School was closed today. Our dean walked into the middle of our lecture and we were all sent home (along with every single other student in Knoxville, ALL the schools were closed by noon). I ran outside yesterday in shorts and a tshirt, the weather here changes as rapidly as in the mitten!

Living in the moment

My dad is here visiting this weekend between doing some consulting in North Carolina for a couple weeks. Yesterday he gave my friend Kara and me a little pep talk about "living in the moment". (Of course it originated from a baseball analogy but we quickly related it to PA school and powerpoint presentation after powerpoint presentation.) But basically, we can't be worrying about our next test or our next slide while we're studying the slide we're on. We can't be thinking about our board exam if we can't get thru next weeks 3 quizzes, pharmacology exam and OSCE (practial exam). While in his batting stance, Carlos Pena, can't be thinking about how he's going to strike out when he's only got one strike. So, Kara has a blog that she updates to keep up with her friends and family to highlight her "moments" so, I thought I'd do the same since it's really hard sometimes to keep up with everyone. So, here's a look into my life as a grad student in Knox.