Sarah's blog
Class of 2011, Nursing Major, from Wrightstown, WI

Hi Everyone!!!

Things for me have finally settled down a little bit, so that is a great
feeling! I ended up rockin' my exams that I had that one week, so I am still
pretty excited about that! And today I just found out at 9 this morning that
I will be an RA next year in Burke Hall! So girls out there, if you plan on
living in Burke Hall for next year I will probably get to see you!

Another exciting thing that happened today was we got our nursing scrubs and
lab coats for our clinicals which begin in April, so that is SUPER exciting!
I know, probably sounds a tad bit weird to get excited about that, but it
really is exciting. We have also started our nursing labs which are every
Tuesday from 3:30-5:00 at Bellin, and today was actually our third one. So
far, we have learned how to successfully wash our hands the "proper" way, give
a bedbath, and just take care of personal hygiene in general. Then today we
learned how to make beds correctly with a patient out of the bed and also in
the bed.

This past weekend was quite eventful for me also. I ended up going to
Michigan on Sunday and I actually had to leave at 3 in the morning for a
family emergency. Everything is going good, so there are no worries there!
But the only thing that stinks is I am still trying to catch up on my sleep
that I didn't get and I have a ton of homework to get done this week for some
crazy odd reason, so that kind of bites; it's just one of those perfect timing
things. It's almost like professors just know when students are getting run
down because they always seem to pile homework on, but oh well, that's college
for you and it's something that oddly enough you get used to very, very fast.

What else is new? Let's see...oh yeah, I am going to Florida over Spring
Break! That is going to be super fun and I can't wait to get out of Green Bay
for a while!!! I am flying out on March 15th, which is actually a Friday and
I am supposed to have classes, but I am skipping because my flight is leaving
at 6 in the morning from Green Bay and if I would've waited until after class
that day to fly out would've costed about an additional 100 dollars, and I
thought that would just be pointless, so instead I said the heck with it, I am
skipping classes that day and flying out at 6 in the morning. I will be
flying into Jacksonville and then my aunt and uncle are going to be picking me
up and I will be staying with them for a week. They live in St. Augustine,
which is about an hour south of Jacksonville. I am soooo excited I just can't
wait. If you live in Wisconsin, I am sure that you are super sick of snow
also, and I know that I have reached the point where I am just despising it!
But yeah, just think in three weeks I will be on a beach, out in the hot sun,
and just relaxing! But let me tell you, it is going to be a well deserved
break!

Other than that, not too much is new with me. I am just really excited about
getting my RA job for next year. And my best friend, Alicia (who is actually
my RA this year) is also going to be an RA again next year in Burke Hall, so
we are going to have some good times! I'm telling you, Burke is the best so
if you are looking for somewhere to live, and you are not sure where you
should go, check out Burke because it's pretty much amazing! But I have to
get running and get some of my homework done before it gets any later! I'll
talk to you soon and think SPRING!

Have a great week!
Sarah

Hello from the frozen tundra!

Well, the weather did begin to improve from our ice age conditions, however
now this weekend the temperatures have once again took a plummiting fall and
it's freezing outside! I am sitting on my couch at home watching the weather
report and we are having wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour currently, and
it's worse than that out by my house because I literally live in the middle of
an open field. So therefore when the wind blows, it blows big time! And
drifting snow; well let's just say we have some drifts in my front yard that
are taller than me! But it makes it a ton of fun to take my snowmobile out
in!

School, well what can I say, it's school! Last week was a pretty exciting
week for me. I had my first nursing and macroeconomic exams and did very well
on them both, so I am off to another great semester! And that lab practical
that I was talking about, the one with the 206 bones that I had to know, well
I ended up only getting two of the bones wrong, so I am still pretty excited
about that! Also this past week we had another lab practical, although this
time it was on histology. Yeah, lame, I know. We had to look under
microscops and identify which tissue was being presented to us, and then we
also had to identify different structures within each tissue. If any of you
have ever had to use a microscope for any extended time, you know the massive
headache which can result and how crosseyed you eventually will go once you
look through the binoculars long enough. Well, let's just say that there was
much exchanging of tylenol after that exam got done in the hall right outside
JMS room 327! The exam itself was not all that difficult, but I better not
jinx myself and I am not near any wood to knock on it, so therefore I am
thinking I should just shut my mouth.

Let's see, what else did I do that was absolutely amazing last week? Ummm,
let's see, oh yeah, I got to dissect a dead person. Okay, that sounds really
bad and makes me sound like Jeffery Dahmer, so let me explain. St. Norbert is
one of the few colleges in the state (besides Madison I believe) which has a
cadaver lab available to students to use. This semester I have my anatomy and
physiology class, as you well know, and we began our cadaver dissections this
past week. It was amazing! I know most of you are probably thinking yeah,
that is just disgusting; however anybody who is a science finatic like I am
knows what I am talking about. The whole cat dissection thing that I did in
high school does not even compare to this. Although i will prewarn any of you
who have to partake in a cadaver dissetion, the smell is...well let's just say
very, very stong. I recommend vicks vapor rub because it seems to dround out
he smell quite well applied just beneath the nose. And well, if that doesn't
do the trick, then just breath through your mouth, but make sure to chew gum
otherwise it feels as though you are injesting fermaldehyde, and that is not a
pleasant feeling, believe me I know.

This upcoming week is going to just be madness, there is no other word to
describe it. On Tuesday we have our very first nursing lab, and I can't wait.
Although along with this very first nursing lab we also have a gynormous lab
manual which we have to complete, and just for the record I have yet to start
it! Then also on Tuesday I have to give my presentation for my Lifespan Human
Development Class on the "optimization of moral development according to
Kohlbert or Gillian." Now doesn't that just sound intriguing? Yeah, didn't
think so. Then also on Tuesday night I have my interview for my RA position
for next year, so I will have to let you know how that goes. Wednesday, thank
goodness, is going to be an easy going day. Thursday, however, does not look
too promising. I have two exams, anatomy and physiology and then lifespan
human development, back to back each of which is two hours. That is going to
plain downright suck! But you just gotta love the college life. I have
already decided, now on Saturday night at 11 at night, that Thursday night I
refuse to open a textbook and study!

Alright, well it's getting late, I'm getting tired, and my mom is yelling at
me to turn the TV down because she can "supposedly" hear it upstairs (although
I hardly doubt that because you could run a vacuum in her room and she would
sleep through it). So therefore, I'm thinking that I should get my butt to
bed so I can wake up and do homework all day long tomorrow! What a way to
spend a Sunday! Okay, well I will talk to you all soon!

Have A Great Week:)
Sarah