Semester 3, Week 13--More Holidays and Staring Down the Barrel...

So much has happened in the last few weeks, and I have been insanely busy as a result (yeah, no surprise there).

Thanksgiving fell shortly after my last post--and while I didn't spend it with Steven and Nicholine, I did spend it with a good group of friends down here--Robert, Kari, Karim, Bonnie, Avi, Trent, Mia, and Amber.  There was SO MUCH FOOD!  I even learned how to make mulled/spiced hot apple cider, candied yams, and gravy; and I made my broccoli & cheese casserole.  The others brought the turkey, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin cake and pie, and so much else that I don't remember it all.

The AAFP Trivia Night was a bit of bust this time (but we still had a decent showing), mostly because it was the day after Thanksgiving, I'm sure.  The club officers pitched in to make a turkey and the rest brought the sides--even MORE FOOD.  We were going through leftovers for the last week and a half!  TurningPoint (the clicker system that we use to track the points) wasn't as glitchy as it was last semester, but it doesn't like when nobody gets the last question right--it wouldn't give us the MVP or the fastest responder for the game.  :(  It was still fun, of course... and I was smart and prepared most of the questions before the semester hit full-swing.  I'm definitely doing that one again!

That same weekend was the 7th semester's banquet, and Nicholine brought me along as her +1.  It was down at the Spice Mill (an expensive, but really good restaurant) and they had a buffet-style dinner and an open bar for us, which was incredibly worth it.  (Sadly, I was starting to get sick with a lovely chest cold, so I only had a glass of wine and then had to switch to Sprite for the soothing feeling of the carbonation on my sore throat.)  The class nominates each student with a superlative.  So, for example, Ashley got "most likely to decorate her office with Pokemon" and Nicholine got "most likely to decorate her office with Hello Kitty."  Some of those were pretty damn funny.  Then, they showed a photo slide show with baby pictures of the class and then pictures from their time spent down here during the course of the degree.  I won't lie.  I got choked up at the end when it congratulated the orange class for making it--I've got some amazing friends in 7th right now, and know that they'll all do great in clinics, but it's sad to see them go.  The night wrapped up with some fireworks and dancing until the rain hit.  I'm worried about how I'm going to do with the tears at the Transition Ceremony this week... so maybe I'll go by myself and hide in the back.  :P

The brainstorming session that we held for the RCGC (Ross Community for a Greener Campus) was a success--we had at least 30 people show up to help lend ideas.  Over the break, we project managers are going to draft up a proposal for the school and see what we can do to get a reducing/reusing/recycling plan in place for the school!

The Unknown didn't win a single volleyball game this semester (even in the first round of the tournament), but I have to say it was the most fun semester we played in... so I'm glad we've expanded our group and we'll be able to play again next semester.  It was sad to see Heather and Nancy go, but we've acquired Robert and Emily into the group and will have Lexi back next semester as well.

The last Nerd's Anonymous gaming night was on Friday--small group (Kristi, Kevin, Bill, Robert, Jackie, Avi, Bonnie, and I), but it was fun and we got in a few rounds of Settlers, Twilight Struggle, and Puerto Rico in... while listening to Christmas music and drinking hot cocoa.  Avi told us that he's not coming back next semester and that it was his last gaming night with us.  Sad.  :(

Robert, Avi, Bonnie, Mia, and I went to the Marriott for breakfast yesterday before going to the 7th semester sales.  We made out like bandits--I mean, where else can you get bottles of sunblock for $1 EC!  (For you Americans, that's 33 cents!)  I took Reese and Liamuiga to visit "Santa" (a.k.a. Trent) yesterday.  :)  Both of them were REALLY good and we got a good photo first-try!  I'm so glad Robert and I didn't have to chase a cat down the hill at Timothy Point.

And with that, here goes nothing--one last week before finals... one last week to squish as much information about pathology, virology, bacteriology, and pharmacology into my brain as is physically possible.  Good luck to any Greenies out there that read this (or anyone else in other semesters, for that matter).  We've got this, and then we're off to the good ol' USA.  And for anyone back in the US, you might want to buy stock in Red Bull or 5-Hour-Energy--we'll be buying a ton of it!