Cool quote

Danny brought this awesome quote to my attention:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

–Theodore Roosevelt

Which Classic Female Literary Character Are You?

You're Elizabeth Bennett of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen!
Take this quiz!

Speed work

Warm-up: run to the soccer field complex
Workout: sprint 10 x soccer field lengths
Cool-down: Run home
Total time: 21:38

Haiku #21

Yet another week
after a long holiday.
Hard to get started.

Thought it was Monday,
And my schedule's confusing.
Just took a lab test.

Can't wait for the end
of the quarter and exams.
Have get-done-itis.

Great weekend

Didn't do a THING for school. Didn't even think about school. I do have an exam tomorrow at 830, but I'm really not sweating it. I had an absolutely restful weekend and enjoyed every minute of it. Today, Steve and I were productive enough to do some thorough house cleaning. Then, we watched several more episodes of Alias season 4. All in all, we watched 22 episodes of Alias in 5 days--completely finished season 4 and we can't wait until season 5 is on DVD! Thank goodness we don't watch t.v. nor do we have tivo, or there would be no hope for us finishing school!

I guess this week I should get around to all the writing that I didn't do this weekend: article for the Triune, movie review for a class, and case studies for class. I think I've been doing more homework and studying last minute in the past 6 months--mostly because that how i have to manage my time to get things done, and also because don't-care-itis has set in and I'm so tired of the academic setting at school.

Summer break is so close, only 2 more weeks, then finals. . . then we're DONE! I will officially complete my second year of chiropractic school on June 15th. Wow!

Grass run

Ran from the apartments to the soccer fields, and 4 laps around 3 fields, then back home. Probably ran 1.75 miles or so. Steve ran with me, which is fun since we seldom run together. He's also added security on night runs, which I NEVER do solo.

St Augustine trip report

The San Sebastian Winery was our first stop on the itinerary. All I had in my gut were 3 oranges; Steve had only eaten an apple. We had hoped to stop for breakfast in St Augustine, but we planned our trip on the fly. So, we toured the winery and sampled the wines, sherry, and port on fairly empty stomachs. I felt pretty sleepy and needed food FAST to absorb the minute amount of alcohol that was already seeping through my bloodstream. We had so much fun on the tour, we decided to come back later in the afternoon to check out the live music in the Wine & Jazz bar located on the roof of the winery.

Steve sipped on scrumpteous red wine sangria. We shared a glass.

The Angela Roberts trio was a decent jazz ensemble who performed at the Cellar Upstairs Wine & Jazz Bar.
We hung out until 5pm just relaxing and enjoying the music and rooftop view. Then, we headed to the Gypsy Cab Cafe for an incredible dinner. We enjoyed the hummus platter appetizer which featured delicious fresh-made hummus surrounded by a bed of fresh greens, alfalfa sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, kalamata olives, and tomatoes. Then, we opted to share a dinner entree. Steve let me choose the duck with cherry glaze, cabbage and balsalmic vinegar, and carrot spears. The duck was so delicious! Steve wants to return soon so he can try the Greek Seafood Island. Later this summer, I want to go back to the Cellar Upstairs and order a pitcher of sangria, and the meat and cheese platter--stay for a few hours and soak up the jazz.

Steve is a huge fan of geckos and chameleons. He found a rather tame chameleon who didn't run away. Steve coaxed him onto his hand. And, he hung out with Steve for a little while. I think this was the highlight of Steve's trip to St Augustine. We ate lunch at the Athena Restaurant, a quaint little Greek eatery that had the best gyro's we'd had in years. Afterward, we strolled through Old St Augustine and made a sudden stop.

We walked into the Cafe Hidalgo just to glimpse at the gelato presentation, and we ended up getting to try numerous samples. So, of course, we indulged ourselves. I had pineapple and strawberry, and Steve stuck with the strawberry.

Historic Flagler College groundsTiffany stained-glass window in the lobby of the main building at Flager College

Frog spitting fountain

X-Men 3

X-Men 3 was awesome and also unexpected. There were some incredible special effects regarding water scenes and Magneto's tasking of moving the Golden Gate bridge. But, I was surprised about what happened to so many of the main characters--and I'm not going to spoil it for you. I think that they really don't plan on making another movie in the series, which is unfortunate. I expected a little more fighting action from key players like Cyclops, Rogue, and Tin Man, but that just wasn't the case. Kelsey Grammer did a fantastic job as the intelligent, diplomatic, and butt-kicking Beast. Hugh Jackman was moody, tough, and sentimental as Wolverine. Halle Berry's Storm improved a lot from the previous 2 films. It was tough to tell whether Famke Janssen's Jean Grey / Phoenix was decent acting or really good special effects, but her character seemed to be mostly stoic and flat. I'd definitely see it again, but I'll wait until it hits Netflix. I do recommend it!!

Parting Shot

Before I get on with my stellar weekend that I've been anticipating for the past 6 weeks, let me just say that I really don't like my radiology class. Unfortunately, the formula of studying for 24 hours the week prior to the exam (although it equated to success on the previous exam) is not a consistent formula. I don't get this class. I think I know the material: views, pathologies, differentials, clinical findings, etc. prior to the exam, then I take the exam and none of the multiple choice options correlate to the actual picture of the film. That really blows. Our prof tried to encourage us and told us that our class average is even with the national board average for a similar test. Only thing is we're not taking a national board when we take an academic exam for a course that counts toward a G.P.A. We just have to pass boards...but, we'll be lucky to pass 8th quarter radiology.

MEME, Yo!

Saw this fun meme on Chris' site. Love it!

I AM a wife, a veteran, a chiropractic student, a half-breed (asian and white), a kinesthetic learner, a runner, a swimmer, a voracious reader, and a reformed Christian.
I WANT to be done with the academic portion of school so I can start taking care of patients in the clinic. I also want to be GRADUATED so I can do what I came to school to DO!
I WISH I had enough time to get another job just to fulfill my sushi and smoothie fix.
I MISS rock climbing at OKC Rocks.
I HEAR incredible orchestrations and original songs in my head—I wish I could figure out some way to capture them in composition or on the piano I no longer own.
I WONDER how much healthier I would be today if I knew about good nutrition, avoiding medication, and avoiding immunizations when I was a teenager.
I REGRET getting immunizations in the military and as a child, and all the prescription and OTC meds I EVER took in my life.
I AM NOT a girly-girl. I hate shopping. But I LOVE getting gifts: especially books.
I DANCE in the living room: salsa or ballet. Steve makes fun of me because he can’t dance.
I AM NOT ALWAYS a tough girl. I cry when viewing most movies. I have a sappy emotional side.
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS messes, incredibly good food, and chiropractic adjustments.
I WRITE daily: in my blog, e-mail, articles . . . I learn best by researching and getting things down on paper. My favorite form of communication, next to face-to-face, is through e-mail.
I CONFUSE giving directions to people for places I may frequent, namely because I’m on autopilot or visually recognize how to get to where I’m going.
I NEED at least 7 hours of sleep, snacks every 3-4 hours, exercise 3-4 times per week in order to function optimally and not be a grumpy person. I also need to always be busy or I get very bored.
I SHOULD have more people over for dinner more often. It’s fun to cook for others and to develop relationships and community.
I START conversations with strangers. I like meeting new people. I like getting to know the people I know even better.
I FINISH almost everything that I start.
I TAG Libby, Aaron & Kristin, Jon, Steve, & Jen

Weekend Line-Up

Friday, I am so there! Been waiting for this flick for 6 months!

Saturday, Steve & I are taking a day trip to St Augustine, FL--the oldest city in the U.S.

Katie recommends dinner at the Gypsy Cab CafeMonday, hanging out with Steve on the sands of Daytona

Monday Madness

40 min out-and-back run with Katie B. A good enough pace to chat and enjoy the beautiful day.

For the first Monday all quarter, I was done with class by noon, which left lots of time to run errands and to study.

Steve built me bookshelves! Way better than a bouquet of roses! Now my radiology books aren't on the floor, and I don't have stacks of notes from 6 months ago piled up by the wall. Our bookshelves line the hallway and an entire room. . . and that's not even 3/4 of the books we own which are in storage in PA.

We have no A/C in the Honda. It's been tolerable for the most part of the spring, but that toleration level is wearing thin as the temperatures rise. We took it to PEP boys to get the fluid drained and cleaned. They gave us a $115 estimate. Of course they call later to tell us there are 3 other problems that toal $900. So, for now, we're not doing A/C. That repair alone is worth 1/5 of the value of the car. It's a long, hot summer, but we'll have to drive really fast with the windows down.


Katie M & I plugged away at 4 hours of radiology tonight. We only have 2 more nights to get this stuff in our brains before the next exam. Oh the fun!

Flick Rec

We didn't know what to expect from this film. Neither one of us 'fessed up to who placed it on the Netflix queue in the first place. So, expectations weren't even present. Regardless, this was a fantastic film. At some point in time, I'll watch it again. But, it's a little like Schindler's List in that you don't want to watch it over and over again--but it impacts you and you think about it for days afterward.

To End All Wars is about Allied POWs at a Japanese prisoner camp during WWII. I'm always intrigued by POW movies--to see the extent of suffering and the limits that humans can endure and still remain human. I often watch these types of films and give criticism to the characters, "Why is he doing that? Why is he saying that? He's going to get himself or his troops killed!" Like I'd do any better in that situation! So, this was an interactive film for me.

But, it's far more than a film about human struggles, teamwork, preservation of self-dignitity, and survival in one of the harshest situations that man can endure, this film is about freedom through faith and hope, self-sacrifice, and forgiveness.

For all of my military bros out there, you've GOT to see this film! Don't even hesitate, just go rent it and watch it tonight. Do it!

For you non-military folks, if you can stomach some violent scenes, you will really enjoy this movie. It's based on a book written by one of the main characters who survived the POW camp. I don't want to give away any more about the plot, but you must see this movie and you will be moved by the storyline.

Haiku #20

Summer is now here
As temps climb to the nineties.
Brushfires scourge the land.

The sweet rain remains
Aloft from parched and hard soil.
Smoke burns my nostrils.

Grass fades to yellow.
With each step it crackles and
Breaks to the bare earth.

Where is the water
That falls each hot afternoon--
Dancing with the storms?

Super quote

Karson shared this incredible quote from one of my favorite mentors:

"Never ever apologize for what you know. Live with the knowledge of knowing and disseminate that information whenever possible, especially if you believe it to be accurate and forthright. However, do it with passion, humility, and dignity, and with the worldly satisfaction of having shared what you have learned with others and the realization that it may cause change. Never ever attempt to teach with the attitude that you know it all because, quite simply, you do not." --Veronica Dishman, Ph.D. Pathology

There are way too many people with the title of "doctor" who've got over-inflated egos to go along with that title, which means "teacher" by the way, not "know-it-all". Dr. Dishwoman loves to teach and she's the first to admit when she doesn't know something or know why something works the way it does. A lot of folks (doctors and students alike) could learn from her example!

Movin' on

I've been really down in the dumps lately. Darts aimed at me seemed to settle on target. I spent Sunday licking my wounds and trying to get some rest. It's a lot harder to wear armor and to defeat the forces of evil when you're runnin' ragged and sleep and energy are evasive. Things haven't been terrible, actually there have been so many great things happening lately, but I haven't focused on them. I let the bumps in the road and the deterring remarks of nay-sayers get to me.

But, I'm done with all of that today. It helps to know that a ridiculous amount of study for my radiology exam paid off so that I passed the test. There is a glimmer of hope that I can actually pass the class for the quarter. Gotta keep on keepin' on. The incredible team that I work with planned a phenomenal 2-weekend seminar that helped so many students and doctors in chiropractic.

I also recognize that some of the wounds inflicted by people around me seem to follow a trend that I've experienced before. I'm surrounded by very competitive people, and sometimes they like to exert authority over me or put me down in order to make themselves feel better or superior. I'm competitive, too. . . with myself. I want to be the best ME I can be. I also want the people around me to grow into tremendous leaders and become the best at what they aspire to do. I'm not intimidated when others around me excel and surpass me in areas. In fact, I think that's the goal of leadership--to help those you lead succeed you ten-fold. I'm very blessed to be surrounded with a dear husband and some incredible friends that share my mentality. We don't try to one-up each other, but share in each others joys and successes, and encourage one another in rough times. We don't grow jealous when someone gets an incredible opportunity, but we celebrate and are excited.

This isn't the first, and it's definitely not the last time I'll encounter people who reflect their own inadequacies and insecurities on me through harsh words or actions. It's also not the first time I've encountered careerists who will do whatever it takes to shove everyone else off the ladder in order to climb to the top. Unfortunately, people who try to tear others down, or bleed off others' successes don't see the big picture. I am becoming the person God designed and intended me to be. I am doing the very things that God wants me to do, and I have no desire to become someone else or to do anything other than God's plan. I will not be pidgeon-holed to someone else's plan for what he thinks I should do in current priority decision-making and future career decisions. The plans that God has for Steve and me may make no sense to anyone else around us. But then again, we don't think or prioritize our life goals like most Americans. So, people can tell us we're crazy for wanting to move to the other side of the world for an indefinite period of time, and they can dog on me for saying NO to what may appear to be glittering career options. But, we're not deciding what others think is best for us, we're choosing to do what God wants us to do.

SMP Officers

Dr. Dennis Woggon, me, Karson Mui, Kristin Schafer, Michelle Kerr, Josh Woggon, (not pictured DeJeanne Denet)

Class 073 Superlatives

Part of Palmer Florida's tradition at the half-way party is for classes to vote on each other for superlatives. I know this sounds really high school, but sometimes we think we're really at Palmer High. Anyway, it was a fun exercise to think about who best fits which category. I thought I'd get voted for "most likely to live out side of the U.S.", but I was wrong. Enjoy the superlatives.

1. Most school spirited
Stew Peters
Theresa Hartley

2. Most chiropractically spirited
Josh Axe
Dolly Garnecki

3. Most likely to be a millionaire FIRST
Mark Holladay
Keren Gomez

4. Most outspoken
Joe Burnham
Cinnamon Bruce

5. Most likely valedictorian
Ben Bowman

6. Most likely salutatorian
Nick Price

7. Most likely to practice outside the country
Jose Calbeto
Alexandra Lao

8. Most likely to develop own technique
Steve Sharpe

9. Most likely to practice until (s)he physically cannot anymore
Anne Stoner
Katie Benson

10. Most likely to succeed
Greg Cobb

11. Most likely to practice on animals
Alison Nida

12. Most likely to become a teacher at Palmer College
Barney Durham

13. Funniest chiro to be
Tim Price

14. Most dependable
Craig Sainz
Katie Miller

15. Class Clown
Jason Pagliarini

16. Teacher’s pet
Dave Suro

17. Most likely to eat organic forever
Rob Hoyt

18. Best dressed chiro to be
Matt Schiermier
Melissa Medieros

19. Most creative
Elaine Brady
Will Davis

20. Most lucrative practice
Courtney Madre
Ken Medley

21. Most likely to open multiple offices
Mike Card
Ed McLaughlin

22. Most likely to work out when (s)he’s still 80 years old
Victor Cruz

23. Biggest partier
Rob Thompson
Linh Quach

24. Most trusted classmate to adjust EVERYONE
Brian Bartholomew

25. Best diversified technique
Meredith Meyers

26. Best Gonstead technique
Andrew Hull

27. Best Thompson technique
Jeremy “Eric” Thompson

28. Best Toggler
Krane Krupples

29. Best Diagnostician
Brandon Osmon

30. Most likely to be studying the night before graduation
Lindsey Mansueto

31. Most family oriented
Randy "Big Show" Michaux

32. Most likely to have a chiropractic reality TV show
Bryan “The Player” Abasolo

33. Most likely to work for a professional sports team
Alvin Green
Dan McCray

34. Straightest chiro to be
Roden Stewart

35. Most Mixed chiro to be
Andy Damron

36. Most Sarcastic
Chris Laures

37. Most likely to have kids work for him/her
Roland Cayer

38. Most likely to be the top of the pyramid (scheme)
Jorge Gallardo

39. Most likely to wear a white coat in his/her office
Wayne Powell

40. Most likely to head a chiropractic political campaign
Christian Orano

41. Most likely to be head of the local chiropractic association
Wes Orvosh

Scoliosis Correction Seminar Workshop

Applying muscle stim to Katie's tight piriformis muscle. Jason's pointing to the exact spot that I need to unleash max power. For a slide show of workshop photo highlights, click here.

I am officially done with seminars for the quarter. Although I still have 2 weekends left of Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT) elective. This weekend's workshop was fabulous. We were able to apply the knowledge that Dr. Woggon firehosed over us 2 weeks ago. Dr. Stitzel is a great instructor, and he relates well to students.

TTWAC Atlanta

Click here to view the slideshow

This was, by far, the best TTWAC seminar I've attended to date. I went to Atlanta last year to my first TTWAC seminar, and I loved it. Since then, the student breakouts have improved significant. We were able to practice scripting with coaches and doctors. We also listened to incredible speakers on topics ranging from nutrition and mercury poisoning to leadership and improving the profession by making it more credible. Friday night, all the students participated in Philosophy Night until 2am. Some doctors from the mid-west got wind of our philosophy night, and they were doing the same thing in their hotel room. So, they came down to listen and to participate. They said we jazzed them up and in turn, they motivated us. Every single student who got in front of the group to speak shared a personal chiropractic story or testimony and encouraged others around them. Meanwhile, back home, our classmates were celebrating their half-way party at Ponce Inlet. Those of us in class 073 who attended the seminar celebrated with fellow club members and TTWAC clients in Atlanta by participating in the seminar. There were a total of 12 members of the Palmer Florida club in attendance. I love that the majority of club members also participated in the scoliosis seminar--we have so many shared areas of interest that overlap, and we are becoming the greatest doctors in our school.A few seminar highlights:

• "To have authority over anything, you must have victory over it." --Dr. Dan Pompa
• "Your level of effectiveness is directly proportional to the degree in which you live the chiropractic principal in your life." --Dr. Dan Pompa
• "Patients and staff will examine you and what you're doing in your life. The more contradictions you have in your life, the less effective you are." --Dr. Dan Pompa
  
• Dr. Dan Pompa spoke on Detoxification and Neurotoxins:
• 30% of the U.S. population has mercury poisoning, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• Vegetarians are at a greater risk for neurotoxins. The 1st line of defense is bile, and vegetarians take in less fat.
  
• 2 major sources of toxins are vaccinations an amalgam fillings:
• Amalgam fillings are banned in every industrial country in the world, except for the U.S., thanks to the American Dental Association (ADA)
• These provide chronic, low dose exposure over a long period of time; mercury will eventually leech out and affect the body.
  
• Thymerisol in vaccinations cross the blood-brain barrier
• Vaccinations stimulate the wrong immune response; they stimulate TH-2 which is an emergency / inflammatory immune response; thus vaccinations decrease the building of natural immunity and teach the body only to respond to emergencies. TH-2 is a last resort response and it shouldn't be activated before TH-1
• Natural disease immunity stimulates the TH-1 or first immune response
  
• Flu shot contains 25 mg of mercury; yet the WHO says a child can only handle 0.3 micrograms at 1 time!
  
• Unsafe plastics are numbers 3,6, & 7 (which stinks, since I love my Nalgene bottles)
• Plastics 1, 2, & 4 are good, although glass is best.
  
• People with high blood fat levels (cholesterol) have more defense; there are less deaths due to high cholesterol than low cholesterol levels
• People with high cholesterol have less chance of becoming toxic
• 
• "You need 2 things to strengthen BELIEF:
• 1. Imitate someone who has the belief
• 2. Open up your eyes and see the miracles around you every day." --Dr. Erik Lerner
• "It takes a confident man to pull off pink." --Kristin Schafer referring to Dr. Erik Lerner
• Dr. Patrick Gentempo spoke on "The Credibility Gap"
• Chiropractic needs credibility. According to the CNN/Gallup poll, only 31% of people in the population think chiropractors are credible. Of those actually seeing a DC, they think chiropractors are 91% credible. Chiropractors currently only see 5% of the U.S. population.
  
• Assume every new patient that comes to see you is skeptical
• Gain confidence and trust on the 1st visit
• Give them the "real reason to believe" what you say
• Shift from "Patient scare" / fear-based tactic (often found in allopathic medicine) to "Patient care" paradigm
• The patient will then say, "I had no idea you could help me in so many ways!"
• Provide a positive vision leadership role and remove fear from people's lives
• Why should a skeptic believe you? 3 Reasons:
  
• Where are the over-benefits?
• Reasons to get benefit / the real reason to believe
• Dramatic difference of the product
• chiropractic is only profession to address subluxation and to provide the "adjustment"
• We must ask ourselves "what can I do to upgrade credibility of the profession within my community? my school?"
• Have patients take responsibility for their own health. Chiropractic dependency vs. health freedom where patients are living the chiropractic lifestyle.
• The noblest goal of the profession: "Make yourself obsolete, so that the patient no longer needs you."
• Address the causes of subluxation rather than just the subluxation
• Get people healthier and see more people, different patients!
  
• 2 contradictions:
• 1. To achieve chiropractic greatness, one must practice living consciously
• 2. This means reconciling your actions with your goals and purposes and removing contradictions when you find them.
• Live consciously!
• 1. Have a clear purpose in practice
• 2. Have a clear goal for every practice member that comes through your door.
• 3. Where do you want your practice to be in 5 years?
• 4. Is what you're doing today going to get you there in 5 years? If not, then change what you're doing today, or change your goals.
• 5. You must be congruent and consistent.
• 
• In the student breakout, we listened to Drs. Tom Bolan, Mark McCollough, & Emmitt Blahnik speak about marketing strategies that are essential for recruiting new patients as we begin to open our doors for practice.
  
• At the end, Dr. Ben Lerner wrapped it up by talking about BELIEF. He also had us do an exercise to illustrate a point about strength of conviction and belief. Unfortunately, I ruined his illustration and gave Kristin a burn on her wrists, and I hurt Katie by almost flipping her over. Hey, I take taskings very seriously! If I'm told to unlock someone's grip, I won't stop until I do it. And, I literally threw my entire body into it. Besides, I knew I wouldn't seriously hurt my friends...I just think I pissed 'em off because they aren't used to that sort of force. I have got to tame that ninja spirit within.
• Dr. Ben had us describe the difference we saw in the Advanced doctors vs. the Elite doctors who had just trained us in marketing. Here's the list of what the Elite docs have that the Advanced docs don't have:
• passion
• drive
• execution
• certainty
• preparation
• confidence
• control
• vision
• coachable
• conviction
• faith
• urgency
• fearless
• mission statement
• stewards
• balanced
• responsible
• goal setters
• *BELIEF*
• This is primary! Everything else on the list is secondary.
• Knowledge becomes belief

Smoked it!

Scored PERFECT on my x-ray positioning exam. It's about time I performed decently on a test since I pooched both of my exams last week. I felt pretty good about my foundations exam this morning. 1 more test tomorrow on physiotherapy, and then I can chill out and get ready for the TTWAC seminar in Atlanta. Next on my list of things to do is to catch up on radiology bone tumors and case studies in Structure.

I really like the lumbar-distraction elective. I don't like that it goes until 9pm at night, but it's good info taught by my favorite instructors. I had limited time today from when 1 class ended and my elective class began. So, I hustled home to get in a 1.5 mile run and gulp down dinner before heading to the clinic. Katie and I plan to run on the beach Thursday morning. That'll be nice since we'll be stuffed in a car for 8 hours Thursday night headed to Hot-lanta.

Proper Perspective

My friend Michelle, whom I work with in the Scoliosis Mentorship Program, sent me a great e-mail this morning. I'd been feeling blue over the past week, from getting gut-punched from academics and verbally by friends. I keep pressing on toward the goal, because deep down inside I realize that all the flack I get isn't about me, but it's just part of the hurdles of moving forward. But, it's still nice to get a refreshing word of encouragement from friends and family.

"I was also going to tell you that when I was praying this morning I had a realization. I was very happy with how the seminar came off bcs I felt like from an event planning perspective it was very successful and happily uneventful. So I was happy and felt like we did a good job, and it was a "success." However, in lifting us all up as "overwhelmed" leaders in a week of midterms, I gained a new perspective. The future benefit of putting on the semiinar far outweighs the future benefit of a number grade. (not that we should in any way be lazy about our school work), but even if only 50% of the people who were at the seminar ever do anything with the information, think of the number of patients they'll reach and treat with it, and then the people those patients will talk to who will possibly get treatment.

Each of these pt's lives, "health", and future will be changed bcs of the seminar we with CLEAR put on. What difference will it make in 5 years if we got a 95 vs. an 85 vs. an 80, etc. vs. think about the difference holding the seminar will have made in 5 yrs. The future would be very different if we would of sat home and studied abundantly for our tests this week. All of these lives would have been left unchanged. I hope this is as encouraging and happy to all of you as it was to me.

When you first asked me to join the board I was afraid I didn't have the "heart" for scoliosis, and I'm still not positive, but I know my "heart for scoliosis" is growing, and that I am very happy with the decision I made to join the board. I knew I would be working with the best leaders at our school, and only growth and great experience would come of it, so I gave it a shot. I am so glad I did. Thank you to all of you, and good luck this week on tests. I pray we are all able to keep a Godly perspective through it all."

Michelle rocks!

Food has been completely unappetizing to me over the past few weeks. Steve thinks it's because we eat very simply because 1) we're on a student budget, and 2) because we don't have the time to prepare elaborate feasts. I think there's more to it than that. I've been able to go out to eat more than usual lately, and I haven't been impressed at all by anything. Food tastes bland, is unappealing, and I'm not really a big fan of it. I eat because I have to, not because I want to. It's an inconvenience. This is so strange to someone who used to just rave about food ALL the time. Now, I could care less.

School is eating me alive. It's getting in the way of chiropractic. What a shame.

Sweet Sunday

Glad Steve was able to experience some of the seminar weekend. He came to Dr. Woggon's guest lecture Friday morning, and he was able to join us for our officer's meeting lunch and Saturday luncheon. Steve and I were exhausted on Sunday. After church, we finally watched our latest Netflix installment, Pride and Prejudice which was surprisingly good. We crashed for our regular Sunday nap, and then went for a run on the beach at high tide just after sunset. I enjoyed my Sunday with my best friend. We stayed awake until after midnight talking. Steve is extremely wise and I appreciate his counsel and encouragement.

Haiku #19

Exhausted, need rest.
Class 'til nine p.m. tonight.
Three tests tomorrow!