A Cold Wind Will Blow Through Your Door

Yesterday set a new record for me. I went for a run and it was 18 degrees outside. It was COLD! I think the coldest I've ever run in was about 30ish. This was a new experience for me. One good thing that came from it was that I was able to test out the right amount of clothes to wear in cold weather. You don't want to be underdressed in the cold, but you certainly don't want to be over dressed. I hate being hot when I run! Yesterday though, I think I was just right. I had on my gloves, tights, a long sleeve shirt, and a jacket. The only thing that I might have wanted was something to cover my ears. It was a little windy and my ears were cold. But, once I got going, it felt great! I love running in cold weather! Well, maybe that was a little extreme, but it sure beats 90 degree weather at 5:30 in the morning in the summer in Texas! I loath that with every fiber in my body!

Tomorrow begins my fifth week of the fellowship. I can't believe how fast it is going. I only have 5 more months here. And let me tell you, they are jam packed with things to do. I think every weekend from the middle of February until the end of April is booked with something. Jason (my brother, not any other Jason! :) ) is coming in a couple of weeks, I am going back to Texas the last weekend in February, the HUGE conference here is the first weekend in March, mom and dad are coming the week after conference, I fly back to Texas for a tournament, and my last planned trip right now is to Cincinnati for another conference. Somewhere in there I want to plan a trip to Baltimore and New York City. Before I know it, it will be June and I'll be packing up to head back to Texas. There is so much to do before I leave. I better get started on that list of mine!

The fellowship is going well though. I continue to learn something new everyday. We are slowly learning the quirks of all of the staff scattered among the different clinics and the ins and out of the clinic. All places have their issues, that's for sure. I really enjoy it here though. We are slowly building a case load which is nice. It gets old day after day observing. I learn by doing, so let me do! This past Friday we taught the OT students the first splint, the wrist cock-up splint. It went so much better than I expected. I approached the entire situation very relaxed which I hope put the students at ease. We were told they are very uptight and want everything perfect. Let me just tell you that my splints aren't always perfect so I wouldn't expect someone's first splint to be perfect. I really enjoyed helping them learn this splint. This Friday we teach the hand based thumb spica. I wouldn't say I hate this splint anymore, but it's certainly not my favorite. I am getting more and more comfortable with it. Hopefully I can convey to these students the correct way to make it!

So, here's to week 5. Only 18 left!