Live from the Ice World

It is beautiful here; everything is covered in crystal bits and wears frozen droplet beards I haven't written on this or called anyone, or emailed much lately because I've been either running around or sleeping. I finished exams for the first trimester before thanksgiving and have one set of tests on Dec. 19th before flying home to Nashville. Doing pretty well, just not feeling conversant. Time is still passing too quickly. I have some pictures of a pizza making party at my house to post but the site isn't cooperating. o well

where I am

There are not many degrees left in the air here, the sun comes and goes so quickly and un-heat-ily that it reminds me more of an old refrigerator light than anything else. I woke up at 5am the other day for a plastic surgery meeting at the hospital to a sky full of stars, woodsmoke, and a razorblade crescent moon. It is beautiful here, if brisk. Right now I'm behind a mound of papers and books in the library ready to make the push to finish my first set of final exams. yesterday I spent 7 hours in the anatomy lab, and 4 in the histology lab, all consecutively. plenty of sleep and food and hot chocolate though so I'm actually having a good time. I wouldn't say no to a national holiday involving food and napping though.

Where have a I been?

Sorry about the AWOL. The past month has been eventful, though most of the details are lost to the same current of time that's kept me from stepping aside to post. Some highlights:

meeting former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop

shadowing a plastic surgery resident for an afternoon

brewing a batch of beer and winning 2nd in a local homebrew contest with it

beginning work on a project to teach baking at a local Food Shelf

attending a lab meeting at the engineering school for a group working with orthopedic implants

roasting coffee, baking bread, and making stew

a bit of indoor rock climbing

an epic soccer match against the second year class, ending in an overtime shootout. We won and only took sending one person to the hospital for stitches!

Some trips to New Jersey and New York to see Nikki

working in the wood and jewelry workshops

Other than that, nothing but sleeping and studying. Having a pretty good time but time is rocketing by.

Write me a letter

and I'll try to answer it....

Since phone calls have been difficult to keep up with I'd like to try a different approach. Plus I like to get mail.

So mail me and I'll respond within 2 weeks or I'll refund your stamp!

895 five corners rd.
thetford, vt 05075

Under Attack

I'm a few weeks into the Fall Tree Offensive and the aerial bombardment of leaves shows no sign of slowing. Thankfully I have no significant foliage-related casualties to report, although an acorn did land on my car last week. Right now, at 9:00pm on a Saturday, I'm sitting in the basement of the library preparing for the impending bimonthly quizzes on Monday. Which actually isn't nearly as sad as it sounds. Last weekend Mom and Nicole. and my Dad came up for my jacket ceremony thing. Needless to say those few days were wonderfully unproductive. Hence the here now. But I feel much less burnt out on school since the break.

Other than that, not much to report. Thee beer is almost ready to be bottled and will be my entry into the Dartmouth Grad Student Home brew Competition in November. I roasted coffee a few days ago with some startlingly good results. And I started taking Tai Chi classes at a near bye tomato farm. Strange place, Vermont is.

Ad-ventures

Just a brief update. All the pictures I took of my house and school were apparently done with a bizarre blue-shifting camera setting activated so that's my excuse for not posting them. They make the Vermont sky look more radioactive than New Jersey's.

In other news, yesterday I went blue and raspberry picking with my associate Kendrick. We plan on making enough jam to last us the winter but only if we can find straw hats to wear. The last few weeks have been pretty productive culinarily. The beer is bubbling away in my basement and I think I finally worked out how to make a solid loaf of bread using the jimmy rigged equipment currently at my disposal.

On the medicine front, school is still chugging along towing me behind it. More quizzes next Monday. Not too much else going on. The leaves are beginning to light up and I can almost hear the hum of the great canadian snow machine preparing p to unload on Hanover in the next months. Overall a pretty good state of affairs.

Directions to the THouse

895 Five Corners Road
Thetford, VT

Take I-91 North to the next exit above Hanover/Norwich (14?)
Turn Left off the exit ramp onto 113
Stay Straight for about 3 miles passing Camp Farnsworth, The Historic Barn Museum, the crappy town center of Thetford featuring decaying general store gas station,
Finally, Turn Right onto Five Corners Road.
895 is on the left about 1 mile down. If you see a shooting range you've gone too far.

wish I was joking...