Photography class, first rotation at Duke North, and an awesome weekend!

We had our first digital photography class. I'm a little intimidated by the cameras we'll be using... I've never manually had to adjust anything. When I was grossing before I only ever had to use the MacroPath system that we had set up there, which did everything automatically and actually took really sharp pictures. It will be good to have the training though since it is a skill that can be used in regular life (I might actually manage to get good pictures of my offspring out of this!).

After class those of us at Duke North this week headed over. It took me a while to get oriented! I've been dictating the VA way for two weeks which is a bit different from Duke but by the third or forth case I was beginning dictations without having to think about it. Tomorrow morning I'll have to show up early and proofread my dictations so hopefully they're not too bad!

I did end up at a grossing station next to one of the residents I was on autopsy with. He's so nice. The problem being that chatting with the friendly resident is probably not helpful in terms of productivity and focus! Of course, one day he might need to employ a pathologist assistant so having a good working relationship can't hurt, right?

A long drive, but the scenery was gorgeous

I'm a little exhausted though! Friday was a long day involving a lot of walking from the VA to Duke and then back again, and we were still grossing at 5:15 when the resident found out that we had the first year's welcome party and kicked me and the other PA student out. I felt so guilty leaving her, but she kept insisting and only had ten or so smalls left... I still feel bad! It was a bit of a rush to get home, showered, changed and back to Durham for the party in time but I made it. We were there for a couple hours and I ended up adjourning with almost everyone else to a bar downtown. I had plans to meet with friends that night but their dinner ended up running late so I had more time than I thought I would. I didn't meet up with my friends until after ten and ended up just crashing at their house rather than drive back to my apartment at 2 am.

Then I woke up really early and got on the road to Asheville to meet my husband (and best friend, mine not his). The drive should have taken just under 4 hours but instead it was closer to five and a half. Then the husband and I ditched one car and headed up to the Tennessee/Virginia border to see my favorite band ever! It was the first time my husband has seen them with me and he grudgingly admitted that they are, in fact, a phenomenal live band. It was amazing to be out under the stars with him while they played. Of course, we didn't get back to Asheville until 1 am and into bed until 2 am. Then we had to get up super early and head back to our respective towns. I think I'm still a little sleep deprived to be honest, but it was such a great great weekend.