Busy busy busy

                                              

                                              

                                                                  Seems fitting

 

So much has happened in the past 11 months and I will try to remember it all or most or some.  Ok, the major parts. 

I finally had my graduation!  2 years late, but at least it finally happened!  Mom was able to come so it was even better.  While mom was here she got to meet my supervisors for the real job and my anatomy job.  She met some friends, but most importantly she finally met the boyfriend and his family.  He gained the title of 'Mom Approved' so all good there.  We visited so many places while she was here and did so much that it made the time fly by, but graduation was amazing.  I am ready for mom to come back...next summer!  

  Take your mom to work day!  

  Mom's first visit to one of the Ports

The next major event, I got to give some online lectures for the med school.  I really enjoyed it and one of the lectures earned 5 stars from the students.  It was great.  

Then came my favorite time of year, the 12th!  It was in a different town but it was still good.  I just love the music and all the banners.  

My birthday came around and I went to see my first live professional comedian, Jason Manford.  He was hilarious.  The boyfriend spoiled me that day and bought me tickets to see Six!  I was so excited.  So we went to Six! in August.  Absolutely amazing.  If it is in a town near you, do go see it.  If you have epilepsy, do take some medication and caution while seeing it!  It was totally worth that extra seizure tablet.  

      

In September, sadly the Queen died.  Sadness drapped over this country.  It was heart breaking to see especially after celebrating her Platinum Jubilee in June.  The boyfriend and I had booked a trip to Scotland before her passing and her funeral happened on the last full day of our trip.  We went to Scotland by the ferry- mainly for the anatomy exhibt on the history of anatomy and cadavers.  I must say I have one of the most amazing, understanding, and tolerable boyfriend ever.  Our trips away so far have centered around anatomy.  Poor guy.  Maybe the next trip will be focused on something else.  While in Scotland we visited Livingston, Dundee, and Edingburgh.  Livingston was amazing and shocked us both. You would almost need a day or two to spend in the two malls. I had gluten free Mexican Food- first time for fajitas and it was amazing! We went to Dundee where I got to show him my old university and find out that the original Henry's was not as good as it once was, but the new Henry's was better. And then on to the exhibit. Loved it and I loved seeing the actual skeleton of Burke (from Burke And Hare Edinburgh grave robbers). We ventured to some of the small town and Queensferry was quite nice. On the way back to the ferry we stopped off at the Robert Burns' museum to have a quick cup of coffee. I was also able to buy some gluten free food that I cannot get here. Overall, a very successful trip and a nice break away.

 

In October, I was able to go to my first real conference in Italy!  The medical school sponsored me to go and learn about the Anatomage Table and attend the conference. I made some really cool friends and one of them can say that really long name in Wales.  I may or may not have recorded it.   I really did learn alot, and have a new appreciation for the table.  I could not wait to get back to show the students what we had learned.  I was in Heaven when we went to the Bone Church.  I stood there surrounded by real human bones, looking at my new friends, I thought to myself- these are my people, I am not the only weirdo in the world who had a goal in life to go here.  I had an amazing coffee- honey coffee and it was absolutely one of the best coffees I have ever had. I was able to have gluten free pizza and gelato in Italy and that crossed a few things off my bucket list.   

        

When I came back it was the boyfriend's birthday!  For his birthday he got a chocolate truffle making class.  It was something different and really fun.  We walked away with a lot of really good chocolate.  We also went to see DC's Black Adam which was good.  He did get his very first cookie cake for his birthday cake.  I ended up making it- suprisingly it was not burned just a bit dry.  :P 

      

In all the years I have been here I have tried, I don't know how many times, to make coffee creamer.  Well now, I can proudly say I think I have finally done it.  Happiness in a cup.  I do miss my niece who would drink creamer with me while I drink coffee.  Good times.

For Halloween we had a pumpkin carving contest- and let me say carving a pumpkin is a lot harder than dissecting a cadaver.  Same with sewing.  It is much easier to sew a body than it is to sew a button or a hem on a pair of pants.   My pumpkin had Groot on it and his had the Death Star and a cat.  His won.  Give me a cadaver any day.  :D  

That is the major events for now or at least the ones I can remember.  Hopefully, I will update sooner rather than later. Thanksgiving is coming up and Christmas.  I am here for Christmas again due to my contract ending in the summer.  Maybe one day I will get home for Christmas but I am thankful for the boyfriend's family accepting me and taking me in.  Maybe this year I can win back some of my 10p coins at Bingo :D  

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Always an adventure

 Happy belated New Year!  The end of 2021 was a busy one! 

Since I last posted, I am still loving my job and have started demonstrating anatomy for the medical students.  I love both.  The medical school got Anatomage tables, which I had never seen before and was like a kid in a candy store the day I got to use one.  They are very interesting tables, not only showing humans, but animal anatomy too.  They allow you to 'dissect' whole bodies, sections, and organs and go through clinical cases.  My thoughts: they are good, but not as good as cadavers.  There is nothing like actually putting your hands on a heart or a femur- and for future doctors, I feel that is really important.  Outside of work, I joined the local leisure center and started Zumba 2x a week and Pilates (when it doesn't interfere with work).  Pilates is a bit better than at the uni but for some reason this country doesn't seem to do it in the order or speed that I am use to/taught.  I have fallen in love with Zumba though.  

October was my boyfriends birthday!  He got a nice surprise stay a seaside town.  We walked around the town, saw the castle, had a nice dinner, and went to the cinema for the first time in over a year! We saw the second Venom film- it was very good.  The next day we went to Belfast and spent the day walking around there.  I think I can say he was very surprised and I was shocked I kept it a secret for over a month!  :)  I loved seeing his face and the shock.  It was so fun!  We also carved our first pumpkin!  We carved baby Yoda!  And he turned out quite cute.  

 

In November, my first friend I made here, had a baby shower!  She and I were flat mates back in 2015 and have stayed friends since.  My first NI baby shower.  :)  She did give birth to a healthy baby girl in December and I cannot wait to meet the little one.  I also found a new sofa!  Why is this such a big deal?  The other one I had when I moved in, I broke about 6 months after I got it (opps) and we have been sitting on it ever since.  So when my boyfriend spotted this one- I claimed it and got it delivered.  The old one folded out to a bed- foam mattress, when I was sick with strep and trying to write my thesis, I accidently stepped on the seem and ripped it.  So to fold it back to a sofa and have it stay was never quite the same.  It was causing so much hip and back pain- it was time to get rid of it.  The new one- a large 3 seater recliner.  Not broken, comfy, and no pain.  :)  We also celebrated Thanksgiving, a few times.  Pilates and Zumba were on Thursday so I went to those.  After Pilates I treated myself to a Thanksgiving coffee like I do every year on that day.  I did some work and then went to Pilates.  When I came home, I was surprised with a Thanksgiving dinner my boyfriend made for me.  It was such a lovely, thoughtful surprise.  We then celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday while skyping my mom.  

December, I think was my favorite part of the year.  Back in October it was announced that this CPD course I follow online has limited spaces available due to COVID and will be running this year.  So I jumped on it.  What was it?  A day in London dissecting the upper limb on cadavers!  Happy days!  So my boyfriend and I planed a few days before and a few days after the course to travel to London.  My first time in London!  And what is better than going to London for the first time than getting your hands on cadavers?!  I don't know!  London was amazing!  So many people though!  Oh gosh.  As a kid I wanted to live in NYC.  As a 30+ year old moving to a rural town to do a PhD, I wanted to move to a city like NYC, but I have grown to love this town I am in and London has far too many people for me.  We did so much in London, I will give the highlights.  We went to the Doctor Who store,  saw Phantom of the Opera- both AMAZING!  I absolutely loved it.  I want to go back and watch it again!  If you haven't seen it as a play- go see it!  The movie doesn't do it justice!  We went to Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Tower Bridge, Cafe in the Crypt, Hamley's, Regent Street, and so much more.  So my favorite places in London, so far, The Theatre Cafe (We had a Charlie and the hot chocolate), Nathalie's cafe, and Grom.  Cotto was lovely, Cafe on the Crypt, Whole Foods, and  Honest Burger.  Those are just the food places.  I loved walking around seeing all the sites, especially Leister Square, Piccadilly, and Trafalgar Square- I loved the movie statues and seeing all the theatres.  The Theatre cafe was an accidental find on our part after Phantom.  We happened to come across it and the fact that everything is theatre based, the drinks, the décor, the music in the background- I was in Heaven!  Nathalie's cafe served the best coffee I have ever had!  Yes, you read that right.  That mocha was the best mocha ever!  I want to go back just for those 2 cafes!  And then there was Grom.  This place was recommended by a Gluten free blogger- everything in this ice cream place is gluten free- biscuits, cones, ice cream with biscuits- 100% GF!  Although I was stuffed from dinner, when do I get the chance to have a 100% GF ice cream dish from the cone to the topping?!  It was so good!  My course was fantastic.  I admit I was a bit disappointed that there were no scalpels involved but, to learn on cadavers again- even if it was for a day was well worth it.  As an anatomist, I have found that when I think of the upper arm, I think of it as a whole.  The wrist, hand, forearm, etc are made up of many muscles, bones, but I found myself thinking of them as one unit.  It is hard to explain.  I know my arm can pronate and supinate, but this course  reminded me  to think of all of the muscles as individuals that make my arm pronate and supinate- not just one large muscle group.  I also met two new girls who have become instant friends.  To this day we have kept in contact, sent each other anatomy (and normal) notes, tips, and jokes. Who knew there were others like me that lived for this thing?! After the course we met up with my boyfriends brother and his girlfriend.  We went to a pub, saw a few sights, and went to Cotto (Another place recommended to me).  The laughs and memories were amazing.  We finally found Cotto, and they accommodated us even though we did not have a reservation. It was amazing GF food from a lovely Italian family.   I was even given GF rolls before my pizza!  I was included!  :)  The memories, laughs, photos, new friends, and new food from London were amazing.  Even though I fell the last night we were there, it was still a magical place.  And what can I say- what holiday is it, where I do not get injured in some form?!  :D  I think it is fair to say, I miss London.  I spent another Christmas and Boxing Day with my boyfriend and his family.  We played Bingo, Charades, and Who Am I.  I love spending time with their family and getting to know them.  It was so much fun.  I rang in the new year with my boyfriend and his dad.  We celebrated by doing a Marvel puzzle, skyping my best friend, and my mom.  It was a nice way to bring in the new year.  

That leaves us to January.  Its been a fairly quite month.  This weekend we went to see the Best of the Westend and Broadway at the same theatre we had our first date.  :)  Would you believe it will be 3 years in February?!  It has been an amazing 3 years.  We are also going to some anatomy events!  I am so lucky my boyfriend doesn't mind coming/being dragged to these events.  :D   

Graduation is finally happening as well, which means mom is coming!  I am excited for both- finally get to graduate with my PhD and finally get to see my mom.  I haven't seen her since December 2018.   

Here's to graduation, mom's visit, plays/talks, and who knows what else 2022 has in store!