Weekend Update

The Milwaukee Brewers were in town, so we had to hit up a few of the games! We left as soon as I got home from clinic on Friday and headed for the lightrail. For $7.00 round trip, it sure beats dealing with traffic and paying for parking downtown. We made it to our seats (in the nose-bleed section) just in time for the game to start. It was a good game, but unfortunately, Brewer's lost. Coors Field is a nice ball park though. All the seats are angled towards home plate and the Rockie's fans are civil! Of course the random "Brewer's suck!" comments are expected, but that was the extent of the hassling we got from the home team fans.

Sweet hat some girl we met at Swanky's made.

On Saturday, we went back for more! Another night game, and another ride on the lightrail. This time the Brewer's walked away with a WIN! Ready to celebrate, we headed to Swanky's! Swanky's is a sweet Packer bar just down the road from Coors Field. There was Packer paraphernalia everywhere, and it was packed with Brewer fans after the game, AND some Brewer's themselves. None of them were familiar to me though (in other words, they were not the hot shots). We had a fantastic waitress who served me what might be the greatest drink ever... a dreamsicle. So delish, and they were on special... so I had several! Probably the most awesome part of Swanky's is their "No Brett Favre" rule. They took down all things Brett Favre related from their wall and no Brett Favre jerseys are allowed. HA! There was actually a guy there who was wearing a Favre jersey, and they made him turn it inside out in order to enter. What do you think? Best rule ever? I think so too!

We won! Go Brewers!

Finally, on Sunday, I did nothing (with the exception of driving to T-Bell for some greasy awesomeness), and it was wonderful! The Brew-Crew did have one more afternoon game, but we are too poor to do 3 in a row I guess.

The "don't walk" sign we saw on the way to/from the game

(I know... inappropriate... but also kinda funny)

Anyone else do something fun this weekend?

Last week

...was not the best. I was pretty much sick the whole week, so everything I did was a bit of a blur. But, I still managed to go in everyday and not get anybody else sick (knock on wood). Nothing too exciting happened this week, but here are the highlights.

1) I had my first "go" at the hearing screenings in the nursery all by myself. All my babies were very well behaved and sleepy - just the way we like them. We (myself and the volunteers) tested 7 babies and 4 of them passed their screening. The other 3 were referred on one ear and will need to be screened once more before being discharged from the hospital. We have a high volume of non-English speakers at this hospital, so I was thrilled about not having to make an attempt at using the language translator phones.

2) It was the last week for the exiting 4th year student. She has been terrific! She trained me in the nursery, gave me the low down on team clinic or "compass clinic" and on what's to be expected of us at grand rounds. She has introduced me to a lot of wonderful people, and the list goes on and on. We will miss you!!!

3) Boyfriend took me on another surprise trip! This time we went to the Rocky Mountain Nation Wildlife Refuge. It is not too far from our place, near the airport. Basically, it's a 2 hour tour around the refuge on a bus looking for wildlife. Not the most exciting trip, but not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning either. The 2 hour tour is free and we got to see a bunch of wildlife! Including, but not limited to: deer, bison, hawks, water fowl, a cute raccoon family (I know, I hate raccoons too, but they they were honestly kinda cute) and hundreds and hundreds of the most adorable prairie dogs! It was humorous to watch all the people on the bus get unbelievably excited to see birds and bunnies and raccoons. Don't they ever look outside their windows at home? A pleasant, relaxing trip overall.

One of the coons from the raccoon family! See kinda cute... for a coon.

My favorite picture of the prairie dogs. They're kissing!! Just before I took the picture they were hugging too. So adorable.

Audiology Extern Week 2

I. Am. Pooped.

Week 2 of clinic was a busy one. The week consisted of regular clinic on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, training in the nursery for hearing screenings, SIGN CLASS on Wednesday for 2 hours after clinic, and a Symposium all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

I was finally trained in the nursery! I am responsible for doing the hearing screenings on the newborns one morning every week. They are so tiny I feel like I'm going to break their necks turning their heads to get to their ears! We test all the babies born the day before. I love it so far. It's a nice way to start the day. The testing itself is pretty simple. We hook up the babies and the computers do the rest of the work. I just hope I don't mess up the paper work. My favorite part of the week was Sign class! I was told about this class the week before and I mentioned to the Audiology director that I was interested in taking it. She hooked me up! K-Mo and I will now be attending Sign class every Wednesday from 4:30-6:30 for FREE! I love it. This is only a beginner class and I've already taken 2 beginner classes in the past, so the material is mostly a review for now. When this class ends, there will be another class offered at the intermediate level, and another one after that at the intermediate 2 level. As the current extern, I am able to take all 3 classes at no charge! I can't wait to improve my signing skills! Since the class is comped for me, I am in charge of helping out a little during class. There is a boy in the class who wears a cochlear implant and Engligh is his second language, so K-Mo and I take turns typing everything that is said during class as he follows along to help him understand. The rest of the week was the Marion Downs Hearing Symposium. The Symposium mostly consisted of topics related to pediatric audiology. I was excited to meet Marion Downs herself, as well as many other well respected individuals in the Audiology world. It was also especially fun to meet the man who is the voice of the recorded NU-6 and BKB-SIN speech tests! Once I found out he was the voice of the recordings, I was immediately reminded of Joey from "Friends" when he thought it would be a cool job to be the voice on the answering machine (Anyone recall this episode?... "You have 2 new messages...").

Week 1 in the Real World

was awesome!!! I have been at clinic for over 1 full week now. Monday morning started off with a short orientation, some paperwork, meeting a ton of people whos names will take me forever to learn, and a few observations. The rest of the week I continued to meet more of the staff, did more observations mixed in with some hands-on clinic, received my badge, got a mini tour of the buildings on campus I should be familiar with, and learned more about the requirements and opportunities I have here at the Marion Downs Hearing Center. The Highlights: 1) Finally meeting the Director of the Audiology Department - she is every bit as wonderful as I expected her to be. 2) Getting to know K-Mo a little better - we have so much in common and are becomming fast friends. 3) Meeting and getting to know the 4th year extern who's about to leave us and some of the 3rd year students - since they've been around UCH longer than K-Mo and me, they've been very helpful showing us the ropes. 4) Getting my badge - this allows me special access to the 4th and 5th floors of the hospital where the nursery and NICU areas are for screening the newborns! 5) Training in the nursery - the testing is easy, but there is a ton of paperwork to keep straight. 6) Experimenting with an E-Scope - an electrical stethoscope that a special patient brought in. This patient is a doctor diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and is kicking it's butt so far! Unfortunately, the chemo has taken a toll on his hearing and he needs an amplified stethoscope to hear his patient's heartbeat. It came with headphones, which work great, but it is also compatible with his bluetooth capable hearing aids! We need to order a special cable to make it work with the bluetooth, and then he should be all set! It was fun experimenting with the new technology! I ended my first week scooting out a little early on Friday for a trip back to Ohio for a wedding! More to come on the wedding weekend festivities soon.

A New Era

My last FREE weekday has officially come and gone. To make sure I made the most of it, Boyfriend and Baby C took me out for a surprise day trip to the Denver Aquarium! Around noon, we headed out and took the light rail into downtown Denver and walked to the Aquarium from there. It was a long walk, but alas, we made it. It took about an hour to get through, and we had a late lunch at the Aquarium Restaurant afterwards. before heading back. My overall take on the Aquarium is 1) It was a TERRIFIC way to spend my last free day. 2) Their food was delicious and in a sweet looking room with a huge fish tank with sharks along one wall. 3) Not as spectacular as the aquarium in Chicago or Dallas, but still very enjoyable!

The following Monday, July 12 marked my first day as an Audiology Extern at the Marion Down's Hearing Center at the University of Colorado Hospital!!! A new era has begun - I am now a working woman! Eight years out of highschool, I could not be more excited to be out of the classroom and into the workforce. The only thing that would make it better is if the work actually included a paycheck.

In a nutshell, for those of you who have no idea what an Audiologist is, it is a professional who specializes in diagnosing and treating hearing and balance disorders. At the hospital where I am carrying out my externship, I will be exposed to pediatrics through geriatrics, diagnostics, hearing aids (and numerous manufacturers), cochlear implants, vestibular (balance) testing including VNG, rotary chair and posturography, electrophysiology, newborn hearing screenings, etc. I will also be responsible for presenting at Grand Rounds every first Thursday of the month and coordinating Team Clinic every second Friday of the month (I will explain these better in a future post). Yikes! I feel very overwhelmed, but also extremely excited and lucky to be here.

My first day was pretty much what you would expect: orientation, paperwork, meeting the staff, and observing. I met most of the Audiologists already (there are 13!). They have been great so far and they maintain a very friendly and comforting atmosphere in the department. The best person I've met so far is my fellow Audiology Extern, K-Mo!!! We actually met the night before our first day so we would show up Monday morning at least [sort-of] knowing one person. She is awesome, we get along great, and we actually have a lot in common!

Day 1 is officially done and I am happy to say I am not afraid to go back tomorrow!

Independence Day

July 4th was a non-work, no cleaning, zero-unpacking kind of day. It's America's birthday, so we took the day off and headed out for our 2nd day trip since moving here.

Trip #2, first stop: Garden of the Gods

Baby C, Boyfriend, and myself - first picture of the 3 roomies!

Garden of the Gods is a park with many large, red rock formations and a backdrop of mountain views. It is without a doubt the most beautiful park I've ever been to. People travel near and far to walk, hike, mountain bike, or go for a horseback ride along its numerous trails. We followed the only paved trail, "Perkins," and hiked one of the shorter trails off the main drag. This park is also a popular site for adventurous rock climbers. They were all over the place! I wish I had the muscle to do that!

This landmark is a MUST SEE!!! Please come visit me in Denver and I WILL take you here!

A few words of advise: 1.) Wear sunscreen - the sun is ALWAYS out here, we are a lot closer to the sun, and there is 23% less UV protection. 2.) Drink lots of water - again, the sun is ALWAYS out here, you'll get dehydrated more easily, and headaches follow. 3.) Wear appropriate shoes if you plan oh hiking - flip flops may be okay for the main, paved path, but not for the side trails that involve steep steps and and angled walk ways.

The whole group!

Trip #2, second stop: Seven Falls

Seven Falls is also located in Colorado Falls, so we thought we'd check it out as long as we were in the area. Although it was another beautiful area, this site does not make my "must see" list. We had a long wait because the parking lot was full and we had to wait for people to leave, and it costs about $10 per person. Once parked, there is a short walk up to the bottom of the waterfall. From there, you can ride an elevator built into the mountain to what they call the "Bird's Nest." It sits about half way up the waterfall. It was nice, but unless you want to climb what looks like a thousand stairs, followed by a mile long hike to a picturesque spot overlooking the city, there was nothing else to do or see.

Another view from the "Bird's Nest" (obviously not of the falls)

I just thought this picture looked cool!

That evening, to celebrate the 4th of July, we cooked out on the grill for dinner and went back to the hotel the parents stayed at hoping to watch the fireworks from their rooms. It was storming outside and nobody was up for sitting in the pouring rain and lightening. Unfortunately, we couldn't see very much. Overall, it was a great day!

How did you celebrate this year?

Moving Day

I was so excited on July 1st because it was the day I was FINALLY going to see my new home. It was moving day! We drove into town the night before so we would be ready to meet our landlord first thing in the morning for our walk through and to hand over the keys. Our moving truck was meeting us shortly after. So happy we made it all the way to Denver with no problems, we took off for our last 20 minute drive to our new home. About 3 minutes into the drive, just before I hit the highway.... "CRASH!!!"........ F-ing semi decided he wanted to use both of the left turn lanes, and I found myself pinched between a semi to my right and the curb to my left. I guess we spoke too soon, we did not make it safely the whole way. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. I was mostly just annoyed because Mr. Semi-trucker was keeping me from seeing my new fabulous house! Dad stayed with me while Boyfriend and Baby C continued on to meet the landlord and moving company. Once the drama subsided, the work began. I finally got to see my new home and it is every bit as cute as I imagined it would be! Everyone helped unload the truck and cars. The girls did some heavy duty cleaning in the kitchen, living room and bathrooms, and the boys took care of the building/assembling and electronics. It has taken a long time to get settled in (there was a LOT of cleaning to get this place ready), but Boyfriend, Baby C and I are seemingly happy in our new home. Once we are completely unpacked and the decorations are up, I will try to get some pictures up for you to check out. ***Thanks Mom, Dad, and Momma J for all the help!!!! We are so glad you could make it out here to see our new home and help us get settled.