Kevin and I went blueberry picking on a farm in central Connecticut.   The land was beautiful, but the weather was hot and muggy, so we didn't stay too long.

I officially finished my GEPN year last Friday, which is a relief and sort of sad at the same time.  We separate into specialties in the fall, and though I know I'll still see my friends, it won't be the same.  All of the girls that I've grown close to are in different specialties.  It will be strange not having them in all my classes anymore.  We'll just have to make more of an effort to see each other outside of class, I guess.  

This is my first weekday off since finishing and I'm already bored.  Good thing Amber's coming tomorrow.  We're driving up to Maine later in the week, a trip we've been planning since I got my acceptance letter last February.  The day after she flies back to Mo, Kevin and I hop on a plane and fly out for a week in Springfield.  I've been a little homesick lately; I think this trip will do me good.
 

Kevin and I had a great time at Block Island.  We rented bikes and rode up to the top of the island.  The further we got from the harbor, the more the roads cleared of cars and people.  The beaches were beautiful and almost deserted.  The sand was soft and clean and the ocean was clear.  At the tip of the island, a strip of land stretched between the ocean and a lake creating a marshland that held nothing but a lighthouse.  It was a perfect escape from school and New Haven.

Kevin's been on nights the past few weeks, which really messes up my schedule.  I seem to stay up to late on the nights he's home and then I'm sleepy all day.  

Everything else has been pretty low key.  I got a bike last week, which I've been enjoying very much.  It's faster than driving in this town.  Kevin and I have been sharing it and we like it so much that we've planned a day trip to Block Island.  We're going to take the ferry over and then rent bikes and ride around the island.  I've been wanting to make it out there this summer - it's supposed to be beautiful.

I started my community health rotation last Thursday.  We'll be going about 40 hours a week for the next three weeks.  The organization was created and is run by nuns, which I find incredibly soothing.   The main building is on a 14 acre farm which the sisters built and landscaped themselves.  There are all kinds of gardens and flowers and big shady trees to sit under.  It's so pretty there it doesn't quite feel like a real place.

I have always suspected home care would be a passion of mine and I've thought before that it seems a lot less expensive and more reasonable than nursing homes.  Fortunately, the government recently discovered that home care would save them millions of dollars over nursing homes if they invested in programs to keep elders healthy!  I can't wait to graduate and become a part of this brand new system (it just started this month!).  I know the goverment is primarily seeing dollar signs, but think about all the other benefits.  How great would it be for our elder population to be able to live the rest of their lives in their own homes?  Many older adults' greatest fear is being taken out of their homes and put into a long term care facility.  With this new program, that would only happen if they required 24 hour care.    

I'm still not sure exactly what kind of position I want when I graduate.  I want to spend a lot of time with patients and build relationships with people as a primary caregiver.  But I also want to work at a corporate level, helping to create programs that improve quality of life for large groups of older adults.  Since my junior year in college, I have wanted to make a program that would bring together afterschool care for children and assisted living facilities for older adults.  There was a program like this in Kirksville, Mo and the benefits to both populations were significant in a study one of my professors did.  The children loved the one on one attention from the adults and the adults loved playing games with the children.  Wouldn't it be great if this type of program were everywhere?  

Ok, off my soapbox now to talk about my weekend.  I went to the beach with a friend yesterday morning.  She wanted to go for prime sun time (when you're NOT supposed to go out) and that time actually worked best for me, too, so I slathered SPF 55 all over.  Or so I thought.  I came home and my armpits are fried!  I never would have thought to put suscreen there, but let me tell you - I won't forget again any time soon!    Later last night, that same friend and some others came over and we attempted to make our own sushi.  Everyone brought a different ingredient to put in the rolls.  There were cucumbers, carrots, sweet potato, shrimp, squash, and avacado, even kimchee.  It was fun to do, but only okay to taste.  After the dishes were done (I love having these girls over!)  we watched V for Vendetta, a movie Kevin loves but I do not like.  Last night confirmed my opinion and the group of girls were split evenly over it.  We all made fun of it the whole way through but in the end it turned out some of them liked it as much as Kevin did!  I guess it's one of thoses movies you either love or hate.

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days - my computer has been having some troubles.  My Internet Explorer is still busted, so right now I'm trying to do this through another browser which isn't 100% compatable with Blogger.  We'll see how it goes.

First of all - I finished my classes!  Better yet, I passed everything!  It got a little rough there at the end - a 20 page paper didn't come together quite as planned - but it all worked out in the end.  Tomorrow I start my last GEPN rotation - community health.  Home care and hospice 40 hours a week for three weeks.  I'm looking forward to it because this is the area I'd like to go into when I graduate.

Second of all, I haven't mentioned it yet, but they've been filming Indiana Jones IV right here at Yale!  It's been very exciting, though the traffic delays are pretty annoying.  They completely redid downtown so it looks like 1957.  A few of my nursing school friends are even in the movie as extras!  I can't wait to see them on the big screen!  

Kevin's parents had to cancel their trip at the last minute, unfortunately, so we didn't get to visit with them as planned.  To make it up to Kevin, we spent a day on the town on Sunday.  We walked down to a pub for a late lunch, walked over to the movie theatre to see Oceans Thirteen and then walked through downtown to look at the movie set.  As we were walking, I told Kevin we should eat somewhere really fancy so that we could maybe see Harrison Ford.  We laughed and decided that would be silly (not to mention expensive) so we went to a little Spanish restaurant we've been wanting to try.  Halfway through our meal, guess who got seated at the table next to us?  Harrison Ford of course!!!!  With Calista Flockheart (who cares?) .  I was so excited I could hardly finish dessert.  It was surreal because I knew his voice so well he didn't seem like a stranger.  I had to remind myself he was so I wouldn't run up and give him a hug.  What a great ending to a great day!!