Busy lady.

Now that I'm looking ahead to the fall semester....3 classes, 2 labs, ALL science....I seriously have no clue how I'm going to do it. I mean, I've done it before, and I always think this....how in the world will I get everything done?! But...it always works itself out in the end. Reasoning (other than it's a lot of homework) for this mental state? I've been making lists like a crazy woman. Pretty much lists of everything that needs to be done *before* school starts again. Preferably before Koda comes home in just over 4 WEEKS!

#1-We switched internet service a few weeks ago and it has been *HEAVEN*. Much, much faster internet and with a company who aren't complete idiots and jerks (seriously, Clearwire sucks. GCI...much better so far). And now it has us thinking...should we switch our cable TV (we have Dish now)? And if we do, we might as well get a "bundle" package with GCI (because it'd be cheaper). Which means a home phone again. While I'm not crazy about the idea of a home phone...I went "phoneless" before I knew George!!!.....Dakota is going to be 7 this fall, and possibly staying at home alone for short stints. And that means he definitely needs a phone at home in the case of emergencies and to call George or I when he gets home from school.

#2-THIS is a big one. I need to start job shadowing physicians this year. Virtually every medical school requires direct patient contact experience before medical school. If you're already an M.A. or a nurse, etc....then it's easy. It's your job. If you're not....then it's not so easy. Being a receptionist doesn't count.....being a billings coordinator doesn't count...etc, etc, etc. Basically, they want you to have kinda "practiced" medicine before you start "practicing" medicine. A bit rediculous, but I get the idea-they want to make sure you know what being a physician is all about. SO.....for those without medical certificates of some sort, it generally means physician shadowing. Apparently, most students find it difficult to get a doc to OK shadowing them. I, on the other hand, have had no problem. I've talked with my mom's Oncologist (AND his little girl also went to PNA, so I saw him pretty much EVERY morning for 2 years), my OB/GYN (hello? I've had 3 kids with her!), the kid's Pediatrician (about 7 years and 3 kids later, we know each other pretty well...and I really, really, like her style), and a Plastic Surgeon in town (I went to her to have a lump removed after Brady was born). I talked with all of them over the past couple years about shadowing in the future, so I thought...no big deal, right? Apparently I just waited too darn long! The Plastic Surgeon already has 2 other students shadowing her the WHOLE SUMMER!!! The Oncologist is going on vacation for about 5 weeks starting next week. AHHHHH! Those were my first 2 choices...because so far, those are the two fields that interest me the most. Sooooo.....my Pediatrician called me back yesterday, and I can pretty much go in whenever I want, so at least I WILL end up with some shadow time! And really, while peds is NOT a general area I want to go into, a peds subspecialty is definitely something I'm interested in (Pediatric Oncology, Pediatric Surgery, Neonatal, etc), so it's a start at least! One thing I did learn (after starting to cold call other practicioners in town)? That there IS a Pediatric Oncologist in AK!!! So, I have a call into her also.

#3-With all of that shadowing stuff said, if any of the physicians have privledges with either hospital (Prov or Regional), then I have to get badges for both. Which means a background check, immunization records, professional recommends from professors, etc, etc, etc. Lots of red tape! But....if I ever want to observe surgeries, then it has to be done anyways.

#4-A million and a half half-done home projects to finish up. The upstairs bathroom needs to be finished (George needs to match texture on the wall and I need to paint the bathroom), the paint around the boy's window needs touched up BADLY. It was messed up from when the windows were replaced about 2 years ago. And then again a little when we took the window OUT to get the bunk bed IN! The new back door downstairs needs the texture matched around it and painted. There's kickboard beneath the kitchen cabinets that need to be finished. The living room needs to be either finished painted (in the back corner) or repainted (a slightly darker color....we're still figuring this out). I need to finish organizing the "dungeon" (aka: crawlspace). There's seriously a billion little things to do/finish!

#5-Get applications finished and turned in for the charter/alternative schools for Koda this year. The charter schools in our district are all lottery, and that is at the end of July. So, Rilke German Immersion School and Northern Lights ABC School are probably the 2 we'll apply to. I have a call into the testing dude to hopefully test Koda for the Gifted program at Rogers Park Elementary also. In talking with a parent of one of Koda's classmates at PNA, she seemed to think it wasn't nearly as hard to get into as they would like you to believe. They make it seem like your child literally has to be a genious. They do an assessment, and if he passes that, they order a full IQ test. She went through it with her oldest, and said it really wasn't a huge deal. In fact, she seemed to think that going from PNA to public school (even the gifted program) would be a piece of cake....the curriculum at PNA is much more advanced than public school, and Koda was even excelling at PNA. Well, I suppose we'll have to wait and see :)

On top of that....I'm called for jury duty starting the 1st of August. Right when Koda gets back, I'll be doing my physician shadowing, school starts for Koda in 2 weeks, starts for me in 3 weeks, and I have 3 kids. And NO....they won't exempt me. So I'm thinking about showing up with the kids and letting them know that it's obviously a hardship for me to be there. Maybe then they'll dismiss me!! Don't get me wrong...I've actually always wanted to do it, if only for the experience. But...this is SO not the time. And neither is anytime in the next 6 months (when they'll reschedule me for). Between classes and kids, it just doesn't work. So....any other ideas of how to get out of it would be greatly appreciated!

Ahhhhhh.....I feel like a chicken with her head cut off.