Purchase a northface...

It gets cold in Boston. The wind cuts through your clothes way too well, which is why a month ago I purchased a wind-proof, water proof, insulated, awesome coat from northface. No longer am I a cold, stressed out, sober, and busy med student. Instead I'm a stressed out, sober, and busy med student! :)

I've noticed that my last few blogs have been an indication that I just completed an exam... With that, I in fact, just had an exam on the anatomy and physical diagnosis of the upper limb! That includes your shoulder, a few parts of your back and chest, and the entire arm, forearm and hand. Holy crap - the hand is amazing. Seeing the way muscles, tendons and nerves run down your arm, how they can affect movements in your hand, and just how it all works together is so cool. I definitely appreciate my guitar playing ability a lot more, and carry a new respect for how much damage can be done by seemingly simple injuries to your upper extremity. Classic example: Knife fight (Yep, that came up a few times in class, haha). If you get a stab wound in your arm you could lose sensation and muscle movement in much of or all of your arm, forearm and hand. Even just landing on your elbow and messing up your ulnar nerve (the funny bone) can cause damage all the way up your hand.

Funny bone (don't hurt yourself doing this, attempt at your own risk... just saying that so I don't get sued) - Lift your arm up as if doing a curl with weights, and bring your elbow up a little bit - then put your other hand under your elbow - find the main bump that you would think of as your elbow (the olecranon) and then find the little bump next to it on the inside of your elbow (medial epicondyle). You'll notice a little groove that is soft between the those two bony parts of your elbow. If you tap that soft spot you can feel a tingle or burn sensation travel up your arm to your little finger (sometimes you have to do it with a little bit of force). That's what happens when you hit your "funny bone." That's your ulnar nerve and damaging it can cause loss of sensation up to your little finger, and motor impairment in your hand - crazy.

Oh yeah - It snows here, a lot. Seattle shut down with a couple inches... Boston functions on a foot of snow. I can walk on sidewalks and streets the day after a snow storm in running shoes because they do such a good job of clearing and shoveling the snow. Fantastic!

Oh, also, if you visit Boston in the winter, bring long underwear. It's pretty rad, and warm.

Off to an improv show with some friends!