1. pulled an all-nighter to make sure azula didn’t poop on the carpet

2. small scratches all over my forearms and legs

3. finding dog treats in the laundry

**edit: 4. finding unused dog-poop bags in the laundry as well

i guess i could take this time to write about a few things that have happened since i got back from chicago—i really haven’t had time to just sit and write about school and life and thingssss

so mainly i want to talk about the LGBT panel we had for doctoring the morning after i got back from chicago.  i and the rest of my friends on the e-board for glbt&amsa knew about the panel months ago, had no idea what it was about or who was running it, but pretty much left it as it was.  however, my curiosity got the best of me, and i emailed the course director a month before the panel about wanting to help with finding panelists, because i had already cooked up a scenario in my mind of how it would play out with some of the people i know talking about their lives and experiences with healthcare for the panel.

well, the course director referred me to the third year who was putting it together and he told me the panel was already put together and thanks for asking.  i needed to know, though, that the group of people would be diverse in both ethnicity and age to really demonstrate the diversity of the actual LGBT patient population.   turns out my suspicions were right; 3 of the 4 panelists he had chosen were white USF students under 25, and the 4th was a white male physician (whom i was absolutely shocked and profusely elated to find out he was gay—but that’s besides the point).  

i told the third year that i knew a couple people—a transgender woman who works with steven, and an hiv+ male senior citizen (my mentor in orlando)—who would be perfect for the panel, who could really speak from experience and possibly open a lot of my classmates’ minds.  he said no.  

after thinking it over for two weeks, having at first resigned myself to making next year’s panel better and believing that sometimes you just need to let things be, i came to the fact that we have such little opportunity for education on LGBT health issues and explicit exposure to sexual health, and i felt we were squandering the opportunity we had.  i told all this to the third year.  held my breath.  and he agreed to add my suggestions to the panel and have the physician moderate. 

fresh from the conference in chicago, i was fueled to see the lgbt panel to success.  and i believe it was.  i am so proud to have been able to contribute to it, and i think it may have had an effect on my colleagues.  i hope.  all i can do is hope for my classmates to see lgbt patients as just patients.  

in this case, persistence went a long way for me.  i wonder if this is a step towards passion for the cause …

not my dog riley.  my new dog azula.  yeah, that’s right, azula.  a 4 year old female husky who isn’t house trained in any way.  she’s driving me crazy.  steven thought this was a good idea, and you know, i actually do like her.  i guess since riley is such an angel of a dog, we have to pay the price somehow. 

my preceptor (and now DOCTOR!) lisa told me that huskies are the worst, especially females.  i don’t think she truly believes that, because she loves her husky dakota.  but right now, i’m a believer.  

P.S. her previous owners called her “azul” so “azula” wasn’t much of a stretch.  turning “simba” into “riley” was MUCH more difficult. 

P.P.S. i have quickly become one of those people that only talks about their dogs, as anyone who’s been around me the last 3 weeks can tell you.  i’m pretty sure i’m intolerable at this point.