The Ironies of Iron

Iron is the 4th most abundant terrestrial element, comprising 4.7% of the earth's crust, yet fully 1/3 of the earth's inhabitants are iron deficient.

Gold for the mistress, silver for the maid, copper for the craftsman, cunning at his trade. "Good" said the Baron, sittin in his hall. "But iron - cold iron - is master of them all."

Overdue Account

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles



From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead.
I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.

Regards, David.






From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles



From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.

Regards, David.



From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles



From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,

Yes please.

Regards, David.



From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Attached





From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?

Dear Jane,
Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.

Regards, David.



From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David,
Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th.
David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95.
Please make this payment as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles



From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response

Thankyou for contacting me.
I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.

Regards, David.



From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realise with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb ommission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.

Regards, David.





From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David,
As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding.
We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles



From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

I understand and will definitely make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.

Regards, David.



From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Attached

Digital Rectal Exam

I want everyone to guess what a digital rectal exam is. If you know it, don't say it. And don't look it up.

Why do we procrastinate?

I have a theory on why we procrastinate. I need feedback from everyone answering the following question:

Why do we procrastinate?

Plantar Foot

We had an anatomy quiz the other day. Alhamdulillah I got 100% on it. Don't get too happy for me, so did 176 out of 250 students in my class. The quiz was on every muscle of the lower limb. Essentially everything from your hip down (including the psoas major/minor and the iliacus). We needed to know every muscle, where it originated from and where it inserted into. I was pacing myself in studying and I figured that the morning of the quiz, I would have enough time to cover the 2-3 pages that I still had to go over for the quiz. Essentially I had to go over anterior leg (including dorsal foot), posterior leg, and... plantar... foot....

There are so many teeny weeny muscles in palmar hand and plantar foot you just want to rip your hair out. Anyways, when I got up at 5 to study, I decided you know what, I'm gunna eat the biggest, ugliest frog first. I am going to start with the hardest section - plantar foot. And I had Sadaf help me study and everything. By 6 and 6:30 I made so little progress I was going crazy. I fired Sadaf and sent her back to bed and I was like whyyy can't I remememmmber this stuff?!? And I grinded through it... and Alhamdulillah, you wanna know what my favorite area and muscle group is of the lower limb? Plantar foot =)

Some neat things

In the OMM class yesterday we had a quiz like we usually do, but last week we did not have a quiz. Usually we don't spend too much time studying for the weekly quiz, normally just the night before or during the lunch break before the class. So when I was studying for the quiz yesterday, I was studying and studying and it seems intuitive enough, but before class I heard a murmur that the information from the previous class would also be covered in the quiz. I asked around and decided that I would not study any of the previous material, partly because it was rib and thoracic dysfunctions and holy hell that sheat was a paaaaaaiiiiiiin and so in depth it was ridiculous. So anyways, when we were taking the quiz, lo and behold, and first 2 questions were stuff that was not on the written material specific to what we were supposed to study last week. The questions were what muscle elevates the 2nd rib in forced inspiritation: anterior scalenes, middle scalenes, posterior scalenes, pectoralis minor, or something else. The 2nd question was what nerve comes out in the C3 - C4 intervertebral foramen: C2, C3, C4, C5. Well, needless to say, about 99% of the class got the last 2 questions right unanimously, but these first 2 questions the class was pretty much split very very very evenly. The first question almost 33% of the class answered anterior scalenes, 33% said middle, and 33% said posterior. There were 1 or 2 people who said pec minor, but man if you were stupid enough to say a pec minor ELEVATES the ribs then i personally think you should shoot yourself. As for number 2, like 45% said C3 and another 45% said C4. I was sitting behind the type of students that I hate with a passion: desi girls. Why? Because all they do in life is study. It's my personal goal to be the best in everything I do, and to do a lot to show the world that you can be the best student and do other things too. But I digress. The reason why I bring up the row of 4-5 desi girls sitting in front of me is because they also missed the first 2 questions and they bitched and bitched and bitched and biiiiiiiiitched and wouldnt stop! They turned from nice proper good model students to the foulest ghetto fabulous personalities in no time flat. They were like this isnt fair they cant ask us these questions blah blah blah (I think they were so pissed off because these people actually spend time studying for OMM, like time the typical student would spend to study for anatomy or something) and dude they wouldnt shut the hell up they were like its not like we arent putting in the effort blah blah blah. Well, it was pretty clear the class was a little upset for the first 2 questions, so when the lecturer for the day came up he said something that changed my life forever:

So, a lot of you are upset because some of these questions were from previous weeks. Guess what? Medicine is cumulative.

It's not entirely about cramming the information into your brain to spit it back out on a quiz or exam. It's about that time when there will be a patient coming to you to help them breathe, to help them take the pain away, to help them turn their neck to the left, to help them walk normal or to stand up straight. Are you going to remember what to do, what nerve is compressed, and how to treat it?

Phlebotomy Part 1

So before the break i had a phlebotomy lab in which we had to get into groups and draw blood from each other. We had the option of not getting stuck and only practicing on a prosthetic arm, but i wasnt about to be known as a girl anytime soon, so i signed the waiver with everyone else. My professor said that it was important to know what it feels like to be the victim as well to do the sticking.
Our teacher before the lab made us watch an instructional video (which i embedded to this post for your pleasure). I made sure to rewatch it again on my own time because i was really nervous about it all in a positive way. When i got to the lab, we had to get into the groups they split us up into and each group had a proctor who would be teaching us individually. The proctors were either EMTs, phlebotomists, nurses, or basically people who have to stick other people for a living. So getting a "good" instructor was sheer luck. Alhamdulillah I had a GREAT instructor. He was pretty young, id say around 30 - 35, and jacked beyond belief. He was like look, you all are scared and nervous. Dont be. But even if you are, dont show it, cuz the last thing a person who is about to be stuck wants to see is that the guy who is sticking him is sweating and shaking and the needle is all over the place. He goes somebody is going to get stuck, so let that person be the patient and the patient only, because what happens is a lot of times people dont have great form and technique and they end up also sticking themselves with the needle. This is like super dangerous because you have no idea what the other guy had in his blood. He said that when I first started after 10 days I stuck myself and my whole world burned down in front of my eyes in 7 seconds because I didnt know if I would be able to kiss my kids again. From what I remember, this is what you do when you draw blood. First you gotta open up the kit that has the gauze, iodine, alcohol swabs, bandaids, the needle, vacutainer, blood tubes, and turniquet. You gotta set up your little station. Tear open the gauze and set it down, open the bandaid and put it halfway on the patients arm so you could easily put it on when you take the needle out. position the blood tube right up close to the vacutainer, but do not push it in because the blood tube is vaccuum sealed and once u break the seal then you lose the vaccuum. Thats why when you ever have to get blood drawn and you are brave enough to watch, then you would see blood SQUIRTING into the blood tube. That's not cuz you are bleeding that bad, its cuz the tube was a vaccuum. Anyways, first you wipe with iodine, 2 circular wipes, then 2 circular wipes with the alcohol to clean it off. I asked my proctor that what if my gloves touch my clothes, are they no longer sterile? He goes, the guy you are sticking probably has been doing illegal drugs for some time now with contaiminated needles.. i dont think hes gunna care that you touched your clothes with your gloves. Then I go dude if i set everything up my alcohol is gunna like touch the table, won't it become non sterile? And he goes dude... its alcohol... it sterilizes everything it touches. I was like sweeeeeeeet. Aiight ladies ill continue part 2 later iA I gotta study for anatomy

Fasting Alert

I just wanted to remind everyone that the Islamic month we are in is called Muharram, which is a very blessed month in Islam. The Prophet (S) used to fast on the 10th of Muharram, a day known as 'Ashura. The Jews of Medina used to also fast on this day as well, and when asked why, they replied by saying that Musa (A) used to fast on this day to thank Allah for for saving the children of Isreal from their enemies (in Egypt). The Prophet (S) responded by saying that Musa (A) is more dear to us (Muslims) than to you (Jews), so He would also fast on this day, and recommended that we add a day before or after, so that we distinguish ourselves from the Jews.

So the day of 'Ashura insha Allah is this Wednesday the 7th. It is highly meritorious to fast on this day, plus another day before or after. I'm pretty sure the majority opinion is to do the 9th and 10th, which would be tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday. Here are 2 hadith describing the merits of fasting on this day:

Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "I never saw Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) so keen to fast any day and give it priority over any other than this day, the day of `Ashura', and this month, meaning Ramadan." (Al-Bukhari, Hadith 1867) In another hadith we are told that fasting the day of `Ashura' expiates the sins of the previous year as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Fasting the day of `Ashura' (is of great merits), I hope that Allah will accept it as an expiation for (the sins committed in) the previous year" (Muslim).

For more information you can go to http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543248