Monsters!

Not the scary variety, just the hockey kind.

In a previous post I mentioned all the professional sports teams that we have here in Cleveland, and I wanted to give a little bit of an update.

When I got back to school this semester I got a text from a friend asking if I wanted to go to a Monsters game. I didn't know exactly what that meant. Was it a euphemism or some inside joke that I didn't get. He wrote a second time and explained that they are a local hockey team.

Not only are there several major league teams in the area, there are several minor league teams that I didn't even know about. The cool thing is that minor league games are often a cheap night out in the middle of winter. Also, a great way to take a break from school without breaking the bank (or limited funds that accompany medical school life).

We have the Monsters, who are a hockey farm team for the Colorado Avalanche and actually a really fun game to watch. In fact the school is planning an outing for two days from now on Thursday. If I wasn't going to be celebrating my wife's birthday that night I would totally be there.

We also have the Canton Charge who are an NBA D-League team. Their season is the same as the NBA so if miss a Cavaliers game you can see them instead. The D stands for Development, so players on their way up to the NBA.

The big announcement for this year though is the addition of an AFL team, the Cleveland Gladiators. The Arena Football League has been around for several years and is actually super fun to watch! I went to a couple arena football games in Denver while I lived there and had a blast every time!

Anyway you look at it, even on the coldest nights in Cleveland there is something to get fired up about.
   

The Break

Breaks are amazing! Now, don't get me wrong I love school, but it was a long semester and a break was indeed called for.

The first week was busy. To get started, I built a guitar.

Next, I built a stand for it and my other instruments to go on. 

Needless to say I was having a blast, and it was nice to not have my head buried in a book for a bit. 

But, the most important part of my vacation came after my projects, I got to go home and see my own and my wife's family. 

We flew to Denver a week after school ended for the semester where we were greeted by my family and 8in. of snow! I took advantage of the weather and went snowboarding. I needed to get up to the slopes at least once because I knew this semester was going to leave no time to go. 

We spent a little over a week in Colorado and left Christmas Day to Salem, OR. We arrived in Salem greeted by my wife's family and lots of rain. 

We took a trip to the Oregon coast where I got some time to take some pictures and practice my HDR. 

During my time in Oregon I had the opportunity to shadow a podiatrist from the Portland area, and was able to get some experience in the Operating Room. I was able to see some typical and some advanced podiatric surgeries. While I played I also was able to get some valuable podiatric experience. 

  

We spent the rest of our vacation there and headed home just in time for the Oregon Ducks to win the Rose Bowl and the semester to start. 

The semester will be a busy one, and surely will try my academic stamina. But after a fantastic vacation, I feel well rested and ready to take on the world, or lower anatomy whichever comes first. 

Thanksgiving

Wow, December already. It is amazing how fast 20 weeks can go.

It does seem a little surreal that the semester has come and gone so quickly. I am happy that the initial jitters are over and that I have been able to settle in so nicely in such a short amount of time. This semester has been one of the most challenging and most rewarding in my scholastic career. There have been many ups and downs and highs and lows, but in the end, it is the high points that I remember. All in all, I will say the semester is ending on a high. 

Thanksgiving was a little bittersweet this year. Bitter in that finals began within the next week. Sweet in that it was still Thanksgiving and still a very happy time. 

The day started with a healthy game of flag football, which is more commonly known as a turkey bowl. A great game, I played a little quarter back and caught a few passes. The downer of the game was that I injured both of my big toes. I jammed my toenails into the ends of my shoes, very painful, but resulted in a podiatric procedure and a peek into what my life will be like as a clinician. I do find it quite ironic that a podiatry student would, of all injuries, injure his feet during a football game.

Thanksgiving dinner was a phenomenal meal. We joined with a few other couples, and did small group dinner. Followed by pie and my favorite, whipped cream!  After the food coma wore off, it was back to studying. 

Studying ensued, and a week later it hasn't stopped. The finals are hard, but now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I know there is hope. I knew it would be hard, and I think I've settled in and can see where I'm headed. It won't be too long and I'll be writing my goodbye letter. Haha, I think I'll focus on next semester first. 

West Side Market

My first visit to Cleveland was last March, I was here to interview at OCPM, and as well I got to see some pretty cool stuff. I was unfortunately not able to bring my wife on the trip. I knew that somehow I would have to return home with some explanation of what the city is like. I had one day following my interview to get out and see the city. I wanted to know what I should see before I left. Upon google-ing the city of Cleveland the first website mentioned a place called the West Side Market. 

From the website The West Side Market looked intriguing so I looked into it a little more, and review after review raved of the market and just how awesome it was. I made a note, got the address in my GPS, and headed to Cleveland's west side to see what it was all about. 

http://www.westsidemarket.org/ 

Now that I have been back on many occasions I decided it was time to share the wealth to all my friends and readers. This place is a must see here in Cleveland and is a great place to go when I need a break from studying. 

The market is divided into two buildings one smallish and the other ginormous. The smaller of the two is the produce section. The produce building is basically a long hall that is packed wall to wall with fruits and vegetables. You can find almost any fruit or vegetable item you could imagine, from wild variations on the most common, purple coli-flower, to exotic fruits from around the globe. All the produce is fresh and tasted delicious. We made fresh tacos the next day with the produce we got...fantastic. 

The larger of the two buildings is the main hall. It looks like an old mill, but according to the website it is the original building designed for the market as an upgrade from a tract of land. Within the main hall are vendors of every food you could imagine, meats, cheese, coffee, popcorn, desserts, and I could go on for a long time. Suffice it to say, it is absolutely packed and you could spend all day just looking at everything.

The West Side Market has also had some press within the last couple years. First, a small Gyro kiosk named Steve's Gyros (gyros being consumed in the above picture) was featured on Man vs Food. Adam Corolla stopped by to eat some of their kebabs, and I will say from personal experience there is a reason they were on TV. 

The most recent exposure was a meat kiosk by the name of Czuchraj Meats. Don't ask me how to say the  name, I have no idea. But I do know that Iron Chef Micheal Symon says that they have the best beef jerky he's ever had. They were featured on the Food Network's episode "Salty Goodness" of "Best Thing I Ever Ate" 

This last time I went I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life, creme brulee or pistachio cannoli. First of all, I have a huge sweet tooth, so I have to say it's a good thing I'm going to become a podiatrist and not a dentist. Second, the dessert kiosks at the West Side Market are something else, you cannot even imagine the selection. I wish I had a picture of the desserts, I felt a little bit like Charley and the Chocolate Factory, so many amazing things to eat and my wife said I could only choose one. While she was looking away I bought both. :-)  

I guess there's nothing like eating your feelings when the stress of school gets a little hard to handle. To all my classmates and future classmates, you have to visit the West Side Market. School or not, this is right now my favorite place in Cleveland. 

Halloween...Fall...Thanksgiving?

It feels fall has finally come to the greater Cleveland area. And with it, fall colors, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the last stretch before finals.

Halloween was a great time, and we got to spend it with another 1st year couple. It was my first Halloween since living with my parents that I got to hand out candy, and it was fun to see the kids all dressed up and on a sugar high. Not to mention I love candy, so I had a little bit of a sugar high myself. It was nice to sit back and enjoy an evening. Having just finished our second round of tests I felt like I could relax for at least one night before getting back to studying hard for the next round of tests.

With Halloween behind me, it is back to the grindstone with more studying followed by Christmas and the opportunity to go back home and see my family. I just have to take it one day at a time try my best and hope it all comes out OK in the end.

It seems that this semester has just flown by. August 1st seems like yesterday, but somehow a distant memory. Now as I look at the three weeks of class time ahead of me before we begin our finals, I think about what a great time it has been. Albeit hard, it has been an experience I would not trade. I have learned and grown in ways I could not have imagined prior to my time here at OCPM. I have been stretched, tested, and grown stronger and more prepared with every step along the way. I know that this is just the beginning, but I feel like I am mentally prepared to face any challenge that is ahead of me.

Also, with the passing of Halloween, I wanted to share this video that I found really funny. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Halloween!

Amish Country

This last weekend, my wife and I wanted to get out and see some of the countryside before the leaves fell off. We decided to get some cultural exposure while we were at it. So, we packed up our car and headed out to see rural Ohio and Amish Country.

Upon the recommendation of a few of my older classmates, we decided on an Amish farm, Hershberger Farm and Bakery. A very cool place with quite a bit to see and do.

We started with the farm store. The Amish are amazing craftsmen with skills in leather, textiles, and they are known for their woodworking skills. This is a picture of the chairs that are very common among the Amish. The chairs are made from willow and are harvested only once a year during the spring when the wood is soft and able to be molded.

We then decided to take a ride on the wagon to go to the pumpkin patch.

They estimate that they grew 12,000 pumpkins this year. That wagon ride was fun with a quick tour to see the Amish horses and some of the livestock. The Amish are renowned for their horsemanship, and had some of the biggest horses I have ever seen.

We found the perfect pumpkin, but didn't want to call it a day just yet. We headed back to finish up our day with the bakery and produce. The bakery was busy, and understandably so. All the baked goods are made from scratch, such as the cinnamon rolls that were hot out of the oven. They also had apple cider, fry pies (a traditional Amish pastry), pies of all varieties, and a huge selection jams, jellies, and pickles. Outside they had an open fire with a kettle on it making fresh kettle corn (AMAZING!). And to finish it off the produce from Hershberger and surrounding farms.

I learned a little bit about the Amish, and had a great time while doing it

The Semester is Under Way!

As soon as the sun started going down before 8:00 I realized that the semester is quickly passing, and so is my time here in school.

We are quickly approaching exam week 2. It will be happening the week before Halloween. So, needless to say I am a little scared. I'm scared for tests not for Halloween. I have heard that there are some pretty awesome haunted houses around, I will definitely be checking those out soon.

As far as tests go, I think I am ready. Although I will say it doesn't seem possible that we could have tests so soon after the last test, but it has been a month and tests are still a week and a half away. Anatomy and Biochemistry will indubitably be my hardest exams, and I am a little stressed. But, so to compensate I've been studying a little harder everyday to make sure that I cover the material adequately. Shortly following my first round of exams I thought that I was studying a lot longer everyday, but it turns out that the sun was just going down faster. A week later, I realized that I was studying longer regardless of the waxing and waning of the moon. I hope that the extra effort will pay off.


It's just a matter of keeping up, keeping my mind straight, and getting enough sleep.  The professors help as well by presenting good lectures, they keep it interesting and they make it a pleasure to learn the material rather than a chore. No mental breakdowns yet (the second years say that happens just for for exam 2 next semester), and I tend to keep it that way.