They say bad things always come in three's...

This week will go down in my personal history book as the most eventful seven days in my entire life.

These events are each their own prescription drug; to be taken independently, but never mixed:

1. The first week of optometry school.
2. Experiencing my first earthquake (5.8 centered in Virginia that put cracks in the Washington Monument).
3. Surviving a hurricane pounding the East Coast (and all the subsequent tornadoes tearing up the area).

With that being said, Hurricane Irene is on it's way...

Philadelphia is under "Extreme Threat"
(courtesy of Weather.com)

Hurricane Irene @ 11:41pm
(courtesy of Weather.com)

I am currently attempting #3, stowed away our tiny hallway until the madness ends.  Irene is expected to be directly over Philadelphia early Sunday morning.  Right now we're experiencing torrential rain, flooding, and tornadoes.  After witnessing the flooding caused by a surplus of rainfall we've had over the past few weeks, and how poorly it has drained, I can only imagine what this hurricane will do.  I may have a pond in the courtyard outside of my apartment until October.

Community Clerkship.

One month before classes begin and we have already been given an assignment: the Community Clerkship Program. As part of our Professional Practice course, we must attend all 3 different practice settings for approximately 3.5 hours each and complete a questionnaire regarding our observations:

1) Private practice (solo doctor)

2) Group practice (group optometry or group optometry/ophthalmology; at least 3 doctors on staff)

3) Retail practice (Wal-Mart, Pearle Vision, Lens Crafters, Sears, etc.)

It appears to be a relatively simplistic assignment, considering only one form is due each month throughout the semester. As an added bonus, I have already completed one of the settings (private practice) through my previous shadowing and employment at Blue Ridge Vision back in Boone. 

Taken during one of our fabulous Trunk Shows!

The most difficult part (other than overcoming pure summer laziness...) has been locating offices in a new location (all I can say is: Thank you Larry Page and Sergey Brin for inventing Google!) and calling to find out if they have time to accommodate a person playing their human shadow for a few hours.

My goal is to complete the final 2 before Orientation in 3 weeks. That way I can submit it for "prior experience" credit in early September and not have to worry about it during the semester. Win!

Party Hard.

The Onion: Nation's Optometrists Finally Starting To Recover After Raucous Optic Disc Expo 2011

What nerds! Hilarious yet so true.

The Prelude.

 Last Monday, our journey began.

Geoff and I made the 9.5 hour drive from our precious college sanctuary in Boone, NC to our new home in the north: Philadelphia, PA. Covering 565 miles and exhausting our muscles after 2 days of unloading the moving truck, we needed a week to recover, relax, and settle into our new, brighter, more expensive apartment in the cute little town of Chestnut Hill.

Cobblestone streets and old trolley tracks on Germantown Avenue.

New apartment building.

Bredenbeck's Ice Cream Parlor is a mandatory stop.

We've found ourselves swimming in a sea of isolation. Sure, there are plenty of people around our neighborhood who are pleasant enough to say "hello" as they walk by but we are lacking actual acquaintances. We have an "I Love You, Man" situation... and we need friends. I've resorted to scouring Philadelphia's Facebook page for events that will get us involved. I've even considered volunteering with UBB (United By Blue) to help clean up the Schuylkill River and around Bartram's Garden (America's oldest botanical garden) next week just so I can be amongst other human beings... Yes, it's that bad (It's 100 degrees outside! What am I thinking?!). Anyone want to come up and save us visit before I start joining knitting clubs? Or hang out at the local library for book readings?

Enter: Culture Shock.

Pennsylvania is the birthplace of freedom but not when it comes to getting your drink on. Coming from a state in which you can find beer in every other store at any time of the day, whether it be the gas station, grocery, or pharmacy, it is extremely inconvenient to drive to a designated Beer Outlet (selling only beer by the cases, thus requiring a hand truck) or Wine & Spirits store (selling wine and liquor only) by the time they close, usually around 7 pm. I have since learned that you can pick up a couple of 6-packs from a bar for a quick fix.

Brewer's Outlet along Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill.

Driving is a death trap. We have learned to avoid it as much as possible. The roads are a labyrinth of one-ways, partially hidden all-way stop signs, and sneaky intersections that somehow branch into 8 roads. Oh, and everyone goes at least 20 mph over the speed limit at all times but I have yet to spot a police officer. My assumption is that they are too concerned with violent crime to care about speeding when everyone stops at a light and/or sign every 30 feet. I'll just take the train, thank you.

Whether it be a heat-wave or just summer, it is HOT here. The fresh, cool mountain air of Boone is a distant dream to the sizzling, humid blanket hovering over these flat lands. At least we're in an area with plenty of trees?

The Future.

Orientation for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry starts in less than a month, so I am determined to enjoy what time I have left before I am buried in books for the next 4 years. I'll keep updating this blog as much as possible. Please feel free to leave comments, questions, anything!