what do gas, Jason's Deli, a CVA, and coffee have in common?

Recap of the eventful parts of the past 2 days of my life:

Sunday: I ran out of gas on the Ravenel Bridge on the way to my volleyball game after I left church. That's right - the longest suspended bridge in the United States - Katie ran out of gas as she was driving on it. It was awesome, let me tell you. It's kind of a long story of how it happend - basically, my gas gauge is broken and I thought I had about 50 more miles left in my tank - and it turns out I apparently didn't. Who knew that interstate miles and city miles were THAT different. I figured it'd be about 20-30 miles difference, but nooooo it was more like 40-50 miles difference. Needless to say, my hero, Rachel "Scooby" Beckler risked her life to save mine and brought me a gallon of gas....then proceeded to shimmy up the bridge in a little black dress in heels trying to keep her dress from flying up and carrying a container of gas. It was one of the most hillarious sights I have ever seen. I wish everyone could have been there to see the sheer determination and horror on her face. hahaha. There is only about a 5 foot shoulder - so my car is sitting halfway in the lane on a nice little uphill incline with its flashers on.....but it wasn't totally vulnerable b/c it was kind of at the end of an on-ramp so only certain cars had to dodge me. Needless to say, I missed my game, and it was hillarious, but kinda scary at the same time. I also learned from the experience that I have a 17.5 gallon gas tank in my car. Who knew it was so big???

Also on Sunday I realized that I love studying at Jason's Deli. That's right - when you are starving and have to study - that's the place to go. Get you a salad bar for 7 bucks and get as many drinks as you want, as much salad/bread as you want, as much dessert/ice cream as you want and as much coffee as you want. I sat there for about 2 hours studying and had a few desserts, a few glasses of sweet tea, a huge salad etc. and got to spread my stuff out in a booth and whatnot. It was pretty fabulous if I do say so myself. It's a big place and it's not too too crowded or loud - so it worked out nicely for me.

Today (Monday): We had a real patient come into lab today to do an initial evaluation on. He was HILLARIOUS. He had a stroke a few years ago - and was super-cool. It was interesting to really get to see and do work on a person with real deficits and problems. He had left hemianopsia, left upper extremity spasticity, weakness, sensation deficits, gait problems, and a whole slew of things - that are really not cool and I really hate that he has to live with it everyday - but it is a really great learning tool and really awesome of him to come in and let us work on him and use him as practice guide.

I also went and had coffee tonight with a total stranger. It was also fabulous. We sat and talked for almost 2 and a half hours.....and it was pretty super cool. She is an incredible person and a great "coffee date." It's fun meeting new friends and getting to share and listen to new hearts and be honest and real with people - even if you have never met them before. Cheers for cool people that are new friends!

I'm sure there is more cool and interesting stuff to report on, because let's be honest, my life is always "interesting" - but that is all I'm writing for now. I must read and sleep.

The end. :-)