Moving On

Lots of fun was happening in Philly today! Nick and his girlfriend Kristina arrived at our apartment Friday night around 5ish. Since D was working, we didn't do much that night, but Saturday was the day to go out and about...and we did.

Our first stop was Reading Terminal Market where any and every food type is available for the picking. Fresh food, prepared food, candies, chocolates, coffee, ice cream, smoothies, and my personal favorite....AMISH PRETZELS!! I'm afraid that long after we leave Philly, Dave will grudgingly remember our numerous trips to the Market for "amish pretzels." Thanks, honey, you're the best! Once we got there and established a meeting place, we all went our separate ways to search out our preferred choices. After spending a good hour there, we meandered our way up to Temple Med School to show our guests where D spends his days...at least for a few more weeks. On our way back to the highway (which is no easy task!) we stopped by the famous Philadelphia Pretzel Factory to buy dad some childhood memories...and some of their pretzels. Perhaps the taste of them will lure him down here sometime in the near future (wink, wink).

We rounded out our night with dinner in Delaware. The First State is only 2o minutes from our apartment, so we traveled south for a leisurely dinner at the Olive Garden courtesy of Dad (thank you, Dad!).

This is my first attempt at blogging, so please, bear with me! David has had a "show Jess how to blog" memo on his to-do list for weeks...so now he can cross it off!

The highlight of my last week was the hatching of our eggs. What a highly recommended experience! It's amazing to witness a life (or ten) being born. And realizing just how fragile it-life-can be. This is where the story of Sampson picks up:

One little guy was born still attached to his eggshell by his cord. He was my favorite because he was the first one to pop his beak out on Monday, but while that was so cute, it was very bad because chicks need their beaks to peck out of the egg. By Tuesday, 7 had hatched but he was still in his egg. I started helping him peel back the shell, but the membrane was still holding firm. It was soo pitiful because while the egg was half peeled off, the membrane looked very unbecoming due to dried blood spots and gooey stuff. It didn't look good for him. However, every time I opened the incubator to get a newly hatched chick out or just to check on him, he would chirp and struggle around inside the egg like he was really, really trying to get out. So finally by Wednesday, I felt so bad for the little guy that I continued to nervously peel back some of the membrane too, mind you I didn't want a flood of blood or other such liquid to come out. I helped him to the point where I could see his little shoulder and he kept struggling and stuggling. By Wednesday afternoon I finally felt brave enough (because I thought it was do or die for the little guy) to hatch him. I peeled back both the shell and the membrane and he popped right out! He looked so relieved to be free of those cramped quarters. However, he was still attached to the egg shell. I left him in the incubator overnight, hoping to dry out the cord. Next day, he was still attached, but the cord was considerably dried up. I held him and the eggshell while a parent cut the cord. I was sooooo happy for him and was glad I didn't listen to the farm people (I called them) who said to leave him alone. He was definitely the runt of the litter and a bit behind because he couldn't get a good first go at walking because he was still attached. I gave him chick therapy and he caught on very quickly! By the end, he was busting his way into the chick pile they loved to form and he'd nestle himself wherever he wanted! Too cute. Mom named him Sampson, like the strong man in the Bible, and the name suited him-perfectly! Needless to say, he added a lot to the hatching experience! Oh yes, 10 ended up hatching in all!

IMG_0488 Originally uploaded by Med Student Dave.

For Easter, we decided to surprise everyone and head to CT!! Well, because of plans that mom was making we had to let them all know about a week before we left that we were coming. Jess took Good Friday off and I skipped a few classes. We got an early start and got there by 8am on Friday. Well, we had a great time with both families. Here is a pic of where we went for lunch on Saturday -- Capitol Lunch in New Britain. It was MMMMM... good! The best hotdogs in the world. Then we went to McD's for a little ice cream :) Overall it was a relaxing little vacation. I had make-up homework to keep up with the classes that I missed, and I kept up with my schedule of spending a few hours each day studying for Step 1 of the Boards.

The famous LO/VE sculpture in LOVE Park in the center of Philadelphia.