It just doesn't feel right to say that. The seasonal cues that put me in a pumpkin-carving, costume-wearing mood don't exist here. Check out the current forecast for Portsmouth:
As time goes on and fall progresses in Michigan, I feel more and more like I'm stuck in a summer-weather time capsule. It's hard to believe that life is continuing as usual back home. At this rate I really can't imagine how strange Thanksgiving and Christmas will feel.
So this morning, I was mopping in the kitchen when I felt a tickle on my hand. Usually this feeling is just an ant, or sometimes cat hair (my cats shed like crazy in the constant heat). But no. It was this guy:
My phone is in the picture so you can see how big it was. It took several minutes of screaming, yelling, hopping and hyperventilating before I calmed down. I'm really not good with bugs.
As you can see, I accidentally decapitated the centipede while trying to trap it under that cup for Chris to take care of when he got home. I moved the cup for that picture, then put it back on because that is a terribly disgusting bug and I wanted something between it and me besides the open air, even if it was dead.
And it's a good thing I put the cup back on because a few minutes later, I went back into the kitchen, and it was walking in circles around the perimeter of the cup. That's right. It was clearly dead, not moving even when prodded, then a few minutes later began walking around without half its head, oozing centipede juice everywhere.
ZOMBIE CENTIPEDE!
I swear I'm not making this up. I had to move the cup around for it to walk in this video because I guess being a zombie centipede is tiring and makes you only want to walk when you might die again.
When Chris got home he said I must have scalped the centipede and left its brain intact. But I don't know, that's a large chunk of head attached to those feelers. Plus, it's way scarier if it's a zombie.
In other October 31st related news, here is Chris dancing to Thriller. (There is actually music playing and not just a girl counting beats, you can hear more of the song near the end.)
He's dancing in a "flash mob" with his fraternity to promote ticket sales for their Halloween party, which was about a week ago. Technically it was my first frat party... I'm 25 and in the Caribbean. Haha!
And in case you are wondering, the fraternity is Phi Delta Epsilon. Chris joined because it's a branch of a real medical fraternity back in the States, and it's basically the only real club, "real" meaning officially existing off this island. Plus, as in any profession these days, getting where you want to go is all about networking.
Chris had his second or third test today, depending on how you look at it. A test at Ross is called a "mini," and this was Mini II, although Mini I was split into two parts, so figure that one out. The way the grading works, you have three minis, a few histology/anatomy lab practicals, and a final exam.... that's all you get graded on the whole semester. In later semesters there are also patient exams that are on a pass/fail basis (which is what I was doing as a standardized patient). Mini Ia and Ib were on fundamental background knowledge, Mini II was on musculoskeletal/blood/lymph, and Mini III will be on cardio and respiratory. Each knowledge category is called a block, and your grades on the minis and the final all go toward calculating your grade on a particular block. You have to pass every block in order to pass the whole semester.
I might be explaining that wrong. It's a really complicated and confusing grading system, which I would probably think is a good idea if I actually understood how it worked.
Anyway, point being that Chris is a little grumpy because he thought the test was poorly written and the questions ignored huge concepts and focused on little details that were skimmed over in the lectures. He really wanted to get at least a 90% on this test but thinks he scored in the 70 or 80% range. For the record, an 80 is an A, and a 70 is a B, so it's all well and good, at least for me. I just want him to pass!
After relaxing this afternoon, we're going out for dinner. Thursday is Dominica's independence day, so campus will be closed, no classes, hooray! Wednesday is also a half day. So this will be an easier week for Chris. Should be good for what's left of his sanity.
That's about all for now. Apologies if you were looking forward to pictures of my seven waterfalls hike. The trip got canceled at the last minute. You'll have to wait another semester, just like me.
