Plastic People- and No Folks, I Don't Mean People from Hollywood

We made it to the Body Worlds exhibit today- WOW!  Chiquita went a couple of months ago and came home completely flabbergasted, she talked about it for days; now I know why.  It truly is amazing how complex our bodies are- I'm going to sound like a big science geek but bear with me- I think It's even more amazing when you learn how DNA is responsible for all the intricacies.  I am a biology major at BYU and have taken all kinds of molecular biology, genetics, and cell biology classes and really enjoy understanding human development from those perspectives.  Though I have never taken a physiology or anatomy course, I really did enjoy and appreciate the exhibit as I'm sure everyone who's seen it did.

After the exhibit they have some plasticized organs and cross sections of torsos and limbs you can pick up and touch.

Here is a kidney...

... a cross section of an arm- including the bone, muscle, and fat (as if you really wanted to know).  

A liver- it was way bigger than I thought it would be.  They had a heart but some bum broke a vessel off and it was in the back getting glued back together.

There are arguments that plasticizing people and putting them on display in artistic poses is a kind of desecration of the human body.  I kind of don't see it that way, but if a member of my family suddenly decided to donate their body I'd probably think otherwise.   Before going through the exhibit I thought it might be kind of morbid or creepy- sometimes it was.  For the most part, however, it was really fascinating and truly unlike anything else I've ever seen. It was definitely worth the drive, money, and long lines- check it out because It'll be gone soon.

Yo Me Gusta El Pollo Loco

We drove up to Salt Lake yesterday with plans to go see Body Worlds with our cousin Ben who's visiting from Michigan.  We got there around 2:00 and the lines were so crazy that we wouldn't be able to get in until 5:30- we scratched that idea and went over to the Gateway instead (we are going back up Monday hopefully the lines won't be as long).  

Ben and The Veg waited ever so patiently while La Princessa bought a skirt at Banana Republic- there were tons of people everywhere taking advantage of the sales.

Unfortunately, La Princessa and The Veg didn't have winter coats and it was so COLD!  We left shortly after retrieving the skirt.  Next comes the highlight of this story: our trip to the Lehi El Pollo Loco.

Before we even left Provo, I insisted that we stop at El Pollo Loco on the way home- to my knowledge it's the only one in Utah.  The Veg is such a good sport- she ordered macaroni and cheese and rice; I think she's just relieved that I'm not crazily obsessed with KFC (she banned us from it for animal rights reasons that you'd have to ask her about).

                       

I love El Pollo Loco... I think La Princessa even enjoyed it.

I'm going to do whatever I can to convince everyone to stop there tomorrow before or after Body Worlds; knowing La Princessa, we'll probably end up at McDonald's so she can get her chicken nuggets.  If they ever open one in Provo or Orem, you'd most likely catch me there stuffing my face.

Not entirely unlike this...

Perco-What?

I'm writing this update with one hand- you know the "chicken peck" method, or the "seek and destroy" method where you hunt for each letter and then use your index finger?  It's been a long couple of days recovering from my surgery; you'd think it was some major ordeal but no, it was a dinky little thing the size of a marble they took out.  As a result, I get to wear this chic, beige wrapping for a few weeks.  You can imagine the fun I have wrapping it in plastic bags to keep it dry while in the shower.I've been flying high as a kite, tripping the light fantastic, whatever you wanna' call it all weekend- I'm not so great with pain and have been medicated with Percocet (which work quite well).  I want to give a "shout out" to my awesome family who's nursed me, retrieved things for me, given me rides, done my hair, and put up with my crankiness.  I love them a lot and don't know what I'd do without them.

Soap Operas and Surgery...

I really couldn't think of a good name for my blog, so giving it a soap opera-inspired name seemed the best thing to do.  I love how you can miss a month's worth of episodes and then catch up in one day.  Currently, As The World Turns and  The Young and the Restless hold my fancy.  

I'm at work or school all day so luckily Chiquita records them and I occasionally catch an episode or two when she's watching them at night.  Truth be told I'm usually on my way out to get some homework done but can't draw myself away from the latest story.

This morning I go under the knife.  I've had problems with my left wrist for years; it will get so sore and stiff that I can barely move or bend it, and then stay that way for weeks.  After years of dealing with my wrist "episodes" I finally went to the Dr. to see what was going on and it turns out I've got a ganglion cyst in my wrist.  It's basically an ugly little bubble that fills up with fluid and irritates all the muscles and nerves around it; surgery is the best way to get rid of the problem for good.  Later this morning I'll be laying around on the couch

stoned from the anesthesia, but at least I'll be able to watch my soaps.