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A continuation of my journal "Almost Angelic" |
| Welcome to my life! The ups and downs, ins and outs, tos and fros. Its a crazy ride...hang on! |
Whoa. An entry! I nearly forgot I had this account.  Some former Sr. Mod I am.  But this does reaffirm my decision to retire. I very obviously would not have been able to keep up with my duties on this site. *sigh* And while this site is still like an old friend, and I dearly loved my time here, I feel like I barely qualify for membership anymore. I suppose thats just life. We all move on, get busy, get distracted, etc. I have been incredibly busy with school. And that not only includes my time in class, studying, interacting with patients, and jumping through hoops, but also my time with the OB/GYN Interest Group, the Internal Medicine Interest Group, Chrisitian Medical Ministries of AL, and Student Senate(drama!). Talk about overextened.  So far this year I have completed two more courses. One was a whirlwind "Intro to Organs" and the other was "Cardiovascular System". So ask me something about the heart. I dare ya. I may or may not know how to treat it but I bet you I know what it is. We learned all about heart failure, valvular disease, big loose hearts, and big tight hearts, weird baby hearts, hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, atherosclerosis, and what to do when someone walks into an ER and their EKG is all wonky. (I'll admit, I can only kinda read EKGs, but as the course directors kept saying, "this is not an EKG reading course.") The last two modules have convinced me that I do not want to be a cardiologist nor do I want to do radiology or pathology. I'm slowly but surely narrowing the field. Right now we're onto pulmonology (lungs) and I'm liking it so far. Its not the most exciting thing ever, but I do like the classes. In other, much more exciting news, my summer plans are SO COOL. All of my friends are jealous.  We have 6 weeks of break. At the moment I'm angling for an internship with one of the state's advocacy groups. We're required to do a doctoral project and so I've decided to do an extension of my master's research. But I also would like to produce something useful or publishable. So I'm trying to hook up with an advocacy group that will support and direct (and eventually use) my research. Hopefully that will be finalized in the next month. So during my 6 weeks of break I would use part of the time to do research. But also in the first 2 1/2 weeks I will be getting laser eye surgery to finally be contact/glasses free!  And just in time too. My final followup visit will be the morning I leave for Italy. Yes ITALY. I'm flying to Rome and will be there for a few days on my own before the rest of my family flies in. We'll all meet up and take the train to Florence where we've rented an apartment for a week. Of the 7 days we have there we'll spend one day in Pisa, one day in the countryside(vineyards!!!!), and 5 days wallowing in Renaisance arts. {e:drool}. After that my brother and sister-in-law have to return to the US, my parents will head to Rome, and I will head to Venice. After a few days in Venice I'm then going to Rome/Vatican City and will celebrate my birthday Italian style.  Once I return to the US I have my friend Sharon's wedding which will be fancy-schmancy, and then back to the research for a week before I take some (pseudo-required) summer classes. And then it will be the end of August and I will be a SECOND YEAR med student and studying Neurology for 11 weeks. Drop me a line and let me know how you're doing! GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| How do things like this happen to me? Seriously, I'm a walking social accident. Let me rewind: Yesterday a bunch of us decided to go to a movie as we hadn't seen each other for several days. Given that I see these people daily I was going through serious withdrawl. So I show up at the theater at 7pm, the same time as James. We wait and chat and wait and chat. Finally I call the others who were intending on coming to the movie. Well Anjali got stuck in traffic and has an out of town guest who doesn't want to come. Henry doesn't want to go and Sharon is at dinner with her parents. Everyone else is MIA. So its just me and James. We decide to go to the movie anyway and he, very sweetly, paid for my ticket. The movie was great, I would highly recommend "I Am Legend". It makes me wish we could have learned virology from Will Smith instead of the plethora of lecturers last week. After the movie ended we chatted about it for awhile, through the credits and beyond. So James recommended we grab a bite to eat. At this point we took our separate cars to the restaurant and on the way I called Anjali in an attempt to get someone else's opinion on what fast felt like it was turning into a date. At the restaurant James again paid. Throw in another date flag. We sat down and he brought up the pink elephant: this had all the markings of a date. So yes, I was asked on a date after I was already on the date.  Like I said, I'm a walking social accident. Well the now official date ended well, we talked for a few hours until the restaurant closed. Still, what a backwards way to run my social life. At least I broke my dry streak, no matter how accidentally. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I survived! As of 9:15 this morning I completed my first semester of Medical School. *takes a deep breathe* I survived! In the last six months I have increased from no coffee to 6 cups a day, I'm currently on 11 medications, I have cried 4 times (at least), I gained 8 pounds(ugh), learned tons, and made some of the best friends in the world. As miserable as it was I am so very very glad I'm here. But for now I am putting away my books until after Christmas and I'm going to read a novel, watch some movies, and SLEEP. As for after Christmas, well I'm going to have to get mentally prepared to slice into a dead human being (yikes) and start actually touching my patients(I finally get to use my stethoscope!!!!!!!) GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Two entries in one week? No, I'm not failing out of Med School. Tonight was our Halloween Party(its actually still going on) and I need some time to unwind. It is, of course, a costume party. And I am now of the opinion that we should have costumed events on a regular basis, because tonight was freaking HILARIOUS. I was a 1950s teeny bopper, complete with poodle skirt, high ponytail, sweater set, and super bright red lipstick.  Here is an assortment of the other costumes at the party:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Jackie, JFK, and Marilyn Monroe A Broken Chromosome Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee Richard Simmons The fattest security gaurd ever(played by the tiniest girl ever), complete with butt crack. Mr. Mom Bill Clinton & Monical Lewinsky The Naked Cowboy Mario & Luigi Ghostbusters So Med students know how to party. But in the way that's doesn't exclude people. You don't have to be a slut or a drunk to participate. YOu just have to be willing to laugh at yourself. At the moment my thoat is sore and my ears are ringing from the laughter. And I have to say how impressed I am at how many lyrics I remember from "Baby Got Back". I made my escape during the switch to sappy country music. Alas, I have to be at class early, and lead a discussion on the pathology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of Type I Diabetes. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
That date is when I will have a modicum(2 weeks) of free time. Until then: I'm in medical school. If you hear from me TOO often you'll know something is wrong. For now all but 2-3 hours a week is unscheduled/unfilled. Unfortunatly WDC does not make it to the top of my list all that often. But I love you guys, and miss you very much. I still check my e-mail regularly so send me notes to tell me how you're doing! GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I did a slightly manipulative thing today. I've been fighting with student accounting for two months trying to get my money. I am the Murphey's Law of Financial Aide. Everything that could go wrong DID go wrong. So I stormed the office Tuesday morning, and would not leave until I spoke to one of their top level accountants and made him tell me where my money was, what would be happening to it next, and when the check would be received. I also insisted that my check be hand delivered to me rather than mailed. Today I received a call saying they had my money. So I headed over to Student Accounting, again, but this time I took my white coat. It wasn't completely crazy to be wearing it, we'd just had a patient presentation and are required to dress professionally for those ocassions. So as I'm walking the single block to SA I noticed something odd. People were staring at me, or more accurately, my coat. As I walked into the building people held open doors for me, smiled at me, and let me go first. It was all very odd. The strangest moment was when one of the staff asked me "Are you a doctor?" He then caught sight of my name badge and interrupted himself saying, "Wait! Are you a Medical Student?!?!" He apparently is more impressed by the MS than the docs. Then when I reached Student Accounting they fell over themselves to help me out, and a good chunk of the staff came and apologized to me for the slowness in getting me my money. *raises eyebrow* I safely got back to Volker Hall and my peers and took off the "magic coat". It is once again safely stowed in my locker where its brightness will not blind me. I have to say that was an extremely surreal experience, one I didn't particularly enjoy. But you have to admit it was effective. I love medical school. I also hate it. This is the first time in more than two weeks I've signed on to WDC. I suppose my decision to step down from Sr Mod was the right one. *sigh* I still miss it though. I love learning all these cool thing. Like exactly how an iron deficiency affects you metabolically. Even before you have anemia and can't carry oxygen in your red blood cells you have decreased ability to produce ATP(energy) in the electron transport chain. This all became very very relevant when I was diagnosed as having low iron levels, and close to being anemic. This is what happens when it takes you 6 weeks to consume a week's worth of meat. The freezer is both a blessing and a curse. Thank goodness for iron supplements. Pills are much easier to manage than meals. We're focused on Biochem and Genetics right now. I know people get frustrated with their docs sometimes, but you should be impressed with the depth and bredth of knowledge they command. I seriously don't know where I'm supposed to stuff all these facts. For an idea of what I'm expected to know within the first 8 weeks of school check this out: http://expasy.org/cgi-bin/show_thumbnails.pl That represents all the input and output biochemical pathways in the body. From swallowing carbs/fats/protiens all the way to making DNA, proteins, energy, a urine. And all the things inbetween. Then there is the genetics. Here's a hint: anything with Thanos in it, is bad new, given that he is the Greek god of death. Put genetics and biochemistry together and what do you get? Disease! Ahh...I've run out of steam on this entry. So much has happened, but I haven't the time to expand. Suffice to say I'm busier than I ever conceived possible. It's like a University of Chicago finals week EVERY week. But I love my peers, I generally enjoy the classes, and sometimes I even learn something useful. I do miss free time though! And I miss you guys. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
I'm trying to quell the mild feeling of panic. Most of this is related to Biochemistry and a professor who mentally bitch slapped 176 people today. He assigned us "light reading"...200+ pages, just for his lectures! Then he doesn't post his material ahead of time and so we're stuck trying to frantically take notes on molecules with names as long as the Mississippi River and structures as big as Texas.  Then I start thinking that all this crap isn't just important for the test in a week and a half, but they might also want me to know it, really know it, for Step I of the Boards in less than two years. The panic begins to rise.And then, for a completely seperate reason, my Genetics book is making me panic. I'm pretty darn good at genetics, and most of this stuff is review for me. But the thing about genetics is that its so immediately applicable. So when you start reading about sticky chromosomes and how if you're 35+ years old you're damning all your children to horrible genetic disorders, you start to freak out that you're 25 and won't have time/won't be ready for kids for about 8-9 years. And then you start reading about familal inheritance patterns of cancers and realize, oh shit, one grandmother died of ovarian cancer, one died of pancreatic cancer(and previously had colon cancer), one grandfather died of stomach cancer, and my father had prostate cancer at a "young" age(which shows up in men with mutate BRCA genes- the breast/ovarian cancer genes). So now I think I need a genetic screening to check my risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Not to mention that on top of needing to get a prophilactic hysterectomy(and therefore I should have kids NOW, while I still can), I'm going to have gout for certain, likely be hypertensive, hypothyroidic, CV disease, and slight risk for Type II Diabetes. In other words, I'm completely screwed. Now you see why I don't want to be a geneticist. And I think it may be necessary for me to do a preemeptive strike on the whole baby thing. Perhaps over Christmas I'll volunteer to take care of someone's several month old for a few hours. That should cure any maternal instincts for awhile. Or heck, I'll just do rounds with my mom at the hospital when she goes on new baby visits. I think a mild sense of panic is good- it keeps me on my toes, but I need to make sure it stay MILD. And I'm also very thankful that all this biochem and genetics nonsense will be over in 7 weeks. Ahhhh. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
This afternoon I spent a good amount of time on the phone with my brother and dad. So I was a bit suprised to have my brother call me again about an hour after we'd finished talking. He called to inform me that his dog, Phantom, had died.  Phantom was only 7 years old, and in quite good health. My guess is he died from heat exhaustion. The temperature came down, but the humidity came up, which makes heat exhaustion more likely. He had plenty of water and shade, so he should have been okay...  So his death is completely unexpected. Josh has had him since he graduated college- Phantom was his graduation present to himself. JOsh and Phantom have been companions, buddies, and pals. Phantom was an incredibly sweet, if rather mischievious, dog. One Thanksgiving he managed to get on top of the stove(cool) and eat 3/4 of a painstakingly homemade apple pie. I was furious with that mutt, and that incident has been used to put a guilt trip on Josh for many, many years. But he was also so sweet. No matter how long it had been since I'd seen him Phantom always remembered me. His favorite way to show affection was to lean on you. And by lean I mean press against your legs until you fall over, and then climb into your lap(all 50 pounds). I last saw him about a month ago. I woke up earlier than I intended so after "taking care of business" I got back into bed/on the couch. Unfortunatly I did not close the door. Well a while later I woke up again and opened my eyes...to a big black nose inches away from my own. I shrieked like a silly little girl, but Phantom was entirely too pleased with himself. I just called Josh and he's doing better. They took Phantom to a vet and were currently celebrating his wake with food and alcohol. Appropriate given Phantom's voracious appetite. I think I'm going to write down some of my memorable stories of Phantom for Josh. What do you think? Helpful? Hurtful? GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I just finished my first course in medical school and I got an A! Now that is something to brag about. Who feels so smart? Of course it is a three week fluff class with no science involved, and our grades are only marked as Pass/Fail... but still! I got an A! As they say, if you got it, flaunt it! And I want to flaunt it while its still true. And Sunday is our white coat ceremony! I picked up my coat and tried it on, with my stethoscope of course. It was a bit odd seeing myself in it...almost like I was a real doctor. You know something is really real once they've embroidered you name on an article of clothing. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I live at school, almost literally. I'm there, on average, about 11 hours a day. Its not because I need the time to study, or I'm having SO much fun, its because its so blasted hot. Today is the 9th day of 100+ degree weather (40+ for the metricly minded). This is the longest running stretch of 100+ days ever, and is likely to go for another three days. We've had record highs for 7 days in a row. Today was the hottest of all, at 105. Oh, and did I mention that we're 20 inches behind on rain and that the atmosphere is so dry at the moment that a misthrown cigarette could ignite the whole state? With the heat so bad I have been forced into driving the mile to campus. The air quality is so bad and there is no way for me to haul 20 pounds of books in 100+ degree weather and not have an asthma attack. Once it drops back to highs of 90 it should be okay(uncomfortable, but okay). I get up to go running at 5am, an hour before sunrise, because thats the only time its cool enough to run. But even then its already 80 degrees! Argh. This wouldn't be so bad if I could keep my apartment cool enough to sleep at night. Currently its 86 in my apartment, two hours after the sun went down. Thats with the AC on high all day, a ceiling fan AND a box fan running as well. I could sleep if it would only drop to 80. Since the heat wave started I have been going to bed with ice packs on my head. I then wake up at least once during the night, sweating, and replace my old ice pack with a new one. My mom says I'm practicing for menapause. I've actually stopped cooking, so I don't heat the apartment more than I have to, and I have seriously considered sleeping at school Sad, but true. There are couches...At the moment I'm kinda hoping for a nice tropical storm, or maybe a baby hurricane. I know, you probably think I'm terrible. But hey, I live in the sub-tropics. We're SUPPOSED to get that crap. At the moment we're running 15 degrees above normal and the only thing that would break this heat would be some serious storms. So there you have it. I filled an entire entry with the weather. How...mundane. But geez, that's all you can think of when its this hot! Send me cool thoughts, and thunderstorms, and ice packs, and big ass air conditioners. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Let me summarize two weeks worth of classes for you: Everybody eventually dies, therefore you will always be a failure as a physician/healer. Exercise, eat well, and sleep enough. That's it. Great way to start Medical School, eh? So far they haven't taught me anything I didn't know. There have been some high points though. One class, Into to Clinical Medicine, is all about learning to do a history and physical. We use a combo of group exercises, standardized patients(actors), and real live patients in the hospitals. The first week we simply did an interview. My patient was, interestingly, HIV+, but was more concerned with their Diabetes. Oddly enough, they were right. Their HIV had not progressed in a decade, even without drugs. This last week we were simply supposed to do a role-playing exercise(boring!), but we finished early. So my preceptor, a cardiologist, took us to the cardiology wing where we met a patient with a very pronounced arrythmia. Basically instead of the normal lub-dub of a healthy heart the heartbeat had a SHH-shh sound. A lot of arrythmias are not that easy to discern, but this one hit you over the head. And the patients were great. I was left with a huge smile, and they've made a permanent mark on my life. All in all, a very cool experience, and a great reminder about why I wanted to go to medical school and be a doctor. A certain professor, who shall remain unnamed to protect my grade, got laughed out of the room today. We were discussing lying to patients(a HUGE no-no). In the required preperatory reading for today we read a chapter from a book published by said professor. The chapter sited an example of a failure to notify a now-terminal lung cancer patient of his cancer three months prior when an X-ray first showed the tumor, due to a system error (ie rotations changed and his intern moved on). A student, in answer to one of the professor's questions, cites a later part of the case study. The professor then asks, "How did you know that?" To which the student replies, "It was in your book." Now imagine 176 students laughing long and loud AT you. Given the expense of that book and the other book of his he made us purchase, I have no qualms about mocking him a bit. As a side note this professor has an annoying habit of calling the Audience Response System (ARS) the "ars", which sounds like "arse". We call them the clickers. Easier, no?My classmates are awesome. Really. Not that I really know all 176 of them, though I have met most of them. And that's not to say that I will be best friends with everyone. Its just that these really are fun, bright, interesting, hardworking, caring, thoughtful people. Honestly its an honor to be among them. In a weird twist of logic its very validating to be a member of such a strong and wonderful group of people. Even though I may not feel I deserve to belong, someone does think I belong. And so maybe some of these wonderful qualites really are present in me, and I wasn't just fooling myself when I applied. But I've already made some great friends that could really last a lifetime. And the fact that the class is only 42% female isn't the worst thing to happen. The heat is truly unbearable. So unbearable that I no longer cook food in my apartment, but eat only raw things(ie vegetables, fruit, granola, and sandwiches). Its been over 100 for the last four days, and likely won't stop for another 5 days. *sigh* Today we set a record high. Yippee, skippy. My apartment hasn't dropped below 82 degrees in the last week, despite constant AC, and for the past three days has been around 86 degrees. Hence I have been spending innordinate amounts of time at school where I wear a fleece hoodie because the AC is so strong. Ahhhh, irony. But I think it may be a bad sign that I've already eaten all 3 meals at school once, and I have only been attending for two weeks. So far I love Medical School. And I also hate it. But I figured that is about right, because its supposed to be hard. That's how I know its worth it. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| It is my second day of classes as a medical student. The amount of free time I have left to me is limited to a few days, possibly only hours before I will have no time to call my own. I relish the thought. At the moment I feel like I've been in Advanced Orientation rather than actually in any sort of valid class that imparts knowledge or wisdom. We've had a few lectures on ethics but really they've been teaching us how to get around the mishigas that is their idea of homework and scheduling. I have at least seven e-mails claiming to be the "FINAL" schedule for our Introduction to Clinical Medicine Class. This is the class that has ocassional lectures but really is focused on Small Group Meetings with a physician preceptor. We learn interviewing skills as well as get comfortable talking to and touching real live patients. My assignment has changed at twice now. *sigh* This week the goal is to do a round table interview with a real patient but eventually we will be rounding on Wards with our preceptor and more advanced med students. My current assignment is to the VA hospital. I'm reserving judgement before I decide if this is a good thing or not. I completed my first homework assignment today, other than reading. I now am the proud composer of a Personal Mission Statement. Be impressed. Of course being the kind of person I am I've kept a running mission statement in my head for years now. We were required to write about our values, beliefs, and goals. It was interesting to put it into words and I went ahead and posted it today knowing that there is a real possibility I will update it later, as its not due for two weeks. But for now this is my Personal Mission Statement:I believe in God. As I learn and grow my faith has been, and will continue to be, my cornerstone and my reality check. I do not want to become a person blinded by faith but rather enlightened by it. I believe that people and relationships are more valuable than money, things, or accolades. Above all I want to have a positive impact on all the people I come into contact with, my patients, family, friends, coworkers, peers, and even the bag boy at the grocery store. I want to strive to be my best in the many roles life has for me, but not to do so at the expense of personal relationships. I believe that hard work, care, and integrity will serve me best in creating meaningful relationships and in succeeding academically and professionally. I want to truly earn the respect and trust of those around me. I want to be remembered as someone of worth. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Orientation: dull Med School: so freaking cool People: friendly and fun Days: long and exhausting(already!) Sleep: imminent  GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I AM a medical student. I no longer yearn to be one. I am no longer waiting to be one. I AM a medical student. Its the realization of a dream, and it feels damn good. There are 176 of us and I must have met about half of them. I've spent the day running around getting key cards, trying to break into my locker, eating a strange sandwhich, viewing practically mutilated human remains, paying out large sums of money, proving that I exist, meeting core group members, telling my academic history a dozen times, and trying on white coats. Whew! I'm tired! And tonight I have to look pretty and professional for a portrait so I can mix and mingle at a reception. The things they make us do... I AM a medical student! Its so great. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I start MEDICAL SCHOOL in 11 hours! ELEVEN HOURS!!!!!! Holy shit I don't think I'll ever get to sleep with this level of excitement. MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!! I don't think brides even get this excited on their wedding day! GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
I'm a popular girl apparently. My time is becoming quite tight. Tonight I'm cooking dinner for friends. Tomorrow I'm going to Tuscaloosa(an hour away) to visit that campus, meet up with a friend, and an old mentor. Thursday I'm having lunch with a friend in Montgomery. Friday I'm going to a rehersal dinner in GA and Saturday I'm going to that wedding. Next Monday I have a "dinner date" with another friend. And somewhere in there I need to fit a lunch or dinner with an old mentor here in B'ham. Only 9 days until I start Medical School!  Don't forget in all that time I need to get my apartment cleaned, read Harry Potter DH, do laundry, and lose 2 more pounds. Blah. Too much stuff to do!Today I'm off to get my thesis printed, get my oil changed, buy stamps so I can mail my loan promissory note($40 K !!!!), clean my apartment, make dinner, and organize all these liasons. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I start Medical School in two weeks. TWO WEEKS! I've been spending my time reorganizing my apartment and my life in anticipation of having zero time for the forseeable future. I also spend my time reading novels, watching movies, and sleeping. Not very lofty goals, but an enjoyable way to spend your time. Its amazing how you can fill your days with nothing. Today I was highly accomplished: I ran, showered, read a novel, tidied my office, organized a shelf in my bathroom, and ran the dishwasher. Aren't you impressed with me? I might take out the trash later. I'm getting pretty nervous about starting school. Not nervous in a bad way, just antsy. Will I manage to keep up? Will people like me? Will I manage to keep up? Who will my friends be? Will I manage to keep up? Like I said, antsy. But in the end I'm really, really, really excited. And nervous. And happy. And terrified. I think its because this is such a HUGE commitment. The next four years are dictated. By the time I graduate I'll be almost 29. Then I'll have a 3-5 year residency. I'll be 32+ before I can reasonably hope to start a family. This is something I decided years ago, but its still intimidating to stare in the face of your decisions. Foolish, no? I think I'm feeling my age. I found out two of my classmates are former school fellows of mine...from high school. Except that one of them I didn't know because he was so young and the other I knew only because his brother was in my year. I have such huge hopes pinned on this next stage of my life. I just hope I don't screw it up.GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I have no good reason for not updating other than I haven't felt like it. I still need to recap Scotland and Paris. I have lots of feelings regarding Med School starting in 2.5 weeks. I have feelings regarding my 25th birthday on Monday. I have short hair. I have rearranged my apartment multiple times. I have watched movies galore. I met a new, weird boy. I bought text books. I've read many novels. I gorged on my favorite summer snack: watermelon. I've filled my days with nothing, but have managed to stay busy. You would think now would be the perfect time to journal. Apparently not. Sorry guys. No real update for you, but this gives you a hint of my life. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I have a new buddy. He is blue and shiny and likes it when I stroke his buttons. He is my iPod Shuffle, my running buddy. I'm so freaking excited! GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| London is an awesome and ridiculously expensive city. It has great parks where I would sit and eat my lunch or read a book. TONS of shopping, both open air and indoors. And more Indian restaraunts in a single block than the entire city of Atlanta. I went to so many museums. Art. History. Science. I saw places I've only heard of before. Tower of London. Buckingham Palace. Trafalgar Square. Big Ben. Westminster Abbey. I was a tourist, but I also got to "live" there, which was so much fun. In the British Museum I saw the best collection of Egyptian artifacts outside of Egypt. At the British Library I saw manuscripts from Shakespeare and Handel, as well as several copies of the Magna Carta, and tons of religious texts in a special exhibit. At the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and the Tate Britain I saw thousands of pieces of art. I learned a new appreciation for the pre-Raphelite movement, and had my fill of Medieval, Renaissance, and Elizabethan art. I also saw a special exhibit of sculptures made entirely of cast metal penises, breasts, vaginas, rubber gloves, and rubber chickens. I kid you not. The Impressionists were, for some reason, hiding away. Which may have fueled my decision to buy a ticket to Paris. The theater was great. You haven't seen Othello until you've stood for all three hours in the courtyard of the Globe Theatre. I got a horrible sunburn (in London!) but it was worth every second to see that Iago and Othello. Fantastic. I also got a 1/2 price ticket in Leicester (LESS-ter) Square for Wicked the untold tale of the Wicked Witch of the West. So, so , so good. Beautifully acted, sung, and staged. *Sigh* The people were great. I met up with an old friend from college for dinner. And then I had several interesting roommates. Melissa the Canadian had been there for several weeks already, and proved to be a fantastic person to go sightseeing with. Silke the German was also a great sightseeing buddy, plus she knew all the best spots in the parks. There were a plethora of Australians, who in general are a very friendly but slightly weird bunch. I met another girl from Alabama, who somehow in the space of three days picked up an incredibly wealthy Italian banker who bought her $200 meals and drove her around town in a fancy red sports car. I had Anthony, my crazy Jamaican fiancee. Or so he says. I met him in Convent Garden when I was trying to get out of the rain, and then got trapped into a conversation with him. He claimed to love me. Wanted to come back with me and live with me. I told him about my boyfriend at home. My very large, very possessive, former wrestler who got kicked out of the league for anger management boyfriend. Hostelling is so the way to go when travelling. You meet all kinds of cool and strange people. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
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