Tonight I opened my application for PA schools on CASPA. What is going on?!?
I don't even know how this is happening. It's so unlike me. I've been planning on medical school for so long and now I just opened a PA application file like it's nothing. Am I really just saying "YAY PA school!!!" this easily? I don't know if I like that or not.
Part of me feels like PA is such a smarter, more practical move. Practice faster, more flexibility, less stress, fine pay (especially if I'm a surgical PA), move around specialties, fewer worries about malpractice and such.
But another part of me feels defeated, or like I'm quitting. But when I look at how hard I've been working and what it has been yielding I don't know if I can handle another 4 years of that. Granted the last 2 years of med school aren't class, but you know what I mean. And then there is the miserable, miserable thing called residency. And what is it all for?
Almost all of the clinical experience I've had has been with PAs, so isn't that what I've been enjoying? And every doctor I've worked with has been miserable and told me DO NOT GO INTO MEDICINE!!! Whereas, every PA I've met loves their work and is happy and friendly.
I worry that as a PA I will never get to see any interesting cases, but is that true? I understand that the majority of the cases I personally handle will be routine work in that specialty, but that doesn't mean I won't be exposed to the interesting cases. (double negative?) It's not like the doctor would be like "Ummm, hell no you can't even look at this patients chart you're just a PA." I'm suppose to assist him even with the interesting patients. My ability to learn isn't limited because I'm a PA. I can become just as intelligent and well informed as a physician with time, just people won't respect my judgments as much. But this is for me, not others.
Even if I did go PA that doesn't mean I can't go to medical school later. If anything, this is a good way to really get into the health care field and see if medical school is really worth it. Also if I got tired of the whole medicine thing I would probably be a decent MHA candidate, right?
I think the thing that bothers me the most is that I feel this is typical of me. I get really excited about something and go so overboard preparing for it just to either fail, or realize that I'm acting like an idiot. (i.e. Starting a blog called The Future Dr. House) My parents were not exactly supportive of the whole venture. I mean they never told me not to pursue it, but at the same time I feel like they were always pointing out the negatives. I feel I would be proving them right at my expense. Errrr, but that's not really their agenda, I hope.
Then there are my friends. Today I was hanging out with all of them and I wanted to tell them that I'm thinking about changing my career goals, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm so tired of explaining what a DO was that I couldn't even imagine explaining what a PA was. I think they had some prejudices against a DO because it wasn't an MD, and I didn't want to lose face by explaining that I wouldn't be my own boss. I may not even tell them my plans until I actually act on some of them.
Most of my friends are going into the business world. One has an internship with an investment banking firm, one with a business law firm, one as an accountant, one with ESPN Radio, and another with a commodities investor who's also going to get a job with next year. I feel like being a PA wouldn't quite rank up there with them. Granted, I would still have a masters degree, which I don't think most will achieve, but... I don't know. I guess I wanted to prove myself to them with a medical degree. I'm not even that concerned with the money aspect because if any of them ever compared me to them I would drop them so fast...so fast... well, i've got nothing, but it would be fast!
I hope no one gets offended by this entry. I'm not trying to downplay the PA profession. I have great respect for PA and hope that I can become as competent as the one's I've shadowed. You just have to understand that it's not what I've dreamed of and my friends and family wouldn't have the appreciation that they should for the profession.
This is ridiculous. Why am I even worried about my friends? What do they care what I do with my life? I don't have to prove anything to them. I think I could really really really enjoy being a PA. In fact, I get excited at the idea of it. The same way I use to be excited about being a physician, just without the hesitation.
So, if all goes according to plan I'll probably end up going to PA school, which includes getting a 20 on the MCAT. This could be a good thing cause to be honest I didn't want to start my life in my late 20's.
Time to think up a new blog.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
PSA: Favors
This is just a general public service announcement to share with people the etiquette of doing favors, which may or may not have been sparked by current events.
If you buy someone a drink and then refuse their money when said person tries to pay you back, then you are NOT allowed to later use that as a guilt trip to have that person travel out of their way to buy you Wendy's.
If you are the cause of someone constantly going out of the way to pick you up to go places (like everday of multiple multi-week trips, including during massive blizzards) and that person one day asks you to provide them with a 7 AM emergency wake up call for the
MOST IMPORTANT TEST OF THEIR LIFE (!!!), which will take you all of 30 seconds to do and then allow you to go back to sleep, then do it.
If you refuse a person said wake up call, and do cause this person to go out of their way for you as previsouly mentioned, DO NOT bitch about how this person wouldn't go OUT OF THEIR WAY to pick you up food just because you didn't like what your host was serving you. Doing so may result in the loss of many, many, many future favors done by said person for you.
If you buy someone a drink and then refuse their money when said person tries to pay you back, then you are NOT allowed to later use that as a guilt trip to have that person travel out of their way to buy you Wendy's.
If you are the cause of someone constantly going out of the way to pick you up to go places (like everday of multiple multi-week trips, including during massive blizzards) and that person one day asks you to provide them with a 7 AM emergency wake up call for the
MOST IMPORTANT TEST OF THEIR LIFE (!!!), which will take you all of 30 seconds to do and then allow you to go back to sleep, then do it.
If you refuse a person said wake up call, and do cause this person to go out of their way for you as previsouly mentioned, DO NOT bitch about how this person wouldn't go OUT OF THEIR WAY to pick you up food just because you didn't like what your host was serving you. Doing so may result in the loss of many, many, many future favors done by said person for you.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Mets and MCATs
When it's really hot outside I do really strange things in my sleep. In terms Psych. of Sleep I seem to be aroused (not like that!) while in the middle of REM sleep. So when I wake up I can't tell the difference between the brain activity of REM sleep and the brain activity of reality.
The night before my MCAT I had one of these episodes. It couldn't have been more opportune timing. First let me share a past episode that shows exactly what I'm talking about.
It's my second year of college and I'm sleeping during a particularly hot night. In my dream I'm back in freshman year of college during orientation. At freshman orientation (the real one) we were given things called "passports." You would bring your passports to different activities and get it stamped. If you had enough stamps then you could submit your passport for a prize of some sort. So in the dream I didn't have a passport and needed to print one out. At that point something woke me up, which I suspect to be the heat of the night. (that sounded dirty..) I got out of bed and walked over to my roommate's desk where he was on his computer. I then started tapping his printer telling him to "print it out, com'on print it out." He looked at me wondering what the fuck I was talking about, and rightfully so. I went on insisting that he needed to print out the passport now. He continued telling me that he has no idea what I was talking about. I then went over to my bed and sat down trying to figure out what was going on. One half of my mind was like ummm Dr. Wannabe, that was a dream. Another half was like no, that was real, I really need to print this out. This internal struggle went on for about 20 minutes, no joke. I then begrudgingly accepted the fact that there was no passport to print out. It was one of my more embarrassing moments.
Now back to the dream I had before taking the MCAT.
I'm in the car on my way to the testing center where my MCAT is held and who's in the car with me? None other the New York Met pitchers Tom Glavine and John Maine. So we're driving and we come to an intersection that I had specifically made a mental note of earlier in the day (real life). I go to cross the intersection, but not it's not that simple. This part is a little hazy, but evidently my crossing the intersection was contingent on John and Tom throwing specific pitches in a specific time interval. Needless to say they couldn't do it. My brain just wouldn't allow it to be that easy. I'm then left sitting in the car waiting for them to do it and they can't. At this point I'm panicking about getting to my test on time. I then enter this weird vortex of thought where I'm trying to figure out how they can get these pitches thrown at the exact moment they're suppose to and this is the part where I wake up. At this point I'm flipping out. I don't understand what's the matter but I know that it has to do with me not knowing baseball well enough to take the MCAT. I'm soooooo strange. Again half of my brain was like that was a dream, it's not real. The other half keep panicking about baseball and the MCAT. It's a very weird feeling when your brain is thinking two different things at the same time. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't stop thinking about baseball. The only thing I could think of doing was just getting out of bed and fully waking up. So I went on my computer for about an hour until my braing fully "restarted."
Yeah, I didn't get much sleep that night.
Oh, you want to know how the test went? Well I actually wasn't tired at all, but I sucked it up big time anyway. There were two biological science section passages that I just could not wrap my head around. One had to do with the reptilian renal system (I've never even learned about the mammalian renal system) and the other had to do with some specific protein synthesis and an experiment to see how you could inhibit it, but a certain mRNA was found to replicate DNA incorrectly or something.... I don't know.
What really sucked is that I think I did much better in Physical Science than normal and it'll mean nothing. The verbal passages weren't that hard, but there were a couple of tricky questions.
In about a month's time I'll have my results. A friend of mine just got her results today and it wasn't pretty. I feel really terrible for her because she has like a 3.85 GPA and she was convinced that this was going to happen. I haven't spoken to her since her text message ended with "don't anyone call me" and she hasn't been online, which is irregular. I don't know when she plans on taking them again or if she'll wait to apply next year. I hope she just takes them again and applies this year cause I know she's quite capable of getting a competitive score and she's worked too hard to deal with this stress. As for me... if I get a 23-24 then I'm only applying to one specific school; 25+ I'm applying to all the schools my heart desires. Lower than 23 and I don't know what I'll do, but I have a feeling that's going to be the case.
Screw it all. I'm going to Italy in 11 days and I'm not going to allow this to plague my mind.
The night before my MCAT I had one of these episodes. It couldn't have been more opportune timing. First let me share a past episode that shows exactly what I'm talking about.
It's my second year of college and I'm sleeping during a particularly hot night. In my dream I'm back in freshman year of college during orientation. At freshman orientation (the real one) we were given things called "passports." You would bring your passports to different activities and get it stamped. If you had enough stamps then you could submit your passport for a prize of some sort. So in the dream I didn't have a passport and needed to print one out. At that point something woke me up, which I suspect to be the heat of the night. (that sounded dirty..) I got out of bed and walked over to my roommate's desk where he was on his computer. I then started tapping his printer telling him to "print it out, com'on print it out." He looked at me wondering what the fuck I was talking about, and rightfully so. I went on insisting that he needed to print out the passport now. He continued telling me that he has no idea what I was talking about. I then went over to my bed and sat down trying to figure out what was going on. One half of my mind was like ummm Dr. Wannabe, that was a dream. Another half was like no, that was real, I really need to print this out. This internal struggle went on for about 20 minutes, no joke. I then begrudgingly accepted the fact that there was no passport to print out. It was one of my more embarrassing moments.
Now back to the dream I had before taking the MCAT.
I'm in the car on my way to the testing center where my MCAT is held and who's in the car with me? None other the New York Met pitchers Tom Glavine and John Maine. So we're driving and we come to an intersection that I had specifically made a mental note of earlier in the day (real life). I go to cross the intersection, but not it's not that simple. This part is a little hazy, but evidently my crossing the intersection was contingent on John and Tom throwing specific pitches in a specific time interval. Needless to say they couldn't do it. My brain just wouldn't allow it to be that easy. I'm then left sitting in the car waiting for them to do it and they can't. At this point I'm panicking about getting to my test on time. I then enter this weird vortex of thought where I'm trying to figure out how they can get these pitches thrown at the exact moment they're suppose to and this is the part where I wake up. At this point I'm flipping out. I don't understand what's the matter but I know that it has to do with me not knowing baseball well enough to take the MCAT. I'm soooooo strange. Again half of my brain was like that was a dream, it's not real. The other half keep panicking about baseball and the MCAT. It's a very weird feeling when your brain is thinking two different things at the same time. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't stop thinking about baseball. The only thing I could think of doing was just getting out of bed and fully waking up. So I went on my computer for about an hour until my braing fully "restarted."
Yeah, I didn't get much sleep that night.
Oh, you want to know how the test went? Well I actually wasn't tired at all, but I sucked it up big time anyway. There were two biological science section passages that I just could not wrap my head around. One had to do with the reptilian renal system (I've never even learned about the mammalian renal system) and the other had to do with some specific protein synthesis and an experiment to see how you could inhibit it, but a certain mRNA was found to replicate DNA incorrectly or something.... I don't know.
What really sucked is that I think I did much better in Physical Science than normal and it'll mean nothing. The verbal passages weren't that hard, but there were a couple of tricky questions.
In about a month's time I'll have my results. A friend of mine just got her results today and it wasn't pretty. I feel really terrible for her because she has like a 3.85 GPA and she was convinced that this was going to happen. I haven't spoken to her since her text message ended with "don't anyone call me" and she hasn't been online, which is irregular. I don't know when she plans on taking them again or if she'll wait to apply next year. I hope she just takes them again and applies this year cause I know she's quite capable of getting a competitive score and she's worked too hard to deal with this stress. As for me... if I get a 23-24 then I'm only applying to one specific school; 25+ I'm applying to all the schools my heart desires. Lower than 23 and I don't know what I'll do, but I have a feeling that's going to be the case.
Screw it all. I'm going to Italy in 11 days and I'm not going to allow this to plague my mind.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Wow, I just got an A in Physics II. I didn't see that coming by a long shot. I wish I hadn't been so stupid to take Physics I last summer where I got a C+. My adviser told me to explain that grade in my personal statement, which they might actually acknowledge since I just got an A. But my Organic grade is just going to bring my GPA back to where it was if I get a C. Ugh... I hate school. But those classes are over thank God!
My mom told me not to take any more practice tests, especially not tomorrow. I think I'm going to take one more today. It's really just to help me figure out how to focus on the test and how to come up with answers. Or something... I definitely feel more use to taking them since I've been taking 2 a day for the past couple of days. My friend thinks I over did it taking that many a day and that the grades won't be that reflective. I hope she's right.
My mom told me not to take any more practice tests, especially not tomorrow. I think I'm going to take one more today. It's really just to help me figure out how to focus on the test and how to come up with answers. Or something... I definitely feel more use to taking them since I've been taking 2 a day for the past couple of days. My friend thinks I over did it taking that many a day and that the grades won't be that reflective. I hope she's right.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
All Alone
Finals Week is over, but I'm still at school.
Why?
Because I have the MCAT on Wednesday. Le Gasp!
Why?
Because I have the MCAT on Wednesday. Le Gasp!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
MP Could Take JT Any Day
With the infinite amount of time I have to waste on You Tube I've made a startling discovery that could shake the very foundation that you base your life on.
As we all know Justin Timberlake thinks he is the coolest, slickest, suavest person on the face of the Earth. And unfortunately, up until this day we've had no proof to discredit him. But my friends (THAT NEVER COMMENT!!!) I have found the evidence needed to prove that this coolness does not originate from JT, but from a much more unlikely, yet more beloved source; none other than MARY POPPINS!!!
Check out Justin's moves around 3:40 (when the timer is counting backwards - which it should)
Now, look for some similarities with Mary breaking out the moves around 5:20 (same as above)
Justin, YOU JUST GOT SERVED 17 YEARS BEFORE YOU WERE BORN!
As we all know Justin Timberlake thinks he is the coolest, slickest, suavest person on the face of the Earth. And unfortunately, up until this day we've had no proof to discredit him. But my friends (THAT NEVER COMMENT!!!) I have found the evidence needed to prove that this coolness does not originate from JT, but from a much more unlikely, yet more beloved source; none other than MARY POPPINS!!!
Check out Justin's moves around 3:40 (when the timer is counting backwards - which it should)
Now, look for some similarities with Mary breaking out the moves around 5:20 (same as above)
Justin, YOU JUST GOT SERVED 17 YEARS BEFORE YOU WERE BORN!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Awkward Turtle
Oh my goodness the people in the apartment above me are having a good time. Such a good time that everything in my room is shaking violently, including me. My friend says that means that I'm even part of it. Well at least I'm getting some!
Back when I was a naive freshman I use to wonder why the people above me would be putting their bunk beds together at the most random times during the day. They would just be continuely banging their mattress frames with hammers into the legs of the bed - for like 40 minutes. Then one day I pushed my chair from my desk to fast right into my radiator - BANG! Wait, I've heard that banging before... Why were the people upstairs banging their beds into the radiator? Ohhhhhhhhh!
Yesterday we were signing up for roommates in my abroad class. This girl that I know through a friend, we'll call Tracy, asked me if I wanted to room with her guy friend, we'll call Ken. At the time I was panic'd that I was going to be stuck with the most despised person in the class and I readily agreed. I later told my friend who I was rooming with and he told me that Tracy and Ken were actually dating. DAMMIT!!!! Well that explains the, "Ken, come over here and give me a hello-kiss." I'm going to have an awkward turtle on my shoulder every night I'm in Italy. I'm hoping Tracy brings it back to her room since she's good friends with her roommate. Then again, that's probably a reason to keep it in my room. My friends gave me some tips how to stop any unwelcomed night activities, but I feel to dirty to share them with you.
Back when I was a naive freshman I use to wonder why the people above me would be putting their bunk beds together at the most random times during the day. They would just be continuely banging their mattress frames with hammers into the legs of the bed - for like 40 minutes. Then one day I pushed my chair from my desk to fast right into my radiator - BANG! Wait, I've heard that banging before... Why were the people upstairs banging their beds into the radiator? Ohhhhhhhhh!
Yesterday we were signing up for roommates in my abroad class. This girl that I know through a friend, we'll call Tracy, asked me if I wanted to room with her guy friend, we'll call Ken. At the time I was panic'd that I was going to be stuck with the most despised person in the class and I readily agreed. I later told my friend who I was rooming with and he told me that Tracy and Ken were actually dating. DAMMIT!!!! Well that explains the, "Ken, come over here and give me a hello-kiss." I'm going to have an awkward turtle on my shoulder every night I'm in Italy. I'm hoping Tracy brings it back to her room since she's good friends with her roommate. Then again, that's probably a reason to keep it in my room. My friends gave me some tips how to stop any unwelcomed night activities, but I feel to dirty to share them with you.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Ah Crap, the Day Has Come
My most feared day has arrived, the Pre-Health Committee Interview.
This is the scenario I've had running through my head since Fall '05:
Committee Member: So Dr. Wannabe, why do you want to go to medical school...
Dr. W: blah, blah, blah...
CM: Mmmhmm... *reads transcript* Umm, have you seen your GPA lately?
DW: Yeah, I know that it's sub-average, but I really feel that I possess the more relevant clinical skills that are needed to be a capable physician.
CM: Right... We really think that it would be a waste of your money to apply to medical school and suggest that you reconsider your career aspirations. Maybe apply next year.
DW: Although I respect your opinion on the situation I don't see waiting another year helping my case.
CM: Well, have it your way. We're going to rank you: "Recommend with Reservation."
DW: *Cries a little and dies*
Dr. Wannabe then continues to apply to medical schools that summer (even though he just died in the previous scene) and is rejected by all of them. In fact, the medical schools don't even bother sending him secondaries because his money is just not good enough for them. This ultimately makes him the 1:5 student from his school that doesn't get accepted to a medical school.
This is the scenario I've had running through my head since Fall '05:
Committee Member: So Dr. Wannabe, why do you want to go to medical school...
Dr. W: blah, blah, blah...
CM: Mmmhmm... *reads transcript* Umm, have you seen your GPA lately?
DW: Yeah, I know that it's sub-average, but I really feel that I possess the more relevant clinical skills that are needed to be a capable physician.
CM: Right... We really think that it would be a waste of your money to apply to medical school and suggest that you reconsider your career aspirations. Maybe apply next year.
DW: Although I respect your opinion on the situation I don't see waiting another year helping my case.
CM: Well, have it your way. We're going to rank you: "Recommend with Reservation."
DW: *Cries a little and dies*
Dr. Wannabe then continues to apply to medical schools that summer (even though he just died in the previous scene) and is rejected by all of them. In fact, the medical schools don't even bother sending him secondaries because his money is just not good enough for them. This ultimately makes him the 1:5 student from his school that doesn't get accepted to a medical school.
Monday, April 23, 2007
It's You; Not Me.
As a science major I have been through a good number of lab partners - about 9 or so. Generally, I get along splendidly with my lab partners, even becoming friends with some of them outside of the lab. Laughing occurs often, conversations are plentiful and fun is made of lab time. Lab is a great bonding experience for two people the have never met each other. Physics lab is probably the most painful lab of them all, but my partner and I are constantly cracking jokes and needing to refocus often in order to get any work done.
One of the few times that I didn't get along with my lab partner was in Microbiology Lab. But those were very special circumstances.
Organic Chem II Lab was the first time I had a lab partner that I knew before the lab. He was friends with my former housemates, whom (who?) I happen to detest, but we had had conversations before and were friendly with each other. In fact, I was friendlier with all of my housemates friends, just not my housemates. But that's another story. I was kind of surprised that when he entered the lab he took the spot next to me because in doing so he signed a binding contract that said he was going to be my lab partner. Not really... but you get the idea. The reason it was so surprising was because I had just gone through an ugly falling out with said housemates, but I guess he didn't care about those politics.
The beginning of the semester was okay. The start is always a little shaky and awkward, but that's normal. As the semester went on the partnership seemed to become more awkward, and I have no idea why. I'm a very friendly person and always strike up a conversation - proven by past lab partners. I would try to make conversation but he never added anything to them. In reality though it wasn't that surprising. He was teammates with my former housemates and their most noteable characteristic was the inability to socialize with anyone not on the team. It is well known that this specific team was very cliquey and didn't talk to anyone outside the team.
When the day came that he left lab without saying "bye" I decided to give up on trying to make conversation, or talking to him at all for that matter. You would think that it would be hard to get through a lab without speaking to your lab partner, but let me tell you it's magical when it happens.
In retrospect I think the way I reacted was a little immature, but I honestly don't think he gave a shit and I can't think of anything else I could have done to better the situation. Luckily, he's graduating this year and I'm never going to have to worry about being paired with him again.
But the threat of the micro lab partner still looms...
PS - my schedule for next semester has been finalized
Vertebrate Physiology and Lab - Experiments with mice!!!
Science, Medicine and Ethics (Capping Course) - Ethics, we meet again. And I'm going to rape you all over again.
Human Nutrition - Maybe I'll finally be able to make sense of this field.
Ireland: History and Politics - I'm 100% Irish. Well, Irish-American.
I'm very, very excited for next semester.
One of the few times that I didn't get along with my lab partner was in Microbiology Lab. But those were very special circumstances.
Organic Chem II Lab was the first time I had a lab partner that I knew before the lab. He was friends with my former housemates, whom (who?) I happen to detest, but we had had conversations before and were friendly with each other. In fact, I was friendlier with all of my housemates friends, just not my housemates. But that's another story. I was kind of surprised that when he entered the lab he took the spot next to me because in doing so he signed a binding contract that said he was going to be my lab partner. Not really... but you get the idea. The reason it was so surprising was because I had just gone through an ugly falling out with said housemates, but I guess he didn't care about those politics.
The beginning of the semester was okay. The start is always a little shaky and awkward, but that's normal. As the semester went on the partnership seemed to become more awkward, and I have no idea why. I'm a very friendly person and always strike up a conversation - proven by past lab partners. I would try to make conversation but he never added anything to them. In reality though it wasn't that surprising. He was teammates with my former housemates and their most noteable characteristic was the inability to socialize with anyone not on the team. It is well known that this specific team was very cliquey and didn't talk to anyone outside the team.
When the day came that he left lab without saying "bye" I decided to give up on trying to make conversation, or talking to him at all for that matter. You would think that it would be hard to get through a lab without speaking to your lab partner, but let me tell you it's magical when it happens.
In retrospect I think the way I reacted was a little immature, but I honestly don't think he gave a shit and I can't think of anything else I could have done to better the situation. Luckily, he's graduating this year and I'm never going to have to worry about being paired with him again.
But the threat of the micro lab partner still looms...
PS - my schedule for next semester has been finalized
Vertebrate Physiology and Lab - Experiments with mice!!!
Science, Medicine and Ethics (Capping Course) - Ethics, we meet again. And I'm going to rape you all over again.
Human Nutrition - Maybe I'll finally be able to make sense of this field.
Ireland: History and Politics - I'm 100% Irish. Well, Irish-American.
I'm very, very excited for next semester.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
Corporate America, here I come
I'm giving up. I just got back an Organic Chem test and I was left disappointed again. I studied for days like usual: rewriting each chapter's notes, then re-doing the HW and quizzes and finishing up with taking the practice test. I was scared going into the test, but felt pretty good after leaving it. But I told myself I wasn't going to get overly confident and that I probably got a 74 like usual.
The professor started class by saying how impressed she was with the results and that an "absurd" number of people got 90+% on the test. I tried really hard not to get my hopes up. This happens every time she hands tests back; she tells us how so many people got good grades. She then put the class distribution up and 14/30 PEOPLE GOT ABOVE A 90%! That was insanity. Okay, I started feeling good and even told myself to stop feeling good because I'm not going to be one of those people. Sure the odds were against me that I was one of the 3 or 4 people to get around a 75, but that's just what I do.
She hands me my test back and I see the 74% on it. I give the fuck up. I don't know what I have to do to start getting good grades. And the thing that kills me is how I see all these people who party all the time and do sooo many drugs getting 104!!!!!!!! I really don't know what these people are doing to get good grades that I'm not. Are they just straight up smarter than I am? I mean they obviously are but am I just incapable of doing well or am I just doing this whole thing wrong??? This makes my test grades 78, 75.5 and 74. At least I'm consistent...
Am I seriously applying to medschool this summer? I must have something the matter with me. My prereq grades are going to be:
General Bio 1+2: B-/B+
General Chem 1+2: C/B
Organic Chem: C+/C+
Physics 1+2: C+/C+
That's just laughable. I guess I won't be applying this summer unless I get some crazy MCAT score. (Which by the way is on May 16th) Hopefully my heavy bio-class senior year will pull my GPA up and I'll have a reasonable shot next summer. Although, judging by my B in Micro and B- in Immunology they probably won't help that much.
My friend who's the perfect premedical student is taking the MCATs today. When I say perfect I mean she has straight A's in all of her science classes. I don't know how she does it. And she has a better social life that me too. She hasn't been doing as well on the practice MCATs as she would like to though. She seems to be a consistent 23. I haven't taken a practice test in a while but I normally do better than that. So what does this mean about our class grades?
Maybe I'll just shadow physicians the rest of my life. And in my head I can be the one ordering test and prescribing treatment. I guess that's almost as good. Any takers?
The professor started class by saying how impressed she was with the results and that an "absurd" number of people got 90+% on the test. I tried really hard not to get my hopes up. This happens every time she hands tests back; she tells us how so many people got good grades. She then put the class distribution up and 14/30 PEOPLE GOT ABOVE A 90%! That was insanity. Okay, I started feeling good and even told myself to stop feeling good because I'm not going to be one of those people. Sure the odds were against me that I was one of the 3 or 4 people to get around a 75, but that's just what I do.
She hands me my test back and I see the 74% on it. I give the fuck up. I don't know what I have to do to start getting good grades. And the thing that kills me is how I see all these people who party all the time and do sooo many drugs getting 104!!!!!!!! I really don't know what these people are doing to get good grades that I'm not. Are they just straight up smarter than I am? I mean they obviously are but am I just incapable of doing well or am I just doing this whole thing wrong??? This makes my test grades 78, 75.5 and 74. At least I'm consistent...
Am I seriously applying to medschool this summer? I must have something the matter with me. My prereq grades are going to be:
General Bio 1+2: B-/B+
General Chem 1+2: C/B
Organic Chem: C+/C+
Physics 1+2: C+/C+
That's just laughable. I guess I won't be applying this summer unless I get some crazy MCAT score. (Which by the way is on May 16th) Hopefully my heavy bio-class senior year will pull my GPA up and I'll have a reasonable shot next summer. Although, judging by my B in Micro and B- in Immunology they probably won't help that much.
My friend who's the perfect premedical student is taking the MCATs today. When I say perfect I mean she has straight A's in all of her science classes. I don't know how she does it. And she has a better social life that me too. She hasn't been doing as well on the practice MCATs as she would like to though. She seems to be a consistent 23. I haven't taken a practice test in a while but I normally do better than that. So what does this mean about our class grades?
Maybe I'll just shadow physicians the rest of my life. And in my head I can be the one ordering test and prescribing treatment. I guess that's almost as good. Any takers?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Stress of Physics
Things that were said during Physics Lab when the room would randomly get quiet.
"Don't tell me to fucking chill out! This thing is trying to measure CO2 levels!!!"
"My balls hurt."
"I'm about to punch you in the teeth."
"Don't tell me to fucking chill out! This thing is trying to measure CO2 levels!!!"
"My balls hurt."
"I'm about to punch you in the teeth."
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Mmmm Rachel McAdams
Sunday morning I noticed that my eyes were a little red. I didn't think anything of it and thought maybe it was because I was at my friend's house who has cats to which I'm allergic. I didn't worry much because they weren't tearing, pussing, itching, nada.The redness continued through Monday to the point where Monday night I decided to stop wearing my contacts. But still no other problems other than them being red. It didn't feel any different having contacts in and I tried a new pair of contacts in case they were somehow irritating them.
That night I put some eye drops in for redness and went to sleep. Unfortunately, I don't know whether the drops did anything since I went to sleep, but they couldn't have done much because my eyes are still red but still not tearing, itching, pussing either.
I went to health services today just to have them checked out cause I don't want to wear contacts without them being looked at. After going through my story and embarrassing myself on the eye chart exam (I could only read line three with my old, old prescription glasses) and finding no foreign bodies in my eyes the doctor came to no diagnosis. The reason that this redness is so odd is because there are one other symptoms. I honestly would have no idea that they were red if it weren't for looking in the mirror.
I'm slightly concerned though because about 3 years back my ophthalmologist did a work up on me for glycoma because my eye pressure was a little elevated. The tests did not show any loss of peripheral vision or nerve damage and the next time I had my pressure tested it was fine. I know that the only noticeable symptom is vision loss, but WebMD had it listed in the differential for eye redness without the accompanying puss or irritation. I'm not giving too much thought though cause I'm young and my peripheral vision is normal.
Hmm, maybe my eyes are feeling slightly dry... that may be because I'm just paying more attention to them than normal.
Anyway, I'm suppose to go back to health services Thursday to have them checked again in case it's a viral infection that just hasn't developed the rest of the symptoms. But if it's viral there's nothing they're going to do. If the redness continues without other symptoms then she's going to refer me to a ophthalmologist. Super!... I enjoy going to doctors because I like to see how they work, but this is going to be annoying.
I have my internship tomorrow morning so I'm going to have that doctor take a look at my eyes for a second opinion. Wait, there still isn't a diagnosis. Does that make it a primary opinion?
Friday, April 06, 2007
Is Science the Same Everywhere?
I'm looking at some year long graduate programs in London and some look exactly what I want, but there is a problem. I'm deathly intimidated by the idea of taking graduate level courses in the UK. I feel like all Britons are naturally superior to me in every way. I afraid that I'll show up to an immuno class and have no idea what any of them are talking about on multiple levels.
1. They'll be talking about things of which I have no concept.
2. The accents. I couldn't even understand "Take away?"
3. Anything I say/write won't be understood because I'll format everything in the American way.
Are these even legitimate concerns?
Does an average American undergraduate education match up to a British undergraduate?
You can be brutally honest because I already think the British are way better than us.
1. They'll be talking about things of which I have no concept.
2. The accents. I couldn't even understand "Take away?"
3. Anything I say/write won't be understood because I'll format everything in the American way.
Are these even legitimate concerns?
Does an average American undergraduate education match up to a British undergraduate?
You can be brutally honest because I already think the British are way better than us.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Happy Easter! (Unless you take offense to that; to you I offer no title.)
A quick update before I go home for a long weekend.
Failed my Physics test (below 80 is failing) in less than 10 minutes. How's that possible? We take them on the computer so you know whether you got the question wrong or not. Once I got 5/23 points taken off I stop taking it and left. Except I forgot that if you get a 50% or below you have to redo the HW. Woops. Whatever, I have all the answers for it anyway.
(In my Abroad - Lit/Art class)
Prof: (To class) Where is the weirdest place you've ever been?
Dr W: This class...
Prof #2: Hahaha, you must be a science major.
Damn straight.
Failed my Physics test (below 80 is failing) in less than 10 minutes. How's that possible? We take them on the computer so you know whether you got the question wrong or not. Once I got 5/23 points taken off I stop taking it and left. Except I forgot that if you get a 50% or below you have to redo the HW. Woops. Whatever, I have all the answers for it anyway.
(In my Abroad - Lit/Art class)
Prof: (To class) Where is the weirdest place you've ever been?
Dr W: This class...
Prof #2: Hahaha, you must be a science major.
Damn straight.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
I Don't Care If It Is the Most Populous Molecule in the Atmosphere
This is going to sound silly, but I hate Nitrogen. Yes, I'm talking about Nitrogen the element.
Every time Nitrogen is brought up in one of my classes I always get completely lost. And it's not like there is a specific thing about N that's common in the different classes when it's brought up. When I was taking Microbiology and we started talking about Nitrogen fixation I was lost for sure. This is actually one of the reasons I avoid Environmental Science classes at all cost, because N plays such a huge role in it. (Well, that and because I would start killing people when they brought up Global Warming every class.)
In Organic we're covering Amide and Amines and needless to say it's not going well. I don't know what happened. I know I'm not great in Organic, but I generally get what's happening and can figure out how to reach the answers when given them. But I'm looking at the answers to some of the reactions and I just have no idea what's going on. I look through the text for a mechanism to reference, but none of them touch on this specific issue I'm having. I don't know what to do.
Ugh, it's really upsetting that I don't like any of my current science classes. (Oragnic and Physics) I don't know why medschools make you take these classes that really have nothing to do with medicine. I know that I need a background in Organic for Biochem, but honestly do I really need all of this? And the sad thing is I'm getting terrible grades. (C's) But it's not like I don't understand the material. I do understand it, I just can't master it I guess. Should I even need to master this stuff to get into medschool? One reader told me a while back that if I can't handle this then I shouldn't be admitted. That was upsetting, but probably true. Ahh truth; it's a bitch.
When applying to schools I'd really like to say, "Hey I know I keep getting C's in these classes, but they're the one's that aren't related to medicine. And if someone is getting C's in General Chemistry or Orgo1 shouldn't their grades keep going down as the material gets harder? My grades at least stay consistent, which I think at least shows that I "get it." It's not like I'm a moron. And I generally retain what I learn long after I take the class. But why do you only want the students that are aces at Chemistry and Physics. Sure they're difficult, but do they really correlate to clinical material?
Basically I wish the "pre-med courses" meant taking classes that actually resembled medical school classes. Well next year it's nothing but science classes with strong clinical connections. (Vertebrate Physiology, Comparative Anatomy, Genetics, Human Nutrition) I became a BioMed major for these classes, not Physics, Gen Chem and Orgo. Unfortunately the schools that I apply to won't see the grades that I get in these classes because my applications will be in before I take them. Hopefully I do well in them next year and I have a better shot at getting in the second time around. Yeah, I'm planning on not getting in this time around. The question will just be what should I do with that year off?
Okay, back to freaking Hoffmann Elimination Rxn. ugh...
[Edit: PS - My favorite pen just ran out of ink. This work just got a little more painful]
Every time Nitrogen is brought up in one of my classes I always get completely lost. And it's not like there is a specific thing about N that's common in the different classes when it's brought up. When I was taking Microbiology and we started talking about Nitrogen fixation I was lost for sure. This is actually one of the reasons I avoid Environmental Science classes at all cost, because N plays such a huge role in it. (Well, that and because I would start killing people when they brought up Global Warming every class.)
In Organic we're covering Amide and Amines and needless to say it's not going well. I don't know what happened. I know I'm not great in Organic, but I generally get what's happening and can figure out how to reach the answers when given them. But I'm looking at the answers to some of the reactions and I just have no idea what's going on. I look through the text for a mechanism to reference, but none of them touch on this specific issue I'm having. I don't know what to do.
Ugh, it's really upsetting that I don't like any of my current science classes. (Oragnic and Physics) I don't know why medschools make you take these classes that really have nothing to do with medicine. I know that I need a background in Organic for Biochem, but honestly do I really need all of this? And the sad thing is I'm getting terrible grades. (C's) But it's not like I don't understand the material. I do understand it, I just can't master it I guess. Should I even need to master this stuff to get into medschool? One reader told me a while back that if I can't handle this then I shouldn't be admitted. That was upsetting, but probably true. Ahh truth; it's a bitch.
When applying to schools I'd really like to say, "Hey I know I keep getting C's in these classes, but they're the one's that aren't related to medicine. And if someone is getting C's in General Chemistry or Orgo1 shouldn't their grades keep going down as the material gets harder? My grades at least stay consistent, which I think at least shows that I "get it." It's not like I'm a moron. And I generally retain what I learn long after I take the class. But why do you only want the students that are aces at Chemistry and Physics. Sure they're difficult, but do they really correlate to clinical material?
Basically I wish the "pre-med courses" meant taking classes that actually resembled medical school classes. Well next year it's nothing but science classes with strong clinical connections. (Vertebrate Physiology, Comparative Anatomy, Genetics, Human Nutrition) I became a BioMed major for these classes, not Physics, Gen Chem and Orgo. Unfortunately the schools that I apply to won't see the grades that I get in these classes because my applications will be in before I take them. Hopefully I do well in them next year and I have a better shot at getting in the second time around. Yeah, I'm planning on not getting in this time around. The question will just be what should I do with that year off?
Okay, back to freaking Hoffmann Elimination Rxn. ugh...
[Edit: PS - My favorite pen just ran out of ink. This work just got a little more painful]
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Do You Have a Double?
I've heard theories that say somewhere in the world there is someone who looks exactly like you. But what about people who don't look like you, but are exactly like you?
When I say exactly alike I mean, mannerisms, interests, views, processes of thinking, tastes in everything. Everything is the same.
Generally, you can find people who will have a shared sense of humor, interests or affiliations. I on the other hand have found two people who are identical to each other.
Friend #1, we'll call Lee, because that's a nice stereotypical Asian affiliated name. Friend #2, we'll call Mike, cause that's a nice typical Caucasian name.
I've known Lee since high school. We're nothing alike but we get along surprisingly well. To get an idea of what he's like here are some of his interests: elitist underground indie rock, elitist (but not necessarily good) indie movies, vegetarianism, English/Philosophy major, music journalism, social liberalism, smart comedy (Arrested Development, 30 Rock, The Office). You get the picture.
Mike became my former roommate's new roommate when I left him last semester. It was about 30 minutes into meeting to him that I realized he's nothing but a Caucasian version of Lee. The first thing that gave it away was the fact he was talking about music artists that I had only heard of from Lee. I told Mike to check out Lee's Last.FM playlist and they both listen to the same exact music.
Okay, big deal they listen to the same music. If you're into one type of band, you're probably into most of the other ones in the same genre. We shall continue.
Lee started out as a computer science major, but quit because at his school it's part of the engineering school, which required him to take too many classes that had nothing to do with what he likes. He is now an English and Philosophy major. Mike is a computer science major, but is very into philosophy, especially existentialism, which is exactly what Lee is into. Mike is currently reading a book on World Religions, which is not required for a class.
Mike has gotten me to watch movies that Lee has been meaning to make me watch for a while.
Mike is a vegetarian. Lee has given up meat for the past few Lents and is now planning on giving it up for good, without knowing that Mike is a vegetarian.
They both have the same exact sarcastic humor that many don't appreciate, but I'm very keen to.
Both of them love to piss me off at any chance they get. And they do it in the same exact way. Mainly by taking anything I say and twisting it into something else, or proving me to be a hypocrite at any chance. (Oh wait, everyone does that.)
When I was food shopping with Mike he told me how he use to love New England Clam Chowder, but, alas, he can eat it no longer. The next day I'm on the phone with Lee telling him how I'm thinking about having NE Clam Chowder and he responds with, "Yeah, I'm going to miss that when I stop eating meat."
When I visited Lee while he studied in London I unknowingly met his twin Mike BECAUSE HE WAS STUDYING IN LONDON AT THE SAME TIME WITH OTHER FRIENDS OF MINE!!!!
Is this enough?!?!?!?
The two of them readily acknowledge the fact that they are the same person and plan on meeting over the summer. It's really really really weird. (REALLY!)
I haven't known Mike for very long but I seem to "get him" very quickly, which is saying something because he has some very... ummm... interesting idiosyncrasies. I chalk this up to being friends with Lee for so long. Being with Mike is exactly like being with Lee. I'm at the point where I predict what he's about to say/do/think (wait isn't that almost the name of a band they both like?) based off of what Lee would do. I'm almost always right. I wish that I could better explain this, but it's something that you really only notice when you know both people personally. Unfortunately, I'm the only person that knows both of them.
I wonder if there is another Dr. Wannabe out there. Maybe he goes by the name Dr. Want2B. You guys have to make sure to tells us about each other. Wait, none of you know me well enough to make that connection. Damn it!
When I say exactly alike I mean, mannerisms, interests, views, processes of thinking, tastes in everything. Everything is the same.
Generally, you can find people who will have a shared sense of humor, interests or affiliations. I on the other hand have found two people who are identical to each other.
Friend #1, we'll call Lee, because that's a nice stereotypical Asian affiliated name. Friend #2, we'll call Mike, cause that's a nice typical Caucasian name.
I've known Lee since high school. We're nothing alike but we get along surprisingly well. To get an idea of what he's like here are some of his interests: elitist underground indie rock, elitist (but not necessarily good) indie movies, vegetarianism, English/Philosophy major, music journalism, social liberalism, smart comedy (Arrested Development, 30 Rock, The Office). You get the picture.
Mike became my former roommate's new roommate when I left him last semester. It was about 30 minutes into meeting to him that I realized he's nothing but a Caucasian version of Lee. The first thing that gave it away was the fact he was talking about music artists that I had only heard of from Lee. I told Mike to check out Lee's Last.FM playlist and they both listen to the same exact music.
Okay, big deal they listen to the same music. If you're into one type of band, you're probably into most of the other ones in the same genre. We shall continue.
Lee started out as a computer science major, but quit because at his school it's part of the engineering school, which required him to take too many classes that had nothing to do with what he likes. He is now an English and Philosophy major. Mike is a computer science major, but is very into philosophy, especially existentialism, which is exactly what Lee is into. Mike is currently reading a book on World Religions, which is not required for a class.
Mike has gotten me to watch movies that Lee has been meaning to make me watch for a while.
Mike is a vegetarian. Lee has given up meat for the past few Lents and is now planning on giving it up for good, without knowing that Mike is a vegetarian.
They both have the same exact sarcastic humor that many don't appreciate, but I'm very keen to.
Both of them love to piss me off at any chance they get. And they do it in the same exact way. Mainly by taking anything I say and twisting it into something else, or proving me to be a hypocrite at any chance. (Oh wait, everyone does that.)
When I was food shopping with Mike he told me how he use to love New England Clam Chowder, but, alas, he can eat it no longer. The next day I'm on the phone with Lee telling him how I'm thinking about having NE Clam Chowder and he responds with, "Yeah, I'm going to miss that when I stop eating meat."
When I visited Lee while he studied in London I unknowingly met his twin Mike BECAUSE HE WAS STUDYING IN LONDON AT THE SAME TIME WITH OTHER FRIENDS OF MINE!!!!
Is this enough?!?!?!?
The two of them readily acknowledge the fact that they are the same person and plan on meeting over the summer. It's really really really weird. (REALLY!)
I haven't known Mike for very long but I seem to "get him" very quickly, which is saying something because he has some very... ummm... interesting idiosyncrasies. I chalk this up to being friends with Lee for so long. Being with Mike is exactly like being with Lee. I'm at the point where I predict what he's about to say/do/think (wait isn't that almost the name of a band they both like?) based off of what Lee would do. I'm almost always right. I wish that I could better explain this, but it's something that you really only notice when you know both people personally. Unfortunately, I'm the only person that knows both of them.
I wonder if there is another Dr. Wannabe out there. Maybe he goes by the name Dr. Want2B. You guys have to make sure to tells us about each other. Wait, none of you know me well enough to make that connection. Damn it!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
I Called It
You know how I said that I wasn't going to be able to recognize my psychology group partners? Well one of them started a sheet for us to to write our names and e-mail addresses on so that we can begin to meet together and when I passed the sheet to the one guy I could definitely recognize I handed it past one of the other guys in the group before he had written his name on it. He was probably wondering what the fuck was the matter with me. It's okay though cause I recognize him sitting across from me in the SciBld. Comp. Lab. But only because I remember the coat he was wearing and book he was reading....
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sick of the Speculation
Today my friend sent me a CNN article about what may happen because of Global Warming and all of you will pay for it.
I'm sorry, but speculation is cheap. I want to see scientists do some research on proving that it is in fact greenhouse gases that cause Global Warming, instead of treating it like fact. I heard that in the 70's there was a scare that Global Cooling was occurring because they saw a dip in the average temperature for that decade. Well they saw that dip go away and now everyone believes in Global Warming.
All I see are studies after studies about what Global Warming may do, but nothing showing that it's due to us. Uggggggh. You know people, the Earth temperature has fluctuated by much more than a few degrees in the past, long before the car was invented and cows were farting. What do you think was doing it then??? What about that thing called the Ice Age? Human were around during that. How'd it happen? (Because humans killed the mastodons which were a major contributor of greenhouse gases. Duhhh.) How many times did you hear that Global Warming would increase the number of hurricanes. Well when the Atlantic had more than average the Pacific had less than average. The only reason people were making a big deal about them was because they kept hitting the Gulf Coast over and over again. PS - last hurricane season the Atlanic had like what... 3 storms reach hurricane status. Don't quote me on these numbers because they're not accurate, but the general idea is.
I'm not saying that a couple degrees change wouldn't be significant, and I'm not denying that it may be getting warmer. I'm calling into question what causes it. Generally in science before things are considered true predictions must be made and seen to occur according to the mechanism proposed. Well I haven't heard of any experiments done that show any accurate results. From what I can see there is way too little known about the complexities of the climate to make any accurate predictions about it. Hence why meteorologist only make 10-day forecasts and are still only right something on the lines of 60% of the time.
This post, as one of my friends would say, is nothing but "shambles." I'm aware that I made no arguments to disprove traditional global warming theories. That's because I honestly don't want to spend the time to do that right now. Maybe another time. I think if you go through my old posts though you'll find one that touches on some studies that suggests greenhouse gases aren't the cause of global warming.
I'm sorry, but speculation is cheap. I want to see scientists do some research on proving that it is in fact greenhouse gases that cause Global Warming, instead of treating it like fact. I heard that in the 70's there was a scare that Global Cooling was occurring because they saw a dip in the average temperature for that decade. Well they saw that dip go away and now everyone believes in Global Warming.
All I see are studies after studies about what Global Warming may do, but nothing showing that it's due to us. Uggggggh. You know people, the Earth temperature has fluctuated by much more than a few degrees in the past, long before the car was invented and cows were farting. What do you think was doing it then??? What about that thing called the Ice Age? Human were around during that. How'd it happen? (Because humans killed the mastodons which were a major contributor of greenhouse gases. Duhhh.) How many times did you hear that Global Warming would increase the number of hurricanes. Well when the Atlantic had more than average the Pacific had less than average. The only reason people were making a big deal about them was because they kept hitting the Gulf Coast over and over again. PS - last hurricane season the Atlanic had like what... 3 storms reach hurricane status. Don't quote me on these numbers because they're not accurate, but the general idea is.
I'm not saying that a couple degrees change wouldn't be significant, and I'm not denying that it may be getting warmer. I'm calling into question what causes it. Generally in science before things are considered true predictions must be made and seen to occur according to the mechanism proposed. Well I haven't heard of any experiments done that show any accurate results. From what I can see there is way too little known about the complexities of the climate to make any accurate predictions about it. Hence why meteorologist only make 10-day forecasts and are still only right something on the lines of 60% of the time.
This post, as one of my friends would say, is nothing but "shambles." I'm aware that I made no arguments to disprove traditional global warming theories. That's because I honestly don't want to spend the time to do that right now. Maybe another time. I think if you go through my old posts though you'll find one that touches on some studies that suggests greenhouse gases aren't the cause of global warming.
Facial Memory
This sucks. I have a terrible memory for faces, but I myself am very memorable. No, no, I'm not saying that to sound cocky. I'm 6'4'' and have a huge head with a prominent forehead. Actually, I look like Peyton Manning and have been told this since I was in 7th grade. Just he's 220lbs of muscle, and I'm 200lbs of anything but. Hmm, I guess if I hit the gym and put some weight on I have a better idea of what I would look like... ANYWAY...
So I'm in the Science Building Computer Lab and I'm printing something out and this girl moves around her screen so I can see her face, waves and says "Hi." I wave back and say hello, but I have zeroooo idea who she is. This happens all the time. I actually read an article about people with terrible memories for faces. It sucks. I'm totally "that guy" who everyone knows even if you haven't actually had a conversation with that person. Someone told me once when meeting them that they had seen me all over campus but never knew my name. I, on the other hand, didn't recognize him at all.
I don't even know if I could pick out three guys in my project group in my psychology class. One of them I definitely can. The other two I'm not so confident with. Hopefully we'll have to meet in groups again once more in class so we can setup a meeting outside of class. The same thing goes for my group in my abroad class. Two of the girls I would definitely recognize but the other two I'm not so sure about. And I'll be damned if I know any of these people's names.
Time to go back to studying. Got a 25 on an old MCAT today. Ehhh, not really what I want it to be, but I can't complain since I haven't actually studied outside of taking tests. And I had a ton of time left over for each section so maybe I would have scored higher if I spent that time going over it... :-/
So I'm in the Science Building Computer Lab and I'm printing something out and this girl moves around her screen so I can see her face, waves and says "Hi." I wave back and say hello, but I have zeroooo idea who she is. This happens all the time. I actually read an article about people with terrible memories for faces. It sucks. I'm totally "that guy" who everyone knows even if you haven't actually had a conversation with that person. Someone told me once when meeting them that they had seen me all over campus but never knew my name. I, on the other hand, didn't recognize him at all.
I don't even know if I could pick out three guys in my project group in my psychology class. One of them I definitely can. The other two I'm not so confident with. Hopefully we'll have to meet in groups again once more in class so we can setup a meeting outside of class. The same thing goes for my group in my abroad class. Two of the girls I would definitely recognize but the other two I'm not so sure about. And I'll be damned if I know any of these people's names.
Time to go back to studying. Got a 25 on an old MCAT today. Ehhh, not really what I want it to be, but I can't complain since I haven't actually studied outside of taking tests. And I had a ton of time left over for each section so maybe I would have scored higher if I spent that time going over it... :-/
Sunday, March 25, 2007
This Shit is BANANASSSS
Seriously, yall need to start watching Battlestar Galactica.
That was the most intense piece of TV I have ever watched in my life.
That was the most intense piece of TV I have ever watched in my life.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Not So Witty
A conversation that I thought was a lot funnier than the other person did:
Friend: She was telling me how when she was in Japan they were landing planes without wheels.
Dr W: Yeah, they're good at that. They've been doing it since WW2.
Well, I laughed...
Friend: She was telling me how when she was in Japan they were landing planes without wheels.
Dr W: Yeah, they're good at that. They've been doing it since WW2.
Well, I laughed...
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Wow
Yeah, so you know how I estimated my score on Test #3 to be a 27? Well, I actually got a 27 on Test #4, w00t! And now that I have some tests to get a good idea of what areas I'm weak in I know what to concentrate my studies on. Oh man if I start breaking 30's then I might do something crazy like apply to in-state MD schools. (I'm such a sellout as my friend tells me)
While I was in the library I noticed the person next to me studying from a USMLE and I asked him if he was a medical student, knowing damn well that he was. He had just finished his 2nd year at St. George's in Granada. He said that he liked it down there, but was doing all of his rotations locally. He didn't apply to any DO schools and says that he doesn't regret going to school abroad, but that he also knows that he's "one notch below DOs when applying to residency." He also was filling me in on how much work the first two years are. He said that biochem was rough and that I should probably take it, but at the same time he told me that the people who already took it only "kind of had a head start." Once again, I'm left in limbo on the situation. Still leaning towards no though.
Well, tomorrow starts three days of heavy drinking at night. It's going to be sweet. 5 of my friends and I are visiting a friend at his school and going to a bar for a Beer Pong Tourney. Then Friday is my friend's 21st and his family is supplying all the alcohol and food. It's going to be amazing because price is never a question with them. And then Saturday is St. Patrick's and I claim my birthright as a 100% IRISH 21 year old. SPRING BREAK!!!!!
While I was in the library I noticed the person next to me studying from a USMLE and I asked him if he was a medical student, knowing damn well that he was. He had just finished his 2nd year at St. George's in Granada. He said that he liked it down there, but was doing all of his rotations locally. He didn't apply to any DO schools and says that he doesn't regret going to school abroad, but that he also knows that he's "one notch below DOs when applying to residency." He also was filling me in on how much work the first two years are. He said that biochem was rough and that I should probably take it, but at the same time he told me that the people who already took it only "kind of had a head start." Once again, I'm left in limbo on the situation. Still leaning towards no though.
Well, tomorrow starts three days of heavy drinking at night. It's going to be sweet. 5 of my friends and I are visiting a friend at his school and going to a bar for a Beer Pong Tourney. Then Friday is my friend's 21st and his family is supplying all the alcohol and food. It's going to be amazing because price is never a question with them. And then Saturday is St. Patrick's and I claim my birthright as a 100% IRISH 21 year old. SPRING BREAK!!!!!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Fluke?
Well, my MCAT practice tests have been going pretty well so far. I got a 22 on my first practice test, a 25 on my second, and the third one was a little weird. When I was taking it somehow I wasn't given the verbal section so I got a zero there, but I got a 9 and 10 in physical science and biological science, respectively. And I got a 7 and 10 in verbal on test 1+2, so I'm scoring test three as a 27. Holy shit, could I be knocking on 30's door?!?!?!
Today I shall shower, eat, get a haircut, go to Jiffy Lube and take test 4. I'll update you on how I do. I have a feeling I'm going to go down back to around 23.
Today I shall shower, eat, get a haircut, go to Jiffy Lube and take test 4. I'll update you on how I do. I have a feeling I'm going to go down back to around 23.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
TV, never leave me
You know I started the day maybe a little stressed out because of housing issues again and midterms and scheduling and blah blah blah. But a good healthy dose of The Amazing Race and The Real World: Denver just gave me a smile from ear to ear. They were both just absolute hilarious shit shows that I couldn't help laughing constantly throughout. The Amazing Race is made up of dwarves, gay cubans, gay old people, straight old people, boston accents, blondes and male nipple piercings just running around Chile speaking English with Spanish accents thinking that people understand them. There is nothing in the world like it. And then The Real World is just a bunch of my drunk peers having alcohol induced heart-to-hearts. Oh, and p.s., they're all super horny. Especially the girl who keep flirting with her gay roommate, who has admitted that he's never been as turned on by a girl as her. Oh, and his boyfriend is visiting and they're always talking about three ways. It's just too funny.
Well I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow I have my Psych of Sleep midterm and then a Chem Lab lecture. Then I'm studying Organic all day. Life is good. And I'm not even being sarcastic. I think I'm tired-drunk, and high off this delllllllicious Tropicana Orange Juice. NOT FROM CONCENTRATE!!!!
Well I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow I have my Psych of Sleep midterm and then a Chem Lab lecture. Then I'm studying Organic all day. Life is good. And I'm not even being sarcastic. I think I'm tired-drunk, and high off this delllllllicious Tropicana Orange Juice. NOT FROM CONCENTRATE!!!!
Friday, March 02, 2007
What's worse than taking biochem?
The answer: Taking biochem twice.
So I spoke with my advisor today to see if he thought I should take biochem or not. He basically told me that if I'm a "chem person" to go for it. And he said he basically leaves it up to the student. He told me that he loved organic and biochem, which means I don't think I'm going to take it. It's not that I don't like organic, cause I kind of do. But I'm not the heavy details type of person that's required for chemistry, whereas he's the type of person that likes to memorize the S-values for different types of white blood cells.
Not heavy on details? That came out wrong. Do you need to be that kind of person to be a competent physician, cause you basically need to be in order to be a successful science major? I hope not. I like to think that clinical skills are separate from being able to understand the placement of substituents on aromatic benzene.
So I spoke with my advisor today to see if he thought I should take biochem or not. He basically told me that if I'm a "chem person" to go for it. And he said he basically leaves it up to the student. He told me that he loved organic and biochem, which means I don't think I'm going to take it. It's not that I don't like organic, cause I kind of do. But I'm not the heavy details type of person that's required for chemistry, whereas he's the type of person that likes to memorize the S-values for different types of white blood cells.
Not heavy on details? That came out wrong. Do you need to be that kind of person to be a competent physician, cause you basically need to be in order to be a successful science major? I hope not. I like to think that clinical skills are separate from being able to understand the placement of substituents on aromatic benzene.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
House 3.0
Oh Spring Break, you're so close. I'm in desperate need of you.
Everything has been going okay lately. I've come to terms with my grades and I no longer stress over them the same way. I'm just accepting my 3.0GPA (Out of 4.0) as an inseparable part of me.
I read a short article over at www.studentdoctornetwork.net that gave some tips with how to handle a lower than average GPA. It basically said to be proactive and not try to avoid it when applying to medschools and interviewing. I was glad to hear that because I did directly address it in my autobiography and was careful not to make it seem like too negative of a point. I also showed that I did have a plan for how to solve the problem once entering medical school, which was another thing stressed in the article. Horrah Problem Based Learning-pathways!
I've also started the process of scheduling my classes for next semester. Originally I was going to have a really easy semester with Fridays off, but people are starting to talk me into taking Biochemistry. I don't know how good of an idea this is considering I have a C+ average in Organic Chem, but from what I've heard it's basically becoming a pre-req for medical schools and if you don't have a background in it then your first semester of medschool is particularly impossible.
If I take that then my cumulative transcript will include the following science/math classes:
General Bio I+II + Lab
General Chem I+II + Lab
Organic Chem I+II + Lab
Physics I+II + Lab
Biochemistry I
Microbiology + Lab
Immunology
Veratbrate Physiology + Lab (different from A+P)
Comparative Anatomy + Lab
Genetics + Lab
Animal Behavior
Science/Medicine/Ethics
Calculus I
Statistics
I'm hoping my courses at least look like a challenged myself. One day I'll post the grades next to those courses, but I'm still a little too self-conscious. I will share my latest practice MCAT score, although it's still not where it needs to be. 23. I'm content with it so far because the genius-guaranteed-to-get-into-medschool-friend got a 19 on that test. But we'll see how I do on the one she got 26 on. The school that I want to attend has an average of 24 and is PBL, so maybe my sob story will win them over because of my dedication to PBL.
Well I have to go back to finishing my Physics lab report. Thanks for the comments. It's nice to know that some people care.
Everything has been going okay lately. I've come to terms with my grades and I no longer stress over them the same way. I'm just accepting my 3.0GPA (Out of 4.0) as an inseparable part of me.
I read a short article over at www.studentdoctornetwork.net that gave some tips with how to handle a lower than average GPA. It basically said to be proactive and not try to avoid it when applying to medschools and interviewing. I was glad to hear that because I did directly address it in my autobiography and was careful not to make it seem like too negative of a point. I also showed that I did have a plan for how to solve the problem once entering medical school, which was another thing stressed in the article. Horrah Problem Based Learning-pathways!
I've also started the process of scheduling my classes for next semester. Originally I was going to have a really easy semester with Fridays off, but people are starting to talk me into taking Biochemistry. I don't know how good of an idea this is considering I have a C+ average in Organic Chem, but from what I've heard it's basically becoming a pre-req for medical schools and if you don't have a background in it then your first semester of medschool is particularly impossible.
If I take that then my cumulative transcript will include the following science/math classes:
General Bio I+II + Lab
General Chem I+II + Lab
Organic Chem I+II + Lab
Physics I+II + Lab
Biochemistry I
Microbiology + Lab
Immunology
Veratbrate Physiology + Lab (different from A+P)
Comparative Anatomy + Lab
Genetics + Lab
Animal Behavior
Science/Medicine/Ethics
Calculus I
Statistics
I'm hoping my courses at least look like a challenged myself. One day I'll post the grades next to those courses, but I'm still a little too self-conscious. I will share my latest practice MCAT score, although it's still not where it needs to be. 23. I'm content with it so far because the genius-guaranteed-to-get-into-medschool-friend got a 19 on that test. But we'll see how I do on the one she got 26 on. The school that I want to attend has an average of 24 and is PBL, so maybe my sob story will win them over because of my dedication to PBL.
Well I have to go back to finishing my Physics lab report. Thanks for the comments. It's nice to know that some people care.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Nightmare
Ever since I started college I've had a reoccurring nightmare, which is always at the top of the realistic dreams list.
I'm back in high school and in my senior year. Standing at the bus I'm extremely nervous because it's my first day back in many months. I hadn't been in school for a while because of a sickness and I was home schooled for that period. The bus arrives and I step through the narrow doorway. While on the bus I'm trying to remember all the thing that I need to do in order to be ready for school. Books, blazer, tie... Oh shit, I forgot my tie and blazer. I'm totally out of rhythm for getting ready for school.
Awesome, my bus is late. My home room teacher won't care that it's not my fault. They never give a shit what the reason is. You were suppose to be in homeroom at 8:10AM, and that's that.
Now I'm scrambling around the hallways desperate to find someone that I can borrow a jacket and tie from. Well, maybe I have one in my locker. I get to my locker... Oh fuckers. It's been 6 months and I have no idea what my locker combo is. I guess I'll have to go to the devil incarnate. I mean, the head of student affairs. He has a book of locker combos. I hope homeroom doesn't end soon.
I find Br. Damien and he tells me my locker combo, of course not without grilling me about my not being in homeroom. I start power walking back to my locker while praying to God that I have a tie and jacket in it. 31 right, 11 left, 36 right.... No jacket or tie. Cool deal. **RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING** Mother fuckers homeroom had ended and I have 3 minutes to get a jacket, tie and get to class. I start asking everyone passing me on their way to class for a jacket or tie. Finally I find a jacket too small of me and a tie that's too long. Okay time to get to class. Wait a second... What class is that?
Uggggggggh. I never received my schedule in homeroom and now I don't know where to go. Maybe the main office will be able to print one out for me. I rush over to the main office and ask for a copy of my schedule. They look at me like I'm crazy but do it anyway. I find out that I'm suppose to be in Pre-Calc for 1st period on "A" days. I really hope this is an "A" day.
I walk into the class and somehow manage to slide into my desk undetected by the teacher. It doesn't even matter though cause I've undoubtedly been marked absent and will have to go meet Br. Damien again and receive detention. Hmmm, why is the teacher attempting to teach Earth Science, and failing at doing so... I ask the person next to me what "day" it is and he tells me that it's a "C." Why, why, why, why, why... WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!!!!!! I pull the crumpled schedule from my bag to see what freaking class I'm suppose to be in. Phys. Ed. You've got to be kidding me. I have no sneakers, shorts, tee shirt and obviously no support strap, which are required for unknown reasons. They tell us that we have to wear it in case we get hit in the nuts, but lets be honest, it going to kill no matter what.
I leave the class and get on my way to gym...
The dream fades out with the impression that all of this happens again and again over the next couple of days.
I'm freaking out that I'm not going to pass my classes and I'm not going to graduate. I'm going to have to spend another year of torture at this place. Why didn't I just go to the public high school. Ugh, I'm waking up now I have to go to school. This sucks I just want to graduate. Wait, where am I? This isn't my room at home. I'm in college? If I'm in college then I graduated high school... OMG I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL!!!!! IT REALLY IS ALL OVER!!!! THANK GODDDD
I'm back in high school and in my senior year. Standing at the bus I'm extremely nervous because it's my first day back in many months. I hadn't been in school for a while because of a sickness and I was home schooled for that period. The bus arrives and I step through the narrow doorway. While on the bus I'm trying to remember all the thing that I need to do in order to be ready for school. Books, blazer, tie... Oh shit, I forgot my tie and blazer. I'm totally out of rhythm for getting ready for school.
Awesome, my bus is late. My home room teacher won't care that it's not my fault. They never give a shit what the reason is. You were suppose to be in homeroom at 8:10AM, and that's that.
Now I'm scrambling around the hallways desperate to find someone that I can borrow a jacket and tie from. Well, maybe I have one in my locker. I get to my locker... Oh fuckers. It's been 6 months and I have no idea what my locker combo is. I guess I'll have to go to the devil incarnate. I mean, the head of student affairs. He has a book of locker combos. I hope homeroom doesn't end soon.
I find Br. Damien and he tells me my locker combo, of course not without grilling me about my not being in homeroom. I start power walking back to my locker while praying to God that I have a tie and jacket in it. 31 right, 11 left, 36 right.... No jacket or tie. Cool deal. **RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING** Mother fuckers homeroom had ended and I have 3 minutes to get a jacket, tie and get to class. I start asking everyone passing me on their way to class for a jacket or tie. Finally I find a jacket too small of me and a tie that's too long. Okay time to get to class. Wait a second... What class is that?
Uggggggggh. I never received my schedule in homeroom and now I don't know where to go. Maybe the main office will be able to print one out for me. I rush over to the main office and ask for a copy of my schedule. They look at me like I'm crazy but do it anyway. I find out that I'm suppose to be in Pre-Calc for 1st period on "A" days. I really hope this is an "A" day.
I walk into the class and somehow manage to slide into my desk undetected by the teacher. It doesn't even matter though cause I've undoubtedly been marked absent and will have to go meet Br. Damien again and receive detention. Hmmm, why is the teacher attempting to teach Earth Science, and failing at doing so... I ask the person next to me what "day" it is and he tells me that it's a "C." Why, why, why, why, why... WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!!!!!! I pull the crumpled schedule from my bag to see what freaking class I'm suppose to be in. Phys. Ed. You've got to be kidding me. I have no sneakers, shorts, tee shirt and obviously no support strap, which are required for unknown reasons. They tell us that we have to wear it in case we get hit in the nuts, but lets be honest, it going to kill no matter what.
I leave the class and get on my way to gym...
The dream fades out with the impression that all of this happens again and again over the next couple of days.
I'm freaking out that I'm not going to pass my classes and I'm not going to graduate. I'm going to have to spend another year of torture at this place. Why didn't I just go to the public high school. Ugh, I'm waking up now I have to go to school. This sucks I just want to graduate. Wait, where am I? This isn't my room at home. I'm in college? If I'm in college then I graduated high school... OMG I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL!!!!! IT REALLY IS ALL OVER!!!! THANK GODDDD
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Have you seen my mind? I've seem to have lost it.
Yeah, so my apartment still doesn't have TV or internet installed. It's all because the people who lived there before me never canceled there subscription, which would lead some of you to think that I have been getting free internet and cable, but alas, it wasn't the case.
I marched into Time Warner Cable the other day and proved that I was now the Lord of the Manor and signed up to get it installed. Unfortunately, the earliest they can come is tomorrow. But since I hadn't memorized my scheudle I signed up for a time when I, nor either of my roommates are around. I guess I'll have to call them and reschedule. Blast it all!
Classes have been okay so far. But how often do they suck during the first class?
I think my psychology of sleep class is going to be my favorite. We're suppose to try to write down our dreams every morning. Last night I managed to forget my dreams on three different occassions. By the time I realize I'm suppose to remember them I've lost it. But I think I'll be able to better train myself as time goes on.
Here's something for ya'll to try. My teacher told us that if we have a hard time dreaming, or remembering our dreams, then we should take calcium because that stimulates nerve firings, thus giving us stronger dreams. So now all of you can lay off the acid. Just drink some milk before going to bed.
I marched into Time Warner Cable the other day and proved that I was now the Lord of the Manor and signed up to get it installed. Unfortunately, the earliest they can come is tomorrow. But since I hadn't memorized my scheudle I signed up for a time when I, nor either of my roommates are around. I guess I'll have to call them and reschedule. Blast it all!
Classes have been okay so far. But how often do they suck during the first class?
I think my psychology of sleep class is going to be my favorite. We're suppose to try to write down our dreams every morning. Last night I managed to forget my dreams on three different occassions. By the time I realize I'm suppose to remember them I've lost it. But I think I'll be able to better train myself as time goes on.
Here's something for ya'll to try. My teacher told us that if we have a hard time dreaming, or remembering our dreams, then we should take calcium because that stimulates nerve firings, thus giving us stronger dreams. So now all of you can lay off the acid. Just drink some milk before going to bed.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Just Breath
In hopes to gather my thoughts I'm going to list some of the things that I need to get straightened out before they cause me to crack:
I'm feeling really stressed but I think once I get back to school everything will start being normal again.
- TV/Internet running in new apartment
- Furniture assembled
- Order a mattress
- Get registered for my new internship (Family Medicine)
- figure out how the hell I'm going to fit that internship into my Wednesday schedule
- Get credit card debt paid off. (Still in debt from London adventure)
- Finish the premed autobiography
- Start studying for MCAT (The test is in April and I'm way behind)
- concentrated on Bio, Chem and Verbal, since taking Organic and Physics this semester
- Get an oil changed
- Figure out back up plan to med school
- PA school?
- Grad school?
- Teaching?
- Peace CORPS?
- Trip to Italy at end of May
- Finishing the MCAT in April and having all med school application stuff done before said trip.
- Get letter from DO
- Get professors to hand in those letters that I asked to be written a year ago
- Get transcripts from summer schools sent to med schools
- Make the final list of med schools applying to
I'm feeling really stressed but I think once I get back to school everything will start being normal again.
Monday, January 08, 2007
TV!!!!!!!
The spectrum of this list is going to include Summer '06 and Fall '06 TV shows. I wanted to include Spring '06 to give Arrested Development and The West Wing one last chance, but the quality of of TV changed dramatically over the summer making it hard to rank them. I'll leave it to the Emmy's to give those shows their dues. (I doubt they will)
The main things looked for in the shows when determining their ranking:
plot/story flow
character depth
production quality
acting
entertainment! - including the guilty kind
10 - Project Runway: This was actually the hardest choice because it came down to kicking other shows off the list, specifically Gilmore Girls, The 4400 and Nip/Tuck. But they respectively lacked plot, acting and entertainment. I know people get appalled at the very existence of reality TV, but good realty TV requires a much higher quality of production and creativity to keep the viewers interested and make it decent, compared to TV drama.
9 - The Amazing Race: I promise that this is the last realty show on the list. The rough draft didn't even have two realty shows on it. This show made the list because of the great job done in casting, editing, creativity and execution. Oh, and the fact that you can't help but get completely engulfed into the show.
8 - ER: I miss the theme song, but the addition of John Stamos' character has given new life to this TV classic. I see it finishing this season strong and don't worry about its next season, which was originally thought to be its last. If they can continue to bring in a couple of solid new characters and get rid of a couple of old/tired ones (KOVAC!) then I don't see why it can't go on for another 2 or 3 seasons. Michael Crichton's the man.
7 - LOST: If you're saying "OMG LOST IS #7! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!?!?!?" then you obviously haven't watched this season. Seasons one and two would have easily been in the top two of this list, but this season came to a screeching halt. There has been very little plot development, and no major character development. The show is still very well made and still has a tight hold on its fans, but it definitely seems to be struggling to find ways to keep the story going.
6 - Heroes: This is just a plain cool, fun show. The number of characters that it has really helps it because you get an excellent variety people to relate to, love or hate. The plot is pretty solid too, again because there are so many story lines going on at once. Once all the characters start mixing together it'll be interesting to see what happens with the show. It'll either bomb or become huge. Right now the show approaches the season in segments, using commercials to keep the audience in suspense on how things will turn out. (i.e. "Save the cheerleader, save the world" "Are you on the list?") It's all very comic book-esque, (including very little happening in each episode) but it could work as long as they don't make the stories too weird. (DC World...)
5 - 30 Rock: Funny, funny, funny. I feel like maybe the whole NBC Thursday Comedy Night should be here. But I'll use 30 Rock to represent them all since it's the only one I watch and the one I find the funniest. Tina Fey has a good mix of the observational humor that can be seen in The Office, but also will include funny jabs at current events. PS - did anyone know how funny Alec Baldwin is?!?!? The only thing I'd like see change is Tina Fey's performance. She reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld when reading her lines. She laughs during them...
4 - Grey's Anatomy: Sex and medicine. Could it get any better? At first the season didn't really go anywhere, but then it picked up. The show still has a great combo of humor and drama, the acting is solid, production is high quality and story line started looking at characters other than Meredith, which helped a lot.
3 - House, M.D.: Okay, there is something better than sex and medicine. Medicine, pain killers and sarcasm! Gregory House is the best character on television and Hugh Laurie the best actor. Dr. House is hilarious, the show keeps your attention with the medical mystery du jour and the show has developed a decent long term plot.
2 - Brothers and Sisters: Brothers and what??? What is this show that came in second? Yes, true, this is not the most watched show, but that doesn't change the fact that it's excellent. I may be slightly biased because I too come from a larger family and can easily relate, but I think most people can see their own family dynamics in this show. This is also the main reason why the show is number 2 because of how real the drama is. You may watch it and think that it's unbelievable, but I assure you it's not all that crazy. The inner workings of a family are generally much deeper and secret than the public knows, but this show does a good job of showing the tension that only exists within a family.
1 - Battlestar Galactica: Again.. What is this dork-ary? This show is by far the best show on TV. I don't know when this story was written, but it feels like they had everything planned out 4 seasons ahead of time, which is ironic cause it started as nothing more than a mini-series. I shouldn't forget that this is actually a remake of the original, but this has become far more developed. The story is non-stop. You can't find another show where you see such major developments in each episode without it going on crazy random tangents. And the show also has so many different aspects to it. You could watch it to see if they make it to Earth, or to see what the cylons really are, or how character relations develop. It's very much like LOST where two people can be into very different parts of the show. The show has a complete mythology that could have a class dedicated to it. The acting is also above average, which is surprising since it's on the Sci-Fi channel. The thing that surprised me the most though was the production value. You honestly feel like you're watching a big budget movie with every episode. (A good big budget movie.) All of you right now should legally or illegally download the mini-series, season 1, 2 and 3.0. Season 3.5 starts soon!!!!
Funny thing to point out after all of this. My number 1 and 2 shows have been scheduled against each other for the spring half of the season. I need to get a TiVo... and maybe a life.
I'm sorry to Gilmore Girls and CSI:, I still love you. Prisonbreak, we may give you another chance if I can find the time. 4400, you'll always be my #1 summer hit guilty pleasure.
The main things looked for in the shows when determining their ranking:
plot/story flow
character depth
production quality
acting
entertainment! - including the guilty kind
10 - Project Runway: This was actually the hardest choice because it came down to kicking other shows off the list, specifically Gilmore Girls, The 4400 and Nip/Tuck. But they respectively lacked plot, acting and entertainment. I know people get appalled at the very existence of reality TV, but good realty TV requires a much higher quality of production and creativity to keep the viewers interested and make it decent, compared to TV drama.
9 - The Amazing Race: I promise that this is the last realty show on the list. The rough draft didn't even have two realty shows on it. This show made the list because of the great job done in casting, editing, creativity and execution. Oh, and the fact that you can't help but get completely engulfed into the show.
8 - ER: I miss the theme song, but the addition of John Stamos' character has given new life to this TV classic. I see it finishing this season strong and don't worry about its next season, which was originally thought to be its last. If they can continue to bring in a couple of solid new characters and get rid of a couple of old/tired ones (KOVAC!) then I don't see why it can't go on for another 2 or 3 seasons. Michael Crichton's the man.
7 - LOST: If you're saying "OMG LOST IS #7! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!?!?!?" then you obviously haven't watched this season. Seasons one and two would have easily been in the top two of this list, but this season came to a screeching halt. There has been very little plot development, and no major character development. The show is still very well made and still has a tight hold on its fans, but it definitely seems to be struggling to find ways to keep the story going.
6 - Heroes: This is just a plain cool, fun show. The number of characters that it has really helps it because you get an excellent variety people to relate to, love or hate. The plot is pretty solid too, again because there are so many story lines going on at once. Once all the characters start mixing together it'll be interesting to see what happens with the show. It'll either bomb or become huge. Right now the show approaches the season in segments, using commercials to keep the audience in suspense on how things will turn out. (i.e. "Save the cheerleader, save the world" "Are you on the list?") It's all very comic book-esque, (including very little happening in each episode) but it could work as long as they don't make the stories too weird. (DC World...)
5 - 30 Rock: Funny, funny, funny. I feel like maybe the whole NBC Thursday Comedy Night should be here. But I'll use 30 Rock to represent them all since it's the only one I watch and the one I find the funniest. Tina Fey has a good mix of the observational humor that can be seen in The Office, but also will include funny jabs at current events. PS - did anyone know how funny Alec Baldwin is?!?!? The only thing I'd like see change is Tina Fey's performance. She reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld when reading her lines. She laughs during them...
4 - Grey's Anatomy: Sex and medicine. Could it get any better? At first the season didn't really go anywhere, but then it picked up. The show still has a great combo of humor and drama, the acting is solid, production is high quality and story line started looking at characters other than Meredith, which helped a lot.
3 - House, M.D.: Okay, there is something better than sex and medicine. Medicine, pain killers and sarcasm! Gregory House is the best character on television and Hugh Laurie the best actor. Dr. House is hilarious, the show keeps your attention with the medical mystery du jour and the show has developed a decent long term plot.
2 - Brothers and Sisters: Brothers and what??? What is this show that came in second? Yes, true, this is not the most watched show, but that doesn't change the fact that it's excellent. I may be slightly biased because I too come from a larger family and can easily relate, but I think most people can see their own family dynamics in this show. This is also the main reason why the show is number 2 because of how real the drama is. You may watch it and think that it's unbelievable, but I assure you it's not all that crazy. The inner workings of a family are generally much deeper and secret than the public knows, but this show does a good job of showing the tension that only exists within a family.
1 - Battlestar Galactica: Again.. What is this dork-ary? This show is by far the best show on TV. I don't know when this story was written, but it feels like they had everything planned out 4 seasons ahead of time, which is ironic cause it started as nothing more than a mini-series. I shouldn't forget that this is actually a remake of the original, but this has become far more developed. The story is non-stop. You can't find another show where you see such major developments in each episode without it going on crazy random tangents. And the show also has so many different aspects to it. You could watch it to see if they make it to Earth, or to see what the cylons really are, or how character relations develop. It's very much like LOST where two people can be into very different parts of the show. The show has a complete mythology that could have a class dedicated to it. The acting is also above average, which is surprising since it's on the Sci-Fi channel. The thing that surprised me the most though was the production value. You honestly feel like you're watching a big budget movie with every episode. (A good big budget movie.) All of you right now should legally or illegally download the mini-series, season 1, 2 and 3.0. Season 3.5 starts soon!!!!
Funny thing to point out after all of this. My number 1 and 2 shows have been scheduled against each other for the spring half of the season. I need to get a TiVo... and maybe a life.
I'm sorry to Gilmore Girls and CSI:, I still love you. Prisonbreak, we may give you another chance if I can find the time. 4400, you'll always be my #1 summer hit guilty pleasure.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Me bitching
I'm not gonna lie. I'm a little upset that I wasn't nominated for a Medical Blog Award.
I'm just going to tell myself that it's because I'm not part of the medical community or something. I guess I'll start a new blog when I actually become part of it so that maybe I can then get nominated then.
I'm just going to tell myself that it's because I'm not part of the medical community or something. I guess I'll start a new blog when I actually become part of it so that maybe I can then get nominated then.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Life Experiences
Today my friend (female) made me get my eye brows waxed after a year of complaining about them. They don't look that much different, just slightly thinner. But man she had to use a lot of strips. I must say though, I took it like a champ and didn't move a muscle. The nice Asian lady was impressed. I think I'm suppose to go again before going back to school to get them shaped or something...
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Let's Help Me Out Again
I have the last two questions of my Premedical Committee Autobiography for everyone to look at.
A career in the medical profession requires a commitment to learning throughout one's career. Please comment, in-depth, on an academic experience that has fostered this commitment in you.
I realized early on in my undergraduate career that my interest for medicine could and did go above and beyond what was required in my classes. In my Human Biology class the basics of the organ systems were presented to us and also common disorders associated with them. Since this was a non-major course the professor would spare the other students from over-burdening them with the more in depth processes of the body. But what I was presented with in class would often leave me with many questions. I would often either ask plenty of follow-up questions in class, or more often I would research these topics independently. This interest was not limited to just the classroom. It is now a regular behavior for me to research any new medical condition that I come across. Whenever my friends are sick I immediately ask them what their symptoms are and what diagnosis and treatment their physician prescribed for them. This is why going to medical school is so important to me, because I see it as a way to finally answer all the questions I have. But even after medical school I cannot see myself without always looking to further my knowledge in order to better my patients.
What factors do you think should be stressed in supporting your application? Are there any weaknesses or gaps in your preparation that concern you? If you have withdrawals or contrasting grades on your transcript that require explanation, take the opportunity to do so at this time.
I think the strongest part of my application is the dedication I’ve put into researching what is required of me to get through medical school. I’m completely aware of the work that needs to be done in order to succeed in medical school and I also have a good understanding of life during residency. I am also confident in my ability to be a physician after my numerous shadowing opportunities. I feel that I’m very capable of developing the clinical skills required to be a competent practitioner. My one withdrawal I may have is what my performance on medical exams may be, since I have never been a traditionally excellent academic student. But one-way I see bettering myself in medical school is by taking part in a Problem Based Learning program. I think that I would excel at this type of learning method above the traditional lecturing method because it is centered around case studies. This is extremely complementary to what I look to get out of a career in medicine. Being approached by daily problems that need to be solved through logical thinking and testing.
A career in the medical profession requires a commitment to learning throughout one's career. Please comment, in-depth, on an academic experience
I realized early on in my undergraduate career that my interest for medicine could and did go above and beyond what was required in my classes. In my Human Biology class the basics of the organ systems were presented to us and also common disorders associated with them. Since this was a non-major course the professor would spare the other students from over-burdening them with the more in depth processes of the body. But what I was presented with in class would often leave me with many questions. I would often either ask plenty of follow-up questions in class, or more often I would research these topics independently. This interest was not limited to just the classroom. It is now a regular behavior for me to research any new medical condition that I come across. Whenever my friends are sick I immediately ask them what their symptoms are and what diagnosis and treatment their physician prescribed for them. This is why going to medical school is so important to me, because I see it as a way to finally answer all the questions I have. But even after medical school I cannot see myself without always looking to further my knowledge in order to better my patients.
What factors do you think should be stressed in supporting your application? Are there any weaknesses or gaps in your preparation that concern you? If you have withdrawals or contrasting grades on your transcript that require explanation, take the opportunity to do so at this time.
I think the strongest part of my application is the dedication I’ve put into researching what is required of me to get through medical school. I’m completely aware of the work that needs to be done in order to succeed in medical school and I also have a good understanding of life during residency. I am also confident in my ability to be a physician after my numerous shadowing opportunities. I feel that I’m very capable of developing the clinical skills required to be a competent practitioner. My one withdrawal I may have is what my performance on medical exams may be, since I have never been a traditionally excellent academic student. But one-way I see bettering myself in medical school is by taking part in a Problem Based Learning program. I think that I would excel at this type of learning method above the traditional lecturing method because it is centered around case studies. This is extremely complementary to what I look to get out of a career in medicine. Being approached by daily problems that need to be solved through logical thinking and testing.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
7th Wheel?
You know what the only thing more awkward than watching Love Actually with two couples?
Watching it with three.
Watching it with three.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
I Have a Man Crush on Eric Mangini
"The Jets continued their climb up the rankings, moving just outside the top 10 to No. 11. Apparently we were a little off when we put them at No. 31 to open the season."
-ESPN.com, NFL Power Rankings
Okay, it's official. The Jets have officially gotten me excited for football. I swore to myself that there was no way I was going to get worked up about football this season, and I tried to fight it, but by George they did it. Ugh... I'm going to regret this.
-ESPN.com, NFL Power Rankings
Okay, it's official. The Jets have officially gotten me excited for football. I swore to myself that there was no way I was going to get worked up about football this season, and I tried to fight it, but by George they did it. Ugh... I'm going to regret this.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Someone Out There Must Like Their Job
Today I was interning in the ER and one of the physicians asked me what my major was and what I wanted to do after graduation. I told him that I wanted to go to medical school and right away he gave me the sign to stop in my tracks. Like many others he told me to be a dentist. What the hell?!?
I know there aren't many of you reading this, but would someone please tell me that you enjoy your job! (Non-medical personnel need not apply) I need a little reassurance. Granted I don't think I'm anything like these people, but how could so many people be wrong? (All 3 of them...) The only thing these people ever mention is how the job isn't worth the money, but I'm not even worried about the money. Well, I guess that's a naive lie. But I'm perfectly happy making the average physician salary of $150K a year. And I think I know what I'm getting myself into after hearing all these horror stories. It's also not like I plan on going into a crazy soul sucking specialty like one of the surgeries. I just want to be your typical hospitalist at a non-academic hospital and see a good variety of pathology.
So com'on. Who likes their job? Who is happy that they went into medicine?
I'm totally not going to get any responses...
I know there aren't many of you reading this, but would someone please tell me that you enjoy your job! (Non-medical personnel need not apply) I need a little reassurance. Granted I don't think I'm anything like these people, but how could so many people be wrong? (All 3 of them...) The only thing these people ever mention is how the job isn't worth the money, but I'm not even worried about the money. Well, I guess that's a naive lie. But I'm perfectly happy making the average physician salary of $150K a year. And I think I know what I'm getting myself into after hearing all these horror stories. It's also not like I plan on going into a crazy soul sucking specialty like one of the surgeries. I just want to be your typical hospitalist at a non-academic hospital and see a good variety of pathology.
So com'on. Who likes their job? Who is happy that they went into medicine?
I'm totally not going to get any responses...
My First Tag!
Big thanks to Dr. K for making my initiation into the blogsphere official!
It seems I have to list my top 5 Christmas songs. This is appropriate since I just started playing my Christmas playlist recently.
*In no particular order*
1. Oh, Holy Night
2. Winter Wonderland
3. All I Want For Christmas Is You
4. The Christmas Song
5. Carol of the Bells
This list isn't really fair because I like a ton equally as much. They kind of all just blend together in my head.
Hmmm, I shall tag...
1. Proudly Penniless
2. Kungfukitten
3. Irish Doc
4. The Angry Medic
5. Doctor Mama
Ugh, I felt so dirty doing that and hold none of you accountable to actually doing this, except Proudly Penniless.
It seems I have to list my top 5 Christmas songs. This is appropriate since I just started playing my Christmas playlist recently.
*In no particular order*
1. Oh, Holy Night
2. Winter Wonderland
3. All I Want For Christmas Is You
4. The Christmas Song
5. Carol of the Bells
This list isn't really fair because I like a ton equally as much. They kind of all just blend together in my head.
Hmmm, I shall tag...
1. Proudly Penniless
2. Kungfukitten
3. Irish Doc
4. The Angry Medic
5. Doctor Mama
Ugh, I felt so dirty doing that and hold none of you accountable to actually doing this, except Proudly Penniless.
Monday, November 27, 2006
I Miss the Rain and Buses!
Let's try a more general overview of my trip this time.
Some things that I got around to seeing after the Museum of Natural History (maybe in order of actual occurrence)
Institute of Contemporary Art: Only went to because that's where Highbrow's writing group decided to hold their meeting. It was interesting what the christianites wrote, and especially what they think racy and angry writing sounds like. Highbrow didn't give me the props that I rightfully deserved when he told his story. (It was inspired by a long conversation that we had with one of our mutual friends)
Covent Garden: Nothing much to say. Cool market area. I just wanted to see it because I'm really obsessed with My Fair Lady. I looked everywhere for someone selling leaves of lettuce, but to no avail.
Piccadilly Circus, Oxford St., Regent St., Leicester Square: All of them were really cool and decked out for the holidays. There is a reason they are all listed together, which I will get to later.
British Museum: Wow, I had no idea Great Britain stole so much stuff from other countries. Hehe I kid, I kid. I wouldn't want to piss the majority of my readers. But seriously, some very impressive stuff. There are probably very few, if any, museums that come close.
St. Paul's: This was probably my favorite stop. I originally wanted to see it because it's a Mary Poppins locale, but it really took me away. I had no idea how huge the place was. Probably the most impressive church I've ever been in, second only to St. Peter's Basilica. I found it a little weird that the entire crypt was dedicated to explorers and war heroes of England though. I generally like a little more separation of church and state, but I guess it's to be expected when it's the Church of England...
Imperial War Museum: I finally made it across the Thames. I liked this museum as well. I wasn't really into the artifacts all that much, even though the original letters were cool. And I liked the layout of the museum. It always kept you on your toes and made looking for your friend an adventure. A 15-minute adventure. What I enjoyed the most was reading about the different conflicts and how they resolved, or lack thereof. I think British history should be a required separate class in high school just so everyone can see that America is not the only country that goes into other people's countries and starts shit.
Parliament, Big Ben, West Minster Abby: I just walked past these and took pictures. Highbrow wouldn't pay to go into West Minster so I didn't go in. I'm sure it couldn't compare to St. Paul's anyway.
Now, while I was walking (and walking, and walking...) throughout London I noticed that there were a couple of American things that are extremely popular and they really shouldn't be. Specifically I'm talking about Pizza Hut and KFC. There are THREE Pizza Huts in Leister Square. For those of you who do not know what Leister Square is, just imagine a big square made of movie theatres, cafes, stores and fast food joints. If you stood in the middle of the green you could easily see three Pizza Huts completely packed with people.
Note to the British: PIZZA HUT SUCKS. STOP EATING THERE AND INSTEAD STEAL SOME ITALIANS (along with all your Greek and Egyptian artifacts) TO OPEN UP A REAL PIZZA PLACE!
As for the KFCs, I learned that some things that I thought were cultural tendencies might actually be ethnically linked. I'll leave it at that.
Some of the good things that you've made popular in England: Starbucks (up for debate) and jeans.
I also now know where Mean Girls, Nip/Tuck and Final Destination got their inspiration for killing people with buses. Straight from the street of London. You guys make New York City streets look tame.
Surprisingly, the rain was never really an issue. The only time it really down poured was when I had to walk to the Tube with my luggage when going home. Great timing...
All in all, I had an amazing time. It really was everything I hoped it would be and worth every cent.
Some things that I got around to seeing after the Museum of Natural History (maybe in order of actual occurrence)
Institute of Contemporary Art: Only went to because that's where Highbrow's writing group decided to hold their meeting. It was interesting what the christianites wrote, and especially what they think racy and angry writing sounds like. Highbrow didn't give me the props that I rightfully deserved when he told his story. (It was inspired by a long conversation that we had with one of our mutual friends)
Covent Garden: Nothing much to say. Cool market area. I just wanted to see it because I'm really obsessed with My Fair Lady. I looked everywhere for someone selling leaves of lettuce, but to no avail.
Piccadilly Circus, Oxford St., Regent St., Leicester Square: All of them were really cool and decked out for the holidays. There is a reason they are all listed together, which I will get to later.
British Museum: Wow, I had no idea Great Britain stole so much stuff from other countries. Hehe I kid, I kid. I wouldn't want to piss the majority of my readers. But seriously, some very impressive stuff. There are probably very few, if any, museums that come close.
St. Paul's: This was probably my favorite stop. I originally wanted to see it because it's a Mary Poppins locale, but it really took me away. I had no idea how huge the place was. Probably the most impressive church I've ever been in, second only to St. Peter's Basilica. I found it a little weird that the entire crypt was dedicated to explorers and war heroes of England though. I generally like a little more separation of church and state, but I guess it's to be expected when it's the Church of England...
Imperial War Museum: I finally made it across the Thames. I liked this museum as well. I wasn't really into the artifacts all that much, even though the original letters were cool. And I liked the layout of the museum. It always kept you on your toes and made looking for your friend an adventure. A 15-minute adventure. What I enjoyed the most was reading about the different conflicts and how they resolved, or lack thereof. I think British history should be a required separate class in high school just so everyone can see that America is not the only country that goes into other people's countries and starts shit.
Parliament, Big Ben, West Minster Abby: I just walked past these and took pictures. Highbrow wouldn't pay to go into West Minster so I didn't go in. I'm sure it couldn't compare to St. Paul's anyway.
Now, while I was walking (and walking, and walking...) throughout London I noticed that there were a couple of American things that are extremely popular and they really shouldn't be. Specifically I'm talking about Pizza Hut and KFC. There are THREE Pizza Huts in Leister Square. For those of you who do not know what Leister Square is, just imagine a big square made of movie theatres, cafes, stores and fast food joints. If you stood in the middle of the green you could easily see three Pizza Huts completely packed with people.
Note to the British: PIZZA HUT SUCKS. STOP EATING THERE AND INSTEAD STEAL SOME ITALIANS (along with all your Greek and Egyptian artifacts) TO OPEN UP A REAL PIZZA PLACE!
As for the KFCs, I learned that some things that I thought were cultural tendencies might actually be ethnically linked. I'll leave it at that.
Some of the good things that you've made popular in England: Starbucks (up for debate) and jeans.
I also now know where Mean Girls, Nip/Tuck and Final Destination got their inspiration for killing people with buses. Straight from the street of London. You guys make New York City streets look tame.
Surprisingly, the rain was never really an issue. The only time it really down poured was when I had to walk to the Tube with my luggage when going home. Great timing...
All in all, I had an amazing time. It really was everything I hoped it would be and worth every cent.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Day One: The Arrival
Departure Day, started with leaving Po-Town (home of my school; short for poor town) and traveling to the airport. My roommate drove and we were planning on stopping by his home town before going to the airport. But because a certain state in the union has the most horrendous traffic known to man (and a delightful smell to get to be stuck in along with it) I decided it would be better if he just dropped me off at the airport 3 hours early than to risk missing my plane while coming back.
Check-in went smoothly, except for the fact that I thought they were going to lose my luggage because I never saw them put a sticker on it before I left. Security had no line and no fuss. It was just a matter of sitting and waiting to board my plane.
When I got on the plane I thought that I was going to have a window seat with no one sitting between me and aisle seat, since that's the seat a specifically picked the night before. But it wasn't meant to be. Instead I sat with a delightful, older British couple that was going home from Cancun. They had mistakenly thought that I too was going home to England, which pleased me because it proved to me that I was going to look like a complete tourist on sight alone. Although, I never really thought I would stick out since I am a typical WASP, as Highbrow likes to call me, and also because he knows I despise it. (PS-only one of those things accurately describes me. Another two are only close, but my last name sounds sooo British (although, at the same time you know it's a made up name) that I just assume the role of a WASP)
The flight went by very quickly and I was surprised that I was given two meals on the flight. Mmm, I actually enjoy airplane food and thought it died out along with the birth of Jet Blue. Unfortunately though, my iPod crapped out on my after only being played for a total of 4 hours after being fully charged. I think it's time that I get a new one. (hellooo, Christmas and birthday) Mine is that second generation one that has the four buttons at the top, as opposed to the click wheel.
Day 1:
At customs I got grilled like you couldn't imagine. First I was asked the typical questions: how long will you be here, for what purpose. But then she saw my index card with the cell numbers of some of my friends. So she asked what it was as if they were access numbers to a nuclear weapon. Then she asked a series of questions that I thought were really over the top like: why my friends were in London, for how long, when they were leaving, where they were staying, (how the hell do I know) where I was staying, how much money I had on me, if I had credit cards, when I was leaving, proof of when I was leaving. (thankfully I had a confirmation e-mail on me that had my return flight on it) My friends here agreed that the women was a little nuts and were never grilled like that whenever they returned to the UK.
I then proceeded to get my money exchanged, which made me cry. ($370 = 170GBP) Then I hopped on the Gatwick Express and got to the Tube, where I had a little trouble with someone going through on my swipe, and then needing to buy another, but not knowing how to use the machine, so instead waiting on the painfully long time again.
When I got to my hotel the room wasn't ready yet. I was suppose to meet Highbrow at Piccadilly Circus at 12PM, which was about 1.5 hours away. I asked the receptionist how long it would take to walk and he said about and hour, but thought I was crazy for walking that far. Well, I did it, and it wasn't that bad at all. It helped me get situated with the city quickly. But I still am having issues crossing streets. :-/
I hung out with Highbrow for the afternoon and went to the V&A museum. Then I went back to my room and slept for a couple of hours. Afterwards I walked to my other friends flat (but not after mistakenly going into the Dutch Embassy's backwater entrance) and hung out there for the night. I then proceeded to walk home in the rain since the Tube was closed. It rains too much, but I don't mind it as long as I have my hooded sweatshirt, which I guess I'll be wearing everyday here.
This morning (I'd like to stress the fact that it was the morning but for some reason the Bold and Italics option aren't available) I went to the Natural History Museum. It was pretty awesome. The building itself is breath taking alone, And it's not close to as kiddy as the one in New York City. I heard that the Science Museum here is, so I think I'll skip that one.
Now I'm here in Highbrow Hopefull's classroom building in London. We met up for lunch and now we're waiting for his writing group and then I'm going to drag him to some tourist thing that he'll claim to not be able to afford.
This post was much longer than expected but I wanted to get everything down. You're going to have to excuse me though because I don't plan on editing it beyond spell check.
Cheers!
Check-in went smoothly, except for the fact that I thought they were going to lose my luggage because I never saw them put a sticker on it before I left. Security had no line and no fuss. It was just a matter of sitting and waiting to board my plane.
When I got on the plane I thought that I was going to have a window seat with no one sitting between me and aisle seat, since that's the seat a specifically picked the night before. But it wasn't meant to be. Instead I sat with a delightful, older British couple that was going home from Cancun. They had mistakenly thought that I too was going home to England, which pleased me because it proved to me that I was going to look like a complete tourist on sight alone. Although, I never really thought I would stick out since I am a typical WASP, as Highbrow likes to call me, and also because he knows I despise it. (PS-only one of those things accurately describes me. Another two are only close, but my last name sounds sooo British (although, at the same time you know it's a made up name) that I just assume the role of a WASP)
The flight went by very quickly and I was surprised that I was given two meals on the flight. Mmm, I actually enjoy airplane food and thought it died out along with the birth of Jet Blue. Unfortunately though, my iPod crapped out on my after only being played for a total of 4 hours after being fully charged. I think it's time that I get a new one. (hellooo, Christmas and birthday) Mine is that second generation one that has the four buttons at the top, as opposed to the click wheel.
Day 1:
At customs I got grilled like you couldn't imagine. First I was asked the typical questions: how long will you be here, for what purpose. But then she saw my index card with the cell numbers of some of my friends. So she asked what it was as if they were access numbers to a nuclear weapon. Then she asked a series of questions that I thought were really over the top like: why my friends were in London, for how long, when they were leaving, where they were staying, (how the hell do I know) where I was staying, how much money I had on me, if I had credit cards, when I was leaving, proof of when I was leaving. (thankfully I had a confirmation e-mail on me that had my return flight on it) My friends here agreed that the women was a little nuts and were never grilled like that whenever they returned to the UK.
I then proceeded to get my money exchanged, which made me cry. ($370 = 170GBP) Then I hopped on the Gatwick Express and got to the Tube, where I had a little trouble with someone going through on my swipe, and then needing to buy another, but not knowing how to use the machine, so instead waiting on the painfully long time again.
When I got to my hotel the room wasn't ready yet. I was suppose to meet Highbrow at Piccadilly Circus at 12PM, which was about 1.5 hours away. I asked the receptionist how long it would take to walk and he said about and hour, but thought I was crazy for walking that far. Well, I did it, and it wasn't that bad at all. It helped me get situated with the city quickly. But I still am having issues crossing streets. :-/
I hung out with Highbrow for the afternoon and went to the V&A museum. Then I went back to my room and slept for a couple of hours. Afterwards I walked to my other friends flat (but not after mistakenly going into the Dutch Embassy's backwater entrance) and hung out there for the night. I then proceeded to walk home in the rain since the Tube was closed. It rains too much, but I don't mind it as long as I have my hooded sweatshirt, which I guess I'll be wearing everyday here.
This morning (I'd like to stress the fact that it was the morning but for some reason the Bold and Italics option aren't available) I went to the Natural History Museum. It was pretty awesome. The building itself is breath taking alone, And it's not close to as kiddy as the one in New York City. I heard that the Science Museum here is, so I think I'll skip that one.
Now I'm here in Highbrow Hopefull's classroom building in London. We met up for lunch and now we're waiting for his writing group and then I'm going to drag him to some tourist thing that he'll claim to not be able to afford.
This post was much longer than expected but I wanted to get everything down. You're going to have to excuse me though because I don't plan on editing it beyond spell check.
Cheers!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
WHOOOAAAAA
Yo everyone, I actually made it to London. Don't really know how I did it.
Stories to follow when I get back!
Stories to follow when I get back!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
How does this sound?
3. How and when did you become interested in medicine or the health profession to which you are applying? (“Why do you want to be a _____?” Go beyond “because I want to help people and like science”). Which branch of medicine are you currently interested in practicing? In what setting do you anticipate practicing?
When I started college I was undecided between psychology and biology with no real aspirations of medical school. I considered it above my academic ability and wrote it off. Fortunately though, one of the first classes I took freshman year was Human Biology and it really sparked my interest. When taking it I knew that I was only being taught the basics of human body and I found myself wanting to know more and more about its complexities. This by no means meant that I planning on applying to medical school. I had simply decided that I wanted to center my studies on human biology.
Later on in my freshman year I realized that I loved applying what I knew to problem solving situations. I guess it gives me a sense of satisfaction taking what I learned in the classroom and using it to answer someone’s questions or explain to someone what’s going on in their own body. It then occurred to me that I could actually make a living doing this. Medicine started to seem like the perfect fit for my interest since I could get paid for learning about what I liked and applying it to real life situations and seeing actual results from my treatment plan.
The summer following my freshman year I started getting some clinical experience to see if medicine is what I envisioned. My Physician Assistant Dermatologist offered the opportunity to shadow her in the practice to see what a typical day is like. After the first day I was hooked. Although I did not find dermatology all that exciting I still loved going into seeing patients hearing about their problems and trying to figure out in my head what was going one and what treatment would be right for them. That summer I learned a couple of important things. One, medicine was definitely the field I wanted to pursue. Two, I most likely wanted to go into a primary care field because they would see a wider variety of pathology, as opposed to specializing. Three, I wanted to become a physician as opposed to a physician assistant because physician assistants mainly see the same easier to treat problems.
Ever since that summer I’ve been doing my research on what to expect in medical school, residency and beyond. I’ve read all the horror stories and have had more than a couple of physicians try to talk me out of pursuing this career. But I’ve already accepted these hardships and feel like as long as I go into this field with the right reasons and mindset, then it is still all worth the effort. I feel that even with the long hours, incompliant patients and years of training this is still a field that I would really enjoy and do well in.
After doing some research and interning in a variety of different field I can see myself happiest in a primary care field, more specifically Internal Medicine. I think this is the area that best fits what I’m looking to get out of a career. I also can see myself working in a hospital setting as opposed to a private practice. A hospital would allow me more tools to do my job and also give me a better sense of continuity of care. Taking all of these things into consideration I see the job of being a Hospitalist (general medicine in-patient care specialist) to be the most appealing.
Note: I think I'm suppose to keep this to around 500. It's for my Pre-Health Professions Committee.
When I started college I was undecided between psychology and biology with no real aspirations of medical school. I considered it above my academic ability and wrote it off. Fortunately though, one of the first classes I took freshman year was Human Biology and it really sparked my interest. When taking it I knew that I was only being taught the basics of human body and I found myself wanting to know more and more about its complexities. This by no means meant that I planning on applying to medical school. I had simply decided that I wanted to center my studies on human biology.
Later on in my freshman year I realized that I loved applying what I knew to problem solving situations. I guess it gives me a sense of satisfaction taking what I learned in the classroom and using it to answer someone’s questions or explain to someone what’s going on in their own body. It then occurred to me that I could actually make a living doing this. Medicine started to seem like the perfect fit for my interest since I could get paid for learning about what I liked and applying it to real life situations and seeing actual results from my treatment plan.
The summer following my freshman year I started getting some clinical experience to see if medicine is what I envisioned. My Physician Assistant Dermatologist offered the opportunity to shadow her in the practice to see what a typical day is like. After the first day I was hooked. Although I did not find dermatology all that exciting I still loved going into seeing patients hearing about their problems and trying to figure out in my head what was going one and what treatment would be right for them. That summer I learned a couple of important things. One, medicine was definitely the field I wanted to pursue. Two, I most likely wanted to go into a primary care field because they would see a wider variety of pathology, as opposed to specializing. Three, I wanted to become a physician as opposed to a physician assistant because physician assistants mainly see the same easier to treat problems.
Ever since that summer I’ve been doing my research on what to expect in medical school, residency and beyond. I’ve read all the horror stories and have had more than a couple of physicians try to talk me out of pursuing this career. But I’ve already accepted these hardships and feel like as long as I go into this field with the right reasons and mindset, then it is still all worth the effort. I feel that even with the long hours, incompliant patients and years of training this is still a field that I would really enjoy and do well in.
After doing some research and interning in a variety of different field I can see myself happiest in a primary care field, more specifically Internal Medicine. I think this is the area that best fits what I’m looking to get out of a career. I also can see myself working in a hospital setting as opposed to a private practice. A hospital would allow me more tools to do my job and also give me a better sense of continuity of care. Taking all of these things into consideration I see the job of being a Hospitalist (general medicine in-patient care specialist) to be the most appealing.
Note: I think I'm suppose to keep this to around 500. It's for my Pre-Health Professions Committee.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Make Note of the Time
Right now I'm taking a break from doing my MCAT HW.
Tonight we're having fun with Kinectics, Force, and some other topic that I haven't gotten to yet. I've completed 1 out of 3 chapters due by tomorrow. I don't think I'm going to manage getting chapter 3 done since I'm anticipating chapter 2 taking longer thatn chapter 1.
Because my housemates were having a bit of a get together at our house I decided to do my work at a quieter environment. Unfortunatly, at our school the library closes at 9:30PM on Friday. I guess there isn't much of a student demand for it at that time. I wonder why...
Instead I'm utilizing my Microbiology lab pass, which allows me access to the lab 24/7, and studying in there. (I'm sooo cool) Well actually I got into that lab and walked into the ajacent Botany lab because it has larger tables. I guess plant bio is good for something after all.
I suppose I should go back to my work. Good thing the class is at 3PM. Well, it might be at 2PM, but Kaplan sucks at communicating with us and hasn't told us what time the instructor is going to arrive. Oh, listen to me complain. I sound as if I've paid them $1300 (about 700 GBP - shout out to my British followers) for this torture. Freaking Kaplan...
More like, Kraplan. (ha. ha. ha...)
[edit: since my blog records my entries in PST I'll just tell you that it's curretnly 1AM]
Tonight we're having fun with Kinectics, Force, and some other topic that I haven't gotten to yet. I've completed 1 out of 3 chapters due by tomorrow. I don't think I'm going to manage getting chapter 3 done since I'm anticipating chapter 2 taking longer thatn chapter 1.
Because my housemates were having a bit of a get together at our house I decided to do my work at a quieter environment. Unfortunatly, at our school the library closes at 9:30PM on Friday. I guess there isn't much of a student demand for it at that time. I wonder why...
Instead I'm utilizing my Microbiology lab pass, which allows me access to the lab 24/7, and studying in there. (I'm sooo cool) Well actually I got into that lab and walked into the ajacent Botany lab because it has larger tables. I guess plant bio is good for something after all.
I suppose I should go back to my work. Good thing the class is at 3PM. Well, it might be at 2PM, but Kaplan sucks at communicating with us and hasn't told us what time the instructor is going to arrive. Oh, listen to me complain. I sound as if I've paid them $1300 (about 700 GBP - shout out to my British followers) for this torture. Freaking Kaplan...
More like, Kraplan. (ha. ha. ha...)
[edit: since my blog records my entries in PST I'll just tell you that it's curretnly 1AM]
Thursday, November 02, 2006
My First Meme
I don't despise meme's the same way some people do. I just ignore the ones I don't find entertaining. This one I do.
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next four sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest!
Here's mine:
With my money and his cleverness, we could make the house talk of Paris.
I didn't answer right away. It took me more than a moment to realize that I could own a theatre just like that. Own it like the gems in the chest, or the clothes I wore, or the dollhouse I'd sent ot my nieces.
--The Vampire Lestat; Anne Rice
PS - does anyone know how to tab in blogger?
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next four sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest!
Here's mine:
With my money and his cleverness, we could make the house talk of Paris.
I didn't answer right away. It took me more than a moment to realize that I could own a theatre just like that. Own it like the gems in the chest, or the clothes I wore, or the dollhouse I'd sent ot my nieces.
--The Vampire Lestat; Anne Rice
PS - does anyone know how to tab in blogger?
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Me Amo Azul
There was something really bugging me about my old template, so I decided to change.
I'm not sure if I'm that crazy about this one either, but we'll try it out for now.
PS - the blogroll was greatly updated
I'm not sure if I'm that crazy about this one either, but we'll try it out for now.
PS - the blogroll was greatly updated
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