Gorgeous, I know!! So, I have been studying as if my boards are tomorrow. I have midterms in exactly 8 days. Well, not just me as evident by the large amounts of students in the library on a saturday night (typically, they are all out drinking). So far, my studying is going very well. Anatomy is alot of review for me since I am picking up the material rather quickly. Histology is okay; I have seen it before in undergrad, so it's just a matter of teasing it out of my brain. Biochem is still the beast that can not be tamed!! I plan on devoting the entire day tomorrow (sunday) to tackly lipid synthesis/degradation.
So, a few weeks ago I was in the grocery store and what did I see; cake mix. So I bought it to celebrate after midterms. I figure that I will make the mix sometime on the weekend, give half of it to the girls down the hall so they can make some mini cakes (they have a toaster oven) and the rest I will gladly eat with a spoon right out of the bowl while sitting on my bed watching Legally Blonde!! I know, raw cake batter is bad for you because of the eggs, blah, blah blah. BUT, I have been a connoisseur of raw cake batter since I was in my mom's womb. So you can blame her, she is the one who gave me my first "beater to lick".
If it turns out I do contract some vile bacteria then: 1. The hospital in Grenada is on a HUGE hill overlooking the ocean and my room should have a sweet view! 2. At least my last meal before the eruptions from both ends was something I really wanted and enjoyed tremendously.
Alright, back to anatomy study. Have a great night. My next post will most likely be after my last midterm (March 9th). Hey, maybe I will write it while eating Devil Food Cake Mix!
J
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
HAPPY BUSY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
Happy Valentine's Day to all. Hopefully, you are having a great day!!
I just realized that I have not posted here in a very long time. The reason for this is biochem is VERY HARD!!! First, I digress: i am taking 4 classes this semester which are biochemistry, anatomy, histology, and clinical skills. Anatomy is a beast requiring lots of time for structure knowledge and relationship to other structure knowledge. Biochem is the devil requiring lots of time for good old memorization. Because of the above two classes, I have not put any effort or time into Histology. I have taken histo in the past, and thus have a slight advantage. However, histo should not be taken lightly and unfortunately that is what i'm doing right now!!!
I have decided that to effectively study for biochem, I need to repeat the reactions and cycles over and over and over again. I do it everynight, and on the days we have lecture, I add more to my memorization list. So far tonight I have been through: glycolysis, beta oxidation, alpha oxidation, carnitine shuttle, malate aspartate shuttle, glycerol phosphate shuttle, electron transport chain, TCA cycle, synthesis of ketones and their use, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, gluconeogenesis, and hormone transduction signaling. Not only have I been going over all of the pathways, but also all of the diseases and genetic abnormalites that are associated with these pathways.
Did I mention that my brain is not happy with me right now; that it is screaming like it is being hacked up by a machette, and that all of it's oligodendrite wrapped axon sheaths are unable to effectively communicate via acetylcholine neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft! OH MY GOD, I WAS ABLE TO LEARN SOMETHING IN HISTO LECTURE TODAY!!!
Although I feel a little overwhelmed sometimes, I must be doing something right. We recently took our Unified Quiz. It is basically a 25 question per subject quiz (75 in total) taken in 2 hours. It allows the student to evaluate their study methods and in the event they do bad on the quiz, change said study methods before the midterm in 3 WEEKS!!! Well I got the following grades: 22/25 in anatomy, 20/25 in biochem, and 19/25 in histo (due to my non-study habits in this class). Hopefully, these grades will be a major reflection on my midterm grades; as long as I keep studying my butt off every night!!!
Well, it is getting late and I should wrap it up and head on home for bed. My day starts early tomorrow morning at 7 am (which happens to be the time my day always starts). Have a good night and I'll hopefully post soon
I just realized that I have not posted here in a very long time. The reason for this is biochem is VERY HARD!!! First, I digress: i am taking 4 classes this semester which are biochemistry, anatomy, histology, and clinical skills. Anatomy is a beast requiring lots of time for structure knowledge and relationship to other structure knowledge. Biochem is the devil requiring lots of time for good old memorization. Because of the above two classes, I have not put any effort or time into Histology. I have taken histo in the past, and thus have a slight advantage. However, histo should not be taken lightly and unfortunately that is what i'm doing right now!!!
I have decided that to effectively study for biochem, I need to repeat the reactions and cycles over and over and over again. I do it everynight, and on the days we have lecture, I add more to my memorization list. So far tonight I have been through: glycolysis, beta oxidation, alpha oxidation, carnitine shuttle, malate aspartate shuttle, glycerol phosphate shuttle, electron transport chain, TCA cycle, synthesis of ketones and their use, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, gluconeogenesis, and hormone transduction signaling. Not only have I been going over all of the pathways, but also all of the diseases and genetic abnormalites that are associated with these pathways.
Did I mention that my brain is not happy with me right now; that it is screaming like it is being hacked up by a machette, and that all of it's oligodendrite wrapped axon sheaths are unable to effectively communicate via acetylcholine neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft! OH MY GOD, I WAS ABLE TO LEARN SOMETHING IN HISTO LECTURE TODAY!!!
Although I feel a little overwhelmed sometimes, I must be doing something right. We recently took our Unified Quiz. It is basically a 25 question per subject quiz (75 in total) taken in 2 hours. It allows the student to evaluate their study methods and in the event they do bad on the quiz, change said study methods before the midterm in 3 WEEKS!!! Well I got the following grades: 22/25 in anatomy, 20/25 in biochem, and 19/25 in histo (due to my non-study habits in this class). Hopefully, these grades will be a major reflection on my midterm grades; as long as I keep studying my butt off every night!!!
Well, it is getting late and I should wrap it up and head on home for bed. My day starts early tomorrow morning at 7 am (which happens to be the time my day always starts). Have a good night and I'll hopefully post soon
Monday, January 29, 2007
3rd week, here i come!!
I know, I know. I haven't posted in a long time, but it's incredibly hard to give information (in the form of writing) when you are trying so hard to retain (in the form of anatomy, histology, and the dreaded biochem)!!!
So far, everything is going well. The studying is very intense. I believe I have studied more in the last 2 weeks than I ever had in my entire undergraduate career!! NO JOKE!! The amount of material that is thrown at you everyday is insane. For instance, here is a typical day: Get up 7 am, eat breakfast, shower, and have a small amount of "free time" until 8 am. Non-Lab days I study and pre-read for upcoming lectures until 12:30, on lab days I can only pre-read for a few hours as labs run 8 am - 10 am or 10 am - 12 pm. At 12 or 12:30, I have lunch and take a much needed break. Lectures run from 1 pm - 5 pm. At 5 I run back to the dorm to eat dinner and grab study material. From 6 pm - 11 pm is study time. I'm back in my dorm around 11:30 pm, and in bed by 12 am. Then it's back up at 7 am to do it all over again!!
Weekends are little easier with no classes, but if you are behind or need extra help, the studying time may be just as long. For instance, yesterday I had a selective on complementary medicine that ran from 9 am - 4 pm. I did get some studying done after, but not much. So, sunday was the day to catch up. From 11 am - 6 pm, and 7 pm - 11 pm I did nothing but cram information into my head.
What i've found so far is that the first 2 weeks are the hardest. You are trying to find out how to be successful in terms of the best ways to study and retain information. Of course, everyone wants to give you their opinion on how they study and remember, but in the end, it is up to you to determine what works and does not work for you. Once you find that, studying becomes so much easier. I think I have found my way, and hopefully this will be reinforced by our first unified quiz.
Well, i'm off to class. In the next few days I will be posting more about fun stuff at school and also more about the island. Have a good day!
So far, everything is going well. The studying is very intense. I believe I have studied more in the last 2 weeks than I ever had in my entire undergraduate career!! NO JOKE!! The amount of material that is thrown at you everyday is insane. For instance, here is a typical day: Get up 7 am, eat breakfast, shower, and have a small amount of "free time" until 8 am. Non-Lab days I study and pre-read for upcoming lectures until 12:30, on lab days I can only pre-read for a few hours as labs run 8 am - 10 am or 10 am - 12 pm. At 12 or 12:30, I have lunch and take a much needed break. Lectures run from 1 pm - 5 pm. At 5 I run back to the dorm to eat dinner and grab study material. From 6 pm - 11 pm is study time. I'm back in my dorm around 11:30 pm, and in bed by 12 am. Then it's back up at 7 am to do it all over again!!
Weekends are little easier with no classes, but if you are behind or need extra help, the studying time may be just as long. For instance, yesterday I had a selective on complementary medicine that ran from 9 am - 4 pm. I did get some studying done after, but not much. So, sunday was the day to catch up. From 11 am - 6 pm, and 7 pm - 11 pm I did nothing but cram information into my head.
What i've found so far is that the first 2 weeks are the hardest. You are trying to find out how to be successful in terms of the best ways to study and retain information. Of course, everyone wants to give you their opinion on how they study and remember, but in the end, it is up to you to determine what works and does not work for you. Once you find that, studying becomes so much easier. I think I have found my way, and hopefully this will be reinforced by our first unified quiz.
Well, i'm off to class. In the next few days I will be posting more about fun stuff at school and also more about the island. Have a good day!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
FOOD!!!
So this is my first official meal outside of the campus.....i had gone into the city of St. George's with friends to do some grocery shopping (this of course occurred on 1/13, so my post is a tad bit late). There is a port that docks cruise ships and they have this giant strip mall of duty free items. So, we went inside and the first thing we see is pizza. So of course we needed to eat some. I bought the vegetable slice. It had peppers, onions, corn, green beans, broccoli, and something else that was un-identifiable. However, the pizza was great!!! It was 5 ec for the slice (about $2.00) and it was oh so good!!! We were debating if we should get another. We didn't!!!So the grocery shopping was not a great success. There is a huge farmer's type market in the city where fresh vegetables and fruits are sold. The selection was okay although it seemed that many of the farmer's had the same produce - carrots, mangos, grapfruit, oranges (which are green here), peppers, onions, etc, etc. I did pick up something called cashew. It is a fruit and tastes like a watered down version of an apple (at least to me). It was very good though. Anyway, I quickly realized that when three american medical students approached a stand, the prices suddenly jumped. I guess if you are grenandian the prices are great, but for us, it wasn't any cheaper than the over-priced supermarket. We did however get apples, gala apples. They said on the sticker, grown in the USA....it was pretty funny!!! Anyway, i was able to get 4 apples for 5 ec (about 4 for $2.00). Now you may be saying, WHOA, THAT IS A LOT!! However, in the grocery store apples were $2.69 ec EACH!!! That is almost $1/apple.
Alright, time to do some studying. I had embryology yesterday and already I can see that this class will be a big pain in the rear end in terminology. Have a great day and i'll post again soon.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
St. George"s
Just wanted to give you all a glimpse of the beautiful city of St. George's. I'm waiting to board the rhum runner for a short cruise.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Day 3
So today marks my 3rd day of being on this beautiful island. Although today is very cloudy and overcast, the temperature is still 85 degrees and very, VERY humid.
Today is tour day....i signed up for the campus tour and the tour of the national rain forest. The campus tour was okay....very short, and very hard to hear. The tour guide spoke so softly. I've noticed that many grenadians speak very softly and of course they annunciate differently, so it's very hard to understand them. The rain forest tour is at 2 pm, although it may be very wet considering there is a very dark cloud encompassing the entire island!!
Yesterday was my first trip to the grocery store. Prices were very expensive for name brand, american items, but cheaper for local items. For example, a small box of uncle ben's minute rice was 16 EC ($6.40), however, a 5 lb. bag of local white rice (not instant) was 5 EC ($2). Naturally, my roomate and I decided to go for the 5 lb bag. Fruit and vegetables were absurdly expensive....1 apple was 2.79 EC, which is about $1.10 per fruit. The capital tour is saturday and many 2nd termers have told us that they have open markets for fish and fruit there....so we will definitely check that out, and I'll inform you as to the differences in prices.
So between now and the tour, I will be picking up my books and having lunch, all in 3 hours of time. The orientation week is great, however, the days are not packed solid with things to do so there is a lot of down time....like now....most students use the time to meet others or explore the campus on their own.
Last night, i went with two other students to a bar off campus...it was fun!! I only had 1 beer, a local called caribe....it tasted like miller lite.....oh...i'll be right back, time to go get books....
okay, i'm back.....we have alot of books.....12 to be exact.....luckily we didn't have to carry them from the bookstore.....a girl down the hall allowed us to ride with her and her parent's in their rental jeep.....
so back to the bar.....it was right on the water and they played alot of 80's and 90's dance music....by 10:30, the bar was packed with students and unfortunately it was very hard to hear with the music. add to that all of the different nationalities and accents, and it was very hard to converse and meet new people, but i tried.....i did meet a guy from south africa, another from brazil, and several from england and scotland. although many students are from the states, most of them are from different nationalities and speak other languages. For example, my roommate stephanie lives in new jersey, but her parents are hungarian so when she speaks with them, she speaks in that language. Joanne down the hall lives in LA, but she is asian....she speaks with her parents in their native tongue.....i met a another guy the other day from nyc talking to his parents in jewish. So it seems i am a minority when it comes to speaking other languages!!!
Well, i'm going to have lunch and get ready for the Grand Etang tour. I'm desperately trying to learn how to add photos...i did sign up for flickr, now i just have to figure out how to get them on this blog.
Have a great day!!
Today is tour day....i signed up for the campus tour and the tour of the national rain forest. The campus tour was okay....very short, and very hard to hear. The tour guide spoke so softly. I've noticed that many grenadians speak very softly and of course they annunciate differently, so it's very hard to understand them. The rain forest tour is at 2 pm, although it may be very wet considering there is a very dark cloud encompassing the entire island!!
Yesterday was my first trip to the grocery store. Prices were very expensive for name brand, american items, but cheaper for local items. For example, a small box of uncle ben's minute rice was 16 EC ($6.40), however, a 5 lb. bag of local white rice (not instant) was 5 EC ($2). Naturally, my roomate and I decided to go for the 5 lb bag. Fruit and vegetables were absurdly expensive....1 apple was 2.79 EC, which is about $1.10 per fruit. The capital tour is saturday and many 2nd termers have told us that they have open markets for fish and fruit there....so we will definitely check that out, and I'll inform you as to the differences in prices.
So between now and the tour, I will be picking up my books and having lunch, all in 3 hours of time. The orientation week is great, however, the days are not packed solid with things to do so there is a lot of down time....like now....most students use the time to meet others or explore the campus on their own.
Last night, i went with two other students to a bar off campus...it was fun!! I only had 1 beer, a local called caribe....it tasted like miller lite.....oh...i'll be right back, time to go get books....
okay, i'm back.....we have alot of books.....12 to be exact.....luckily we didn't have to carry them from the bookstore.....a girl down the hall allowed us to ride with her and her parent's in their rental jeep.....
so back to the bar.....it was right on the water and they played alot of 80's and 90's dance music....by 10:30, the bar was packed with students and unfortunately it was very hard to hear with the music. add to that all of the different nationalities and accents, and it was very hard to converse and meet new people, but i tried.....i did meet a guy from south africa, another from brazil, and several from england and scotland. although many students are from the states, most of them are from different nationalities and speak other languages. For example, my roommate stephanie lives in new jersey, but her parents are hungarian so when she speaks with them, she speaks in that language. Joanne down the hall lives in LA, but she is asian....she speaks with her parents in their native tongue.....i met a another guy the other day from nyc talking to his parents in jewish. So it seems i am a minority when it comes to speaking other languages!!!
Well, i'm going to have lunch and get ready for the Grand Etang tour. I'm desperately trying to learn how to add photos...i did sign up for flickr, now i just have to figure out how to get them on this blog.
Have a great day!!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
I'm Here!!!!
Well, i made it to grenada!! my plane arrived today at 4:42 pm (grenada time is one hour ahead). Of course, I do have an airport story. My seat was in row 12 and usually they board the back of the plane first. So, by the time they called the remaining seats,(rows 6-18) there was no room for anymore carry-on luggage and everything had to go underneath. It was a very long process of hearing the whining and moaning from my fellow passengers, and then to have to hand-right tickets for the 30 or so people that needed to check their bags....the flight was delayed by almost 45 minutes. However, the pilots definitely made up for it in the air.
Customs in grenadanwas not bad at all. They are doing some renovations to the airport so we had to walk onto the tarmac and then about 500 yards to the six custom agents. It was fairly humid and there was no air conditioning, only a few fans which made the wait seem like forever, but in reality it was only 10 minutes. The custom agents don't speak much. My agent asked how my flight was and that was it. I handed him the appropriate paperwork (passport, immigration letter) and then I was off to get my luggage. There were way too many black bags!!! i'm glad jenna got me a green luggage set!!! although, one of my bags was black and it took me forever to find. Then I was off to the claim center where you have to declare the items you are bringing in to grenada. Basically, they just want to see your laptop. I handed the agent my laptop and receipt and he punched some numbers and said "$46". Then it was out the door to be picked up by SGU. And the weather is awesome!!!! Bright blue skies, palm trees, i am so glad i decided to come here for school!!
I arrived at my dorm, superdorm 2, which is located near the b-ball courts. I am on the 2nd floor, room #3. So far I have met my roommate Stephanie, and another girl Chelsea that lives a few doors down. I also met another girl but I can't remember her name, so i'll have to get that tomorrow!!
I decided to unpack as soon as I got into my dorm. That took me over an hour, and when I was done, it was too dark outside to see anything. So, tomorrow is a day for just walking around!! I have to register at 11:30 for classes, but after that, the day is mine to do whatever I like. I think I'm going to go check out the grocery store and maybe the beach too. Although I didn't bring a bathing suit!! I figure I can where my board shorts and a sport bra!!
i'm also going to find time tomorrow to figure out how to get pictures up on this blog. They will be awesome!!
Have a good night all, and be safe!
J
Customs in grenadanwas not bad at all. They are doing some renovations to the airport so we had to walk onto the tarmac and then about 500 yards to the six custom agents. It was fairly humid and there was no air conditioning, only a few fans which made the wait seem like forever, but in reality it was only 10 minutes. The custom agents don't speak much. My agent asked how my flight was and that was it. I handed him the appropriate paperwork (passport, immigration letter) and then I was off to get my luggage. There were way too many black bags!!! i'm glad jenna got me a green luggage set!!! although, one of my bags was black and it took me forever to find. Then I was off to the claim center where you have to declare the items you are bringing in to grenada. Basically, they just want to see your laptop. I handed the agent my laptop and receipt and he punched some numbers and said "$46". Then it was out the door to be picked up by SGU. And the weather is awesome!!!! Bright blue skies, palm trees, i am so glad i decided to come here for school!!
I arrived at my dorm, superdorm 2, which is located near the b-ball courts. I am on the 2nd floor, room #3. So far I have met my roommate Stephanie, and another girl Chelsea that lives a few doors down. I also met another girl but I can't remember her name, so i'll have to get that tomorrow!!
I decided to unpack as soon as I got into my dorm. That took me over an hour, and when I was done, it was too dark outside to see anything. So, tomorrow is a day for just walking around!! I have to register at 11:30 for classes, but after that, the day is mine to do whatever I like. I think I'm going to go check out the grocery store and maybe the beach too. Although I didn't bring a bathing suit!! I figure I can where my board shorts and a sport bra!!
i'm also going to find time tomorrow to figure out how to get pictures up on this blog. They will be awesome!!
Have a good night all, and be safe!
J
Monday, December 18, 2006
SCARE!!!!
Okay, so i'm posting this now and i'm sure that everything will be okay. You all can read about my hairy experience later when I tell everyone about my blog!! Then we can all laugh at how close I came to not going to Medical School. Of course, if it doesn't work out, i'll just erase this blog and no one but myself will know! And then I will take a plunge off of a cliff!!! So here is my story.....
I have been very diligent with getting all of my paperwork into St. George's since I have read horror stories on valuemd.com about things not being processed on time and students who fell into a "limbo" stage where they sat and sat until everything was resolved (some students had to defer admission!!). So anyway, since the end of the summer I have been bugging the school to send me the financial aid information so I could start early. They kept emailing me saying, "we will release it soon!!" Well, I finally received it in early November, and I filled it out electronically that day!! Then I started to follow-up and was told everything was going according to plan.
On December 4th, the loan servicer contacted me to say that I needed to verify additional information. I did, and was told everything was all set and my application would be processed soon. About a week later, I called SGU to see how everything was going, they said "we have not received anything from Great Lakes (servicer), so I called Great Lakes. Their reply was, "we are waiting on word from your school for certification". And so I went back and forth for two whole days before SGU finally said "we got it!!". Then on Decemeber 15th (I actually have nightmares when I think of this date) I received an email stating that I was denied financial aid. I was in total shock, and spent the entire weekend worried that I would not make the January 2007 class. This morning (Dec. 18), I called the lender's representative (in regards to financial aid, lender's use servicers to weed out applicants. In this case the bank (lender) uses Great Lakes (servicer). She was incredibly nice and assured me that Great Lakes does this all the time, that is deny students for loans based on insignificant finds on credit reports. I had to do the following: re-apply for the loan on paper (instead of electronically), get denied again, allow a copy to be sent to her (lender). She would review my credit history and call me back as to whether she could override my denial. She said that would take about 1 week.
So, by the end of December I should know definitely if I will have Grad Plus loans for school, or if I have to scramble to find a co-signer for private loans for the first semester!! It really sucks that I have to sit and wait a whole week, and it's a tad bit annoying. I can only hope that everything falls into place!!!
Until the next posting (hopefully with GREAT NEWS), have a great day!!!
I have been very diligent with getting all of my paperwork into St. George's since I have read horror stories on valuemd.com about things not being processed on time and students who fell into a "limbo" stage where they sat and sat until everything was resolved (some students had to defer admission!!). So anyway, since the end of the summer I have been bugging the school to send me the financial aid information so I could start early. They kept emailing me saying, "we will release it soon!!" Well, I finally received it in early November, and I filled it out electronically that day!! Then I started to follow-up and was told everything was going according to plan.
On December 4th, the loan servicer contacted me to say that I needed to verify additional information. I did, and was told everything was all set and my application would be processed soon. About a week later, I called SGU to see how everything was going, they said "we have not received anything from Great Lakes (servicer), so I called Great Lakes. Their reply was, "we are waiting on word from your school for certification". And so I went back and forth for two whole days before SGU finally said "we got it!!". Then on Decemeber 15th (I actually have nightmares when I think of this date) I received an email stating that I was denied financial aid. I was in total shock, and spent the entire weekend worried that I would not make the January 2007 class. This morning (Dec. 18), I called the lender's representative (in regards to financial aid, lender's use servicers to weed out applicants. In this case the bank (lender) uses Great Lakes (servicer). She was incredibly nice and assured me that Great Lakes does this all the time, that is deny students for loans based on insignificant finds on credit reports. I had to do the following: re-apply for the loan on paper (instead of electronically), get denied again, allow a copy to be sent to her (lender). She would review my credit history and call me back as to whether she could override my denial. She said that would take about 1 week.
So, by the end of December I should know definitely if I will have Grad Plus loans for school, or if I have to scramble to find a co-signer for private loans for the first semester!! It really sucks that I have to sit and wait a whole week, and it's a tad bit annoying. I can only hope that everything falls into place!!!
Until the next posting (hopefully with GREAT NEWS), have a great day!!!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
So, it's sunday morning......
So, it's sunday morning, and i just finished breakfast and a grande coffee (black of course!) down at the coffee shop. I decided to have a nice relaxing sunday morning, checking my email, mailing some friends, and of course posting here!!!
I realized while reading over previous posts, that i sometimes promise to do something later (for example, posting pics of my puppy) and then not following through. For future reference, most of my posting occurs during work between patients, so i post, continue on with patients and by the end of the day, forget what i posted, therefore making all of my promises unfulfilled. I apologize now for any unfulfilled future promisings!!!
So the last few weeks have been a stuggle for me. A struggle to get up in the morning, and an even bigger struggle to get to work!! I have been talking to Jenna (my incredibly gifted girlfriend who is very intelligent, very detail oriented, extremely observant and of course very quick to give me her take on anything in my life) about it, and here is her explaination on my lack of working will power (Note: this is a synopsis, not word for word): Since I am fully aware that in a short 6 months i will be undertaking the biggest journey of my life, I mentally don't want to be a medical assistant anymore because that is not my course in life. So, it's hard for me to get up and to continue on in a postion that in the end will benefit me zero times over!!! And she is absolutely right!!!! It's not that I don't like working for the doctor, I value his input, experience, and wonderful opportunity he has given me. I just know in my heart and mind that my time is up there and knowing I have 6 MORE MONTHS is equivalent to being a honeybee trapped inside, seeing the wonderful and glorious sunny day outside, and banging uncontrollably into the closed window 1000's of times over!! Of course, I will suck it up and continue on, at least until december comes or I win the lottery!! :)
By the way, Jenna has informed me that blogs are very un-cool, and that she would never read my blog EVER!!! I guess she will be missing the wonderful comment i just posted!!! Too bad for her!!! :)
Okay, time for me to do something with this lovely day. I hope you have a great day, be safe, and i'll be posting again soon!!
I realized while reading over previous posts, that i sometimes promise to do something later (for example, posting pics of my puppy) and then not following through. For future reference, most of my posting occurs during work between patients, so i post, continue on with patients and by the end of the day, forget what i posted, therefore making all of my promises unfulfilled. I apologize now for any unfulfilled future promisings!!!
So the last few weeks have been a stuggle for me. A struggle to get up in the morning, and an even bigger struggle to get to work!! I have been talking to Jenna (my incredibly gifted girlfriend who is very intelligent, very detail oriented, extremely observant and of course very quick to give me her take on anything in my life) about it, and here is her explaination on my lack of working will power (Note: this is a synopsis, not word for word): Since I am fully aware that in a short 6 months i will be undertaking the biggest journey of my life, I mentally don't want to be a medical assistant anymore because that is not my course in life. So, it's hard for me to get up and to continue on in a postion that in the end will benefit me zero times over!!! And she is absolutely right!!!! It's not that I don't like working for the doctor, I value his input, experience, and wonderful opportunity he has given me. I just know in my heart and mind that my time is up there and knowing I have 6 MORE MONTHS is equivalent to being a honeybee trapped inside, seeing the wonderful and glorious sunny day outside, and banging uncontrollably into the closed window 1000's of times over!! Of course, I will suck it up and continue on, at least until december comes or I win the lottery!! :)
By the way, Jenna has informed me that blogs are very un-cool, and that she would never read my blog EVER!!! I guess she will be missing the wonderful comment i just posted!!! Too bad for her!!! :)
Okay, time for me to do something with this lovely day. I hope you have a great day, be safe, and i'll be posting again soon!!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
I'M ACCEPTED!!!!!!
So, here is the story.....
My mom calls me Monday, around noon (today is Wed)....i pick up the phone and say "Hi", and she says "why are you answering your phone at work?" BECAUSE I CAN!!!! (A four minute conversation ensues where I tell her that Dr. Hess doesn't mind me answering my phone at work). Anyway, in a very excited voice my mom says "a VERY HUGE packet has arrived from St. George's!!" So, i tell her to open it up, and read it to me. Now, my mom is a speed reader in disguise (she can plow through a book in a few hours), so I hear her open the envelope and within 5 seconds she says "Congratulations!!" and i say "you were supposed to read it to me!!" So she proceeds to read me the letter that says i am definitely accepted for Jan. 07, and waitlisted for Aug. 06. I felt like a huge weight lifted, as i have been waiting patiently for 6 weeks to hear my fate!!
I wanted to celebrate that night, unfortunately i had to work at the coffee shop, so last night I went out for some Korean food, and a large sake!!!! I'm positive that there will be more celebrating to come in the future as my friends and family learn of the good news!!!
My mom overnighted the package to me so i have to pick it up today. She did tell me that the letter gives me the option of remaining on the waitlist for Aug, or removing my name for August and starting in Jan 07. I have already decided to take my name off for Aug., and start in Jan. I feel 6 more months of paying down debt will help me financially when i'm in school.
I can't describe in words how i am feeling right now. It is so surreal. I have waited for this moment for a very long time, and now that it has arrived, i am in complete shock. The reality of being in medical school in 6 months is overwhelming. So, i'm trying hard not to think about it. Instead, I will be celebrating my acceptance!!! I think i deserve it.
I will post my acceptance letter as soon as i receive it. Until then....be safe, and have fun!!!
My mom calls me Monday, around noon (today is Wed)....i pick up the phone and say "Hi", and she says "why are you answering your phone at work?" BECAUSE I CAN!!!! (A four minute conversation ensues where I tell her that Dr. Hess doesn't mind me answering my phone at work). Anyway, in a very excited voice my mom says "a VERY HUGE packet has arrived from St. George's!!" So, i tell her to open it up, and read it to me. Now, my mom is a speed reader in disguise (she can plow through a book in a few hours), so I hear her open the envelope and within 5 seconds she says "Congratulations!!" and i say "you were supposed to read it to me!!" So she proceeds to read me the letter that says i am definitely accepted for Jan. 07, and waitlisted for Aug. 06. I felt like a huge weight lifted, as i have been waiting patiently for 6 weeks to hear my fate!!
I wanted to celebrate that night, unfortunately i had to work at the coffee shop, so last night I went out for some Korean food, and a large sake!!!! I'm positive that there will be more celebrating to come in the future as my friends and family learn of the good news!!!
My mom overnighted the package to me so i have to pick it up today. She did tell me that the letter gives me the option of remaining on the waitlist for Aug, or removing my name for August and starting in Jan 07. I have already decided to take my name off for Aug., and start in Jan. I feel 6 more months of paying down debt will help me financially when i'm in school.
I can't describe in words how i am feeling right now. It is so surreal. I have waited for this moment for a very long time, and now that it has arrived, i am in complete shock. The reality of being in medical school in 6 months is overwhelming. So, i'm trying hard not to think about it. Instead, I will be celebrating my acceptance!!! I think i deserve it.
I will post my acceptance letter as soon as i receive it. Until then....be safe, and have fun!!!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
why King Moonraker??
Good afternoon!!!! I was just finishing up my day at work, and I decided to post a random blog; something NOT related to medicine!!
So, today, I was on the internet, and browsing along, and I came upon a location in a profile that read "Land of chocolate". I decided I wanted to change my location too, and the first thing that popped into my head was "Land of Misfit toys". A quick little detour....
I LOVE the xmas special Rudolph. I remember being a little kid and waiting for it to come on during the holiday season. I really did not like the singing of the snowman....I would have preferred to see more of Rudolph, The Bumble, and the misfit toys. You know "No one likes a Charlie in the Box"....and, "a train with square wheels"!!! Of couse my favorite was King Moonraker!! I am a huge cat fan...and I love big cats (tigers, lions, etc.) So, when I was young and first saw King Moonraker, I was in a total trance!!! Not only was he a beautiful lion....but he could FLY!!! That right there was all I needed....I was in love!!!
Moving on....So I quickly decided to explore the "ins and outs" of this blog site, and to change my location to "Land of Misfit Toys" from Rochester. Of course, since I was right there, I also decided to change my signature from "J" to "King Moonraker", the love of my life. I figure I will leave it up until I get bored with it, then move on to something different. But for today I AM KING MOONRAKER!!!! And I love it!!!
Here me roar!!!
So, today, I was on the internet, and browsing along, and I came upon a location in a profile that read "Land of chocolate". I decided I wanted to change my location too, and the first thing that popped into my head was "Land of Misfit toys". A quick little detour....
I LOVE the xmas special Rudolph. I remember being a little kid and waiting for it to come on during the holiday season. I really did not like the singing of the snowman....I would have preferred to see more of Rudolph, The Bumble, and the misfit toys. You know "No one likes a Charlie in the Box"....and, "a train with square wheels"!!! Of couse my favorite was King Moonraker!! I am a huge cat fan...and I love big cats (tigers, lions, etc.) So, when I was young and first saw King Moonraker, I was in a total trance!!! Not only was he a beautiful lion....but he could FLY!!! That right there was all I needed....I was in love!!!
Moving on....So I quickly decided to explore the "ins and outs" of this blog site, and to change my location to "Land of Misfit Toys" from Rochester. Of course, since I was right there, I also decided to change my signature from "J" to "King Moonraker", the love of my life. I figure I will leave it up until I get bored with it, then move on to something different. But for today I AM KING MOONRAKER!!!! And I love it!!!
Here me roar!!!
Friday, March 31, 2006
Interview Aftermath
:)!!! Well, I had my interview Wed., and it went really, really well. I spent the morning driving down to NYC (it was a beautiful day!!). I arrived in the city around 3:30, I got a slice of NY style pizza (YUMMY!!), and I finished preparing mentally for the interview. I arrived at Roosevelt Hospital at 4:40 and at 4:50, Dr. F. came down to the lobby. The interview started with the essay. I had 10 minutes to write 250 words on one of three topics. I chose to write about an influential person in my life, and of course I picked my mom!!! Once the essay was complete, Dr. F. told me about himself, when he graduated, what he was doing now, what his future plans were. He then started the questioning with why I chose SGU? He followed that up with why I wanted to be a doctor? We discussed the past 10 years; why I had waited to go to school and what I had done during that time. He also questioned me on my thoughts of being out of school so long and whether I could handle the work load of medical school. I expected all of these questions and I was very prepared with my answers. We then discussed a medical ethics question. He debated me on the Terri Schiavo case. Of course he took the opposite opinion of my answer, and we spent about 10 solid minutes discussing. I really believe he wanted to see how I thought, and whether I would back down or stick to my opinion. After that, I asked a few more questions about the school, and then the interview was done. In all, it lasted a little over an hour. Dr. F. was very knowledgeable. He readily answered all my questions about SGU, clinical work, and residencies. He was a great interviewer!!
So, now I have to wait again....for about 4-6 weeks for the final answer!! The waiting is horrible!!! I will post with the good news because that is what I expect!! Have a very good day, and be safe!!
J
So, now I have to wait again....for about 4-6 weeks for the final answer!! The waiting is horrible!!! I will post with the good news because that is what I expect!! Have a very good day, and be safe!!
J
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
INTERVIEW!!!!!!
So, I FINALLY have my interview tomorrow for medical school!!!! Only one, but it is a start. As I said in an earlier post, the interview is for St. George's, which was no surprise to me; I have believed for a long time that SGU would be the place where I would make my dream a reality. I actually found out about the interview in february (see post entitled YES!!!). The interview coordinator had set my interview up with Dr. A (due to the rules, I can't use names without prior permission!!) in Albany. However, when I called her to schedule she informed me she was out on early maternity leave!!! So, SGU had to find me another interviewer. That took some time; almost 3 weeks. So tomorrow (3/29/06) I will be traveling to NYC for my interview with DR. F. From talking with him on the phone, he seems very polite and was very accomodating with my interview time.
It would be inhumane for me to say I am not nervous; I am, just not in an over the top "Oh my god I have an interview" way. I have spent the last week formulating my answers to the most popular questions (Why doctor?, why SGU?, etc) and have spent almost every waking hour mentally reviewing my answers. I feel prepared, and I am confident that this interview will go very smoothly. I have had no restless nights leading up to the interview, which for me is a very good sign (means I AM prepared!!) My only occassional "bad dreams" involve me not getting to Roosevelt Hospital on time, and missing my interview!! One dream was actually quite funny, I was trying to catch the subway; ACTUALLY trying to catch it. I was running down the track, jumping over rats like they were hurdles...it was all pretty humorous when i finally woke up!!!
I plan on posting my entire interview experience on Thursday; see you then!!
J
It would be inhumane for me to say I am not nervous; I am, just not in an over the top "Oh my god I have an interview" way. I have spent the last week formulating my answers to the most popular questions (Why doctor?, why SGU?, etc) and have spent almost every waking hour mentally reviewing my answers. I feel prepared, and I am confident that this interview will go very smoothly. I have had no restless nights leading up to the interview, which for me is a very good sign (means I AM prepared!!) My only occassional "bad dreams" involve me not getting to Roosevelt Hospital on time, and missing my interview!! One dream was actually quite funny, I was trying to catch the subway; ACTUALLY trying to catch it. I was running down the track, jumping over rats like they were hurdles...it was all pretty humorous when i finally woke up!!!
I plan on posting my entire interview experience on Thursday; see you then!!
J
Friday, February 03, 2006
YES!!!!!!!
I RECEIVED MY FIRST INTERVIEW INVITE!!!!!! I'm actually so excited!!! I found out on Wed. by email, and then my mom called me and read the official letter over the phone. I think waiting for an interview is the most nerve-wracking experience. Everyday you check your email like a million times, and when there is nothing there, you get really bummed out....then you wake up the next morning and perform the same obsessive ritual, over and over again!!! Well, at least I have one now...that is all that matters!!
So, here is the quick scoop.....I have an interview with St. George's University. In the next week they will call with the place and time. NOW the preparation begins! I'll be spending my entire weekend in Barnes and Noble rehearsing answers to questions that may come my way (of course, not the whole weekend...SUPER BOWL ON SUNDAY!!!!)
That's it for now....be safe and have a great day!!
J
So, here is the quick scoop.....I have an interview with St. George's University. In the next week they will call with the place and time. NOW the preparation begins! I'll be spending my entire weekend in Barnes and Noble rehearsing answers to questions that may come my way (of course, not the whole weekend...SUPER BOWL ON SUNDAY!!!!)
That's it for now....be safe and have a great day!!
J
Friday, December 02, 2005
My first entry!!!!
So the question is....why did I decide to start my blog about medical school on Dec. 2, 2005???? Well, I really don't have a good answer for that one. All I can say is that during lunch at work I was reading Fitness magazine and saw an ad for free blogs on blogger.com. Over the past few weeks I have been reading blogs from medical students describing medical school (difficulties, successes, failures, etc.) I quickly decided I wanted to write one too!!! Today seemed like a great day to start it, since Dr. Hess left for a conference, and I really did not have much to do this afternoon since I finished everything assigned to me!!! So, I set up my blog, and now I'm at home writing my first entry!!!! Thank you.....thank you!!! You can stop applauding now
So why a medical school blog.....duh....i'm applying to medical school!!! And right now I am anxiously waiting word from the five schools I have applied to (Upstate, Albany, Buffalo, New York Medical College, and St. George's) and let me tell you, waiting is horrible. Everyday I check my email a hundred times looking for any sign of an interview. It is quite obsessive really, but all of the schools say that email is there primary contact with students, so I check ALL THE TIME!!! I'm really hoping to have an interview before Xmas and know of my acceptance before Feb. 1, 2006.
I believe I have the best shot of getting into St. George's in Grenada. And that leads to another reason why I started this blog. I will be thousands of miles away from home studying my crown rump off! I really want my family and friends to be able to see my progress without a dozen phone calls, im's, and emails a day. This blog gives them the luxury of seeing me....plus, I have a written record of my journey!!
Well, I have to get going....I am planning on driving home tonight (2 hour drive) to see my fam and my puppy!!! I will definitely post a pic of my puppy soon, he is so cute!!! Have a good night!!
So why a medical school blog.....duh....i'm applying to medical school!!! And right now I am anxiously waiting word from the five schools I have applied to (Upstate, Albany, Buffalo, New York Medical College, and St. George's) and let me tell you, waiting is horrible. Everyday I check my email a hundred times looking for any sign of an interview. It is quite obsessive really, but all of the schools say that email is there primary contact with students, so I check ALL THE TIME!!! I'm really hoping to have an interview before Xmas and know of my acceptance before Feb. 1, 2006.
I believe I have the best shot of getting into St. George's in Grenada. And that leads to another reason why I started this blog. I will be thousands of miles away from home studying my crown rump off! I really want my family and friends to be able to see my progress without a dozen phone calls, im's, and emails a day. This blog gives them the luxury of seeing me....plus, I have a written record of my journey!!
Well, I have to get going....I am planning on driving home tonight (2 hour drive) to see my fam and my puppy!!! I will definitely post a pic of my puppy soon, he is so cute!!! Have a good night!!
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