Happy New Year!

end of the line by *Blepharopsis on deviantART

A farewell to 2009 as it's 2010!! :-D

There isn't much to this post, just a few things to mention to welcome the new year - a few resolutions to make with respect to this blog.

1. Post more (preferably weekly).

2. Take more pictures, so I can post more pictures.

3. Fully catch up with the backlog of posts I should've made by now.

So to everyone who reads (the few who do), Happy New Year!!

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1/8 of a Doctor

In a way, it's almost difficult to believe that a semester of med school is already behind me, that I'm already "1/8 of a doctor." Thinking that way, it all feels so real. It's been such a whirlwind of a semester that I haven't really felt the time to chronicle it all. But don't worry, I have some stuff written down somewhere - I just have to transpose them into blog posts.

Earlier today I was talking with a friend of mine, James, who I've known since elementary school. He's in his first year of dental school at UM-Ann Arbor right now. He was updating me on some other people from our hometown that he still communicates/hangs out with. Pete and Mike Z are in med school at MSU now, and Mike B will be starting med school at MSU next year. We're all making it, somehow. Though we're scattered, though we're in different places with different lives, we all still made it to where we wanted.

My dad thought this was impressive, our little soccer team from way back (I was on a soccer team with James, Mike B, and Mike Z in 4th grade). Thinking on this, I'm proud that we've all achieved so much, that none of us gave up. I would be ecstatic to one day call these old friends my colleagues.

On a tangent, yesterday I met with my friend, Jared, for a late lunch/early dinner. He was my next-door neighbor for about 7-8 years. For a long time, I considered him my best friend and I still consider him one of my closest friends. He graduated last year with his degrees in communications and film studies (I believe). He wants to go into the film industry and one day be a movie director. He's really good and passionate at what he does, one of the most creative people I know, so I hope he catches a break and makes it out of this economy unscathed. But even he hasn't given up on his dreams and is still working towards them.

So until next time, let nothing stand in between you and your dreams, keep at it and bring on the day.

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You Know You're a Med Student When . . .

. . . you're able to eat lunch and study cross-sections of the male pelvis without giving a second thought about it. In retrospect, this is somewhat disturbing. o_O

3 more exams to go and then this semester's done, and I'll be 1/8 of a doctor! My next exam is in about an hour, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Motivation at this time in the semester is at an all time low. As some of my labmates have said, "Apathy has set in. I don't even care, I just want to be done. Not even the fear of doing poorly on an exam phases me anymore." A few days ago I was procrastinating on Facebook. A friend linked me to the following YouTube vids:

U of Pitt Med School: Lord of the Rings parody 1

I couldn't help but laugh when I watched it. It's soooo bad that it's hilarious. It was particularly apt when "Gandalf" declares "You shall not pass!" to a med student who accosts him. Here's a brief excerpt of the beginning:

"It began with the forging of the great bling-blings. 3 were given to the anesthesiologists, fairest, most rested of all physicians. 7 were given to the renal lords, great managers of electrolytes and craftsmen of the Foley. And 9, 9 were given to the administration, who above all else desired power and research."

U of Pitt Med School: Lord of the Rings parody 2

Short excerpt from it here:

". . . There is a union now, between the two biomedical science towers. BST1, fortress of UPMC research; and BST2, stronghold of cheap foreign labor. And now a third tower rises, a third BST constructed solely to hoard NIH funding."

Needless to say, I'm amused and impressed at the effort and time that must've went into producing such a work. I wonder how those med students carved out enough time to produce it all! Sounds like a challenge.

Okay, back to studying for my next exam. Eep!!

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