See that line? Well I never should have crossed it.

Ten points for whoever figures out who sings the song whose lyric is my title. That song has been stuck in my head alllll week.

I'm tired. I've been very busy today - cleaning, laundry, baking, studying, and making out my menu for the week. On the upside, I've perfected my kolache recipe! I've learned the best dough recipe and found the perfect cheese/sausage combination. Now if I could just figure out how to get the dough to rise and learn to use less per kolache and maybe get a mixer to make my life easier... then it would be unspeakable amazingness.

Tomorrow will be more busyness - groceries, then studying FOREVER. Because we have an ISF test this week! As it looms closer, it is become more frightening.
On the upside, I've been putting my government-loaned set of human remains (bone box) to good use.

The three day weekend was lovely. New York was awesome!! Seeing Central Park, the Met, the (in)famous subway, Times Square, and Ground Zero was pretty neat. The Met was amazing, thought I must confess we went for quantity over quality, because we knew we had limited time. The most striking thing about Ground Zero was this thought: "There used to be two buildings there". Right now its just space in a very crowded place - it looks almost unnatural. But I hear they're building anew.
Shopping was great, and I LOVE my new very red coat. And visiting with Ashley was the most fun! As much as I love everyone here, its nice to see an old friend, and catch up on the gossip of our far-flung friends. The train was good too, I would recommend it.

The four day week was still pretty long! Thankfully we've finally cracked open the chest and are doing organs now! Organs are way more awesome than muscles. Also, our surgeon caps finally came in the mail, so my dissection team looked awesome in pink.

After last week's crazy long Human Context paper, I cannot believe that I am thinking about doing NaNo again. It would be insane! But it would be fun... So the baby name book and an old notebook have been procured. God help me get through November. (And save me from parentheses... I love/use them too much.)

Looking ahead

Biochemistry test two - done and over! I think I did okay, not as well as I did last time though. I've vastly improved from my last post. I'm at peace with everything and moving on.

This past week I did a lot of neat things. Wednesday I went out with a bunch of Air Force people (Air Forcers?) to dinner to show some interviewees just how awesome we were. Thursday we met for pancakes! They were awesome. Then I helped with interview day - was there for Q&A and gave a tour to the prospective students. It was fun, and I learned that we're allowed to/supposed wear the Global War on Terror ribbon, which means I need to make another pilgrimage to Andrews.

Friday was the biochem test, and then lab. They always make us take lab after a test, since we're required to go to lab so we can't skip. It's a good plan, but I was sicker than anything so I was not excited about smelling formalin for two hours. I made it through then was miserable at home.

I felt better yesterday, so I went out and bought a bookcase-thing from IKEA for my DVDs, window treatments for the bedroom, and a flower pot for the plant my grandma sent me. I'm determined to keep it alive, so I'm going to move it into a bigger pot with a water catcher so I can gauge if I need to water it or not. I got the pot from Michael's, and am in the process of painting red. So it will match, of course. As for the window treatments... I think I drilled twelve different holes for a total of eight screws. In other words, parts of the wall nearest the window have a superficial metal layer that my drill cannot take. So I had to keep moving further out. You can't really tell thankfully, since the curtains cover them. I also tried to drill a hole in the ceiling without success for my hanging lamp. The ceiling is not drillable. So there's an extra useless hole. The kitchen has a lower ceiling, so I managed to get it up in there. The whole situation has left me with wall particulates everywhere and a serious dislike for drills. (Sorry Lulu.)

I have so much to look forward to though! Tomorrow is the Billy Talent show in Baltimore!!!!!! I cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will be the first "real" show I've seen of theirs. I saw them play in a record store in London, as a promotion for their second cd, which was neat, but that place was not acoustically designed. And it was short, to allow time for the signing. Then I saw them in Austin, but only as opening for My Chemical Romance. They are headlining this show!!

Then on Friday I'll board a train to New York! I'm excited to see Ashley and visit the city! Plus, isn't there just something adorable and quaint about taking a train? Aaaand it's a three day weekend, so yay!

Anywho, I do have a military studies test tomorrow, so I'm going to try to pretend to study for it. It'll be great.

A New Page

So, it's been a little bit longer, for good reason. A lot has happened but I can't remember much of it.

I took my second test of medical school and think I did pretty well. We have our second biochem test on Friday, and I am in no way ready for it. I've been pretty useless this week. On the upside, the work I have done has been pretty distracting. That's pretty much what I'm all about right now - distraction. Every now and then, I'll think about my life, what's happening, and where its going. Most things I planned for aren't going to happen now, so I'm rethinking. No cat for me, and I think I just may become a "road warrior" for the clinical years, since there's no reason to stay in DC. But such thoughts can get depressing, so I go back to the distraction thing. Sleep is a good distraction, but it can also be treacherous. For one thing, dreams can be an imaginative escape, or it can be a depressing rehashing of current events. Worse still is waking up and remembering.

On the upside, everyone has been very supportive. Well, almost everyone. One person was an a-hole, almost made me cry, but made me more angry than anything. But aside from him, everyone has been super nice, calling, texting, messaging to make sure I'm alright. Friday night we went out drinking, which was good and cathartic. I was temped for the first time in a long time to smoke again, but I resisted, because it would have required going outside. I think it won't be an issue this time because I don't have a balcony I could smoke from. Plus, I don't know any smokers anymore.

So I've got that off my chest, I'm going to study some biochemistry now...

One test down!

Our first test is over! I was excited to do well, a very good start to the year. There is no rest for the weary though, our next test is this Friday. Aside from studying, I did a few things this week. I did my human context home visit on Tuesday, and Friday was my dental exam. Nothing exciting in either. I also got my diploma frame in the mail!! It's so pretty! Friday we went to Benihana for an excellent dinner, and went back to an apartment to watch Zoolander and drink.

Today I did the shopping I was unable to do last weekend. Sadly IKEA did not have the unit I wanted. It is a little frustrating to not be able to finish my apartment, though I suppose it will never be finished until I get the stupid drill in the mail so I can hang curtains. I also cleaned, did laundry, utilized my underbed storage and hung the remaining pictures. So, while I did not study, I was still quite productive. As I've said before, I'm terribly domestic.

While buying more blues at Andrews, I had the best kabob I've had since Europe. This area is the best for Euro-philes - gelato, kabobs, and brick oven pizza, like Nora's. Besides things I came to love in Europe, there are all kinds of ethnic foods to try. I can't wait to try some Bethesda pho.

Maybe I should write my human context paper now...

What happened?

For some reason, I lost all motivation this week for anything except for Bones. I did some studying each afternoon, but not as much as I should have done. Thursday was my eye exam, and surprisingly my perscription is still the same. It makes sense though - studying is what ruins my eyes, and for the last year I was an EMT. I read, but leisurely and not for hours on end. Friday I went to a couple of review sessions, took a nap, then went out for pizza and ice cream. It was really fun. Getting lost on the way to Georgetown and making the mistake of wearing heels was not. At least I looked glamorous. Crossing the bridge into Georgetown was really neat, and made me remember Maastrict - crossing the bridge to get to the train station. What a great time that was.

Saturday I planned to shop all day and buy lamps, sheets, a dvd stand, and whatever else I may need. I bought sheets. Operation Mass Infection (flu mists) caught up with me, and aside from going through tissues like they were going out of fashion, my head was pounding. I went home and tried to get well.

So, to make up for it, I spent all of today studying. And that's what I'll do with my day off tomorrow as well. Sad, but its my own fault. On the upside, I had a moment of clarity today where I just thought, "Wow, I cannot believe I'm getting paid to do this!". I smiled and continued to learn about action potential propagation. I finished studying around 8 and went to Friday's for dinner. It was amazing. Of course, it brought me back to the nearly two years I spent in that place. As much as being a waitress sucks - those were great times - lots of parties and little responsibility. I really enjoyed myself and look back on those times fondly.

As you can see, I've been reminiscing a lot this past week. I'm not sure why. Maybe its my way of protesting against growing up - med school is so serious and important! Or maybe its just tough being in a new place and making friends all over again. I'm having a good time, no doubt, but Maastricht and Fridays were both experiences that meant spending enormous amounts of time around people - you couldn't escape it. So I bonded quickly and strongly with those people. Both have elements of sleeplessness - from traveling or partying too much - maybe that binds people too.

Anyway, I should go so I can sleep early, wake early, and study more! This week is our first test - Biochem!

Week in review

One week down, a million more to go. I feel lulled into a sense of security because this week was kind easy. We're focusing on biochem and histology, classes I've had before. And thanks to Dr. Hillis's superb teaching, the histology is especially familiar. We've also had a class in military medicine, human context, and intro to clinical medicine. The military medicine class is like the last few weeks/months - the military is different from civilian world! Imagine that! Human context and clinical medicine are all about being nice, sensitive doctors. Great.

I have been studying every night. The first week is no time to slack off, or else you'll be behind all year. I even studied this weekend... I do not like biohcem at all, but I kind of enjoy studying histology.

In orienting myself to Bethesda news, the gate I had been using to get to the Commissary was closed last Sunday, so I wandered around until I found the main gate. Yay navigational skills!

My furniture came yesterday, and now my room smells like new furniture. Its so pretty! It's a little much for my little bedroom, but I don't care. It makes me a little sad though, that I'm still here alone, with no one to share with.

I need to study some more... Sadly.

A New Adventure

I thought I'd revive my old blog, since I am starting a brand new, super exciting adventure - medical school! As an added bonus, I've moved my very first real city, with a metro and a cutesy downtown and everything. Thankfully I know people from COT and Facebook, and we're exploring the city and surrounding area together.

We've just finished formal military inprocessing. I still need to finish up my medical readiness and assorted other things like our mail box. Next week is medical school orientation - safety briefings, tips on surviving, teaching us what everything means, and passing out books. Yay for free school.

Then we'll start class! I know we'll be busy, so I'm trying to get things done before then. I'm almost all moved in, I just need the store to deliver my furniture and my man to send me the drill, so I can have curtains up. I have most uniforms that I'll need, but I still need to buy the mess dress, which is uber-dressy and worn twice a year at most.

Like Ashley, I'm learning to navigate my new surroundings. Luckily, my apartment is pretty self-sufficient, laundry-wise, and there is a great gym downstairs. I've got the metro figured out pretty well, though I think I'm still going to drive to school since its faster. I've learned where the Commissary (not on the same base as where I go to school, helpfully enough), Target, and the mall are. The last two are down the street, the mall little more than a mile. There's also a little market across the street I can walk to for little things. I walk across the street to the metro and take it two stops down to get to downtown, where there are tons of restaurants to choose from. There are a few shops too, but I've mostly been down there for the food.

It's all pretty exciting. And I'm ready to work hard, but also to enjoy myself!