May 27, 2011
May 15, 2011
Step 1 of 1 million...
So I'm in the middle of studying for my first set of board exams for medical school ("Step 1"). There are 3 steps in all, then separate exams for interns, residents, fellows and even attendings! So basically even though I'm officially done sitting in a classroom, I'm really never going to be done with testing.
Today (after studying, I promise), I searched google for "how to relax during step 1 studying." No joke. And there are actually a lot of blogs and pages out there about how to manage your time and avoid burnout. Ok so I'm not really being good about preventing burnout.
Anyway, I thought I'd give you guys an idea about what a typical study day is like.
8:00am : wake up, walk dog, find caffeine
9:00am : crack the books (today's morning topic was hepatobiliary...so all things liver and gall bladder related). got through 80 questions from a $600 test bank designed specifically for this exam (if I don't know the answer, I look it up and then look up all the wrong answers too, so a question can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes)
12:00pm : walk dog again, find more caffeine, eat goldfish and cookies
12:30pm : re-crack the books (afternoon topic: reviewing the GI system..so everything from the mouth to the butt excluding the liver and gallbladder), got through 60 questions plus some "light" reading from pathology books
3:00pm : short break to walk dog
3:15pm : back to the books and more questions...
5:00pm : so done with studying it's not even funny
5:15pm : too tired to do chores or anything else productive as mental exhaustion (in my opinion) is just as stressful as physical exhaustion
6:45pm : finally motivated to get up (nothing on TV)...doing laundry and cleaning a bit. scrounging for something edible in my apt full of snacks and cookies.
I hope to get a bit of review tonight (less stressful..like re-reading my notes or something). Then an early bedtime so I can start the process over again tomorrow.
This is my 7th day of this schedule, and I have 22 days left to go like this.
Anyway, just to make anyone else out there feel better about their day, because this is pretty psychologically damaging. Thank GOODNESS I have an awesome boyfriend to break up the monotony a couple of days a week with some real meals and relaxing, fun evenings. Otherwise I may have ended up in a mental institution.
I also planted some plumeria last night which are now filling up most of my tiny apartment-sized porch. Will post updates and pictures...they probably won't flower until next year but I'm excited to have a fun project this summer :).
Today (after studying, I promise), I searched google for "how to relax during step 1 studying." No joke. And there are actually a lot of blogs and pages out there about how to manage your time and avoid burnout. Ok so I'm not really being good about preventing burnout.
Anyway, I thought I'd give you guys an idea about what a typical study day is like.
8:00am : wake up, walk dog, find caffeine
9:00am : crack the books (today's morning topic was hepatobiliary...so all things liver and gall bladder related). got through 80 questions from a $600 test bank designed specifically for this exam (if I don't know the answer, I look it up and then look up all the wrong answers too, so a question can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes)
12:00pm : walk dog again, find more caffeine, eat goldfish and cookies
12:30pm : re-crack the books (afternoon topic: reviewing the GI system..so everything from the mouth to the butt excluding the liver and gallbladder), got through 60 questions plus some "light" reading from pathology books
3:00pm : short break to walk dog
3:15pm : back to the books and more questions...
5:00pm : so done with studying it's not even funny
5:15pm : too tired to do chores or anything else productive as mental exhaustion (in my opinion) is just as stressful as physical exhaustion
6:45pm : finally motivated to get up (nothing on TV)...doing laundry and cleaning a bit. scrounging for something edible in my apt full of snacks and cookies.
I hope to get a bit of review tonight (less stressful..like re-reading my notes or something). Then an early bedtime so I can start the process over again tomorrow.
This is my 7th day of this schedule, and I have 22 days left to go like this.
Anyway, just to make anyone else out there feel better about their day, because this is pretty psychologically damaging. Thank GOODNESS I have an awesome boyfriend to break up the monotony a couple of days a week with some real meals and relaxing, fun evenings. Otherwise I may have ended up in a mental institution.
I also planted some plumeria last night which are now filling up most of my tiny apartment-sized porch. Will post updates and pictures...they probably won't flower until next year but I'm excited to have a fun project this summer :).
May 14, 2011
May 11, 2011
APOCALYPSE: NOW!
There are very few things in life that absolutely terrify me. Small bugs and animals that can run faster than me and hide in small spaces are most of them.
It's a pretty funny story, as my mom and sister will corroborate. Strangely, I had enough wherewithal to take pictures and have odd (and sometimes logical) thoughts during this particularly agonizing situation (guess from my medic days- thinking clearly about 100 other miscellaneous things while panicking), which I have included in [BRACKETS] throughout the re-telling.
So tonight I was getting ready for bed and saw a cockroach on the entertainment center. Living on the third floor, they're not a common sight (thank goodness). But anyway, my usual plan of action is to get a large wad of toilet paper (15 sheets is usually enough of a barrier but not enough to clog the toilet, I've found from several past experiences), but this thing was on a mission (still unsure of what), and I only had a split second to grab some nearby paper towels. [OMG, I CAN'T FLUSH PAPER TOWELS DOWN THE TOILET!] Well, I come back, and it's actually sitting in the same place, but as soon as I went in for the kill, it completely disappears. [OMG, I WON'T BE ABLE TO FIND IT, IT'S GOING TO WAIT UNTIL I GO TO SLEEP AND COME AND GET ME!]
After waiting it out for about 20 minutes, the cat scared it into running from under the entertainment center to the couch, about 8 feet. I had EIGHT FEET of open space to kill the darn thing, and I still couldn't get it! Every time I smushed the paper towels on it and then lifted it a bit to peek to see if I'd gotten it, it would escape! [OMG, I WON'T BE ABLE TO FIND IT AGAIN, IT'S GOING TO WAIT UNTIL I GO TO SLEEP AND COME AND GET ME!]
And some other thoughts: OMG, I'M ACTUALLY SCREAMING OUT LOUD AND THE PORCH DOOR IS WIDE OPEN, SOMEONE IS GOING TO CALL THE POLICE BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE I'M BEING ATTACKED!
So I called my parents; the line was busy. I call my mom's cell. Kelsey picks up- mom is using the home phone to repeatedly call American Idol to vote for the local, Scotty. [HOW IS THAT MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY COCKROACH CALAMITY??!] As soon as my mom comes on the line, the roach scampers out from under the couch and then runs up the door of the pantry, and this time I nailed it and didn't let go [WAIT DID I JUST SCREAM INTO THE PHONE?]. It lost a few legs on the way down (still sitting on the floor...I can't bring myself to go get them).
Anyway, I pinned it under the paper towels. Now I'm too scared to look, and there's no way to get it to the toilet. [OMG, PATRICK ISN'T GOING TO BE HERE FOR ANOTHER HOUR AND 30 MINUTES, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SIT HERE FOR...AN HOUR AND 30 MINUTES HOLDING THIS THING. WAIT, THE DOOR IS LOCKED, SO HE CAN'T GET IN......OMG!].
So, what does the logical female brain say to do?
Well, my mom's version: "find a big book and put it on top of the paper towels and then jump on it." [OMG, MOM, I CAN'T MOVE!]
So right next to me was a big box of cleaning supplies (well, mostly just febreze). I pulled out some Windex and started spraying it [OMG, WON'T IT JUST DROWN IF I KEEP SPRAYING IT???]. No, they don't drown. So I put the box on top of the paper towels, and thought to take a picture just for THIS BLOG!
Ok, again, this is female logic. At this point I was pretty sick of watching this thing sneak away, so I was prepared this time- with the thinnest magazine I could find (yes, a woman's day). Long story [slightly] short, I got the box off, slid the magazine under the paper towels [OMG HOW IS IT STILL ALIVE???]. Ran it into the bathroom and let it slide into the toilet. [OMG, I CAN'T TOUCH THE PAPER TOWELS OR THE MAGAZINE...HOW DO I THROW THEM AWAY???] Anyway, just to prove that I did it:
It's a pretty funny story, as my mom and sister will corroborate. Strangely, I had enough wherewithal to take pictures and have odd (and sometimes logical) thoughts during this particularly agonizing situation (guess from my medic days- thinking clearly about 100 other miscellaneous things while panicking), which I have included in [BRACKETS] throughout the re-telling.
So tonight I was getting ready for bed and saw a cockroach on the entertainment center. Living on the third floor, they're not a common sight (thank goodness). But anyway, my usual plan of action is to get a large wad of toilet paper (15 sheets is usually enough of a barrier but not enough to clog the toilet, I've found from several past experiences), but this thing was on a mission (still unsure of what), and I only had a split second to grab some nearby paper towels. [OMG, I CAN'T FLUSH PAPER TOWELS DOWN THE TOILET!] Well, I come back, and it's actually sitting in the same place, but as soon as I went in for the kill, it completely disappears. [OMG, I WON'T BE ABLE TO FIND IT, IT'S GOING TO WAIT UNTIL I GO TO SLEEP AND COME AND GET ME!]
After waiting it out for about 20 minutes, the cat scared it into running from under the entertainment center to the couch, about 8 feet. I had EIGHT FEET of open space to kill the darn thing, and I still couldn't get it! Every time I smushed the paper towels on it and then lifted it a bit to peek to see if I'd gotten it, it would escape! [OMG, I WON'T BE ABLE TO FIND IT AGAIN, IT'S GOING TO WAIT UNTIL I GO TO SLEEP AND COME AND GET ME!]
And some other thoughts: OMG, I'M ACTUALLY SCREAMING OUT LOUD AND THE PORCH DOOR IS WIDE OPEN, SOMEONE IS GOING TO CALL THE POLICE BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE I'M BEING ATTACKED!
So I called my parents; the line was busy. I call my mom's cell. Kelsey picks up- mom is using the home phone to repeatedly call American Idol to vote for the local, Scotty. [HOW IS THAT MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY COCKROACH CALAMITY??!] As soon as my mom comes on the line, the roach scampers out from under the couch and then runs up the door of the pantry, and this time I nailed it and didn't let go [WAIT DID I JUST SCREAM INTO THE PHONE?]. It lost a few legs on the way down (still sitting on the floor...I can't bring myself to go get them).
Anyway, I pinned it under the paper towels. Now I'm too scared to look, and there's no way to get it to the toilet. [OMG, PATRICK ISN'T GOING TO BE HERE FOR ANOTHER HOUR AND 30 MINUTES, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SIT HERE FOR...AN HOUR AND 30 MINUTES HOLDING THIS THING. WAIT, THE DOOR IS LOCKED, SO HE CAN'T GET IN......OMG!].
So, what does the logical female brain say to do?
Well, my mom's version: "find a big book and put it on top of the paper towels and then jump on it." [OMG, MOM, I CAN'T MOVE!]
So right next to me was a big box of cleaning supplies (well, mostly just febreze). I pulled out some Windex and started spraying it [OMG, WON'T IT JUST DROWN IF I KEEP SPRAYING IT???]. No, they don't drown. So I put the box on top of the paper towels, and thought to take a picture just for THIS BLOG!
Ok, again, this is female logic. At this point I was pretty sick of watching this thing sneak away, so I was prepared this time- with the thinnest magazine I could find (yes, a woman's day). Long story [slightly] short, I got the box off, slid the magazine under the paper towels [OMG HOW IS IT STILL ALIVE???]. Ran it into the bathroom and let it slide into the toilet. [OMG, I CAN'T TOUCH THE PAPER TOWELS OR THE MAGAZINE...HOW DO I THROW THEM AWAY???] Anyway, just to prove that I did it:
in case it's not obvious: cockroach in toilet
cockroach being flushed.
Yeah, so that was the story. At least it ended well (ok, not so much for the cockroach).
death by...caffeine??
So I was "stumbling" around the web this evening and found this amazing site. Basically you "pick your poison" from a drop down menu and then type in your weight. It calculates how much/how many you need to ingest to kill yourself (yes, sadistic, but in a can't-look-away-from-the-car-crash kind of way). Anyway, I'm a horrible caffeine addict thanks to medical school and use No-doz (it's like getting the caffeine out of coffee without the calories from my 10 tbsp of sugar and 5 creamers). Anyway, here's what it looks like:
So if you're interested, to kill me it would take:
So if you're interested, to kill me it would take:
- 1365 Kit Kat bars
- 60 bottles of 5-hour energy drinks
- 353 baking chocolate squares
- 172 cans of Cheerwine
- 241 cans of cherry coke
- 1638 glasses of chocolate milk
- 237 cans of regular Coke
- 126 regular Excedrin pills
- 8,190 hershey kisses
- 136 Midol Menstral completes (ok I can't believe MIDOL has caffeine in it...? this was pure curiosity!)
- 102 cans of Red Bull
- 2048 Reece's peanut butter cups
- 63 cans of Starbucks double shot espressos (this was my drug of choice in undergrad)
- Only 327 cups of green tea!!?
But keep in mind, you're dealing with a caffeine-dependent addict so you'd probably need to double these numbers, for those of you who have already started plotting!
Anyway, have fun, there are hundreds to choose from:
May 9, 2011
Feminism: Domestication
I have fallen in LOVE with the instagram app on iPhone, thanks to Jen!! This will probably be where my blog is heading...more pictures and fewer words. Here are some of my recent favorites!
Rainboots
New wedges
Taking pictures of classmate's orange during class instead of paying attention
Waiting to take an exam after our "real" last exam
Some idiot on a tiny fishing boat thought it'd be funny to stop traffic for 20 minutes
First day of studying for boards
One of the pictures I took for Kelsey
Patrick and Bandaid...bonding
Izzy hiding from the dog
Oscar Mayer truck at MUSC!
Bandaid, when his antics were still cute!
May 3, 2011
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