Warm...

3 more weeks before I take the boards. I want to get this over with, but everytime I take a practice test, I still feel unready. Slowly getting to the score that I want. I'm glad I get a few more days before the big one.
Happy Memorial Day. I hope you got to spend it with loved ones, relaxing and enjoying the good weather. I'm inside the house, feeling unmotivated and a little tired.
I need coffee. Badly. I made a bad decision about drinking a red eye (my new favorite drink) this past Saturday night. I was able to study, alright, but getting to bed at a reasonable time was absolutely out of the question that night. I was reading a pathology book til 4 in the bloody morning, and didn't really sleep til 6. Woke up @ 10 for mass. I had awful dreams tho. It's like my brain was punishing me for making it stay awake past what it normally wanted. It was not a restful sleep at all.
I decided that I will take a small roadtrip up the northeast after the big exam. A chance to see some old friends, new places, and hopefully clear my mind. There's just way too much crap in there that needs to be emptied out. Crap that I don't need, never needed. This is a nice chance for me to reset myself before rotations begin. Also, I get to test out my new camera...it's actually my brother's old Canon Rebel. I bought it from him for cheap because he got a new, cooler one. I'll put some nice pics up when I get around to it.
I hope you're all well and doing well. If you're reading this, send some good love my way. I can always use it. If I haven't seen ya or talked to you in a while, I hope I can fix that sooner rather than later.
Ok, time I get myself going. That's all for now. More next time.

Song of the day: "It's Not True" - William Fitzsimmons

And so it goes

So, it's been almost a year since last I wrote something in here. Lots has happened. New Orleans (Habitat for Humanity) was a lot of fun. Just being able to put in a good day's worth of work for the benefit of those needing lots of help was a good thing for the soul. And getting to play in the Bourbon St. nightlife was also pretty groovy. Thanks to Meg and Mirv for coming to NOLA and showing me the sights. Let's do it again next time =).
The Migrant Worker Clinic turned out well too. There were lots of patients to see and they were very grateful for even the smallest thing we can do for them. Really made me realize that healthcare should be more accessible to the public. On a brighter note, I got to practice my Spanish and my vital sign skills.
Teaching or at least, assisting in the Prematric program was a great way to make new friends and review my anatomy/OMM. Also, it made me realize finally that I'm not cut out to be a teacher. I hate...repeat...HATE grading papers.
The fall and spring semesters of 2nd year were nothing but one big sequence of trials...droning on and on. Endless days and sleepless nights of learning Path, Pharm, and Medicine...plus other peripheral classes...oh and don't forget to season the whole thing with the day-to-day drama (yes, life still exists out of med school). After review for Boards, I felt like I haven't really learned anything solid in the past 10 months of 2nd sem. It was like, ok, lets memorize for the test, then regurgitate. Rinse. Repeat. And now, it's Boards time. Just when I thought I was done shoveling 500 medical pancakes down my throat, I have to do it all over again for Step 1. I have less than a month left to prepare. Saddle up kiddies...it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
On the upside, I'm looking forward to 3rd year. Every day is a day closer to my goal. Yes, it's difficult now (hell, it's been difficult all year long, especially the end of the spring sem), but all of this is just prologue to the good stuff. So far I'm still alive, still standing and keeping myself open for better things ahead. And all the prep work/heartache/backache/sleep-deprivation I'm doing now is paving the way for all of that, so no worry about a t'ing cuz every lil thing gon' be alright.
Yea, I have good and bad days, but so does everybody. I figure, it's just another opportunity for me to make things right. And pretty much that's all I can do, for now.
There are ideas in the making...I'll keep you posted as things progress.

Ciao.

Song of the Day: "Caroline" - The Belleville Outfit

Booyah!

June 15th...and then I was 28. That's right, another year down "and miles to go..." or so the saying goes. Thank you to all my awesome friends and awesome family for the awesome presents, awesome birthday wishes, and an awesome good time. You're all Awesome. Thank you to my dog, Stitch, for throwing up on my lap on the ride down to Rachel's place. Thank you, Chris for lending me your pants because mine reaked of doggie spew. And thank you, MacGuyver for showing me the importance of duct tape.

Tatay, Happy Father's Day. Your present is forthcoming...sorry about the delay =)

!Si! Hablo espanol.

Ok, the 2 weeks of intensive medical spanish is winding down and thank goodness for that. Getting up @ 7 in the morning to be in school till 5 (sometimes 6) in the afternoon is seriously por los pajaros. But I know a little more spanish, more medical commands (I now know how to say "bend over..." and "this is going to hurt a lot" in Spanish) and hopefully I can put them to good use with the upcoming volunteer migrant health clinic in June. Then it's off to New Orleans for a week with Habitat for Humanity then teaching anatomy to the Prematric 1st years until the end of July. No rest for the weary!

Motivational speaker...not quite

So we had our standardized patient lab for the first time today. What it entails is we get to play doctor with patient actors in a staged doctor's office. Normally we get videotaped so that we can assess our performance, but since we're newbies, they let us off the hook this time. Needless to say, it was still a little nerve-racking once you get into the thick of things...it's not so much as approaching the patient, it's the "knowing your lines" part that got to me. I studied, I read the articles, I memorized the steps...to no avail. Under the militant resolve of a 17-year-old girl, my approach to getting a person to quit smoking folded like a cheap suit. I mean, this girl just won't budge! I don't know if she knew I was nervous or if she was just playing hardball, or maybe both, but I was at a loss for words when she told me that she enjoyed smoking...I had no comeback for it. I told her all the good things that come with quitting and all the bad things that can happen with continued smoking...with no effect. I tried to justify it to myself, "she's an adult, almost...she has a mind of her own...," but somehow it's not good enough. I didn't convince her. And it's pissing me off that I couldn't even do that...

Down to business

OK, Anatomy Memorial and Cultural fair are done. I did the choir thing and the Filipino dance thing as well and now it's down to business...dirty, dirty business. God help me if I should survive this week of Micro, Neuro, and Anatomy...oh don't forget Prevention for 3 more weeks...1st year is almost over, and yet it's not. So close...

Requiem Aeternam

So this semester has been one big blur and a ginormous pain in the tuchus. As if I don't have enough to do, I decided to add one more dish on my plate. There is going to be an anatomy memorial for our cadavers sometime either @ the end of April or beginning of May and I thought it would be nice to do something special. In light of many special people that I've known who had gone before me, I felt compelled to perform such a task to honor their memory alongside our gracious cadavers. And so, I picked a doozey. For the next month or so, I will attempt to get a bunch of first year med school students to sing a requiem song called "Lux Aeterna" by John Rutter. "How" you say? Good question...I've been asking myself that for a while now. I hope I'm not in over my head. Questions, comments, snide remarks...prayers...send them my way.

Here's what I'm up against...