Update

Not much new to report, but I thought I'd add an update anyway. I can't believe my first exam is on Monday- I just started school! There is a fair amount of material that we've gone over, though (pretty equivalent to what I did in one quarter of biochem), so it's probably better in terms of avoiding information overload. Chelly and I have a lil study plan semi-worked out, so hopefully it serves us well.

Since I last wrote, I have:

* (Finally) found the route to school I think I'm going to use. Instead of a series of shorter bus/metro rides that lead to an overall shorter time in transit, I have opted for one bus that takes me directly to school, even though it takes longer and can run late in the morning. It is a lot cheaper, plus it gives me time to go over my notes and I don't even notice the length of my commute. In the words of Ross, "I've been given the gift of time!"

* Had people over to the new house for the first time. Catherine, Katie, and Chelly came over for a dinner of mini burgers with hummus and couscous salad, which was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. It would not have been nearly as good, however, if it wasn't for the excellent wine provided by Catherine or the delicious dessert Chelly made (hers was much prettier than the one in the picture!). After that, we watched Across the Universe, which was soooo good, especially if you are a Beatles fan. I never knew I could like musicals, but I guess it's possible if you really love the music! I was pretty much hooked from the opening, when the main character, Jude, starts singing, "Girl" ("is there anybody going to listen to my story...").

* Had the pleasure of helping Buttercup through kind of a rough week. She got stung by some sort of insect and her snout and the skin around her eyes starting swelling up on Monday, but luckily a lil Benadryl sorted her out. Then today I came home from school to a very pungent, unpleasant odor. It seems when I had been less attentive than clearly (now, that is) I should have been in the backyard either yesterday evening or this morning, during which time she inhaled a large quantity of grass and other plant materials, which needless to say did not sit well with her digestive tract. That was a fun mess to clean up. The silver lining is that she has been pretty subdued and "snugglish," as Alex would say. Hopefully that is the last of the problems she's going to be having for a while. Poor thing!

* Discovered the cutest Italian cafe a few blocks from where I live! The food (at least the grilled ham & swiss ciabatta sandwich with tomato spread I enjoyed) was so delicious and it seems like such a nice place to study. I can definitely see myself succumbing to the temptation of all the baked goods on display as well!

* Had my first bad lectures. The first three professors were so good, they set the bar pretty high and gave me (false) reassurance that all of them would be as good. It was pretty painful, mainly because I was used to the other professors interacting with the material and the class a lot more. Word on the street from Chelly's big sib is that the last two lecturers for this class are good, which is a relief, especially since I really like action potentials and I wouldn't want someone ruining them for me (like I had cell junctions and kinesin/dynein ruined).

* Booked my tickets to Nicole and Grant's wedding- finally!

* Gone to the hospital and observed a classmate of mine interview a real life patient! Her story was so inspirational and she had such a positive attitude toward the management of her illness- I wish every patient would have some of her in them :)

Well, I think that gives you a good idea of what I've been up to! Wish me luck with my studying and on the exam!

I Survived My First Week :)

Of course I did. That would be pretty sad if I quit so early in the game, but I suppose the occasional person does freak out once school starts and decides s/he has bitten off more than can be chewed. But not only did I survive, I really enjoyed myself. I knew that I was anxious to get back in the classroom, but I could not truly appreciate how much I missed being in school until classes actually started. It's been nice because my first science class, MCP (Molecular and Cellular Physiology), is mainly covering concepts I already learned in undergrad biochem and cell phys (thanks Drs. Minderhout, Loertscher, and Bourns!). That has been a really nice transition to the faster pace of med school classes and fortunately should continue to the next class MST (Metabolism and Signal Transduction) because it's more biochem and cell phys for the most part. I am also really enjoying my clinical class, PPB (Physicians, Patients, and Behavior), because for one afternoon each week, we get to don our white coats, adhere to the strict dress code in the hospital, and take turns interviewing actual patients about their time in the hospital and how it's affected their lives and families (!). I have also (hopefully) found a study group as well. Several girls (and Duncan) I was sitting with at lunch on Friday expressed a desire to get together to go over material, which was super exciting for me, because I absolutely thrive in the group setting. So today I am going over the class notes and those provided by the student note-taking service by myself and we are all meeting up this afternoon for our first session. Yay!

In other news, I did still manage to have fun this weekend. Catherine invited me to go to the Counting Crows concert (also with Maroon 5 and Sara Bareilles) yesterday, which was at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA. We got there a little early and prefunked with some well-mixed drinks made by Catherine (the margaritas) and Pamela (the cosmos). I even got talked into taking a shot of tequila and those are not as bad as I remember them...interesting. I provided some munchies, which included some brie with french bread (fancy, I know). We were stuck in the will call line and missed most of Sara Bareilles' literally 15 minute set, including "Love Song," which was pretty sad, and Adam Duritz was wasted and messed up "Mr. Jones," which was extremely disappointing, but even with the negatives, it was a really fun night and a really cool venue to check out a concert. He did manage to pull it together for the last couple of songs, including "Hanging Around," and Maroon 5, who I have seen in concert before, always puts on an awesome show and did not disappoint. They even freestyled a little and played some "I Don't Want to Fall in Love," by Chris Issak. The weather was absolutely perfect as well and it was so fun getting to spend some QT with Katie, Catherine, and Pamela, who I met for the first time last night and is yet another Michigander I have encountered in the two weeks I've been here.

The Great Outdoors

So, some of you may have already heard that my older sister, Katie, hooked me up with a friend of hers who lives in DC named Catherine. She (Catherine with a "C," that is) has been so sweet to me thus far, empathizing about the ridiculousness of my Washington Gas fiasco last week and inviting me to happy hour (which I missed because of scheduling issues, unfortunately). We were finally able to meet face to face on Sunday when she invited me to go hiking with her and some other recent transplants to the DC area in Potomac, MD. It's only about twenty minutes away and so beautiful!

It was unlike any hike I had been on back home, with few steep inclines and lots of scrambling up, down, and around rocks. So much fun! We went out for brunch afterward in Mount Pleasant and I also got to check out Columbia Heights, an area of DC I had yet to experience and a place I think I would love living in.

I am looking forward to doing more with these lovely ladies in the future!

12 Types of Med Students

I first saw this when I began reading this blog and I was highly amused. I think I have met several of these types already (the overly academic, the gunner, the missing, the crier, the questionable admission, the one-track mind). Check it out and let me know which one you think I am!

http://theunderweardrawer.homestead.com/twelvemedstudents.html

I am a Med Student!

I know I should have been better about posting since I got the internet back on Thursday, but with the White Coat Ceremony yesterday (that's me and fellow orphan/class of 2012 med student Chelly) and getting my driver's license changed to a DC license/registering to vote today, I have not had the energy to put together a decent blog until now. And all because the bus system has proved to be on the unreliable side of things. I should be at Kelly Times Irish Pub right now, but instead I find myself with my laptop propped on my lap, adorable puppy knawing contentedly on her rope toy at my feet, and men's swimming on in the background.

More about the white coat. We had been told that receiving our white coat and reciting the Hippocratic Oath for the first time would make us feel different and it's true. While I still felt uneasy when strangers would see me in my coat and congratulate me, even though I haven't done anything yet, receiving it made me finally feel like I am officially a medical student, even though I haven't gone to any classes yet. The rest of the week felt monotonous at times, especially during some of the more presentation heavy days.

As for the rest of things, I am feeling much better now that all the utilities are all up and running. The lack of internet access was particularly frustrating because it was exacerbating the feeling of isolation and loneliness that always comes with moving to a new place, it was making the navigation of public transportation all the more challenging, and it was making it difficult to look at class materials. The key to not feeling overwhelmed about being new to DC is to keep busy, which will probably be accomplished pretty easily once school starts. For now, it's okay. I wish Alex and I could be exploring the city together, instead of being forced to interact mainly through marathon phone conversations most nights. Happily, he will be here in less than three weeks, but it is feeling like an eternity at the moment.

I guess that's it for now. Stay tuned for my upcoming misadventures!

We Have Arrived!

As many of you have already heard and as is probably inevitable with any move, especially one of a distance such as that from Ann Arbor to Washington, we hit a few speed bumps on our way to getting settled. Perhaps the most irritating was our encounter with Washington Gas (that's for anyone wanting to complain about their terrible excuse for "customer service"). In brief, someone came to turn on our gas while we were home and did not bother to knock on the door, thus causing our all-night drive from Ann Arbor to be made in vain. Attempts to reschedule the appointment on Saturday were thwarted by incompetent "customer service representatives," resulting in my missing a pre-orientation BBQ today since I had to wait for the gas man (as I like to refer to him). Happily, it has been turned on now, so I will be able to run the dishwasher and enjoy a hot shower for the first time since arriving. (Those cold ones are brrr!, refreshing!) The next hiccup was that our internet went out shortly after the Comcast technician left on Saturday afternoon and we have been unable to get it back since then (and three subsequent calls to Comcast). I am hoping it comes back this evening or tomorrow. Thus, I am at a Starbucks at the moment, taking advantage of their T-Mobile HotSpot. It feels so good connecting with the outside world again! We had to make a trip to the Ikea in College Park to pick up the midbeam for our bed (among other things) since we forgot to buy one with our home delivery order and thus tried out our sofa bed that first night (super comfy for those of you thinking about coming for a visit!). There were other, smaller problems along the way as well, but overall it went okay.

Alex left this morning (at 4:15 to be exact), so that has been really difficult. The place looks so great (check out some pictures here), but we only got to enjoy it together for a few hours. I know it will get easier once orientation starts tomorrow and he'll have a lot of work to keep him busy, but four weeks is by far the longest amount of time we've had to spend apart.

Okay, I'm off now. I hope to post something again soon, but the tech people at Comcast get the final say on that!