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 Loved...

I don't know how many of you went to the movie theatre this weekend to check out the latest Batman, but if you haven't and you're in the mood for an adventure (you can ask Alex, the first words out of my mouth on the way to the car on Sunday were, "I feel like I just got off a ride!"), you simply must check it out. It was not the typical superhero movie. It was a lot darker, funnier, and deeper than anything I had seen before. I must admit, I really enjoy superhero movies of most kinds (my favorite movie so far this year, before The Dark Knight, was Ironman- it's worth mentioning that I didn't get to see Sex and the City or Indiana Jones), Batman is by far my favorite of these movies (ask my little sister how many times we've seen Batman Forever!), and if you've been reading my blog, you know I am quite the Christian Bale fan. To say that I am (heavily) biased is more than adequate. However, I do think you might enjoy even if you aren't the biggest superhero fan, if you never really "got" Batman before this, or if you have no opinion of Christian Bale (although, ladies, do go out and rent Batman Begins if you haven't already seen it because they didn't feel the need to show off his muscular physique in this one!). True, I would have probably enjoyed this movie simply because of my aforementioned biases, but what really made it such a great moviegoing experience for me was Heath Ledger's stellar performance as the Joker and the conception of that character in general, its commentary on the definition and expectations of a hero, and the examination of chaos theory and morality (I know, I'm a HUGE nerd!). I would love to have a cool discussion about this, so please comment away (and check this out for some really interesting thoughts about the moral instinct, especially the trolley car thought experiment on page 2 since that's how I connected the dots between The Dark Knight and this article...and no, I have not abandoned becoming a surgeon in favor of psychiatry yet). That is all.

My Typology

As part of orientation (it hasn't emerged just how it will fit in, although I can venture an educated guess), I was asked to take this quiz to see what type of Jung personality I have. It was pretty fun and I always enjoy seeing how I stack up on these things (you should check it out too and learn something about yourself today!). The official result is that I am a:

• slightly expressed introvert
  
• slightly expressed intuitive personality
  
• distinctively expressed feeling personality
  
• distinctively expressed judging personality

Not surprisingly, I was put in the idealist category! More specifically, I am an idealist counselor. One of the suggested careers was that of a psychiatrist- over the last few years, I have thought more and more that that would be a good career choice for me and apparently Jung agrees. I'm curious, do you think this is an accurate picture of me? I think it's pretty true, but I want to know what those on the outside of this mind of mine think, so I better see some comments, people!

Last Week!

In case you haven't been checking my countdown regularly, I just thought I would remind everyone that this is my last week in the lab- EVER! I cannot truly express my excitement at the moment, but it feels very liberating knowing that only four more days after today will be spent toiling away at a job I can't stand, working with (some) people who have no idea how to organize themselves, and just counting the hours until I can go home to my puppy, good book, and wonderful boyfriend. YAY!

Top Five

This post is inspired by two things: The movie High Fidelity, which is awesome and you must go out and rent if you haven't seen it, and not having anything interesting to blog, but wanting to anyway. I hope this at least inspires some comments! So, here it goes, five top five lists (enjoying the symmetry as much as I am?!)

Top Five Things that Really Grind My Gears:
1. the formatting situation on Blogger: why must I always battle with you when I want pictures on a post?!
2. the word "panties": please call it underwear, at least in my presence, because the "p" word is just like nails on a chalkboard and a sororiety get-together all in one for me
3. when someone (wonder who that could be?!) can see that you're busy or in the middle of something and comes up to you anyway saying "Hey, Patty. Do you have a second?"

4. not having any money: it's not even because I want to go out and buy a whole bunch of crap (although I would like a new iPod since mine died over the weekend and some furniture for the house since Alex and I only have a few pieces), but I would like to be able to go home more than once a year or take a vacation with my boyfriend where the only things on the agenda are lying on the beach, fishing, and snorkeling

5. living in a place populated with people who think for some reason that they are better than everyone else: I don't like snobby people anyway, but I fail to understand why a public university in Michigan that treats its employees like crap, its patients like nuisances, and its students like a waste of time has the right to thumb their noses at others

Top Five Favorite Quotes:
1. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

2. "Telling the truth is so much easier: every lie requires a lifetime of maintenance."

3. "Nothing that's worth having in life comes easy."

4. "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

5. "Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should." (thanks, Tricia!)

Top Five Dream Vacation Spots:

1. Australia: pretty much anywhere on the coast would be okay with me- I just want to be able to go snorkeling there and perhaps see a koala in real life

2. Greece: I have recently decided that this is where I want to go for my honeymoon (no one steal that idea!)

3. Ireland

4. Spain
5. Italy

Top Five Favorite Movies of All-Time:
1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

2. Good Will Hunting

3. Dogma

4. Reality Bites

5. Home for the Holidays

Top Five Episodes of Friends

1. "The One with the Metaphorical Tunnel"

2. "The One with the Embryos"

3. "The One where No One's Ready"

4. "The One with the Nap"

5. "The One with the Rumor"

And just as Phoebe "invites you to count the colors of your room," I invite you to ponder your own five top fives :) Happy Friday!

I Enjoy

A little while ago, my friend Nicole suggested trying out this Mosiac Maker by answering questions and looking up a corresponding picture in Flickr. Since I finally have some time for blogging again, I thought I would give it a go.

1. What is your first name?
Patty- and apparently beef patties, raccoons, and these creepy "Patty" dolls are the most popular hits, which I was not a fan of. I am a fan of laughter, however, so I chose this one.

2. What is your favorite food?
Bread!- yes, with an exclamation point. Fewer things in life give me greater joy than mowing on a piece of chewy, delicious bread. I could go on and on about the wonder of this complex carbohydrate...but I won't.

3. What high school did you go to?
Milwaukie High School.

4. What is your favorite color?
Red- ever since I picked a red prom dress senior year of high school, I have been such a huge fan. It's so bold and fun :)

5. Who is your celebrity crush?
Christian Bale- this goes back to the days when he played Laurie in Little Women...anyone? Now that he's Batman, there's just no question.

6. Favorite drink?
"Bubble" water, as Alex (and now I) calls it- I used to think it was weird that he drinks mineral water instead of regular water or pop, but since returning from Germany, I can't get enough of the stuff! It's so much more refreshing than regular water and so much better for you than pop.

7. Dream vacation?
Australia- I will go someday, even if that means tranquilizing Alex so that he can survive the 18 hour flight!

8. Favorite dessert?
Chocolate chip cookies- this varies with mood, but it's the 'ol standby.

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Helpful.

10. What do you love most in life?
Being able to just relax- when the only thing I have to worry about is breathing.

11. One word to describe you.
Hopeful- call me optimistic or idealistic if you like (both of those words are accurate some of the time), but I really think that it boils down to this: no matter the circumstances, it is very difficult for me to completely give up. A little part of me is always holding out for the possibility that things will work out.

12. Your Flickr name.
I don't have one, but if I did, it would probably contain "Porta," my nickname from high school. It crops up in a lot of usernames I have for various accounts. When I looked that up in Flickr, a picture of the Porta Negra came up, which I saw when I was in Trier in December, so I thought it fit.

I'm Sorry...You've Been Bamboozled

Friends, anyone? Well, I am very new to the blogging world and apparently you can be "tagged," which means you must answer some random questions and post it on your blog. So, here goes:

4 things i was doing 10 years ago (despite your math, Nicole, ten years ago we were gettting ready to enter MHS):

1. Getting my braces taken off in time to start high school :)

2. Helping plan a baby shower for my friends and I's favorite teacher, Mrs. Schroeder (I just realized that that means Alisa is almost 10- weird!)

3. Getting ready to visit Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and New York on the junior high east coast trip (so fun!)

4. Um, this is difficult because my memory is pretty bad about junior high...

4 things i was doing 5 years ago:

1. Playing intramural softball and getting beamed in the outfield by a fly ball (complete with black eye...I looked like I was part of some sort of underground fighting ring)

2. Skipping Dr. Doyle's English class to go to a Mariners game

3. Experiencing a crazy heat wave (very atypical for Seattle) and complaining about the lack of AC in Xavier

4. Impulsively mass emailing my ENTIRE university in defense of some unfair comments made about me in our school newspaper by this guy in my dorm (I had no idea he harbored such animosity toward me, so it was quite the shock reading about it in the Spectator...in response I refused to be a spectator- hehe- and learned a valuable lesson about thinking before I speak/email/communicate with the outside world)

4 things i did yesterday:

1. Becoming a blogging fiend!

2. Experiencing a new wave of anger at my boss for not letting Alex take a day off while Katrin is in town, even though he's not taken vacation since Christmas

3. Meeting the infamous Katrin, Alex's girlfriend from his early college days...she had a conference in Chicago, so she decided to give A2 a lookover while she was in the area (hopefully she's not too bored while she's here)

4. Talking to my dad on the phone- it was so good hearing from him, it had been a while...I love the way we always end up waxing philosophical about politics and basketball

4 shows i like to watch:

1. Scrubs- so hilarious and silly, yet adeptly tackles real issues in medicine and life in general

2. Lost- it is the most original concept for a show I have ever seen and the way the writers get you emotionally invested in the lives of the characters (they are so well-drawn that they truly feel like real people)

3. Friends- one of the most quotable, rewatchable shows I know ("I'm hopeless and awkward and desperate for love!" - that gem is courtesy of Chandler, my favorite friend!)

4. Six Feet Under- it is artistic (each episode feels like a mini-movie), sad, moving, fucked up (there's no way around that description- where to begin!), engaging, addictive, and so many other things!

Well, there ya go! I don't have anyone to tag, so I guess that will die with me. Enjoy!

Countdown!

So, things have been trying (that's putting it mildly) at work for quite some time, as many of you know and today I was having kind of a bad day, so I have created a countdown of just how much longer I have to work in this place. Enjoy (it's at the bottom of the blog)!

I Love...

For those of you out there who do not enjoy following the news, lack the discipline to subscribe to the New York Times or even to scan the headlines of CNN.com, or just want another way to be informed about the world, I think you should give National Georgraphic a lookover. I randomly bought one at the grocery store a couple of months ago because I was intrigued about the cover story, "Inside Animal Minds," so I decided to buy it on a whim. Not only was the article I was initially drawn to extremely interesting, but I was also fascinated to learn about how smelters are polarizing the nation of Iceland (do any of you reading this honestly know anything about Iceland?!) and how Bhutan is slowly incorporating technology into its way of life and the social impact of this transition (to be honest, I had never heard of Bhutan before!). Not only are the articles informative and extremely interesting, but the photography- OMG (an acronym I normally disdain). I think what makes it so great (besides all the reasons I just gave) is that it brings to light regions, people, issues, etc. that do not get attention in mainstream media, as well as covering stories of which you may already be aware. Stupidly, I have been buying it off the newsstand ever since, which has got to stop (a year long subscription is only $15)! So, you should look into it, is the point!