Crunch Time!

Well, it's officially crunch time. In 2 weeks and 5 days I will have finished my first semester - hooray! Now, we won't know for a few weeks whether or not I successfully finished the first semester, but it will be finished nonetheless. The only reason I'm able to blog right now is because I've decided to start bringing those little frozen dinners [+ Mom's homemade food] in an effort to save time and money. So, now I have a few extra minutes of dinner break to play.
The money problem is being solved. I'm signed up to do 5 transcriptions this week. At $40 a transcription - I will make $200 this week. Not too shabby, eh? Now, for the studying problem... That's not solved so easily. I just have to study until I can't study any more for the next few weeks and then even if I do badly I'll know I gave it all I could. I'm sorry school is all I talk about, but it's all I do these days.
Today we talked about a disease called "pica." I had heard of people eating clay before, but I never knew there was a whole disorder for it. These people eat things like clay, dirt, chalk, ice chips, etc... Our lecturer even said that at some truck stops you can find dirt and clay for sale - to eat - seriously. He then proceeded to ask the class if anyone had ever been to a truck stop and seen dirt for sale. Then about 5 people raised their hands. So I asked the girl beside me about it and she said that she has 2 aunts that have pica. They prefer chalk, and will bring each other chalk as presents from New York. P.S. - They're art teachers.

Mo Money most Definitely does not Equal Mo Problems

So, there's this rap song and I believe the chorus says: "Mo money, mo problems." (Mo = more, just in case you're not fluent in ebonics like me). The point is, I tend to disagree.
I started out this semester with $10,000. Now there is only $1,000 left. This, my friends, is a problem. UMC sucked out a little over $6,000 for tuition and then another $1,000 went to books and scalpel blades and lab coats, etc... Now there's not too much left. Fortunately, I have signed up to be a transcriptionist for the class. This is how it works:
Our class has this thing called the Note Service. What happens is, we record every lecture and one person is required to attend the class and type that lecture up into concise notes which are posted onto a website we all have access to. Sometimes people don't want to type their notes because either they don't have time or they don't like to type, or they are really slow, etc, etc... Anyway, the going rate is $40 per lecture, so I'm thinking if I do like 4 a week I should be golden in the money department - especially if Kris helps me fill in all the words I couldn't get while I was in lecture :)
Another positive is the fact that apparently there is a scholarship for people from counties that are medically underserved. You get bonus points if you went to public school or your parents don't have too much income coming in. By bonus points, I mean extra $$$ - ka-ching!
Between that and Sumner's grant [thank you Sumner's people, I've been meaning to send you a nice thank you card for that huge chunk of my college education you paid for], I should probably be fine and not have to take out any more loan money before this year is over. Maybe I'll even get to work this summer and make a little bit more.
Austin and I were seriously discussing the possibility of skinning cadavers over the summer for the dental students - because their bodies come pre-dissected, but that's a whole other rant of mine. Anyway, when I asked Austin if we'd get paid per body or what she replies: "I think it's just $2,000 for the whole lot of 'em." For a second I forgot we were in med school and thought maybe we were fur traders or something.
Right now lots of interviewees are coming through for next year's M1 class [God, I hope I'm not with them as an M1 again next year.] and apparently one of them got in because as Austin and I were facebook-stalking her profile we saw that one of her friends had posted this quaint little message:
"Oh my Gosh! - I'm so jealous - you get to be the real-life Meredith Grey!"
These girls have no freakin' clue what's in store for them. No clue. At all. The end.
Back to money though, doctors really have to make a lot, because
1. We don't start working till we're 30 - or 35 for those really smart ones.
2. Most of us have ~ $100,000 - $130,000 of debt from medical school.
3. Those first few years we work, we make ~$30,000 - yes, just like teachers, and last but not least...
4. I'm seriously thinking of skinning people for money - and I've had to clean explosive diarrhea from a dead man's bisected colon. I deserve it.

Hell Week is Over!!!

Well, I say hell week, but in fact it's been 2 weeks of hell. Austin and I realized late last night when delirious on caffeine and pent-up energy that we've been studying 12-18 hours a day for the last 12 days. Ridiculous, no??? Especially considering that I probably just failed the 2 tests I took this morning... They were a tad bit... shall we say - convoluted and detailed. I can now draw every step and intermediate and enzyme of the citric acid cycle and electron transport chain/oxidative phosphorylation. However, those things only helped me with about 6 questions out of 64.
Anyway, on to happier thoughts. There shall be NO studying tonight. I will not look at one electromicrograph, one histology slide, one CT, or one book. Kris and I are having a pretend-7-year-anniversary. This is due to the fact that :
a) The actual anniversary was the day before the last gross test
b) We both forgot
c) We both forgot because we've been together 7 years.
d) all of the above are true.
D is the correct answer. I'm not sure what we're doing, but I bet it will involve dinner and a movie - or maybe ice-skating. I've been meaning to go ice-skating for over a year now.
Oh, P.S. - Kris is now a productive member of society! He has a job! He is working at Game Stop over in Dogwood. I think he likes it, or will like it since he's really into video games and movies, but he's only worked 2 days so far, so we'll see. I'm just happy to see $$$ coming in instead of rolling on out.
Anyway, I'm about to spend the next 30 minutes blissfully returning any e-mails I've received over the last 2 weeks, playing on facebook, and checking out popsugar.com to see what stupid things the celebrities have done this week.
See you all over Thanksgiving! [that's next week, y'all!!!]

Life is Busy, Will Write Again Soon

I am currently shackled to a table in the classroom wing studying my butt off for what will probably be the hardest test we've had all semester in Biochemistry. The test is on Tuesday. This past week we had a gross written, gross practical and developmental anatomy test on Monday, then a physiology test on Friday and now in 2 days another test. Hence, things are not all sunshine and butterflies in the land of Allison.
It doesn't help that I had to spend $500 on repairs to my car this week - that'll get you 1 oil change, 2 new tires, new rotors, a front end alignment, and a plethora of other things. It's riding very good now - as it should be.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well, it's not quite Christmas yet, but it may as well be. It's been freezing and drizzly here for the last few days. We've had 5 tests since the last time I wrote. Things have gone well!!! I managed to pass them all - even making a 96 on a developmental anatomy test and a 91 on a gross anatomy practical (over the thorax and abdomen - perhaps internal medicine is in my future?)...
Things are getting a bit more difficult, but overall I'm optimistic about it all. This might have something to do with the fact that we're over 1/2 way done and Christmas is looming and I haven't even had a mental breakdown or emotional meltdown or any of the above. That's a very good thing. At the beginning of the year they told us this was the hard part and by the end of last year about 40% of the M1s were on antidepressants. I've only had 2 slight hissy-fits and those were before the 1st 2 biochem tests. I know how to study for that now, so it's not so bad. There are only 4 more big test days before Thanksgiving and then just 4 after that before Christmas. This does not mean I only have 8 tests. This means I only have 8 days of testing - which usually last most of the day and cover 3 - 5 subjects. It's kind of like having my finals from undergrad all crammed into one day. Not fun.
Anyway, on to happier notes. The next test we have is November 5, so I'm taking a break and heading home this weekend. Our class has reserved Hal & Mal's for this Friday night for a Halloween party and I'm planning on going, but I need a good costume idea. Last year Kris was a devil and I was an angel and that worked out pretty well. We might have a repeat performance this year. Anyway, I shall be home this Saturday. I know Julz has already reserved me for dinner Saturday night, so if you want an appointment, you'd better book one fast! Time slots are filling up.

It's All in the Details

Well, there's not much to report here in StudyLand. I took the most miserable test of my life Monday. We started the day off at 10:00 am with a developmental anatomy test covering the formation of the heart (it's more complicated than one might think - it starts out as a single tube!), formation of the digestive system, respiratory system, and body cavity. It was interesting. Anyway, then me and Austin had Back Yard Burger and a panic attack for lunch. It's important to mention the Back Yard Burger part because in order to not have a more severe panic attack before the next test, you must distance yourself as far away as possible from the other (smarter, more gunnerish) people in your class. In our case, the best we could do was the Back Yard Burger a hundred yards away. It worked though, not a classmate in site.
There we reviewed for the gross practical and written test while eating ice cream to soothe our worries from the test before. Then we huffed it back to school and rushed into the practical. The practical actually went pretty well. By well I mean that I only had question marks by 12 of the 70 structures tagged. On the 1st practical I only had 6 smiley faces on my paper. A definite improvement I must say.
All hopes were shattered once we stepped into that written test though. I think I may have gotten the 1st 2 questions correct. I really enjoyed periodically hearing the people around me mutter cuss words or flip pages frantically before lowering their heads to do deep breathing exercises. One of my lunch table buddies told me she prayed over all the questions she didn't know at first, but it just got too time-consuming near the end.
I'm generally a speedy test-taker, but I only had 10 minutes left on this one. Of course I sat out in the hall to see everyone's faces as they walked out. We're in a general consensus. It was a horrible test. It's really funny when you see a few of the "smart" med school kids come out after you with a glazed look in their eye, walking like zombies towards their lockers.
I went home immediately and showered, got ready, and made Kris take me out for queso, margaritas, and a movie. Then I came home and tried to watch all the shows I missed last week online. Because I was trying to cram all the fun from 2 weeks into one night, I stayed up way too late and woke up at 7:35 the next morning. This was not okay because the geniuses on the curriculum committee thought it would be smart to put a mandatory "professionalism" (read, bullcrap) class at 8:00 the day after our horrible tests. The really ironic thing is, the presentation was on time management, and the lady giving the talk was 20 minutes late - just like me :)
Anyway, there is no time to cry over the test, we have another one Monday. This time it's biochem and histology though, so hopefully it will be better.

The Pause Button is Broken

So, this post can't be very long because I need to be ________________. If you guessed studying, you were correct. I seem to be overwhelmed, but unfortunately the pause button is broken. We have a Physiology test Friday and a Gross Anatomy Practical and written test along with a Developmental Anatomy test which is 25% of our Developmental grade. Everyone is borderline in that class, so we all need to do really well. The point is, there is no time. Just for fun, there is also a Biochem and Histology test Monday after the gross test.
Anyway, enough griping. There are some positive things going on. I managed to find a really good study buddy who reads just a slow as I do and doesn't ever confuse me when explaining things. It's nice. We went to Ole Miss and were in the Honors College together, but just didn't ever end up studying together. Anyway, we've been helping each other along through gross. It's a good thing.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find a mechanic to fix the pause button.

And Then... I Beat the Class Average

So, the 1st 2 biochem tests did not go so well. We're talking 20 points below the class average. I'm no brain surgeon, but that's not good. Well, we got back our last biochem test today and let me tell you, the studying paid off. (And by studying I mean: my car did not leave the garage this past weekend, except for 1 late-night run to McDonald's). Not only did I pass, I *almost* made an A. The only 2 questions I missed on the new material were thrown out due to their amount of detail. So that means the only questions I actually missed were off the old material. Anyway, the point is, I beat the class average. This is a day that shall go down in history.
Also, I might actually be learning how to prioritize. I was planning on going to the fair tonight, but... then I realized I'm playing on Jennifer's tennis league tomorrow night and everyone knows it's a sin to do more than 1 fun thing a week when you're in med school. So instead I stayed at the gross lab with a study group from about 2:30 'til 8:30 with a dinner break in there. We got some learning done - let me tell you.
Randomly, I would like to give a shout out to my mother for all the tasty food she brought last week. It was so delicious, it's all gone *hint, hint...

Fair Time!!!

For those of you not in the know, there was a test this morning. It was 46 biochem questions and 30 histology questions. Also, the questions were a tad-bit nit-picky as usual. I don't really know why I'm surprised anymore. It's probably because when I look back at old tests I see questions like this:

What is GIST?
A. gastrointestinal stromal tumor (***correct, in case you couldn't figure it out)
B. gastrointestinal superman theory
C. gastrointestinal stinky tract
D. gastrointestinal salad trap

Then, for our test, there are questions more like this:
There is a deficiency in the cKIT gene for GIST which leads to an upregulated expression of KT which causes cells to proliferate. What is the cause of GIST?
A. a single missense mutation leading to a defect in the 1st catabolic cascade.
B. a single missense mutation leading to a defect in the 2nd catabolic cascade.
C. a single nonsense mutation leading to the deletion of an entire amino acid.

Well, you get the point. Just rest assured that if you ever need a doctor and I refer you to one from my class, they're all rockstars. We probably have to know 3x as much as our older counterparts, so there...

Okay, maybe I'm still seething a little bit. I'm not bitter though - nope, not at all - ha.

Anyway, now that that nightmare is over, it's on to more important things like cramming everything I've wanted/needed to do for the last week into 1 or 2 days. These include:

1. washing my sheets - don't even want to think about how long it's been
2. going to wal-mart - need light bulbs, haven't been able to see in my room for the last week
3. cleaning house - Jennifer might kick me out if I keep on like this.
4. mowing the yard - if the Kris fairy doesn't get to it first... maybe i'll be surprised later.
5. planting some flowers - if I can remember to pick them up from Wal-Mart
6. going to the FAIR!!!

Yes, the Jackson fair is coming to town. It will be here Wednesday night. While I know that it is not technically the best night to go since the machinery is probably more likely to break down the 1st night due to faulty construction on site, I'm going to chance it. Maybe I'll give a review on it if I survive :)

This Probably only Happens at Our Lunch Table

I have a test Monday, so this is going to be a quick one. Just had to share this hilarious moment that happened at my usual lunch table the other day. There were 6 of us sitting there. We were eating, laughing, and pretending to study the dissection for the day. Then all of a sudden Aprile says: "Raise your hand if you were NOT in band." Not a hand was raised.

I Told Them I Need My Sleep

So, we started physiology today. Now I'm enrolled in 7 courses I think. I don't know anymore. I've lost count. Anyway, so I actually read the assigned chapter last night, along with getting my hair cut, doing a family pedigree for genetics, and making painstakingly detailed notes of a biochemistry lecture. I was productive, to say the least. Well, before I had a chance to answer the 50+ lecture questions before physiology this morning, I began to feel a little bit tired. So, I decided to call it a night and get an early start in the morning. It wasn't essential to answer the questions, but would help with the 1 question quiz in class.
So, when 5:30 rolled around, I hit snooze... then again at 6:00, then again at 6:30 I guess. I don't really remember. Point is, I awoke from a dream at 7:26!!!!!!!! The exact time I needed to leave the house! So, I threw on my scrubs and disgusting gross lab tennis shoes, put some contacts in, threw my laptop in my bookbag and my makeup in the car. Out the door in 10 minutes - not so bad. I could walk in 5 minutes late and not be noticed...
Well, then the train decided to come and hold everybody up. I got to wait on it for about 5 minutes. Then I-20 was bumper to bumper. Then I-55 was the same way. Then I decided to try and park on campus and completely chickened out which made me at least 15 minutes later. So, now I'm parked at a clinic across Lakeland Drive. Hopefully my car will still be there when I get out. Gotta go! I'm in class!

Playing Catch Up

Well, we've officially had our 1st gross anatomy test. It consisted of a written section that took about 2 hours and a practical which took about 2 hours. As expected, the written part went okay for me and the practical was pretty difficult. I haven't actually seen my grade yet because Dr. Sinning is still "trying to decide what the answers are." That does not sound promising at all. Anyway, all of us were so busy studying for the gross practical last week that we've been neglecting biochem and histology. Now instead of enjoying my weekend I'll be looking at biochemistry powerpoints and histology slides. I guess I'll get better at this time management thing as the year rolls on.
On a happier note, when I arrived home today at 6:00, the floors were sparkling and the carpet had those great little roller marks in it. All the tables were cleared of clutter and had been dusted. Laundry was done. Dishes were in the dishwasher. Was it a magical maid fairy? No, it was Kris. What a nice surprise to come home too. Maybe I will let him be a stay-at-home Dad once we're established. Ha ha...
Today's gross lab was pretty much the coolest thing ever, but I think Friday's might be better. Today I cut the lungs out of the chest and my lab partners and I removed them. They were lodged in there pretty good, so it was no surprise when John's lung went flying down our lab table and came to a stop at the end. Thank goodness he didn't drop it. It was pretty neat. Friday we're taking out the heart. Our guy had open heart surgery, so there's no telling what all we'll find in there. Anyway, I must go be productive now - I'm thinking biochem sounds good.

2 Weeks Down, 16 to Go!

Well, I'm now 1/9 of the way finished with this semester. And already I've:

1. cut through human flesh - a lot of it.
2. learned how to take scalpel blades off without maiming myself or classmates
3. figured out that going to class is overrated.

That's about it, in a nutshell. I didn't do so hot on the 1st test, but thank goodness it's a miniscule portion of our final grade. I've figured out a new study method that seems to be working so far, so that's good for the classes other than gross. Everyone seems to be freaking out about gross, but thanks to my love of grammar and spanish, the words just stick in my head. If you think about what they mean, it's pretty obvious where they should be. Of course the serratus posterior superior is on the upper portion of the back! And that means the serratus posterior inferior is on the lower portion. It's not so bad yet, but I have a feeling all those nerves and vessels are going to get a bit confusing as we move into the head and neck area - or even the brachial plexus. Oh well, I'll worry about it when we get there.

So obviously I've started gross anatomy for those of you who didn't know. The first cut was pretty creepy (from ear to ear across the back of the head). The scalp is just not a fun place to cut. Thank goodness my lab partners were eager to do that. From then on, it's been fine. The only problem is that after we leave, I don't get my appetite back for about 4 hours. Everything tastes like formaldehyde - even after a shower.

I survived the 1st week - sort of!

Well, I'm 1/18th of the way finished with 1/8 of the path towards attaining my M.D. Nice, huh? I made it through the 1st week - went to every class, took 3 quizzes, and ate 4 free lunches this week. That's right, medical school = free lunch... from the government no less. The air force came one day to recruit us, the national guard another day, family medicine one day, and I honestly can't remember who the other group was. I'm about all turkey-sandwiched out though, since they all fed us the exact same lunch. Anyway, today in order to get on track and ready for the test (which is Wednesday, pray y'all!), I have to memorize 20 amino acid names, abbreviations, 1-letter abbreviations, pka's, and bonding characteristics. This will probably account for about 5 questions on the test Wednesday which will probably have 75 Biochem questions. Maybe that gives you an understanding of how the week's been. Anyway, on to happier things.

I'm in CUPS right now taking a study break and the couple who made my coffee earlier came back in about an hour after they got off work to tell their other coworkers they were engaged. However, they barely even looked at each other the whole time they were here because they were alerting all their nearest and dearest via text message. Just seemed a little strange to me, that's all. This week in wedding planning I've managed to order the napkins with our names, wedding date, and giant monogrammed initial on them - quite the Southern wedding staple. I figure if I can get one thing accomplished per week for now I'll be fine. For those of you who don't know, I've already got my dress and the bridesmaids have theirs. I found mine in 1 hour! I'm quite the power-shopper. Anyway, it hasn't been altered yet, but I think I'm definitely going to wait more towards the end of this year of school since I've lost 3 pounds just this week due to stress and a steady diet of turkey sandwiches and coffee.

Something VERY HARD begins tomorrow - we get it!

So, orientation for medical school was last week and I lost count of the number of times my classmates and I were told, "It's going to be HARD!!!" Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence everyone. Thanks for royally freaking us out. Seriously, do they think that by telling us how hard it is going to be is going to ease our pain or make it any easier? Do they think we don't know it's going to be incredibly difficult?
I'm sure none of us realize exactly how difficult it is going to be yet, but the truth is it probably won't be as hard for some people as it is for others. Unfortunately, I do not think I will be included in that group. I predict many sleepless nights and drained coffee pots in the future. Speaking of...
We have a quiz tomorrow - on our first day of class, so I have to go study!

seriously?

Okay, so first off I suppose I should explain the title of my blog. I know it's a total rip-off from Grey's Anatomy, but the word just happens to pop up so often in my life. Por ejemplo, I'm in the midst of planning my dream-wedding and preparing to enter med school. So, of course instead of studying my hardback copy of Gray's Anatomy (the book, for those of you who think it's just a show), I instead find myself looking at photographers' wedding portfolios online. Whilst browsing through the typical mediocre cheesy shots, I can't help but notice the bride's bouquet has one random red rose sticking out to the side. The rest of the bouquet is composed of beautiful white roses. Then there's this red rose - just sticking out!!! It's just befuddling. It caused my roommate and I to burst out in a chorus of "Seriously?" and "Why?" I'm going to feel really badly if I find out it's some sort of tribute to a dead grandparent or something like that. But seriously, whose grandmother would want to be paid tribute to in that way? Whatever though... It's her wedding and she can do whatever the hell she wants.
My wedding on the other hand will not include random works of floristry (not actually sure that's a word, but it should be). The date is June 7, 2008 and so far I've accomplished 2 major planning points.
1. The bridesmaid dresses are with their respective owners and paid for.
2. The wedding dress is hanging in a protective bag on the back of my bedroom door.

Hopefully by next month I'll have at least 5 more things accomplished, but I'm not holding my breath. Anyway, I hope I can keep this blog thing going after med school starts. I'm sure I will have plenty more moments that deserve a "Seriously?"