Merry Christmas

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated.  Sorry about that, the end of the semester didn't really mark freedom for me.  I sort of went right back to study mode, going through these MCAT books and old Calculus notes to prepare for Calc II.  But guess what? That checklist that I had put up in the last post I crossed everything off and lived to tell the story.  Those 2.5 weeks were quite hellacious actually, I'm not 100% sure how I pulled it off, averaging about 2 hours of sleep every night, studying, finishing papers, editing papers, fixing notes, studying, studying, and doing more studying.  I'm really quite proud that I made it through what was supposed to be the hardest semester of college in one piece, and pretty much pwnaging the entire semester.  So far I have all As in my classes.  I'm just waiting for one more grade, Bioinformatics, which, if I don't get an A in the class, then someone is going to be in a lot of trouble.  I didn't really have any hard finals, thankfully, one of them was open book, one was just a presentation, the other mainly on the cardiovascular system (my personal forte), and the other, well I would have had to try really hard to not do well.
My physics final was actually the final I was able to come out of with a story to tell.  Sunday night, I went to bed around 1am.  Set my alarm clock for 430am.  How I managed to get myself out of bed, I'm really not sure, but my dad always tells me how he's impressed with how I always push myself to get the things done that needs to get done.  So 4:30-6:30 I was doing some last minute studying.  My physics teacher decided to be nice and start our final an hour earlier than normally scheduled to give us an extra hour to complete the exam.  So me, being me, I was sitting in that chair at 7am.  Looking back, I probably should have just gone in at the normal starting hour, gotten an extra hour of sleep, and maybe watch the sun rise from my bedroom window.  I finished the exam at 7:30ish, and just sort of sat around and stared off out the window, and from there, I watched the sun rise. I must admit, if I wasn't so tired, I may actually have enjoyed it, physics being my last final.
So I sat around, pretended to keep on working, and when I finally got fed up with that I went up to my professor to hand in my exam, and sure enough, she asks me to stay for a little while longer.  I had some profane things running through my mind, so I just sat back down and put my head down and took a nap until the professor came back to me and told me I could leave.

Okay, I guess it's not that interesting, but it's a story nontheless.
So, after my SI student's exam, I had a nice leisurely dinner with some of my best friends @ school.  Filipino food with good friends is the best way to end an extremely difficult semester.

So since then, I've been back on the nerd grind, studying for the MCATs, and so far it's going pretty well.  I can tell that the inorganic is going to be very difficult to get through, since it's been a while since I was actually taught inorganic chemistry.
And then there's calculus.  Going through these notes, I kind of wish I took better notes at the beginning of the year, but so far I'm managing, I hope I can keep this study drive up throughout the vacation.

I have another checklist, and so far I'm keeping up, it's a whole lot more work than I was expecting though.

17 days till the end of the semester

Boy, that flew faster than the Concord once flew, but boy am I thankful.  The semester's winding down to the last few class meetings, last few exams crammed in at the last minute, and last few paper edits that need to be done.

 

And this, is what my next 17 days looks like.  I actually forgot about my dance final in there, but I guess that doesn't really count since I'm not REALLY going to be practicing a dance, that's going to be pure improv, but it'll have to do.  Supposedly you can stand in front of the class and do the robot for a minute and you'll do just dandy.  So I'll be searching through my iTunes for a piece to make something up to.  As for everything else, Physics exam, lab exam one right after another, along with presentations right after that.

I got together with my group to finish our group paper, we basically put together the whole thing, made nice transitions, and called it a day.  Revisions will come in later on in the week I suppose.  All we need to do now is work on our journal article discussion and we're set for the rest of the semester for that class.

Bioinformatics.  What do I have to say about bioinformatics.  I have a take home exam due, which I just realized isn't on the list... *adds now*, and our final is open book.  Go figures.  We'll be getting our first exam, on the last day of class.  Yes, the exam that we took about 2 months ago. yippie!

Anatomy final is on the cardiovascular system, which is probably the only thing that interests me.  I actually managed to stay somewhat focused in lecture last Friday, what a surprise.  Hopefully, this test won't be too terrible. Oh, and I have a paper and presentation still to finish up for that class.  oopsies.

Physics, I'm not too sure what I want to make of it.  I'm most definitely scared for this final.  I've been doing extremely well so far, and hopefully I havn't forgotten all the stuff from the beginning of the semester, which, in all honesty, happens quite often.

My last SI sessions with my groups are coming up.  It's sort of sad, I'm going to miss them, they really were such a great class, and made the whole experience really fun, which is something I definitely needed this semester.  I'll be baking cookies for their last session :)

One of My Inspirations

One of my inspirations for what I do and what I want to be has been my cardiologist.  Not only is he a great doctor, named one of America's Top Cardiologist a few years ago, but he's been such a great person, a great friend, and a great support system throughout my whole life.
And today, I saw him for the last time as his patient.
He'd been hinting at retirement for the last few years now, and today he told me that he'll be retiring as of January 1.
I didn't think it'd come up so soon, he just told us that he'd be leaving the practice and giving all his patients to his other 3 partners, none of whom I actually know.
I've gotten so comfortable with this particular doctor, mostly because he's the only cardiologist that I know and remember.  I don't remember my first cardiologist, or the surgeon who did my surgery.  I only remember him.  And now, I have to start seeing someone new.  I mean, I knew it would happen sooner or later, I just didn't expect it to be this soon.  I also knew I would eventually have to leave the "Pediatric Cardiology," but I have been told it wouldn't actually be any time soon, the main reason being that my cardiologist is the one who knows my case and condition best.
So, as of 2011, my doctor will be handing off my chart to another doctor, who, no matter what, will not know me as well as he did.  That's okay, all good things come to an end, and I have been so fortunate to have him as my cardiologist, and I will never forget how much he's done for me.
Another chapter has ended.  Time to turn the page and keep writing.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well another Thanksgiving, and I feel like every year I have more and more to be thankful for.  Which is how it should be.

So, this time around, what am I thankful for?
I'm most thankful for having a much stronger relationship with my religion.  I guess I never truly understood His powers and His love for all of us, but I think I get it now. I used to never bless myself before exams, I'd rarely say even a quick prayer before bed, and today I found myself thanking Him for the food in front of me, without even a thought.  And I feel better, more confident, and truly believe that He really is helping me, and guiding me through all my hardships.

My parents of course, I can't do without.  With all the support they've given me, all the encouragement to do nothing but my best, has pulled me through, and made me feel so confident about the future I want for myself.

The rest of my family, the ones here in NY, the ones spread all over the States, the ones all the way out in Europe, and all those back home in PI.  A warm welcome every time we see each other, an even warmer hug, and a home away from home, no matter how long it's been since I've seen them.  I know that if I ever just showed up at their front step, without hesitation I'd be welcome inside.  My family is who I am, and I don't know what I'd do without them.

My friends.  What can I say about them. ILOVETHEMWITHALLMYHEARTANDNOTHINGWILLEVERCHANGETHATPERIOD.

There's gotta be like 10,000 more things that I'm thankful for, but those papers and the physics homework's calling my name.
<3 Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Finally the Downhill Slope

The semester is almost over.
I'm convinced that I'm at the point in the semester where it will all go downhill from here. 
My last Anatomy lecture exam was on Friday, and all I really have left is another Physics test and a lab exam for Anatomy.
Other than that, I have a few research papers to write, which I'm hoping to get one of them done today, and then finals week.

Finally, that light at the end of the tunnel.  I can't wait.

Overall, this semester has been good.  The classes not too bad, except for whatever minor heart attacks my anatomy teacher's been giving me.  I think I enjoyed most of my classes, which I don't think I've been able to say for a while. 

SI has actually been one of the highlights of my semester, this was an incredible experience, and I didn't imagine how rewarding it would be to have several of my students come up to me and thank me for helping them and helping them get the grades that they wanted/needed.  Some thanked me for helping them achieve higher than their goal.

I can wish, right?

Exhaustion is finally kicking in

I think I've hit that point in the semester where coffee doesn't even keep me awake anymore.  It has been putting me to sleep the last few days. It's NOT okay.
There are 5 weeks left in the semester.  The end of the semester cannot come any sooner.  All the work, homeworks, due dates, exams are now being crammed in last minute. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


There. I let it out.  I just finished my anatomy lab exam today, I have an anatomy lecture exam next week, and just a whole bunch of other frustrations, research papers up to wazoo, all of which I have piles of papers and research articles for the topics, but they have yet to be stapled, much more read, highlighted and made sense.

As far as medical school goes.
I FINALLY spoke to my Pre-Med advisor this week.  She suggested that I take the MCATs sooner than I was planning on taking them (a good 2 months sooner.  And yes, that 2 months is crucial and might actually make some kind of a difference.)
She gave me a list of schools that would accept my GPA, based on my practice MCAT grade without studying.  I have a safety school already.  That last-resort school, which basically guarantees that I have a shining chance of going to medical school here in the states.  I am NOT settling for a safety school.  I will ace those MCATs, and my GPA will NOT go down. *humph* and NOTHING. Do you hear me world? NOTHING is getting in my way.

Officially Pwnaging Physics

Dear Physics,
Although you have done nothing this semester but give me high blood pressure, an incredible amount of stress, and well more work than what seems necessary, because well, because of you I have done NO work for my  BIOLOGY classes. BTW, I'm a Biology major, not a Physics major.  Stop giving me so much work.

Anyway, to get to the point of this letter. HAH I PWN YOU >:)

Oof.

-sigh-
School's been making it so incredibly difficult to keep up with this blog. And you can forget about my drawing-a-day-for-a-year project...
Let's see what can I update you on.
So much has actually happened this month.  Generally good, a mix of some bad, but that's not going to stop me.
I'll start with my classes.
So far, they've been going pretty well.  Still somewhat beasting physics.  I actually JUST finished this incredibly confusing chapter, which took almost 3 days to do the problems, but I got through them, and now it's just a matter practicing them and being able to do them with no problem.  That's for this weekend.  Comparative anatomy, is still eh.  I'm starting to enjoy lab a little more each week, since now we're dissecting animals that are more and more similar to the human.  My teacher though, still dumb as a rock.  This particular teacher can't spell digits.  It's been spelled on the board as "digets."  Yeah, spell check just cried.  This teacher can't really pronounce things, and told us that the condyles are in the neck.  Quite the opposite, professor.  They're in the knees. Thank you.  Dance, is well, dance.  We stretch, jump and skip around the room for an hour and a half, and that's just about it.  My SI stuff has been consuming part of my life. I definitely take more than an hour for prep, and that's with working with the other SI leader.  I honestly don't know what I would do if she weren't helping me with all of this.
I've been preparing my schedule for next semester.  I've got Embryology, Physics II, Calculus II, and a Core class that discusses the aftermath of 9/11.  Four classes.  15 credits.  Can you believe that??  And, now I start class at 830am .____.;; this is not going to be fun.  But I get to campus anyway around that time just so I don't have to walk so far to get to my parking spot.  So really, no big difference.

And that's the academic part.
Now for the whole point of the blog.
I visited the first medical school today.  Hofstra University is opening up a brand new medical school.  Yeah. Hofstra University.  Like half an hour from my house. Yeah. Hofstra University. Brand spankin' new.  I went with a friend from school and as we drove onto the Hofstra Campus, there was a sign, right there. "School of Medicine." That's when I started to get really excited.  Then we parked, and walked up to the building.  The building is a kind of an old building.  From the outside it looks really old.   It happens to be the old site of the training center for the New York Jets.  Yes.  The New York Jets.  And they still kept some memorabilia of its past.  As you walk near the building, you can still see the old New York Jets Training Center scoreboard sign.  But, like I said, from the outside, the school looked like it was in some old building.
We decided to walk around a little bit because we were early.  We beat rush hour *thumbs up.*  So we walk around.  The school is situated in the Athletic area of the campus.  So we walked around, past the lacrosse field, pass the baseball field.  And we looked over, and saw this HUGE open field, which hands down, was bigger than the size of our current college.  Absolutely stunned, we walked back, and went into the school.
Remember how I said the outside of the building was kind of old? Well, we walked in and inside was a BRAND SPANKIN' NEW School of Medicine.  BRAND SPANKIN' NEW.  It was all modern, with a lot of natural light, new couches, new cafeteria, new desks, new chairs, and free pens and hand sanitizer :D.  The second I walked in.  I said to myself.  This is where I'm coming. 
Everything was so nice and clean, and all in that one building.  Teacher's offices, founding deans, cafeteria, vending machines.  And a cafeteria.  All for us.  Because walking to the actual food court of the school just looks like such a long walk away.  I got spoiled with the small campus.
So, all of the deans, and assistant deans that we met were absolutely awesome, and so welcoming.
I can't wait to go.  Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel.

First Test of the Semester Done

Last Wednesday I suffered through the first test of the semester, and my first Physics exam, and thankfully made it out alive, after spending hours and hours practicing the homework, only to find out EVERYTHING ELSE was what was being tested on.  But at least I knew all the theories behind everything. Sort of.  Got the test back today with a whopping 96. SOOOO HAPPY :D

Oh. And it was the highest grade of the class.  PHY 270 be ready to be absolutely pwnaged :)

Now off to studying for this absolutely horrendous and massive Comparative Anatomy exam on Friday .___.;;

hyperbole and a half

Black Polos and Sweaters just sent me this.  Its worth the read. Promise

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/09/party.html

ohmy.

Terribly sorry for not keeping updated.  It seems that as soon as I got home my life was pulled out from under me like a rug.

I finally have a few seconds to breathe and kind of update on life.
School has been going absolutely wonderfully, aside from a crazy physics teacher, who can't seem to teach, an anatomy teacher who, well, I'm still working on that.  Comparative labs are absolutely wonderful.  Last week we dissected the lamprey (really ugly eel like parasitic thing thats apparantely been destroying sea life in Lake Michigan (?))
Here's some photos:

I mean, as bad as it smelled, I got used to it pretty quickly, and well, it was kind of fun.  Lecture on the other hand, not so much, and everyone's basically having a heart attack about the first exam, which is totally natural right?  All my other classes, all 3 of them, dance, bioinformatics and scientific research techniques have been pretty good so far, aside from a little drama that has picked up in one of those classes, but I mean, there's always going to be drama, no?

My Supplemental Instruction classes are actually what I'm having the most fun with.  I didn't think I'd have this much fun teaching, but I guess it's also because the people I have in my classes are absolutely wonderful, they participate, they're eager to learn, some more than others, but no complaints there, and they're just great in general. 

Just a quick short update on life, I'll probably be posting more cool dissection things in the coming weeks, we're supposed to do the dogfish shark this week *gets excited*

Off to do physics so I can watch the House, MD premier tonight :D

Happy September!

Good-bye August, you were, as always an incredibly awesome month :)Between completing the end of a very long internship, birthdays, time with best friends, being happy in a stable relationship, and what is panning out to be a pretty good trip, August has not disappointed.
Tonight I was walking down the streets of Brussels after a dinner that took about 2 hours in between appetizer and entree (I guess they had to catch the Sole first?) and found myself somewhat smiling - being confident enough that whatever problems I'm having, I can work out.
Brussels is an absolutely amazing city - beautiful sites, beautiful churches, beautiful food servings, beautiful everything.  I can see myself being here for a while in the future.

As for September.  It's kind of a bitter hello.  September brings up a brand new school year, new teachers, new books, new planner (which I bought yesterday and already filled in all the days off, vacations, and meetings).  I'm always somewhat intimidated by a new school year, what are the teachers going to be like, what are the classes going to be like?  Am I going to do well?
But I am excited to see all my friends again - last semester has probably been the best one so far - I finally found my niche at school <3
We shall see what the future holds.

On another note, I found this sketch book today, with enough pages for a sketch for everyday - 365 daily sketches...
I didn't buy the book, sketchbooks are easy enough to find and get for cheap, I may even have a few at home.  Thinking of doing this. Thoughts?

WWII

Well, today, aside from suffering from jet-lag and being absolutely exhausted at around noon today (6am NY time) and being woken up at what would normally be my bed time (thank goodness I was able to get some rest), was pretty interesting.  We took about a 1 hour train ride to Mons, Brussels, where they hold an annual commemoration to an American invasion, so to say, to kick out those Germans.  So, they were plenty of people walking around in American uniforms, most of which didn't exactly go together, eating fries with mayonnaise, drinking beer, and digging trenches.  Oh, and going joy riding on a 60-something year old tank in the mud.  What I found to be very interesting is that back at home, those who are interested in the history of World War II all seem to be aging, and dying off, it does not take the interest of many people, say my age.  But here, kids were running around, helmet and toy machine gun and all, eagerly climbing into tanks and crawling into foxholes and tents for pictures.  I guess World War II is a whole lot more interesting to those over here in Europe, since it all basically took place here.  I remember sitting in American History with Mr. Carp (may he rest in peace), and getting excited to begin the World War II chapters, and being kind of disappointed in the lack of content.  I guess most of it had to do with the fact that I've gone to see so many different important sites of the war since I was little since my Dad is such an enthusiast, that since the American's didn't enter the war till Pearl Harbor, pretty much the tail end of the  war, there was not much to fill the textbook with.  I guess here, there'd be so much, and its probably just a train ride away from anywhere in Europe to go see one of the sites, which I guess makes the learning experience a whole lot more interesting, makes the war, which ended 65 years ago, that much more real.
It's too bad, there's so much more to World War II than most of us in America learn about.  I hope the enthusiasm for the war doesn't die back home.

People Make Me Sick

A dear friend of mine sent this to me.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/08/muslim_cab_driv.php
I'm not angry at what the author of this particular article said, but what the article was talking about.  People are such insensitive, inconsiderate, immature, and stupid assholes.  Just because the media is making out one particular group of people look like horrible, suicidal killers, does NOT mean they actually are.  Seriously, before you go and stab a complete stranger, sit down with one of them - get to know them, OPEN YOUR EYES, don't listen to the media for once - form your own opinion, you'd be surprised to see how different they are than what "everyone else" wants you to think.
I actually really like what the author said.
"Note to racist assholes: You are also idiots."
Not only are you idiots, but your IGNORANT idiots, and trust me you can't get much lower than an ignorant idiot.
Idiots just don't know. Ignorant idiots have ways of knowing, and choose not to, choose to take the easy way out and go with whatever is the general population's idea. LIVE YOUR OWN DAMN LIFE.
Okay - I get it. Everyone's angry about the mosque being built, but really, its not AT Ground Zero, and was it not there from wayyy before?
So what, no one would be mad if it were a church? or a temple?
What if it was an Orthodox Jew who blew up the World Trade Center towers?
What if it was someone like YOU? Someone who shared your religion, someone who shared your point of view, someone who came from wherever your family came from?
Would you like to be the target of such awful hate crimes? I bet not.
So, really. Grow up, get away from the television and radio, and just go out and meet them.  They really are just like you and me.  They are not all like the people who the media is making them out to be.

Packing My Life Again Into 2 Rolling Bags

No, I'm not leaving for college.  I live close enough to school that I commute a short 20 minute drive back and forth to school.  Hey, tuition is free, so I'm not really complaining.  At least, not at the moment.
I'm all packed and ready for a short 10 day trip to Brussels, which will include several side trips within Belgium, and a day trip to London.
Woohoo! Vacation! I can finally get away from this place, and just relax, see things, and eat good food and come home with a day to recover from jet lag before I start what will probably be a really crazy semester.
Till I return,
Au revoir
<3A.V.

My first paying job?!

I finished orientation on Wednesday for being a Supplemental Instruction leader at school today.  It was a 2 day thing, from 10am-1pm and I must admit it was a whole lot more engaging than I thought it would be.  I never knew that there were so many ways to passive aggressively get students to participate, or even shut up.  I was told I must go through several steps before the "I'm sorry, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?" Too bad, because that's usually an effective way of telling someone they're extremely rude without flat out saying it to their face.  However, I really do hope the group of students I get won't make me go there.
During this whole orientation, I actually also got to learn more about myself.  I found out that I'm kind of sort of over my fear of going in front of a group of people and taking the floor, taking charge, being like HEY LISTEN UP I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY TO YOU.  Not only did I learn that my Public Speaking class might have actually been somewhat effective, I learned about what kind of person I am according to some guy who came up with a method in determining what kind of personality you have.  Are the results I got really true? Or is it just another load of bullsh*t?  Well, it depends on how you look at it.  I used my results to look deeper into myself, my habits, and I looked to see if I can make any adjustments to make me a better student, a better person, a better doctor.

The Lion King

The Lion King the musical on Broadway must have been the most incredible experience I've had at a Broadway show in quite some time.
Whoever it was that sang the opening note - I wanted to give her a big hug - gave me chills down my back, something that actually never happened to me Click to Hear turn your speakers all the way up and the volume on YouTube all the way up before it starts - and imagine it live.  I melted in my seat.
I kind of regret not seeing it sooner, but honestly, it was a great movie coming up to my 20th birthday - a show about growing up, and learning as you go, and leaving the past behind you and growing from it. 
I would definitely recommend anyone of any age to go see it. Truth of the matter is, you can't outgrow Disney. You just can't, especially a classic like the Lion King.  Just the colors of the scenery, the music, the dancing, those tight African chords makes it worth however much the tickets cost.  Not to mention all the laughs, the tears, the mixed emotions, which are all priceless, makes me kind of want to watch it again, and I'm usually not a fan of watching Broadway shows more than once.
*flies off to watch the original Lion King*

Mixed Emotions

Well, I finished my internship at the hospital today.  Don't really know how I feel about it.  I love the hospital, and being in the hospital, and seeing patients, especially smiling, happy ones.  I don't really love the idea of having to wake up at 7 in the morning to head over to the hospital, but it's something I can quickly get over.
During this internship, I met some really great people, and some not so great people. 3 students that I absolutely love, they were willing to learn, and go the extra mile, and willing to get yelled at a little bit if it ensured that they at least went home able to say they learned something new.  5 Interns and Residents that were always open to include me in different discussions, even though some of it I didn't understand, I wasn't invisible. 1 student that was one lazy SOB (no, not the medical shortcut for SOB, the other one.) But hey, he got his karma right before I gave a big hug to the intern and student, a baby peed all over him.  Officially my favorite baby EVER.
So my dad asked me, "now what are you going to do?"
Well to answer, I'm going to start really enjoying my summer, seeing my friends, my love, and unfortunately, hit the books again to start studying for the MCATs *shudder*.
All in all, I'm going to miss a majority of the people there, and learning as much as I can and get as big of a jump start as I can in preparation for medical school.  But, I'm so happy that I can finally relax during the day, and continue going through my House season 5 DVD box set.
But for now...
*FLIES OFF TO NYC*

And So I Begin to Sell That Part of My Soul

I've recently been working at the hospital, doing an internship for school (YAY I can finally get credit for the hours that I spend there).  One of the Interns that I recently started working with, and quite frankly, I really wish she had come in sooner - I was not too thrilled about the last resident, had suggested starting a blog and just keeping track of all the really weird things you see from day to day, so that by the end of your career you can look back on it and think, "Damn, I had one hell of a ride."
So I think I'll start this - I have several blogs, none of them really I kept up with.  I don't know what makes this one different but I'm determined to keep up with it.  Update with my experiences in the hospital, my life, my misery in preparing for medical school, and other miscellaneous things.
So why Sell Your Med Soul? Because I'm a nerd - I've heard Solu-Medrol a billion times during this internship. Play on words I guess - and appropriate.  I'm determined to stay on track to complete my dream - but at the same time keep up with the rest of my life and keep it in tact.  Only selling part of my soul to medicine.  The medical part of my soul.
The entire month of June I was in the hospital 9-4.  Which basically means I'm there 15 minutes before, and 15 after.  During those 7.5 hours at the hospital I've seen so many incredible things, learned so many things, met really incredible people, and some not so incredible people.  Definitely an experience I'll never forget, and definitely an experience that confirmed my dreams.
Last night I actually sat down with my MCAT book and started studying - Goal was to make it through Lecture 1.  I got 80% of it done, not bad I guess.  I'm off now to continue studying and continue updating my log for school (I'm up to July 14, I'm a little behind... I should get on that right?)