Weather, bball and PSU

Maybe this is a sign showing my blog is going downhill, but I am going to talk about the weather. But I feel the need to comment based on the absurdity of the conditions Mother Nature has thrown at as over the last few days. No more than 1 week ago, I was freezing in my house walking around with pants and a sweatshirt just wishing gas didn't cost as much so I could actually turn the heat up and be warm in the house. And then last night, on March 13th, we turned the air conditioning on. That's right, we turned on the A/C. I can't believe it, but inside our house it was 81 degrees and it was supposed to rain overnight so we needed to shut the windows. Because we had to shut the windows, the house wouldn't get cooler by itself so we needed to turn it on. And now tonight, I can have the window merely cracked otherwise it would be too cold in my room. I digress.

It's March and you know what that means: MARCH MADNESS. This is easily one of my more favorite times of the year because starting Thursday afternoon, I can watch college basketball for 4 days straight. Usually by about Sunday afternoon I feel totally drained and tell myself I can't watch any more basketball, but nonetheless, by the time the next round rolls around a few days later, there I am, seeing if the glass slipper fits for another night for that 11 seed trying to make it past the Sweet 16. I am currently in 4 different brackets and plan on winning them all, including the $10,000 from ESPN.com for having the best bracket out there. In reality I will probably lose in every pool because I pick the wrong upsets which is a double-edges sword because I obviously got the one game wrong where I thought an upset would occur, and at the same time I lose where the upsets actually occur. I am usually out by the end of the first weekend. I think last year I only had 1 final four team left after the first weekend.

I am also definitely prepping for my quickly approaching PSU interview. I am actually staying at the Hershey Lodge which is across from the medical school itself. It costs a little bit more than the econo-lodge, but because I am with the medical center they are giving me a $50 discount. And the thought of getting a Hershey's chocolate bar with my room key excites me. I also get a full buffet breakfast in the morning, which is included in the price of the room. This is much better than the dry croissaints and weak coffee I have had at different hotels I have stayed at for the interviews. Also being my last interview and I actually have a source of income, I thought I could splurge on a nicer room. I have heard some really good things about the school and have checked the SDN Interview Feedbacks to see what kind of questions might be asked. For those of you curious, here are some of the questions that have been asked this year: (these are all questions people have posted in a public forum as questions that were asked of them in their interviews at PSU)

What type of medicine do you want to go into and why?
Where do you want to practice?
Tell me about yourself.
What are you strengths and weaknesses?
Why do you want to go into medicine in the first place?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Who is your favorite poet?
What is your favorite quote?
What kind of music do you listen to?
Why do you think people will come to you as their doctor?
Why Penn State?
Explain your research.
Is rural medicine something you want to do?
How can I tell the Admissions Committee that you have a strong work ethic if you got a B- in Physics?
What do you think makes a good physician?
I can't find anything wrong with your application. What do you think about that?
Why do you want to come to Hershey?
Have you seen Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle?
Tell me about a difficult experience you have had.
Why do you deserve a spot in this class?
What do you see are the 2 most important parts of your application?
How would your friends describe you?
How would you solve the problems of Healthcare today?
How did your interest in medicine develop?
What would you do if not medicine?
Why don't you want to go into research? Do you see yourself as research oriented?
Are you interested in primary care?
What do you do with your free time?

I have also noticed that PSU wants you to come with questions (as seen in a previous comment - LT2 I pm'ed you) so I am beginning to come up with a list of questions since the interviews range from 30-45 minutes and I need to have enough to ask to cover that amount of time.

It's been a great week for some people who I went to grad school with. Chris (my roommate at gtown) got into NYMC last week and Brian got into Drexel yesterday and an Osteopathic school in California last week. I am so happy for these 2 guys because I know that they are going to make awesome doctors. They are definitely 2 people I really wanted to see get into school because their passion to enter the field is unparalleled to a lot of people I have met who are either in medical school or trying to get in (there are others out there who share the passion, those 2 just get the shout out right now since they have such great news). So kudos to you two.

still waiting,
-wait