Waiting around

Friday, March 31, 2006

It's not official... but it's close

So the letter that I got yesterday from GW informed me that I need to contact either the dean of admissions or director of admissions to inform them whether or not I was still interested in the program. As I have been emailing the dean of admissions on a somewhat regular basis, part of me wanted to speak with her directly, but either way it truly did not matter.

I called the office up and told them that I received the alternate update letter yesterday and wanted to speak with either the dean or director as that is what the letter requested. After I was put on hold for a couple minutes, the person who originally answered my call got on the line and said the dean was out of the office, but I would speak to the director. She picked up the phone and I informed her of who I was and why I was calling. She asks in a somewhat joking voice "Well are you still interested?" I of course said yes and went on to say that I have been in touch with the dean so she is definitely aware of where I stand. The director then explains that her office is right next door and that she is very well aware of my stance and how I have shown great interest in the school. She was so easy to talk to and I could definitely tell she was smiling the whole time we were on the phone. She told me a little bit about a timeline of where we are going from here, and how I am in a very small group at the top of the alternate pool. She did say (for those of you SDN'ers reading this) other than this top group, the list is NOT, repeat NOT, ranked. She also said that the people in the top group will be the first group that they go to when, not if, they go to waitlist. (She literally said "when, not if").

Being the person I am, I then said "I know I probably shouldn't/can't ask this question, but is there any way you can say what my chances will be?" To which she replied that there is no way she can say anything about a decision, but that I should think about it, and infer some information both from the phone call and letter I received yesterday.

Therefore, nothing is official. And while I am extremely pleased at the prospects that are set in front of me, I cannot be overly excited quite yet. (Though I did ride home with windows open, music blaring and a huge smile on my face, which is somewhat coincidental since I did the same thing when I was upset about finding out about the alternate list)

It will probably be a a few more weeks before I find out anything official, but I am smiling. :)

My Friday only seemed to get better as it went on, as my mom called me this afternoon at work to find out what had happened, and ALSO to tell me that she went to her doctor today and the doctor took her off her medicine for cancer as it has officially been 5 years. For those you unfamiliar, if you make it to the 5 year mark of having cancer, you are at no more risk than any other person to get cancer. So it is a HUGE thing to make it here.

All in all, a pretty good way to finish up March. Hopefully the dean doesn't call me tomorrow and say April fool's!!!! (ha. ha. Now that would NOT be funny)

still waiting,
-wait

GW Update

So this afternoon I walked into my house to see a large envelope from the George Washington University School of Medicine. Although I pretty much knew that it was coming through other sources, the thoughts of my acceptance ran through my head. The letter I received was a page and a half from the Dean of Admissions at GW aprising the alternates of their situation. It was very well worded and thorough and it definetely explained a lot of what was going on and how they were going to be acting from this point forward.

The first part of the letter said that they are very impressed by my credentials, my passion for medicine and my sincere interest in the MD Program at GW. The letter also said that at this time, I am in a group that is at the top of the alternate pool; however it was also made clear that the alternate pool is very fluid and organic. They also stress that there is no way to say if people are going to actually be accepted off of the waitlist. So being at the top of the alternate list is probably a pretty good thing. I don't know, I'm just guessing......

They also included in this letter some financial aid information, allowing for a budget of $62,800 for the first year. This is how it all breaks down: $42,481 tuition. $360 in University Fees, $915 for books and supplies, $1,149 for Instruments, $2,210 for Health Insurance, $700 for travel home, and $14,625 for living expenses, which is subdivided (monthly) into $900 for rent and utilities, $280 for food and household expenses, $265 for personal expenses and $180 for local transportation. So that's a lot of money. So we're talking close to a couple hundred thousand dollars in debt in a few years, which is REALLY exciting. Because of that, I really haven't been concerned with saving money this year.

I am also "running" the Monument Avenue 10k this Saturday morning. Now this isn't to say that I haven't been running, becuase I have been running off and on throughout the winter, though there has probably been more off than on. This will be my 5th year in a row running this race and it will probably be my worst time. In 2002 I ran it in 47:28, 2003 in 49:49, 2004 in 55:45 and last year I ran it in 56:01. So obviously there has been a downward trend in my running times, and I anticipate that trend to continue this year. Maybe I will to at least try to beat last years time since last year I didn't do ANY running to prep for the race and while I am at, I should try and beat my 2004 time as well since that is only 16 seconds off. I really do plan on making more of a regimented schedule to start running in part to lower race times, but also just to lead a healthier lifestyle. I don't feel that I have been treating my body greatly and if I want to be a doctor, I feel the need to be healthy myself. Long story short, I am trying to eat healthier and just try and live a healthier lifestyle. That was a random aside.

So they say that it is 2 nights before a race that truly matters, so I am going to sleep now so I can get a good 6.5 hours in (like that's a really good night's sleep).

still waiting,
-wait

Monday, March 27, 2006

GMU and my weekend


Over the course of today it dawned upon me that I have not been posting with regularity and I really have no excuse. Except that I have been watching a lot of basketball lately which has been a lot of fun. I think I might still be in disbelief that George Mason, of all teams, has made it to the final four.

A lot of the reason I have not posted is the lack of the excitingness of things going on in my life. That being said, I have been doing some fun things. Let's recap. On Friday night I went out to Capital Ale House and then saw Insideman - which was a pretty sweet movie. I feel like thought it would have been better had movies like Oceans 11 (I know, a remake) or The Usual Suspects had not been made. Nonetheless, it was a good movie and I won't say anything more in case you decide to see the movie.

On Saturday Max sent his then-girlfriend-now-fiance on a scavenger hunt around Richmond to all of the places where they had a special memory, ending up in Maymont where he was waiting with a horse-drawn carriage and a diamond ring. I had a small part in this by handing out a clue at the Byrd Theater. So another one bites the dust as they say. I feel like I have been saying that a little too often lately; but I guess that's what happens when people have been dating for awhile. This summer I already have 2 wedding invitations already - I know of at least 2 more to come, and there are always the ones that you kind of forget about. That night I headed out to Richbrau to celebrate with them, and ran into another friend who was having her bachlorette party. (I didn't know she was engaged, but obviously she is) So say it with me now: Another one bites the dust.

Sunday involved basketball - this was the game that surprised me so much by having George Mason beat UConn.

Funny story (I think). I talked to my parents today and our conversation was whatever. They ended up going to a party last night and didn't get home until 11:15. THAT is very late for them . So I was talking to my mom today and she asked how things are going and then starts going into detailed questions. She asked me how we divide the food up, asking if we split everything. I said that we all kind of keep to ourselves with our food. To this she was really surprised, but I don't feel that this is an uncommon occurrence (same thing happened last year). She then asked me what I do for dinners. I was somewhat dumbfounded by this question because I have been off a college meal plan for almost 2 years now and have learned some, albeit primitive, cooking skills. I responded to her by saying I make something, I don't really know it changes every night. She then continues on the inquisition asking if I make Lean Cuisine's every night. I may have had 1 Lean Cuisine in my entire life. I even believe my cell phone felt this conversation was growing more pointless and it thusly dropped the call. Luckily since I have Cingular, it is as if I get the minute of my life back -- we get a minute credit for dropped calls. Anyways, I was just so confused by the conversation that I think I was phased for the next 30 minutes.

That's about all I have left to say for the time being. I'll try and be better about updating the antics that is my life.

Friday, March 24, 2006

2 more things

I forgot to add these 2 things to my post yesterday -- the first being that PSU said they would take about 6 to 8 weeks to come back to me with a decision. That puts a decision coming to me around the beginning of May.

And then this was probably the weirdest thing that I have seen an interview -- I actually saw my file. Like THE file that PSU has on me. I saw my original application - like the one where my GPA was calculated incorrectly and the update that AMCAS sent to every school. I also saw all the letters I sent to the school with my name and AMCAS number hilighted. I just thought that was really weird because I feel like "the" file is this commodity that all the applicants NEVER ever see. It was a bit of a wierd experience for me. I actually stopped talking because I was so dumbfounded when I saw all the letters that I had sent and stuff.

That's all I had to say. I just thought I would add those 2 thoughts.

Also, I am not sure why my previous post has different fonts and sizes. Oh well.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

PSU Interview (and Tufts)

Well for those 2 of you who were anxiously waiting my take on PSU, here you have it. I must warn you that I am very tired (still) as yesterday was a very long day for me (6:30-midnight) and then I was up at 7 for work today.

The hotel I stayed at in Hershey was pretty sweet -- I got a chocolate bar as I checked in, and the whole place smelled like chocolate. They had a fireplace in the center of the lobby with leather chairs around it. I decided this was a pretty decent place to stick my feet up and read about PSU.

As for the interview - the day started at 830 with a welcome by the dean of admissions and I had 2 interviews right off the bat, one at 9AM and then one at 1030. The 9 o'clock interview went pretty well I think; he and I clicked pretty decently on how we both stand on the medical profession (the desire to raise a family in addition to practicing medicine). It went on for about 45 minutes until his secretary knocked on the door asking if we were about to finish up, so that is pretty good, I think. The conversation wasn't forced and it seemed pretty natural. It was a little weird in that he went through each one of the activities on my application and asked me to elaborate on them. (ie: So you were an RA. Explain that. So you presented research in New Orleans. Explain that. etc etc etc.) It wasn't that hard because I was simply talking about myself, and talking about yourself is always kind of fun.

The second interview also went pretty well. I talked about what I am doing right now – obviously the ob/gyn office and the free clinic and how I notice the differences between the "have's" and "have-not's". The way it was worded begged the question of what I can do about that, and ultimately my stance on universal healthcare. He seemed to like my answer and we talked about some more of the weaknesses of my application and if I really believe I can cut it in medical school (I said yes, as demonstrated by my completion of Georgetown). At 11 he said that we needed to break this up because I had another meeting to go to at 11, but that he would walk me down there so that I could ask him any questions. That was actually pretty weird (good weird) because it is generally the secretaries who were walking the interviewers around.

So then we got the whole spiel of the school – essentially why we should choose PSU if accepted to the school. At this point, my interviews were actually over, so the adrenaline was way down and it was a little hard for me to pay complete attention, though I believe I did a good job of at least feigning it seeing as I was in the front. After this hour long discussion (which included financial aid info… the school is 40k/year for out of state people) we ate lunch with some 1 st /2nd /3rd /4th year students which was cool to get their take on everything they thought about the school. The day finished up with a tour of the medical school and the hospital – insofar as seeing some hallways because apparently we aren't allowed to see patients on tours which is the first I have heard about that… Who knows.

Overall I think I did like the school – It's hard for me to rank as beggars can't be choosers as they say. I am going to leave out personal preferences for right now -- as I just said, beggars can't be choosers, and I would be totally humbled at the oppurtunity to study medicine anywhere.

My day continued by my driving to ChocolateWorld (after all, I was in Hershey PA) and I bought some chocolate and then I was off to the Outlets to see if any stores were having ridiculous sales -- Tommy Hilifiger was so I got a pair of jeans for $19 (normally they sell for $70). I then stopped for dinner with Shina - we ate a place where it was "Steal the Glass night" and coincidentally that was my second "Steal the Glass night" in a row although it was not advertised at the place I ate at in Hershey -- rather I really liked the glass and I had my hoody on with the large pocket in front. (Gini came up to Hershey to see me in Hershey and we had dinner together at one of 4 restaurants in my hotel).

I eventually made it home around 1130 last night and I checked the mail to see what I had gotten over the 2 days that I was gone. I received a letter from Tufts where they cut to the chase by saying "Dear Waitman - I regret I cannot offer you a place in the class of 2010 at Tufts." They then went on for a couple paragraphs saying they had so many applicants and yadda yadda yadda I am not good enough for an interview at Tufts. It' was a little weird coming home from an interview to see a rejection from a different school. That is the way this process goes.

Once I partially processed this rejection I went back to my car and got all of my stuff literally just threw it in my room, climbed into bed and fell asleep. I am pretty sure last night was one of those nights where I climbed into bed and fell asleep within 10 seconds.

So it was a long pretty long day.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Untitled.

So I know its been awhile since I last posted... Almost a week?! Woh. I would like to say that I have been absurdly busy and haven't had any time to get onto my computer. But let's be honest, we know that isn't true. I have been watching basketball, watching more basketball, prepping for my PSU interview, watching basketball, meeting up with some friends, watching basketball, going to work, and did I mention watching basketball?

I am getting ready to leave for PSU (like when I finish this, I will turn my computer off and walk out the door). So I just wanted to post one more time pre-interview so that everyone knows I am still here.

I will post after the interview to let you all know how it went. Hopefully I can say it went well!

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

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

Friday, March 10, 2006

PSU

As I have alluded to before, it is getting very late in the process of the medical school application cycle. That being said, I have been expecting rejection letters from the schools that I have yet to hear from. I have been under the impression that a pre-interview hold typically means a rejection. If you check one of my previous posts, you will find that I was put on the pre-interview hold at Penn State way back at the end of September. I essentially had lost hope in hearing good news from PSU - especially considering it has been 6 months since I have heard anything from them.

So I decided to check the email all of my medical school information goes to this afternoon anticipating nothing in the inbox. When it popped open, one of the subject lines was "PSU COM Interview Invitation." My jaw dropped because like I said, I have been expecting only rejections at this point. I whispered some explicative and my coworker looked over at me and was like "what?" I told her that I just got an interview from Penn State and that I am really surprised and yadda yadda she was really happy for me. The email was about 3 paragraphs long and at the end of the first paragraph it said that I needed to call and confirm and before I even finished the email my cell phone was out and I was dialing the number. I decided to actually finish reading the email before I called, and have scheduled my interview for March 22.

So I am pretty excited about all this right now. I realize that this interview is really really late in the season, so my hopes of an outright acceptance are pretty small. I feel like the best I can truly hope for is a waitlist spot and I would be totally fine with a waitlist spot - at this point in the game, 3 is better than 2. So now for the next week and a half, I will be studying up on PSU and figuring out about their interview process and whether or not I am going to get the big issue questions (one being abortion, which I feel like they would be more likely to ask since I work in an Ob/Gyn office)

As I have said before, it is amazing how a certain email can really make you feel better. It's really been a great week. Let's hope my weekend is fun too.

still waiting,
-wait

Androgen Resistance and the Friday Spell

There is a syndrome known as Androgen resistance or Testicular Feminization. We learned about it last year in Endocrinology and I will attempt to describe what is going in layman's terms. As you probably know, most humans have 46 chromosomes. (I say most because there are exceptions, the most notable being Down's Syndrome where they actually have 47 chromosomes - they have 3 copies of chromosome 21 where there should be 2 copies). Along with the 46 chromosomes, females have 2 X chromosomes and males have 1 X and 1 Y chromosome. So a typical female karyotype is 46,XX and a typical male is 46, XY. Hopefully that makes sense.

To continue with the background, the only way the external male organs are made is through the presence of testosterone. Without testosterone, the external female anatomy develops, even though genetically the person is a male. In the case of Androgen resistance, the person's karyotype is 46,XY (male) even though they look female. This is because testosterone is present in the body, however the body has become resistant to it (testosterone is an androgen) and therefore the external female anatomy develops. And for reasons well beyond the scope I feel like describing, testes develop in this kind of person, however they never descend leading further to the conclusion before puberty that the person is female as there are no external signs that this is a male.

So the reason this is an interesting case is because this person has been reared as a female and due to the androgen resistance, a female brain is retained so rearing them as a female makes complete sense; eventually this person enters puberty. The menstrual cycle never begins for this person (remember, its a genetic male so no internal female parts) however breast development occurs. And this happens because all of the testosterone that is in this person converts other cells to fat which moves to the breasts causing development. So maybe this is the dork in me but I really think this is a really intersting case showing the deep intracacies and intermixings of development and how if one little thing goes wrong, the person can be brought up as a female when actually they are a male. (The internal male parts are surgically removed cause they oftentimes lead to cancer).

I guess this is also one of the reasons why I know I want to go into medicine because it is the things like this that really excite me. I remember studying this stuff last year, and while it was a pain in the ass at the time, I also found it all so incredibly interesting. It's so cool, and you probably think I am huge nerd because of it.

Tomorrow (well now today) is Friday and that's a good thing because that means I have 2 days off before I go back to work. Something though I think about at work (Being that I work alone a lot, I have a lot to think about) is that all week people talk about getting to Friday: How are you doing? Well it's Tuesday so that means it's not Friday, so I am not doing too great. Well tomorrow is Friday so that's awesome! Weekends go by way too fast and before you know it, it is in fact Monday again and all you want is for it to be Friday. So this cycle continues on and on and on and one weekend turns into the next weekend which turns into the next month and before you know it, 2 months have passed and all you had been looking forward to is the weekend. I just find this to be so weird and a perpetual cycle that you can never get out of if you don't have anything else to look forward too.

I guess I have been thinking about that because I have fallen under the Friday spell and I feel like the last time I blinked it was the middle of January and I was just starting my job. I just wish I wouldn't fall under the Friday spell and truly enjoy the moments that I have had/will have and take them for what its worth and not over-anticipate what is to come (time off). I believe it was John Lennon who said "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." and I think says a lot of what I am trying to get at. So stop, take a look at your life since you are probably wondering whats going on tomorrow anyways.

At the same rate, I guess it is also kind of nice that time is passing reltively quickly as I patiently await the outcome of the waitlists that I am sitting on. I love life's little paradoxes.

Food for thought.

still waiting,
-wait

Monday, March 06, 2006

Cincinnati and Kirby

Well it looks like I won't be spending the next 4 years in Ohio. I got home today after my long and exciting day (see previous post) and found a letter from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine informing me that I will not be offered an interview and thus I will not be offered an acceptance. It was a pretty nice letter, congratulating me on all of my accomplishments and they wish me luck as I pursue my career goals. I checked out the post mark on the letter and it was dated 3/3/06 meaning the post office took no time in delivering. On checking the date that the letter was written, I noticed that it was written on February 8th. So my letter probably sat on someone's desk for awhile. It's all good though. I just hope it is not one of these "when it rains it pours" and I start getting lots and lots of rejections.


In other news, South Dakota governor Mike Rounds signed the abortion law today and 10 time All Star, Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett passed away this afternoon. I'll never forget the 1991 World Series where the Twins were backed into a corner, and Kirby took the team on his back. I mean he was "Kirbeeeeeeeeeeeeee PUCKit." He's a legend that will be missed by all. Rest in peace Kirby. (I do remember some of the stories after his baseball career was over, but that hopefully should not overshadow his accomplishments on the field.)

Crossover

I had an interesting morning. For the first time at Crossover, I got completely chewed out by a patient. This morning I was running the front window meaning that I take all the patient's information as they walk into the clinic. Usually there is a line right at 830 because there are a few appointments at 830 and a lot of people show up early because they know they are going to wait awhile. One woman shows up without her appointment card and I find her name on the list and she had an appointment at 1050. Really, that doesn't phase me. It probably should since she is over 2 hours early, but it's Crossover and disorganized is the name of the game.

So as the line goes down, I start doing the workup of the patients, most importantly, finding their charts which seemed to be quite a problem this morning. At about 915 I have gotten through a number of these patients, but I hadn't gotten to the one patient who forgot her card. She comes up to the window and starts complaining that she had an appointment at 845 and she hasn't been seen yet and blah blah blah. I look over at the appointment list and tell her that my list says that her appointment is at 1050, not 845. She starts going off on me how I am not doing my job and how she works part time and needs all these hours, and cannot stand to wait around at the doctor's office when she has an appointment at 845. I tell her again that this is what the computer says and she fires back with "Young man, let me tell you that I need blah blah blah [HIPAA says no]" and I just tell her that we can put her folder up and that she'll be seen next. She storms away puts on her jacket and starts walking out and then comes back to the window and says "You know what, I will call my boss and let him tell you when my appointment is because he has my appointment card" I say sure, and while she is dialing the number, the nurse calls her in to be seen.

A little while later when she is checking out I go up to her and apologize for what happened earlier and she was very apologetic saying that it is her fault and that he has had [HIPAA says no, again] and that causes her to be edgy sometimes. So everything was clarified, and she asked my name and said she'll ask for me the next time she comes.

I held my composure throughout the situation which was good, especially considering the new front office manager, the 3 other people in the front office, the head nurse/head of medical operations, and about 3 other of my superiors were watching. They all felt for me and said I did the right thing and she was probably in the wrong. Running through my head through this time was me wanting to scream at her saying "LOOK LADY, I am a freaking volunteer, I do NOT, repeat DO NOT deserve this sort of treatment. We are a free clinic that is severely understaffed and we are working as hard as we can to get through the patients. And because I am a volunteer means that I am giving my time to help you get free healthcare. So why don't you go sit your butt in one of those seats over there and wait until we call your name. Thank you."

I thought you all would appreciate that story.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

On waiting

Spring Break started yesterday. Well, it started for essentially everyone else. I am in the working world, meaning I don't have Spring Break. Thinking about this, it surprises me that for the last 19 years in my life, I have had at least a week in March where I don't need to do anything. Typically I spent that week on the beach in Florida, though there a few years where I changed things up and went to China (junior year in high school), North Carolina (junior year college), and Italy (senior year college). I know that if I get into medical school, I would have 2 more spring breaks, but after my second year, my longest break will be a few hours until I am out of my residency.

Speaking of medical school, I haven't updated recently because there has been nothing to update. Right now I am sitting at the end of the long wait as I anticipate interviews or rejections. This period started back in August when I submitted my secondary applications, so that means over 6 months have passed while I have been waiting to hear from a number of medical schools. Let's see what has happened in the intervening 6 months: I moved to Richmond, 2 catastophic hurricanes, I have had 2 different jobs (3 if you include my volunteer work), a world series, the entire football season, the Superbowl, the Olympics, 1/2 a basketball and hockey season, I have been picked up by a guy, Duke basketball has lost twice (Maryland has lost 11), Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, New Years and so many more events. So through each of these activities, there has been this cloud hanging over my head with the inevitable question "What are you doing right now?" which is asked of me whenever I run into someone I haven't seen in awhile. At least now I work in an Ob/Gyn office which always makes for a laugh and a definite conversation starter; when I am talking to a girl who goes to the office I work at, the conversation always goes from a laugh to an awkward silence until I point out that I do not actually enter the exam room.

At this point, I have been numbed to the fact that I need to continue this waiting game. Yes, I'll admit that every now and then I get down on this issue and really wish that I hadn't put myself through this for a 3rd year in a row. When I really think about it, it's hard to imagine that at about this time every year for the past 3 there comes this ultimate question of "What's next?" and every year I haven't had an answer. Two years ago I was still at Richmond and was holding onto 1 waitlist and wasn't accepted to Georgetown's program until the end of April. Last year at this time I was holding onto 4 waitlists, and eventually made the decision to move to Richmond in August to begin the adventure, again. And right now I sit here on 2 waitlists not knowing what my future brings. While this seems somewhat exciting that I get to go where the wind takes me, there is also a certain desire to take my life off of "Hold" and settle down (we aren't talking marraige here, don't worry).

So that's where I am right now. It's why I haven't posted a ton because I am sick of the waiting game, but at the same time that is one of the main reasons I have this blog, to show the pains of the application process of an average medical student applicant. People have told me this process isn't always fair, and while I can take some solace in this, it's hard to hear, probably because I am on the short end of the stick, and have been for 3 years in a row.

A good thing to see is that college lacrosse is being televised on ESPN-U. Right now I am watching Hopkins-Princeton. This is a huge matchup early in the season (Hopkins is 4th and Princeton 7th). Hopkins last loss at home was in 2001 to UVa and with 24 seconds left in the 4th down by 2 goals, they look to lose here. (I'm waiting for this game to finish before I say something...). Princeton's defense was strong enough to hold off. It was a pretty low scoring affair - Princeton 6, JHU 4.

Well that's about it.

still waiting,
-wait

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Let's Make a Deal

NBC did the trick with its advertising - I am watching "Deal or No Deal" right now. This seems like a pretty cool show - I feel like it is all luck of the draw, although I am sure there is some mathematical explanation as to whether or not you should choose a certain suitcase. I say this because in "Let's Make a Deal" there is a mathematical explanation to what you should do. If you don't remember - there are 3 doors and the person is supposed to choose one of the 3 doors, effectively having a 33% chance of picking the right door. Monty Hall, the host, then gets rid of one of the 2 remaining doors, and asks if you want to have the other door (the one the participant did not take). You are "supposed" to switch from the one you chose because there is a better probability of it being the door with the incredible thing behind it. This doesn't make intuitive sense, I know. I struggled with this for awhile (Why the heck would it matter if you switched or not?) But in reality, they found that those who switched won 2/3 of the time, while those who did not switch won 1/3 of the time. Here's an explanation. If you want to try this for yourself, check out this website. It keeps track of whether or not you switched, and your W/L record. This phenomenom has been labeled the "Monty Hall Paradox" in honor of the host.

Wrap your head around that. Gotta love cognitive psychology.

Thanks to Greg (his blog) I have become addicted to a game called Shadow President. (Click that if you want it. Sorry, it's only for PC's and I don't think they plan on making it for mac's) It's one set in 1990 (it was made in 1992) and you are the president of the US and you get to call the shots. Of course the first thing I did was nuke Ethiopia because it just beat Somalia in a war. Being the most powerful country in the world means you can hit people when they think they are on top of the world. "Oh, you think you are so good because you beat a country? Well here's something to think about: 2,317 nuclear bombs. Say it... Say it... That's right, you're my biotch"

If you have seen "The Shining" you will find this preview to be pretty funny. You need sound capabilities to make it worth it. Thanks to Mike for that (his blog).

I emailed the dean of GW the other day, and she responded with an email that definetely isn't bad, but at the same time didn't offer me an acceptance. (Like I was actually expecting that). She said I am doing the right thing by staying in touch and all of the people on the alternate list will be hearing something general at the end of the month. That's basically all I want to say about that since this is a public place.

So that's all I got for right now. Today starts Lent, so I need to give something up. I have given up lots of things in the past (and by lots, I mean LOTS). Maybe this year, I won't give something up, but I will start doing something that will better me as a person. Ideas on what I should do for Lent are welcome.

still waiting,
-wait