Waiting around

Bike Accident

2007-06-03T22:08:00.001-04:00

Well, for the second time since being a medical student, I have become a patient. I decided that I should go out for a bike ride this afternoon. The weather wasn't all that great, that is to say, it pretty much rained all day. But some rain usually doesn't stop me from heading out to put some miles down. I headed out on these trails Custis and the W&OD.

I should have known that I should have stayed in for the day, as within the first couple of miles, I ended up flatting twice. I have not gotten a flat tire in awhile, and then I got 2 just as I was starting out. Luckily, I was right by a bike store. So I stopped in there, got a new tire and was on my way. I biked for awhile -- went about 45 minutes out (somewhere around 15 miles) and turned around. I always bike with glasses on -- days like today, they are used more for protection as I had my clear lenses in.

I was roughly 2-4 miles from my house and my glasses had just gotten too foggy and too wet so I couldn't see out of them. So I took them off and put them in my jersey pocket. At some point during this process (this is where it starts to get hazy) I realized that I was going too fast for the hairpin turn that was coming up. I put on my brakes as fast as would safely allow -- so I would not skid and would not endo (fly over my handlebars). However, because it was wet, the brakes had some trouble catching and I could not stop. Normally, this wouldn't be too much trouble as I would just end up in some bushes or whatever. However, this curve had a nice concrete wall around the outside.

This is where it all gets really fuzzy. What I remember is hitting the wall and have the stars show (you know, like from cartoons) and I also kind of remember being up against the wall letting out a groan or two. Not really sure. Along with my forehead, my nose hit and I think I tried to catch it a little with my left hand. I say this, because those are the parts of my body that hurt now. I do remember one of the lenses from my glasses popping out and I remember hearing it bounce on the pavement. I very vaguely remember checking my front tire to make sure it was ok. And then the scary part. I definitely biked the rest of the way home. And I do not remember this at all. Like. At. All. Nothing.

I eventually made it back to my place and stopped in the middle of the road where I started fumbling with my phone. From here, there is a lot of hearsay. I called Tim, and he said that I left him a message and he could tell something was wrong (Tim: "You said something like 'Hey Tim, what's going on. Call me back. I don't know what day it is or what time it is' "). I then called Brian (Brian: "You said 'Hey, it's Wait, give me a call back' ")). A woman from my complex came up to as she was walking her dog and asked if I needed some help. I'm not sure what I said. But she could tell that I was in some sort of distress. I gave her my phone and told her to try Tim and she got a hold of him. Unfortunately Tim was in Denver (as opposed to around the corner... which is where he lives here.) He ended up getting in touch with Brian, who then came over and helped me through the rest of the afternoon. Michelle was nice enough to sit with me in my apartment as I tried to sort through everything. She asked me questions that I really didn't know the answer to "What'd you do yesterday? What time did you leave on your ride? What did you eat this morning?" And I am sure lots more questions. When Brian came, he did a quick neuro check (good thing we are med students) and I didn't have a blown pupil and the pupillary reflexes were normal.

We went first to the urgent care facility. (I was pretty out of it at this point, but my memory has started to return). The doctor there told me that because I lost consciousness and had short term memory loss, that I needed to go to the hospital to get a CT scan. We then went off to the ER where I got a CT of my head, and an X-Ray of my hand (that hurt a lot too). Long story short is that I had a concussion and a couple cuts on my face, one of the bones in my wrist hurts really bad, and as of now, I just have a pretty bad headache, and my nose hurts.

As for the bike, it seems ok -- I can't really see anything wrong with it. My helmet on the other hand, well I can say with about 95% certainty that it saved my life. I can't ever wear it again as it is now cracked in 3 different places (see picture... red lines indicate where all of the cracks are. The two in the front of the helmet actually connect and it's a loose piece), but I am very happy that I wear a helmet whenever I ride. This hopefully goes to show how important helmets are while biking (especially when it's raining, you're going around a curve too fast, and there's a concrete wall in front of you).

So just a thanks to Giro for making a helmet that can withstand a head on collision with a concrete wall. And to Michelle and her dog Agnus who called Tim and then stayed with me until Brian came. And to Tim for getting in touch with Brian. And last, but certainly not least, Brian and Ronit who took me off to the Urgent Care Center and the ER after that.

still waiting,
-wait

New and exciting things! (No, not really)

2007-05-29T12:06:00.000-04:00

Well I didn't want to dive back in head first and write a post everyday. I thought it'd be better to ease my way back in. Kind of like training for a race. You don't want to exert too much effort on the first day you start training or you will burn yourself out.

Okay... okay. Lame excuse, I know. But I have been relatively busy over the past week, but busy has taken on a new definition since school ended. Since last time I posted, I have watched more TV than I did all spring semester, have sat outside for at least 20 hours, whether it be poolside or in a park, have gotten back on the bike to get rid of some of the "winter pounds" as I like to call them, and have begun the whole "social" aspect of my life where when I hang out with people, conversation does not revolve around medicine, though the topics sometimes end up there.

I've also decided to find something to do with my free time, and that is volunteering at The Bodies here in DC, or rather, Rosslyn, thus I can walk there. I "get" to walk around the exhibit in a white coat with a big "Ask Me" button as if I am intelligent, or something. I went to the orientation for that last week, and while a lot of came back, I definitely need to do a little brush up on Netter's before I truly start. This morning I went down to a free clinic called "Bread for the City" which is a clinic similar to CrossOver (where I worked all last year) but they offer a few more things such as free legal help, social work, clothing and food. A kind of place someone can walk in for some food, some new clothes, and get his or her medicine. Seems like a pretty cool place.

I'm headed to Florida next week to see my parents and my sister will be there too. That will be a nice break from sitting poolside in D.C.... I can sit poolside in in Fort Lauderdale (which is ridiculously hot this time of year).

Well it's time for my next big activity of the day: Lunch. And then I think I'm headed to a friend's pool in a couple hours. Don't be too shocked.

Untitled...

2007-05-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

So I've really sucked at this whole "blog" thing. It's been a few months (3, to be exact) since I have posted, but I have been a little busy with the whole med school thing. I know, I know. I use that as an excuse pretty much for everything, and there are times when I should reevaluate my priorities and not let medical school take over my life to the full extent that I let it over the last couple months. That being said, there are also times that I need to realize that what I am studying is only going to help me in my career, which means that my future patients will all benefit. So there's the crazy "ying-yang" that I have tried to balance my life with over the past few months. I thought that I had it all figured out up until last week as I have pushed all of my "real life" duties aside; but as I am figuring out this week, it isn't always a wise idea to simply shove ideas to the side and decide that they will figure themselves out. Between late wedding responses and hurt feelings for those I have neglected as I became too wrapped up in my own life, I have started to understand the complexity of attempting to balance my career with my life.

I know that my career will not get any easier from this point: the workload grows and the hours increase. So how do I strike this balance? It's a question that I feel many, if not all, physicians face, but often many never confront. I think I've heard somewhere that many physician's marriages end up in divorce; whether it's true or not I can't say for a certainty. But I can see where it comes from as our careers turn into our lives. Not once can I leave school and not think about all that I have to, nay, want to learn. Not once can I leave the doctor's office where I am medical student interviewing patients and wonder about the patient who has early onset dementia and how his family is coping with the news. I'm entering a profession that I wanted for so long, and I'm only really now beginning to understand what it truly means to be doing the trite thing of "helping people."

I guess I have the next couple of months to attempt to figure all of this out. And if I do, I can probably write a book about it and financially be able to retire. Of course, that's not what I really want, since I entered this profession in order to do one thing: "Help people."

still waiting,
-wait

It's only been a month and a half...

2007-02-22T00:25:00.000-05:00

Oh no way. I'm actually posting to my blog.

I just did a quick look to see when my last post was and it was January 10th. Today is February 22nd. So I guess I sort of let things go. Not 100% sure why. Originally, it might have been because I was pretty upset over the loss of the Ravens. I am sure that turned into some sort of lazy habit for me where I just decided against posting to the blog.

I also had a set of exams a couple weeks ago and I sort of flipped out over the whole exam thing. I'm not 100% sure why, but I think it was a combination of me not studying for the first couple weeks after break, and me not studying for the first couple weeks after break. That being said, I have attempted to take a little more time to study for this block. But then we had snow days last week, and we really haven't had that much lecture, so there isn't too much study. So I'm back in the "Ehh, I don't need to study yet phase."

As it turns out, this might be a good time for less class as a couple things have happened. 1st relates to my summer. Long story short, some things have worked out while others have not and I have had a pretty busy week trying to put everything together for this summer. Secondly, I've been having car troubles. A couple or 3 weeks ago, my car started puffing out smoke whenever I started it up. Of course, my first thing would be to go get an oil change. It had been a good number of miles (probably 7-8,000... the factory recomended is 7,500, so I am not negligent). And that didn't help my problem. I then got a tune up and that didn't fix it. Then this weekend I remembered a thing I got in the mail about my car relating to an oil gel problem. I read the form and it said if you car is blowing smoke and using excessive amounts of oil then you could have this problem. The thing is, there is a class action suit for this problem and if my car has it, then Toyota needs to replace my engine (even at 100,000 miles).

So I dropped off my car yesterday and ever since, they have been giving me a runaround. I have only been contacted when I call them. They started accusing me of not taking good care of my car and blah blah blah, I am pretty frustrated at Toyota right now. I'm headed in tomorrow to talk to them to try and straighten things out.

After a phone call from a friend tonight though, things seem on a better track. It is pretty nice to know that tomorrow (well, now today) is Thursday and the weekend is upon us. I had an awesome weekend in Richmond last weekend, and now I'm looking forward to having a weekend to relax some... and get a little studying in.

still waiting,
-wait

Texas Ranger and the horrible Colts

2007-01-10T22:58:00.000-05:00

So even though I've been in class for about a week now, I haven't actually begun that whole "studying" thing. I have spent a few hours looking at the books trying to get up to speed on some of the subjects, but have found the "out of school" opportunities a little bit more (ok, a lot) enticing. Our biochem class is... well it's hard to describe. Our professor, Dr. Walker (Texas Ranger) likes to talk. And talk he does. Ramblings on about who knows what half the time. This week he's rambling about protein structure and function, which the nerd in me says is kind of cool... I also did take a class in college called "Protein Structure and Function." So one would think it would be understandable and interesting for me to see it the material again but with a perspective from the end point. (Like when you read a book for a second time... you can see the foreshadowing even better). But the class has been kind of boring. Maybe it will pick up.

The other class is Physiology. Right now we are on cardiovascular physiology. That's actually pretty cool. Our professor has brought in props every day to describe a lot of things which is kind of cool. And we learned that a giraffe's heart is about 2 feet long. That's long. But they also have a pretty tall body. Giraffe's also have a black tongue. But I don't think that's related to the heart.

This weekend is going to be exciting. The Colts are coming (back) to Baltimore in a divisional playoff game. This should be an exciting game to watch as the high powered Indianapolis offense led by Peyton Manning goes up against the league leading Raven defense. They say defense wins championships... so let's go Ravens!

For those unaware of the history of the Colts, the team is formerly the Baltimore Colts. In the glory days (late 50's-60's) of the Colts, they had an amazing quarterback in Johnny Unitas (Johnny U, who I have actually met), and won the NFL Championships in '58, '59, '68 and the Super Bowl III in 1970. Essentially in Baltimore, they have a pretty storied franchise, even with media calling them the best team of all time. The team then started going a little downhill, until 1982 when they had the worst record in the league. The owner of the time, Robert Irsay, a man who is still hated in Baltimore, then threatened to move the team from Baltimore, but later decided to not move the team.

But secretly, Irsay was in talks with Indianapolis. The city offered a lucrative offer that he could not refuse. Then, in a move that has scarred Baltimore forever, Irsay brought in the Mayflower Trucks on the snowy night of March 28th to pack up the Colts, and move them to Baltimore. (The picture is from that night). It is my understanding that Baltimore was promised a team, but it was not until 11 years later did this finally come through, hence the birth of the new Baltimore team, the Ravens. To be fair, I do realize that Baltimore ended up having the team from Cleveland; however there are many differences in the two transactions. The first being that Cleveland retained all rights to the name and the colors of their team, the Browns. Baltimore, however, was stripped of the name and the colors of the team that had defined a city. In the intervening years, Baltimore had a team in the CFL, and wanted to name them the Colts, an homage to the team that was Baltimore. Indianapolis ended up suing this football team claiming they had fill rights to the name. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Indianapolis won. Cleveland was also guaranteed a team within 3 years of the team leaving Cleveland, which actually game true.

So there is the history. And hopefully now you can see why any person from Baltimore can never, ever, ever, EVER like the Colts. And also why this game is so important.

I'll be watching, will you?

GO RAVENS!!

still waiting,
-wait

2nd Semester and Little Miss Sunshine

2007-01-07T11:11:00.000-05:00

2nd semester started this week, which means no longer can I sit around and have absolutely nothing to worry about. Of course, that didn't stop me from taking advantage of the 70 degree weather yesterday and hitting the driving range. That was real nice.

I also finally watched Little Miss Sunshine yesterday afternoon (after the driving range). It is an absolutely hilarious movie if you have not had the chance to see it. It's about a family and that's about really all you can say. I found myself laughing out loud by myself in my apartment. It is one of those "awkward" movies (like Meet the Parents) and I usually have trouble with those, but not this one. It was great.

So being that I did start Med School again this week, I guess I can give a brief rundown of where I am in school. In the fall, I took Gross Anatomy and Neuroscience and I placed out of Microscopic Anatomy. In the 2 classes that I did take, I ended up doing very well, so I am very pleased with how everything started. Basically... the fall was more like "What is in the body?" and this spring will answer the question "How does the body work?" as we are taking Biochemistry, Physiology, and Immunology. These classes are a bit more thought provoking and not as much rote memorization (though, being that we are in med school, there is still a lot of that).

Alright, well I am going to try and write more this semester. We'll see how that goes.

still waiting,
-wait

Fall semester completed!

2006-12-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

Yeah yeah yeah. It's been a month or so. All I can say is... well like normal, I have no excuse. But I'll dive into where I've been.

So for the past month, I've been in medical school. And that should be explanation enough. But, I will go into it a bit further. As of last Friday, I completed my first semester of medical school, and did so with flying colors. I managed to do very well in Neurobiology, and the grades for Gross Anatomy have not come out yet. I expect them in a couple days and seeing as I needed something ridiculous to pass the class (like a 22% on the final or something) I have a pretty good feeling that I passed the class and thus am not really worried about that.

On Friday we took the Gross Anatomy final which was on the Head and Neck, and the pelvis. Two amazing areas to be studying out in public. I was definitely at a Starbucks once or twice and took a step back at the pictures that I was looking at and realized that I was either looking at a genitalia or pictures of a face with the skin taken off. Not exactly what you would expect to see when walking into a Starbucks a couple weeks before Christmas. Something hit me about a week before the final and that was the fact that I had dissected an entire human body over the previous 4 months. Only once in my life will I ever dissect a body to the extent that all of us just had completed. Most people in the world never have that oppurtunity and I have just complted it. I also feel like this course is the one course that every doctor has had and knows that every other doctor has had. Sort of a weird bonding experience, if you will. This just brought me pause in that I was now through that course.

That being said, I am officially 1/8th of a doctor. I know I know, that still means I have a ton of stuff left to do, but baby steps here, baby steps. I ended up writing "1/8th Doctor" on a T-Shirt and wore that under my lucky sweatshirt to my last final and upon handing in the exam, I took off the sweatshirt and stretched in front of the class... it was cool. I laughed, the professor laughed, and so did the couple people who saw laughed. I also wore it out on Friday night (under the Polo shirt) and people laughed more then as they saw it. I ended up having a fun time after the exam, hanging out at a friends apartment (this friend got his PhD in Japan and he is an associate professor over there -- which means he needs to teach 2 lectures all year, which would be how he can also be in medical school in Washington D.C.) and then we all went out to Dupont Circle (Front Page then Rumors).

I woke up at 11:30 on Saturday morning and I opened my email and one of my emails was the Google Calendar reminders of my agenda which I get every morning at precisely 4:56 A.M. The great thing about this email was that it said "You have no events scheduled for today." That brought a smile to my face because for the first time since August I woke up with absolutely nothing to study. It felt pretty awesome.

One of the highlights of exam week was that this was the week that Senator Johnson was admitted to the George Washington Hospital and so there was a ton of press and security was pretty tight. I just thought it was kind of cool. I say it's a highlight because let's be honest: studying for a gagillion hours a day isn't exactly "fun." I do like the material we are learning - I find everything pretty cool -- it's just pretty daunting when you realize that you are being tested on every single muscle, nerve, artery and vein in the head and neck. And in case you didn't know, there's a lot there.

Right now I am sitting on my porch in Ft. Lauderdale. I flew down here yesterday by way of Columbus, Ohio. (I started in D.C., so that made no sense whatsoever). I'll be here for a couple of weeks, shifting into neutral and recharing the batteries. (point to who can point out what movie that comes from). It's a nice 70 degrees with the breeze flowing through my hair that is way too long.

Well that's all I got for now. I think it might be my New Year's Resolution to post more. We'll see.....

still waiting,
-wait

Thanksgiving and Borat

2006-11-14T23:37:00.000-05:00

Well here's a random post for you. I haven't posted in a couple days (and by a couple I mean, 12) and really there's no impetus for this post. Not that I need one.

Right now we're cruising through the head and neck region of the body, as well as the pelvis, which was described quite in detail in the last post. The overall mood in the class is definintely one of "let's just get to Thanksgiving." It hit me last week at some point, and hit a lot of more people this weekend, and by now, I haven't talked to anyone who is not excited to get out of here for a few days break before we gear up to finish the semester. And it helps that we only have class on Monday, which means lots of people are skipping Monday and going home on Friday getting to spend a good 9 days at home.

As for me, I am not spending the whole 9 days at home, but rather, I am headed to Richmond on Saturday for Colin and Jules' wedding. I keep talking to more and more people who are going to be at this wedding, so it should be a lot of fun getting to see everyone. It's been a couple years for a lot of these people. I'm then headed back to DC and Baltimore before Thanksgiving and hanging out up in Baltimore for the holiday, and just some time at home. I'm sure there will be some other stuff going on too. And it's going to be weird because I am going to be seeing non-medical school people. We have all joked how we don't know know how to converse with non-medical school people. Hopefully, I can actually do that.

Tomorrow, shockingly, we have class, like every other day of the week. That's one of the reasons I don't post all that often because it's all the same everyday. Class, study, eat, sleep.

I did see Borat which was really funny, offensive, and all that stuff all rolled into one. My favorite scene was probably the naked wrestling..... wait, what??? No really, my favorite part might have been when Borat had just gotten off the Winnebego and threw his bag down, and the chicken is bag squaked (or whatever a chicken does, cock-a-doodle doo? isn't that a rooster? ba-gak? something like that. I really have no idea. This probably shows that whole "I can't do anything out of medical school thing")

still waiting,
-wait

Long awaited 100th post

2006-11-02T12:49:00.000-05:00

Well here it is. The long awaited 100th post. I say long awaited, because its been forever since I have updated. I am pretty sure that none of you actually knew this was the 100th post. I'm also pretty sure that everyone has pretty much stopped reading this because it's been so long since I decided to write anything.

In the intervening time between posts, lots has happened. If I recall correctly (which I can by going back and reading) the last thing I talked about was how much of an idiot I was on the Metro. But more importantly, was the fact that we had just finished the first block of exams. And as I write today, we have just finished the 2nd block of exams. As far as grades go, I said I wasn't ever going to post numbers, and I'm going to stick to that... but I am going to say that I am doing pretty well. I was happy with the first set of exams, and we got back our 2nd set of Gross Anatomy grades today, and I was pleasantly surprised yet again.

One of the main reasons I hadn't posted was because I hung out a lot after the first set of exams was over, and then all of the sudden I looked up, and we had so much material and I was stunned when I realized that after a week of class, we had essentially received all of the material about the chest (thorax in medical-speak).

So now we have finished the thorax and the abdomen, meaning the only part of the body that we have left is the pelvis area and the head and neck. In lab today, we definitely had a day that I probably won't ever forget. While I started the day taking skin off of my cadaver's face, an hour or so later, things got a little more intense. We read the instructions, and were informed that we needed to take the handsaw from the box, and cut the body between the 3rd and 4th Lumbar vertebrae. See picture. This was pretty intense. I completed the cut through the body separating it into an upper, and lower half.

After reading the instructions further, we found out that we needed to bisect (cut in 1/2) the lower half of the body that we had just separated. We were told that we needed to use the scalpel for the soft tissue and the saw for the bone. So the three girls of our group decided they did not want to hemisect the penis. (I had to just say it. Hopefully I don't get hits on Google...). So the three guys took over. One took the scalpel, and I just stood there, but I soon realized he needed some help as things were moving. So I took my hand, and placed it on either side of the scalpel holding the penis in place as it was bisected.

So that was weird. Not every day that you can say you cut someone in half. Not everyday that you want to say you cut someone in half. Unless you are a magician.

So today I think was one of those days that made me do some introspection on the whole experience of Gross Anatomy. On one hand, we were given this body to learn all about the ins and outs of the human body, from head to ankle (Podiatrists take care of the feet). And on the other, this body that was given to us, once had life in it... blood flowing through all of the arteries that I discovering, muscles moving, air in the lungs, and everything. So I don't know, it's kind of weird. Some days I don't even think about it. I simply head into lab with the scalpel and probe and just go at it. And then there are days like today when I am taking the skin off the face, or cutting him in half, and I think about what kind of life he lived.

They say we go through stages when becoming a doctor. This is from an article that the librarian for my PBL group sent us:
"When young whippersnappers arrive at medical school in the fall of their first year, it's not uncommon to hear them declare, in a voice giddy with idealism, that they want to cure cancer or save babies or dedicate their careers to small inner-city clinics. But check back in with them four years later after they've racked up $200,000 in debt, contemplated having kiddies and been scared witless by the prospect of piddling reimbursements and many of them will say they want nothing so much as good pay, flexible hours and few midnight emergencies. Your future lifesaver wants, in a word, a nice lifestyle." (http://www.observer.com/20061030/20061030_Lizzy_Ratner_pageone_featurebox.asp)

And maybe I am starting to see a different stage now... the dissassociation that many doctors have when interacting with patients. I guess it's my hope that I don't become as disassociated with my patients as I feel I am with my cadaver, where I just kind of suppress everything, even though I wouldn't ever admit that to anyone (please note the irony here).

still waiting,
-wait

Metro faux pas

2006-10-03T18:05:00.000-04:00

So I did it. I did the thing that annoys every single Metro rider.

I was on the down escalator in the Rosslyn Metro this morning and as I stepped off the final step of the escalator, I saw it. The train had just arrived. Now I know that at 8:40, there is another train right behind this one, and usually I simply stroll to the train, knowing I will probably miss that train.

This morning was different. I was running a few minutes ahead of schedule, which actually makes this even more of a curious situation. As the train came into view on my descent on the escalator, the doors of the train just opened and I knew I wanted to get on the train. I started the half walk half run that has been done by every single Metro rider in an attempt to make a train, but my tired self would only allow me to move so fast.

I was getting closer and closer to the train and my goal was getting more and more in sight: I was going to make this train! As I approach the doors they remain open and I gently step on the train hearing the voice "Please step back the doors are closing." I did it. I made the train. Pleased with myself, I begin wondering if I have stepped enough on the train so that my messenger bag has made it on the train as well. The doors begin closing and WHAM. They close between my body and my bag.

I helplessly stand there caught between what I feel like are the jaws of life. The doors have closed about 2/3 of the way, but my bag has stopped them from closing the rest of the way. I next wonder if the train operator recognizes this, and if he hasn't, is there enough space between the wall of the tube and the train that it won't really matter. No, I didn't think about trying to reopen the doors.

Luckily the guy next to me thought about that. After a nice slam to the door, the doors reopen, and I am freed from the grip of the door. And then I hear it. The bell and the voice saying "Please step back, the doors are closing" go off for the 2nd time. And I was the cause of the 2nd time. I always laughed at those people. The one's who have caused all of the doors to the train to reopen. While laughing, I also always got a little annoyed by those people. Can't they make the train like the next one?

So for those of you who may have been on the Orange Line this morning at Rosslyn at around 8:40, I apologize for the pain I may have caused. I know that pain, and for it, I am deeply sorry.

still waiting,
-wait

Block one is done!

2006-10-01T11:46:00.000-04:00

As can be gleaned from the previous post, I have just (ok, 4 days ago) finished the first round of exams in medical school. And preliminary reports have the first round going fairly well. The course director for Neuroscience sent out the answer key, and the following day, sent out 2 corrections, which ultimately helped me. Overall, I felt the exams were very fair, and despite all that happened the week leading up to them, I felt that I was pretty well prepared and all of that stuff.

Wednesday afternoon for all of us turned out to be pretty funny looking back on it. We had about 25 unshowered, unshaven and just crazy medical students show up to Friday's at 12PM. We were all ready to just sit back, relax and enjoy the fact that we survived block number 1. We asked our waiter if there were any drink specials. Amidst the laughter, he told us it was 12 o'clock in the afternoon. Noone drinks at this hour. Well, we did. The rest of the day involved hanging out at various people's apartments/houses.

With the first block over, GW dove right back into everything, with class at 9AM on Thursday morning. And it wasn't one of those classes you could skip... It was the one with 10 people in it, and it is more along the lines of why we are actually in medical school - interviewing. This session was a lot on the doctor-patient interactions at the beginning of the interview. So while it was cool, there were some people in our group who had the bottles of water, needed the coffee, and were just trying to stay awake.

Friday was another big day in Gross Anatomy Lab. While the first block was on the upper and lower limbs, the second block of exams is on the thorax (ie: chest) and abdomen. Therefore, we began truly diving into our cadavers. Using what is called a punch saw (I think... it's the same one they use in surgery) we cut through out cadavers ribs and sternum to expose the internal thoracic cavity. On first opening, the most obvious organ sticking out at you are the lungs. Ours had some black in them, but according to Dr. Walsh, cahhbon is cahhbon (think Bostonian accent).

And then finally this weekend, I simply took it easy. I went to dinner on Friday with a few people from med school, and then on Saturday, simply did nothing. I moved at about 0.05 mph all day and it felt absolutely amazing. I felt like the laziest person alive, and that felt pretty awesome. I then went to a classmates house that night, which was really chill and that felt really great too.

So that's about all I have for right now. I will try and be better with this whole posting thing because I know you all are waiting on pins and needles wanting to know how I am.

So I can't chew

2006-09-22T17:43:00.000-04:00

Ok, ok. I know it's been forever. But I have a couple excuses, one of which is medical school, and one of which is being a patient.

Medical school first. I just took my first Gross Anatomy exam. The exam covered everything about the upper and lower limb. So, in theory, I should know everything there is to know about the arm and leg: the muscles, arteries, nerves, veins, and lymphatics. In reality, who knows. All I know is that it is now over, and I am going to start buckling down for the neuro exam on Wednesday of next week. It's hard to believe that we are a third of the way through Gross. I think that's a lot because Gross is the class you think of when you think of medical school. And I am a third of the way through it.

Now for the part about chewing. My parents came down this weekend, and we decided to have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I've had a couple bad experiences there in the past, but I really like the food, so for some reason, I keep going back. I ordered my normal buffalo chicken sandwhich, and start eating that. About halfway through, I feel something a little wrong, and I start coughing up some of the food that I had been eating. There is a lot of phlegm involved, and I excuse myself to allow my esophagus to rid itself of the food that was there. This continued for about 20 minutes, with me getting up numerous times in an attempt to expel whatever it was. We leave the restaurant, and I get home and sit for around 2 hours, and I decide to drink some water. After drinking that water, I pretty much threw up right away. I didn't think too much of it, and just went to bed. I woke up Monday morning, and again tried drinking some water with the same result. This was starting to get curious for me.

I waited until dinnertime before I ate anything else, and at dinner, I attempted eating some pizza. Why pizza? Well it was free. So I ate that. And guess what? I threw that up. So by now, it had been about 24 hours since I had eaten or drinken anything. I talked to a couple doctors, and they thought it would be best for me to head to the ED so that I can get some fluids in me. I got the ED around 8, though I don't get seen until 10. At 1, I finally got out of the ED, with the diagnosis of "I have no idea what's going on. If there is food down there, the medicine I gave you should have taken care of that." Frustrated, I went home to sleep, hoping that miraculously in the morning I would be ok.

I wasn't. I drank water, and the same thing. By now I was really starting to get concerned. I hadn't eaten or drinken anything (except 1.5L of IV fluids) in 36 hours, and there was no end in sight. I decided I should talk to the dean of students to let her know something was up, especially considering that we had exams in the next few days. She suggested that I go to Student Health for a second opinion, which is something I just needed to hear, even though deep down that is what I knew I had to do. Off I went to student health, and after 5 minutes with that doctor, she referred me to a GI doc (gastroenterologist) for Wednesday morning at 8:30. So back to the library I went, studying on nothing more than 1.5L of IV fluid over 48 hours. I left somewhat early because I was pretty drained.

That morning before I went to the doctor, I weighed myself. I had lost 10 pounds in 3 days. Yikes. Meeting with that doctor, it seemed like an end was in sight, but not for another day. She originally decided that I needed to have a barium X-Ray to see if there was an actual blockage, and from there, she could do an upper endoscopy, using the X-Ray as a guide down my esophagus, however, the upper endoscopy probably wouldn't take place until the next day (being Thursday at this point). While I was happy something was getting done, I wasn't sure I could make it another day without food or water.

After 10 minutes, my doctor comes in and tells me that the X-Ray people wouldn't be able to do it that day, meaning we would be delayed even further. But then the good news. M y doctor decided that my symptoms made were essentially pathgnomonic (99% certainty) for a food impaction in my esophagus and therefore she decided that she would do a "blind" upper endoscopy at 3 o'clock that afternoon. While it would take a little longer since she didn't have a guide, relief was probably in sight.

So that's what happened. I showed up, got my second IV, and underwent an upper endoscopy. See right (image is from Britain, hence "oesphagus") The drugs completely knocked me out. At one point the nurses told me they were going to give me some drugs, and the next thing I truly remember was standing in the Boston Market getting some mashed potatoes. And even that is really fuzzy. I was apparently very alert, had a conversation with my parents and my doctor, got into the car, talked to my sister and directed my dad to the Boston Market in Arlington (my procedure was done in Chevy Chase... and they found a piece of chicken at my gastroesophageal junction).

I ended up having a really fuzzy night that night. I have pieced together the big chunks. Like calling the dean. Getting to school. Taking a practice practical. I did all 3 of those things, and hardly remember. So basically, it was as if I drunk dialed the dean of students at the medical school. I talked to her yesterday afternoon letting her know I really have no recollection of our conversation and she laughed, saying that she would keep that secret I told her. Mystified, I was really curious, and she told me she was kidding. Whew. She also comforted me by letting me know I didn't say anything stupid. And on the practice practical, I only got 5 wrong.

So then I spent yesterday from 8:30 til 9:30 studying. Which was lots and lots of fun. My throat is still a little soar, but I think anyone's would be considering a tube was shoved down my throat. The lesson I learned this week: Chew my food better.

Still waiting,
-wait

The first week

2006-08-30T00:40:00.000-04:00

Well, the first week of medical school is over. That really doesn't mean all that much. It just means that I attended classes for the first week. And so far, it seems to have gone pretty well. As talked about in the last post, we started Gross Anatomy lab, and since that post, the dissection of the cadaver has begun. While I didn't make the first incision, I did spend some time peeling away the skin of our cadaver, and for the first 10 seconds it was definitely a little weird, but then, and this may sound real insincere for your non-medical people, but it got really interesting once we started digging deeper and found the different muscles of the upper back. The smell is something. Some of us have joked how we can only hang out with each other during this semester because noone else is going to want to even be in the same room as us. I feel like that might just be the right of passage for every med student, though.

Last Thursday, we had our Committment to the Community day. About 50-100 of the med students (including myself) went to Heritage Park, which is on the border of NE/SE DC. One notable person to come from this area, is Marvin Gaye, the prolific Motown singer. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, NE and SE DC aren't really the place to be, unless you are looking for drugs. Specifically, up until about 5 years ago, Heritage Park used to be on the news all the time, and not for the "feel good stories." To help illustrate the area we were in even further, a block away from where we met, the FBI busted up a Meth Lab 2 weeks ago, and in the field behind where we worked, there was a crackhouse being torn down. So that gives you an idea, I hope. We ended up cleaning out a ton of brush, and in the brush, I saw at least 2 needles, and heard about a bunch of other people finding them as well.

The brush we were clearing out was to help clear an area that was going to be set up to be an amphitheater for the community and the high school that sits right next to the park. Overall, it was really obvious that the people in this community really cared about where they lived and wanted to turn it around. This was apparent as we watched many of the community members walk up and pick up a rake and start working. It was definitely an experience that took me out of the places I am so used to (or, still getting used to) and made me realize how lucky I am to be in my situation. The group, Washington Parks and People, has made huge strides in this area to help. Check it out.

I then began the studying. I hadn't actually studied in over a year and it felt pretty weird getting back to it. After taking a year off and being in the working world, it has definitely been a transition back to the "go to class all day and study when you are not in class" mentality. My TV time is slowly declining, and the library time is slowly increasing (funny how that works).

As for what I am studying, right now we are working on the upper and lower limbs in anatomy (first 1/3 of anatomy) as well as the early stuff in Neurobiology. And, surprisingly, the Georgetown program did do some good for me. It turns out that if I got a B or better in their Microscopic Anatomy class, I do not have to take GW's Microscopic Anatomy class. That means that I generally don't have class on Monday, Wednesday or Friday mornings. I guess that helps me ease into this whole school thing. Plus, I hated that class so I am happy.

On that note, I don't have class until 1 tomorrow (Gross) so that means I can study tomorrow morning before class (or sleep, we'll see). Either way, I'm off to bed now.

still waiting,
-wait

Day 1, Gross lab

2006-08-23T10:24:00.000-04:00

I survived day 1 of actual class. While in most cases this may not be something to write about, at GW, they take the opportunity to start Gross Anatomy, and take us into the cadaver lab so that we can look at our the body that we will be dissecting over the coming months.

Before entering the lab, we were shown a video that came from a school in the UT (Texas) system, where current medical students were interviewed about the dissection, but also a man who had willed his body to a medical school upon his death. This brought home the thought that the person we were about to meet had a full life before this. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't know that. But I think a lot of me wanted to separate this person's life from his body simply to avoid any emotional attachment that would come and make me not able to dig inside, so to speak. At the same time, it was also a good reminder of the respect that we need to have as these people did lead lives and they are giving us an incredible gift - a gift that is going to teach me, the rest of my classmates, and every other medical student in the country, more than we might ever learn from books. Even tough their lives have passed, they have given us the opportunity to learn about living, perhaps allowing them to live forever.

Upon entering the lab, the smell was recognizeable, and the 32 tables were around the room packed closer than they ever had been before as are the biggest class ever at GW. Each table had a large metal top to it, split in half, so that when swung down, the body was revealed. As we begin working on the back region, our bodies are all face down on the tables. Hopefully this eases us into the process.

Yesterday we were in the lab for about 30 minutes, meeting our the other members of our group, and, more importantly, getting over the initial shock of the body. Today is the first day we will put our hands on the cool body, and then make the first cut. The course director said he's never seen anyone pass out, so here's to hoping our class isn't a first.

still waiting,
-wait

Orientation

2006-08-22T00:29:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted during orientation, and simply put, it's because it was so freaking long. We started at 8AM every day, and went til midnight some days. But, the most important part, it's been exciting. I have met tons (ok, like 150) people over the past week and these are the people that I will be working with over the next 4 years as we become doctors. Everyone that I have met has been absolutely amazing, and though I don't remember everyone's name, everyone has been incredible. It makes me real happy to know that these are the people that I am going to be working with.

In a nutshell...
Wednesday: Got to campus and did the ice-breaker stuff "Hi, my name is x, I went to y for undergrad, and z for grad school and I am from a. I am b years old, and blah blah blah." We had the deans and the provost and all of the important people that are involved in our lives as medical students. The coolest part may have been when the dean said "the competition is over." That felt pretty cool. That afternoon, we did the campus tour, and got our ID cards, and all of the other stuff. That night, we went to the Nats/Braves game, where the Nats won! Following this was a trip to Old Glory and Rhino Bar in Georgetown. And that's all I need to say about that.

Thursday: Scavenget hunt. Let's just say we walked a TON. All over Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, and the mall. We took 1 metro ride the entire day and otherwise we walked for all 6 hours. It was absolutley crazy, and at the same time, absolutely awesome. We had so much fun, even though by the end of the day, we were ready to saw off our feet. That night, we took a monuments at night river cruise (read: booze cruise). This was followed up by another walk up to Georgetown to 3rd edition. And that's all I need to say about that. (Catching a theme?)

Friday: This was only a half day, where we got to hear about our classes from second years, and about the whole professionalism in medicine. Good talks overall, but considering my state, I was ready to just go back to bed. We had the afternoon off and the night was taken up by the DC Improv. 2 of the 3 were funny. The headliner was just horrible. I can't even begin to describe, so I won't. And then we went to Lucky Bar.

Saturday: This was the white coat ceremony. This is the day that we recieved our white coats signifying our entry into medical school. (My sister is with me in the picture... and yes, I did white out my last name on the name card in case you were wondering) Overall, it's a very exciting day, a day of celebration. And it apparently means we are doctors. In fact, we went out to dinner in Georgetown following the ceremony, and as I walked in I was still wearing my white coat, and a waiter stops and looks at me and says "good evening doctor." I laughed, and mumbled something to the effect of "Who me? Ohhh no, not at all." Just because I have the coat doesn't mean too much. But it was a pretty surreal moment, signifying the trust and knowledge of what comes with wearing the white coat. And after dinner, we went to a classmate's house and well, yeah.

Sunday: Relax day! I went home to Baltimore to get some information on my grandfather for a scholarship, and also to go to Sam's Club for some food and to do some laundry and a free dinner. I also squeezed in a 2 hour nap. All around good day.

Today (Monday): We started with a Problem Based Learning (PBL) example. That was a pretty cool intro to what we will be doing, and since we weren't being graded on it, there was no stress or anything involved with it. We had some good laughs and it was just kind of a relaxed atmosphere. The tone after lunch was anything but. It involved money and how much we are going to owe. And that's really exciting. And I don't feel like saying anything else about that except that the session wasn't exactly worth it since all the decisions had already been made about the money, and it really doesn't matter because everything will get paid back and we most likely aren't being screwed because we are in this for the greater good.

Tomorrow we are really in for it as we start Gross Anatomy ("Gross") A couple of lectures and then I believe we meet our cadaver. I'll write more on that tomorrow.

So that's been my life in a nutshell (a seemingly rather large one). I've had a lot of fun, and if these are the people that I need to study and work with over the next 4 years, I can't say I have any complaints.

I am real excited to get this year under way!!

Twas the night before med school

2006-08-15T23:28:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here in a condo that is about 84.3% put together and am thinking about tomorrow. I am getting together what they want... immunization records, health insurance, money, etc etc etc.

But I moved on from the superficial things for tomorrow and started to try and grasp what is really happening tomorrow. Medical School, something that I have been striving for, going after, pursuing, whatever for 3 years, begins tomorrow. It is amazing to realize that my dream is finally becoming realized, and that tomorrow I will embark on a journey that will turn me into a doctor. I know that it will desensitize me to a lot of things, but at the same time, I know it is something that I really wanted.

I wanted to say a general thank you to all of you out there for the continued reading of this small section I like to call home on the internet. It's very cool knowing you all are out there reading up on me, seeing how I am doing and all of that. Thanks for all of the support over the past year (or many years if I actually know you). Just know that I am very appreciative of it all.

Now it begins.

Tomorrow, I will come home, and I will officially be a medical student. My intention is to keep this updated, and allow all of you to see what it means go through medical school. You went on the ride of applying, which was merely the warm up. Now we are in it for real. I hope you all will my growth as a person, as I learn more information then I ever thought possible. I don't plan on posting actual grades, just more of a "I did horrible... I did ok... I did amazing" kind of scale. That should give you an idea.

So, since I have orientation tomorrow, here is a little orientation to medical school for all of you. The first 2 years are in the classroom. At GW, it basically works that in the first year, you learn everything there is to know about the normal human body. Then, in the 2nd year, you learn what can go wrong. GW has a course called POM (Practice of Medicine) that allows us to follow a preceptor during our first 2 years, so that we can be reminded what we are really learning all of this information for, and so that we can begin to see what it means to actually be a doctor.

After the 2nd year, you take Step 1 of the USMLE's (United States Medical Licensing Examination). It tests all of your knowledge from 1st and 2nd year. This is one of the biggest tests every medical student takes. Obviously there will be much more about that in the coming years.

After that, you enter 3rd year and this is when you begin rotations through all of the different clerkships. These include Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychology, Ob/Gyn (my favorite... riiiiiiight) and most of the different specialties offered. This also continues onto 4th year, where you have many more electives (choose what you want to do). In the 4th year, though possibly also in the 3rd as I learned this afternoon, you take Step 2 of the USMLE's. This obviously tests you on all of the information you've learned in rotations. Again, more to come.

You also apply to residency in your 4th year. After going on interviews, there is a day in March, Match Day, where every medical student, at the same time, finds out where they are doing their residency. And again, you guessed it, more to come later.

So that is medical school in a nutshell. There are details I left out, or may not be exact on, but that is the general idea, and I am sure all of the minute details will be worked out over the next 4 years.

So now, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. (Hey, at least YOU can thoroughly enjoy it, I need to actually do the suffering part).

Let's roll.

-wait

Final days...

2006-08-05T01:12:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy couple days, to say the least. I obviously got back to Richmond on Monday, and since then I have been meeting up with people in Richmond to say good bye (and showing Katie around since she just moved here and knows noone). All of my stuff is packed up and ready for the big move up to the big city of Washington D.C. (well, Arlington). And I guess even that is a little bit of an overstatement. I decided to go cheap and not rent a van, hoping that all of my stuff would be able to fit in Ian's and my car (Ian driving an SUV). Well we packed Ian's car this afternoon, and then I packed my car, and now there is a pile of stuff between the living room and dining room that still needs to be taken to DC.

So that means tomorrow I am driving to Arlington, unloading everything, and then coming back here to Richmond -- I thought tonight was going to be my last night here in Richmond, but alas, I can't stay away.

Tonight I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, starring none other than Will Ferrell. I thought this movie was absolutely hilarious, but I love Will Ferrell, so I may be somewhat biased. There were numerous one-liners that truly made this movie memorable. I suggest you all go see it.

still waiting,
-wait

Germany, pt 2 of 2 (the last) and more

2006-08-01T23:03:00.000-04:00

Yes I realized I haven't continued the stories from Germany. This is for 2 reasons. 1. My computer is going out. The screen turns all these bright colors and makes these really cool designs. Unfortunately for me, that means I can't use it. It has become very fickle and sometimes it even decides to drop the resolution down to something like 300x100. That's exciting when I could probably read the screen from across the street.

I also realized it would probably be pretty boring to hear about every aspect of my trip, and while it would be lots of fun for me, you'd be bored to tears. So tonight, while the computer is working, I will tell about the 2 mosst exciting things I did in Germany and that will be it. I will then move on to much more pointless matters, like what color my new couch is, and when things are all going to be set up in my new condo, not to mention all about the new condo.

On the second to last full day in Germany, I got to visit the city of Berlin, a city I have learned much about in history classes and German classes. It was partly weird, because the fall of the Berlin wall was one of my first memories where I recognized that there is a much bigger world out there, and that this "thing" that is happening is something that is huge. It wouldn't be until many years later that I would understand the true significance, but I knew it was important. Although I only had about 3 hours in Berlin to see the sites (not nearly enough time), it was definitely worth it. I got to see the major sites like the Reichstag, Brandenburger Tur, Segasaeule, and Checkpoint Charlie. I went through the museum at Checkpoint Charlie, and that was pretty awesome to see all of the different ways people attempted to cross the border. I also went into the museum "Story of Berlin" which showed a little of the distant history of the city, but then a lot more of the more recent history, with the rise of Nazism and Hitler, then through the Cold War and finally the fall of the Berlin wall. It was a truly eye-opening experience, especially going through the museums with Germans who actually lived during the Cold War. It was interesting to see those people walk a little bit faster through the Wars, but then when the video of the fall came on, they sat and watched it twice. You could tell it was something that they were really proud of.

The other hilight of the trip was driving on the German Autobahn. I got to drive my cousins BMW M3 on the autobahn, and while it was my second time ever driving stick, that didn't stop me from hitting about 140 MPH, and then driving over a "mountain" (read small hill with a couple switchbacks) doing the switchbacks at about 40mph, hugging the road like no other car I have been in. I also learned about rev matching (I think thats what it's called) ie: taking the car up to about 7000 RPMs, shifting down then, and back to 7000 RPM, etc etc. Too much fun. The world looked like it was streaking by. The car is so freaking fast, going from 0-60 faster than the 911. Worlds apart from the Toyota Avalon I drive.

So those were the 2 bigger events of Germany -- there was lots of other assorted things that went on - visiting the towns from which my ancestors hailed and finding the gravestones of some of very distant relatives (ca. 1700) and also getting the oppurtunity to just relax and not worry about anything.

That vacation was the first that I have had in a long time where I didn't need to worry about anything. I'm obviously not applying to schools, so I don't need to worry about that. All I have to do is make sure everything is straightened out for my new condo, and that's nothing to truly worry about. So this might have been one of the best vacations I've been on in a long time. I was definitely able to shift it into park, and recharge the batteries and gear up to start school out on the right foot.

So that's that about Germany. No longer will you be bored with my antics (about Germany, at least).

I start school 2 weeks from tomorrow. Yikes. (what was that about not worrying?) Soon I will start laboring you with all of the details of that. That was the initial intention of this blog when I started it about a year ago, so that you could see how much of a pain med school, yet also see how worth it is; though let's be honest, you might need to keep reading for about 12 years before you see the latter.

That's it for now.

still waiting,
-wait

Germany, Story 1 (of... ?)

2006-07-28T18:12:00.001-04:00

Here are the stories you have all been waiting for. For the past 10 days, I was off visiting my family in Nettlingen, Germany. Nettlingen is a little town, like very small, about an hour (depending on how fast you drive... heh) south west of Hannover and about 3 hours south east of Berlin.

I've thought long and hard about how I am going to elaborate on my final 'hurrah' before I embark on a completely different journey as I learn every last detail about the human body. I've decided that I am going to tell this story in many parts as there was much that we did, and I also decided to keep the details more to a minimum and tell more about the funny, exciting, and moving experiences from Germany. Something that I probably won't say too much is that we did sit around and do a lot of talking. It was really cool getting to know these people, and sort of learning about our history, and establishing the relationships that we hope will last. As I said previously, our families lost contact in the war and for over 50 years, we knew nothing except a couple of the stories my grandfather told his kids when they were younger. Stories of a hotel and restaurant. Stories of a small town and a bowling alley. Apparently my grandfather was something of a story teller, so many, especially including the bowling alley, weren't believed. When my uncle saw the bowling alley in the hotel a couple years ago, he knew then that this was the place my grandfather spoke of and had visited twice in the 1910's as a boy, and our family had finally been reunited.

To wet your whistle, so to speak... here are some stories that are to come:

Food
Berlin
Driving on the Autobahn (yes, me driving)
The Tour de France
Water skiing
Searching grave stones for more of our family

Today's story is about the first day.

Arriving in Berlin at 9AM local time, we got off the jetway and it finally hit me. I haven't used my German in about 6 years and I needed to start remembering even simple phrases. We rented an Opel (similar to chevy) station wagon and drove to the town of Nettlingen, where we were greeted by Monika and Siegfried, who are the people of my parent's generation. Dinner was steak and mushrooms; Usually I am person that doesn't like mushrooms, but these were actually pretty good, and they were fresh. And we started drinking. Beer. Pear Schnapps. Beer. Astenbecker. Beer. (Schnapps is a lot stronger in Germany and Astenbecker is like grain alcohol or something. We have nothing like it in America) Keep in mind, besides that little nap I got in the afternoon, I did not sleep on the plane, and thus by 10PM that night, I had been up for something like 30 hours. We had lots and lots of fun talking with our family, giving presents and just hanging out.

Ok, I promise this gets better.

Around 11:30, Kate and I head back to the hotel and decided that we needed to walk around some. So we headed out to the pond that is in town, and we some people around our age drinking and talking and having fun. Naturally, I stopped and starting talking to them. And after a few drinks, many of you know I get talkative, and I start speaking more German as my inhibitions of speaking the language are gone. 1AM comes, and they all say that they wanted to go swimming in the Freibad (local pool). So we decided that this was an amazing idea. We hopped in a car, drove 2 minutes and went swimming. There were about 20 of us there and Kate and I were a little concerned about hopping a fence and going swimming in a pool that was obviously closed off (barbed wire over the fence). I then remembered at Mike's bachelor party the same thing happened and went forth with it. After a little while, I got out of the pool and started talking with people (broken German and broken English, but the ideas got across) and around 2:30, we decided that it was probably a pretty good idea to go to bed. This time, we walked. Finally, Kate and I headed up to the room, and decided it might be a good idea to not really say anything about our little adventure on the first night.

Breakfast was at 10 o'clock the next morning and the partially jet-lagged, partially hungover, partially way-too-tired-because-we-stayed-up-too-late Kate and I showed up to breakfast. Naturally Kate went back to bed, but I sat around with the cousins some more. Later in the day, Iris, a cousin (in-law) who is my generation, said that she was taking one of her kids to the Freibad and wanted to know if we wanted to go. Sheepishly, Kate and I said yes, conveniently leaving out the fact that we had been there the previous night.

While there, Iris and Kate went to get some ice-cream and while walking back to our towels, she says to Kate "I hear you swim here last night?" Kate said no with a smile, and Iris responded "Well my friend's daughter says she goes swimming with an American here last night." Like I said in a previous post: small town America, everyone knows everything. Of course then Kate says we were swimming, and we all have a laugh, now that half the town knew about our adventures. Iris said her husband, Mark (my cousin) did it all the time before they were married and it is essentially a right of passage for Nettlingeners. So we fit right in.

And it gets better. At dinner that night, the cousin who runs the hotel, Peter, told everyone that Kate and I went to the Freibad last night. We all then laughed even more and we asked how in the world he figured it out, and he said that he overheard us the night before as his window overlooks the area where we were hanging out.

It was just real funny in that on the very first night there, we met these random people, went swimming, didn't say anything about it... then the whole freaking town knows. From that night, we knew that this was going to be an amazing trip.

So that is the first story.

We had so much fun, and when I get back to Richmond (still in Baltimore now) I will start putting pictures up so you can see the fun we had.

If you want to hear about this, keep posted. If you don't. Oh well.

still waiting,
-wait

Wedding and Germany (my roots)

2006-07-18T00:58:00.000-04:00

After yesterday's driving debacle, today was more of a "I wish there were a couple more hours in the day" kind of thing. A lot of today was spent furniture shopping. And suit buying. And book buying. And food buying. Oh, and it was every bit of 100 degrees as well. Needless to say I'm wiped. But, I have a nice long plane ride tomorrow where I will be able to sleep away (hopefully).

This past weekend was Mike's wedding down in Harrisonburg. Arriving Friday evening at Harrisonburg Baptist Church for the rehearsal, I got all caught up in the events of the big day. Mike and Erin walked down the aisle (a few times) and I began to recognize that this was one of my first really good friends to finally tie the knot. Yeah, I have had good friends get married before, but Mike was one of my roommates senior year and there were many a late night spent with him doing crazy antics or shooting the breeze until late hours. After the rehearsal came the customary "Rehearsal Dinner" or as his mom liked to call it, the "After rehearsal dinner" Either way, there was some incredible food, and all of us just got to hang out in a real low key environment before the wedding.

Around 10 o'clock the wedding party plus a few other Harrisonburger's caught up at one of the local joints in town - Dave's. This place was sweet. Pitchers of beer cost $6.75. I almost fell off my seat I was so excited. We sat around and talked for a couple hours and eventually made it back to Mike's house in preparation for his big day.

The wedding itself was a really cool service. They exchanged vows and rings, they kissed and all of that stuff associated with weddings. I was at the back of the church in the lobby (or whatever) when Erin was getting ready to walk down the aisle. All of the sudden she was like "FLOWERS!!!" as she realized she didn't have her bouquet of flowers. Since all of the bridesmaids were well on down the aisle by this point, it was up to one of the usher's to pull through in the clutch. As the flowers were closest to me, I turned around grabbed the bouquet and gave them to Erin. Disaster averted. The last thing she would have wanted to was to walk down the aisle on her wedding day without flowers. And because of me, that didn't have to happen. (Of course, if I wasn't there, I am sure someone else would have come through in the clutch. I would hope.)

A mere 25 or 30 minutes later, Erin was walking back down the aisle (flowers in one hand, her husband's hand in the other) as a newlywed. After the recessional, Mike and Erin actually went back into the church and excused each row, talking with everyone who came to the wedding. This was a pretty cool idea I think. It took awhile, but at the same time, I like it because they got to see everyone who was there and thank them for coming.

After the wedding of course comes the reception and this did not dissappoint. At a country club, we were entertained by a live band which consisted of some of Mike's guitar teachers and others who were really incredible. Mike even went up front and played a few songs. In another cool thing, they had a cupcake-cake. It was layers of cupcakes. Really cool. We were kind of curious as to if they were going to take the top layer of cupcakes and save them for the 1st anniversary, or if they would just save 2. We never got a resolution to our question, unfortunately. At the reception, we were all able to catch up with some more old friends and just have a good time overall.

I eventually left and made my way back to Richmond so that I could make it to Baltimore on Sunday. (Well Baltimore, then DC, then Baltimore.... all in a day's work).

Tomorrow I head off to the land of my roots. My uncle sister and I are headed to Nettlingen Germany which is the town where my ancestors are from. My great, great grandfather started a hotel in the 1800's and he had 2 sons. Because of premogeniture, my great grandfather was awarded nothing and at the turn of the century decided to come to America and start a new life for himself. With a friend, he opened a fur business in Baltimore which remains today. My grandfather worked there, my uncle and dad worked there, and as you all probably have guessed, I won't be following in their footsteps as medical school is now on the horizon.

Over the years from when my great grandfather left Germany, our familes lost touch (email wasn't exactly popular) through both of the wars and in the 1940's we lost complete touch with our family. 50 years later, in 1997, my uncle, the one who is going with me, randomly called up (well, he had done tons of research) Germany asking for Siegfried [last name is the same as ours, so I won't divulge] as he was the last record that we had. The man who answered the phone said that he was not Siegfried, but that was in fact his father. Needless to say, we have been reunited.

My uncle and his wife have been over there a number of times, my grandmother went over, other aunts and uncles have gone and I have been there before as well. My sister, though, has not been there yet. Everytime we go, we are welcomed with open arms and hearts. This makes my sister somewhat concerned, especially since essentially the whole town knows we are coming. It's a lot like small town America, where everyone knows everyone and is in everyone's business. So something like "the crazy American [last name]'s are coming" sets the town in a frenzy. I'm pretty excited.

Being that it is now nearly 1AM and I have yet to pack, I am going to head out. I won't be posting when I am in Germany (at least I think not) but I plan on taking lots of pictures so I should have some interesting posts when I get back... Depending on the computer situation I might be able to post everyday, but I doubt it. If you feel so inclined, check in say about Saturday. If I haven't posted anything, don't expect anything.

Auf wiedersehen!

noch wartend,
-wait

Passport extravaganza

2006-07-17T00:45:00.000-04:00

So I'm an idiot, plain and simple. I drove up from Richmond this afternoon because I have to get some things done in Baltimore before I go to Germany on Tuesday. I am sitting at dinner with my family (our second family dinner since Christmas) and my sister joking says "You remembered your passport, right?"

My face turned white. The last thing I wanted to do was get back in the car, drive 2 1/2 - 3 hours, pick up my passport and turn back around and get back to Baltimore. I quickly weighed my options. If worse came to worse, I would have driven back and forth from Richmond. Luckily for me, however, Ian was home this weekend and I thought he might be able to help me out. I first thought that maybe he could overnight my passport to me. The postal service has those "Gauranteed by 10 or it's free" things. Viable option maybe. However, the whole "or it's free" thing scared me somewhat. Had I in actuality received my package for free, that means I would not have the opportunity to board my plane to Germany, and therefore would have completely missed my vacation. So I decided that having my passport at the whim of the postal service wasn't exactly the best idea.

Another option would be for Ian and I to meet halfway in between Richmond and Baltimore. This idea seemed very plausible, however inconvenient for Ian it may have been. So I called Ian and told him about "situation" (read: how dumb I am). I offered to drive to Fredericksburg... for those of you unfamiliar with the area, Fredericksburg is probably about halfway in between DC and Richmond... I offered thinking that even if I only had to drive to Fredericksburg, that wasn't nearly as bad as getting all the way to Richmond.

As I talked to Ian, he came through like a champion. He said that he has some friends in DC that he could stay with for a night, and that why doesn't he drive to DC and we meet there instead? Thrilled at the prospect of only being in the car for 2 hours instead of the complete 6, I said that was an incredible idea and that I was thankful. Hopping in the car at about 10 o'clock, I made the round trip to Alexandria (over the now open new Woodrow Wilson Bridge) and drove the last 30 minutes with the windows down and U2 cranked.

I hope that you all enjoyed my venture this evening and realized there are some people out there dumber than you. (Who forgets their passport when going abroad???)

still waiting,
-wait

Oh, and as an FYI. I will do my best to make another post tomorrow night about Mike's wedding (which was sweet) but if I don't get around to it, that means you won't hear from me for about a week and a half since I will be in Germany (passport and all). Tchuess!

Ocean City and Poison Ivy

2006-07-10T22:06:00.000-04:00

I just had a really long weekend. Like really long. But for the most part it was a ton of fun.

I left Richmond at around 430/5 on Friday evening heading north east to Ocean City MD. My friend Mike is getting married this coming Saturday, so for his bachelor party we headed up to the best city in America, Ocean City, HON! I rolled in around 1015 Friday night and joined the crew who had been drinking for awhile (they got there around 3). We hung out for awhile on the balcony and looked down (we were on the 4th floor) and saw a pool at the condo place next to ours. We thought it would be a brilliant idea to go swimming in that pool, after hopping the fence, of course. So 2 of the guys and I went over to that building, dropped down from the 3rd floor on the deck of the pool (which was on the 2nd floor). We took a quick dip, and ran back across the street to our place. There were a few more details involved, but I don't want to bore you with everything (and I need to save face, let's be honest).

We spent Saturday on the beach, playing cards, and then I spent a couple hours in the water (which was freezing) riding the waves in. Unfortunately we had 1 boogey board for 9 people. So there was lots of body surfing. After about 2 hours, the waves were getting pretty big (around 6 feet) and by now there were only 2 of us left out there. (He had the board). The guard then starts whistling. I don't look back because I wasn't that far out (had been out farther) but when he didn't stop, I looked back and he started waving. I turned back around thinking it wasn't me, but the whistle came back and I realized he was probably whistling me in, so I rode one more wave in and got in. I was starting to get cold, so really it was ok. I took one really hard spill, where I got dropped by a wave and landed on my elbow, which threw out my shoulder for a second. I actually needed to sit out for about 10 minutes while I got range of motion back.

Saturday night we got all you can eat crabs. As a Marylander, I represented. I taught a few of the people, and did my fair share on accumulating the carnage. I am not sure how many I went through, but they brought about 4 trays over, and each tray had about 2 dozen crabs on it. There were 4 of us eating, so I didn't actually eat 100... but there were a lot. My proudest moment might have been that I wore a completely white shirt, and ended up with nothing on me. No stains, nothing. And if you know both me and about eating crabs like Marylanders do, you will know that that is quite the accomplishment. We went back to the condo/hotel and hung out there the rest of the night, falling asleep around 3/4.

I wake up the next morning at around 9 and start driving towards Baltimore. Around 1230, I pull into my parent's house, and break out the hedge-cutters to start cutting our hedge. This may sound like not much, but let me set this up for you. I begin by dressing up in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, tall socks, tennis shoes and gloves. Yes, even though it is 90 degrees. I then hook together about 4 100 foot extensions cords end to end and string them out to the hedge. When the hedge is cut, the shortest area is about 4 feet tall, and the tallest is around 7 feet. That of course means I need to break out the ladder. It is probably around 200 feet, then goes around a corner, and then goes another 100 feet further. So we are talking around 300 feet of hedge. Keep in mind that I need to cut the sides of this as well as the top.

And then the fun part. For about a 150 foot stretch of the hedge (yes, about 1/2) the hedge is laced, nay 1/2 full of poison ivy. So essentially when my parents say "Hey Wait, it's time to cut the hedge," what I hear is "Hey Wait, it's time to get a real nasty case of poison ivy." I mean it's fun and all... but ok, it's not at all. So I spent about an hour and half working on the hedge, then came in, watched the world cup, then spent the next 2.5 hours finishing the hedge. It was a freaking blast. Let me tell you.

I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, the fact that I cut my weekend short in Ocean City, or while I was out there cutting the hedge, my mom comes out and just sits there and watches me, and tells me I need to cut it in a different way that was safer. I told her that if she wanted it done a certain way, that she could do it herself. She went back in the house after that. After dinner with my parents, I hit the road to Richmond, and finally at around 1:30AM I pulled into Richmond and climbed into bed and it felt amazing. So there's my weekend... kind of a "this then this then this" but sometimes that the way it needs to be. Plus I'm tired and don't feel like being too witty and just wanted to relay what I've been doing.

I also have a story about my getting called for jury duty, but I'm tired and don't feel like writing much more.

Still waiting,
-wait

July 4, 1999

2006-07-04T23:05:00.000-04:00

As I sit here on my 25th 4th of July, I realize I thoroughly enjoyed my day. I woke and and found the Tour de France in full swing on OLN and turned that on (ok, I didn't 'find' that it was on, I knew it was on and turned it on right away) It was an exciting morning on the course with a breakaway lasting all but 2km of the race. Unfortunately, however, one of the "new" favorites left the race in an ugly crash that left him with a broken collarbone. Alejandro Valverde was probably succombing to some of the heat (it was 99 degrees, with a road temperature of 122 out there) and someone in the peloton may have tapped his brakes, sending Valverde into this guys rear wheel, and thus to the pavement, snapping the right collarbone. Oddly enough, he wasn't the first to break his collarbone on this day.

The day continued by watching the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest, and the Italy/Germany World Cup game. Lots of good TV on this day for the 4th. I then headed off to Kim's for the pool and some more food. Thanks to Courtney (Kim's roommate) I learned that plain potato chip are for "whitey's" as she put it. She laughed really hard when she realized I actually heard that. But I grilled, so she can't complain. And finally on my drive home, I saw fireworks over the horizon.

So while this 4th was nice and relaxing, there is one 4th that sticks out in my head as the best one ever. It was the summer of 1999. Many of you don't know me, but for those of you that do, and for some background for those that don't, in the summer of 1999, I biked across the country (started in Seattle and ended in New Hampshire. We cheated in that we took a ferry across lake Michigan, but otherwise, it was all bike from the Pacific to the Atlantic)

On this particular 4th of July, we were in Montana on one of our longer days. Well, for me, every day in Montana was a pretty long day. Not as long as the ones in Washington as I was quickly getting in shape, but still. So anyways, that morning we had woken up to some rain, so packing everything up wet wasn't exactly "fun" so to speak. That morning it started off pretty dry, and we stopped for lunch in a small town, and then the skies opened. It rained for the better part of the afternoon. It was raining so hard at one point, that we actually all stopped and hung out under an overhang in hopes that the rain would let up a little. It was getting a little depressing in that waking up wet, biking wet, and going to bed wet isn't exactly... well you get the idea. So once the rain let up some, we hit the road again, and the skies actually started clearing up some, and as the afternoon wore on, there were tons of clouds still around, and partial clearing allowing for the really amazing oranges and reds to reflect off of the clouds to create colors you never thought possible. I remember suspending my down-trodeness, if only for a minute or 2, and taking in the amazing sites I was able to see.

Riding along, I saw ahead of me that the group was beginning to congregate, and when I joined, I found out that someone had stopped us. This person's name was Jane. Jane is a name I can't ever forget because she told us that she had seen us in the supermarket earlier in the day (where we stopped for lunch), saw us as we huddled under the overhang, and then was driving home later in the day and recognized us on the road. A cyclist herself, she offered her house as a place for us to stay for the night. This was awesome as it was. She then told us that we would have an opportunity to sleep inside. Amazing. She then she would cook dinner and breakfast for us, and that if we wanted, we could all go with her to a barbeque, have some beers, and watch the fireworks with her friends. Words couldn't possibly describe the way we felt that night.

For someone to offer their house and food to us, is something I won't ever forget. It's people like that who leave a lasting impression on people's lives. Jane could have kept driving when she saw us coming down the road with the sun finally peaking through. Jane could have stopped us and said "good luck." But she didn't. She is one of the more memorable people that we met across the country, and I won't ever forget her. (Oh, we didn't make it to her bbq, beer and fireworks with her friends. We were biking across the country after all).

It's amazing to my how I can have such a vivid memory of this day which was now 7 years ago. But somehow, I don't think I will ever forget that. Jane is a person I won't ever forget.

And as the complete opposite, my worst 4th of July was the year before on my bike trip from Seattle to San Fransisco. Let's just say primitive campgrounds, rain, and ramen. Not a good combination. And that's all I feel like saying about that.

Here's to some great 4th's in the future!

still waiting,
-wait

Tour de France 101

2006-07-02T18:10:00.000-04:00

It's July, and you know what that means?? That's right the Tour de France!! (You were probably not expecting that one). I am sure many of you know about the tour, but if you don't, it is essentially a race around France. There are different aspects of the race, one being time trials, another flat stages, and finally mountain stages. They are all interspersed. There are about 20 stages for the race, and if you win one of the stages that is considered to be an enormous victory. To be the overall winner of the Tour de France means that you have the best time over the entire 3 weeks; you could have not won any stage, yet still be the winner of the Tour. The reason for this is because there are riders who specialize on the flat sections and then can't do the mountains, and then also vice-versa. So therefore, the rider who usually wins is typically very good at all aspects of the race.

Each rider belongs to a team and generally each team has a team leader who the team surrounds around to try and get them to win. On the days that aren't time trials (there are about 3 time trials per tour), the riders typically ride in what is known as the peloton (that's that big group of riders you always see if you have ever quickly flipped over OLN. Then there are usually a few (5-10) riders who make a sprint at the beginning of the day and try to finish the race before the peloton; however the peloton usually catches them before the end. The peloton is important because it allows riders to be in the slip stream of the riders in front of them, thus saving energy. In the more important stages, a specific team will get together and use some of the riders as what are called domestiques. These riders are the ones cutting the wind for the team leader; usually by the end of the stage all of the domestiques have been worn out and it is up to the team leader to take away and get the best time. So as much as cycling is an individual sport it is also a team sport.

On the time trials - every rider is by themselves and there is no slip-stream. Therefore it is solely up to each rider to ride the whole time.

As for the jersey's you see, I am sure many of you are aware that the Yellow Jersey ("Maillot Jaune") is the coveted one - it shows that that person is in the overall lead of the Tour de France. However, there are other jerseys. There is the Green Jersey, which is the leader of the points. Briefly, there are different ways that you can earn points along the route: being the first one to crest a mountain, be the first across a miniature sprint that is on the race, and a few other ways. There is also a White Jersey, which belongs to the rookie rider who is the highest up in the standings. And finally there is the Polka-Dot Jersey which signifies the rider who is "King of the Mountains." This is the rider who has come across the mountains peaks in the best times.

There are lots of other intricacies involved in the race (for instance how much each sprint or mountain climb is actually worth) and the battling that goes in the peloton is much more significant than one would actually imagine. But I think that's enough explanation for now.

As for the specific Tour this year, there is one man that is noticeably missing (Lance Armstrong); so going into the race, it was completely wide open. Riders such as Jan Ullrich, Franscisco Mancebo, Oscar Sevilla, Ivan Basso and Alexandre Vinokourov ("Vino") all had such aspirations for winning the first Tour not featuring the Texan. However, on Friday, these 5 racers were declared ineligible for the race because of a doping scandal known as Operacion Puerta which is based around Dr. Fuentes who has been incriminated on doping charges. All of these riders except for Vino has been linked Dr. Fuentes and on Friday were withdrawn from Tour de France. Vino is known more as collateral damage because 5 of his team members were also taken off of the Tour for doping and therefore, he does not have enough team members to qualify for the Tour. Therefore on the eve of the Tour, his team, Astana Wuerth (formerly Liberty Seguros) was withdrawn. This is Vino's "just desserts" if you will as in the off season he switched teams for more money (and because his old team, T-Mobile, wouldn't commit to him or Jan Ullrich as team leader).

Therefore of the top 5 finishers in last year's Tour de France (1. Lance Armstrong 2. Basso 3. Ullrich 4. Mancebo and 5. Vino) did not even start this year's Tour de France. This Tour is thusly completely open as to who is going to win. New favorites have emerged, and there is a strong likelihood that an American is going to win the Tour again this year.

These new favorites are:

Floyd Landis (USA, (Team) Phonak)
Levi Leipheimer (USA, Gerolsteiner)
George Hincapie (USA, Discovery Channel)
Alejandro Valverde (Spain, Causse d'Epargne-Illes Balears),
David Zabriskie (USA, CSC)
Paolo Salvodelli (Italy, Discovery Channel, though really only if Hincapie falters)
Andreas Kloeden (Germany, T-Mobile)
Iban Mayo (Spain, Euskaltel - Euskadi) ... the google translation has his name as "Went May Ten" instead of Iban Mayo. It went a little far with the translation.

(Side note: if any of the companies see that I am linking their companies on my blog and you want to donate to me for advertising, drop me a comment. I'll respond. Don't worry.)

Of course, I could be completely off, but I would expect at least one of these guys to be in the top 5 when the race hits Paris. I do realize there are lots of American's in this group and it may be I have the American hope that an American will win; but these are some of the best riders out there (read: left) in the Tour. George Hincapie is the sentimental favorite (at least by me) as he has ridden in 11 Tours and was Lance's wingman for all of Lance's wins. To see him win would be nothing short of awesome. As of right now, he is the owner of the Yellow Jersey, and thus, if he keeps it for the next 3 weeks, he will be the winner. However, it could be that he loses the Yellow jersey, and then regains later in the race. Anything can happen.

still waiting,
-wait

Addendum: I noticed that there is no closed parentheses in the picture. I could go back and add that in, but it would take awhile, and let's be honest, I already spent 2 hours doing this, and I don't feel like changing the picture again... it took 2 times before I got it the way I wanted.

Long time...

2006-06-26T23:15:00.000-04:00

Not even sure where to begin. It's been about 12 days since I posted last and lots has happened. But nothing too terribly exciting.

I think when I left I had just described my financial crisis and I would like to say that everything has straightened out. My bank (M&T) has been great to me. They cancelled all of my numbers, and by Monday afternoon, all of the money that had been stolen was back in my account. I had a new card by the end of the week and while that was an inconvenience, I really can't complain. When I talked to my bank, they informed me that someone had attempted to use my card on Monday morning for charges of $250 and $15; luckily I had cancelled the card, and the charges were declined.

I have been looking for places to live constantly, and I won't bore you with all the details until I finally secure a place, and then you all can come visit me (most likely in Northern Virginia).

I went home this weekend - it was my sister's birthday and since Father' day was last Sunday going up there this weekend had a double meaning. Since my mom's mother's day present was the medical school acceptance, I knew there was no way I could top that for Father's day. So I ended up giving him a card that says "I love you Grandpa..." and on the inside I wrote something to the effect of "I knew I couldn't top mom's mother's day gift, but I thought this could come close. Just kidding!" So hopefully he got some sort of a scare.

We had an eventful dinner on Friday night - if anyone remembers the Will Ferrell sketch "Yelling at Dinner" you might have an idea. I couldn't help by laugh at myself as I clinked my silverware on the plate. My parents and sister were probably wondering why I was laughing and luckily I am the only one who knew why.

It also rained all weekend. I wanted to go and play a little golf, but the weather dictated otherwise (yeah, I could have gone out in the rain, but I am not that hardcore yet).

I drove home from dinner last night and the rain was coming down hard. It was really hard to see and blah blah it was a quiet ride home as I attempted to guide the family cruiser down the dark, windy road, nay river, from where we ate. We all made it home thanks to my incredible driving skills. We got home and for some reason my sister went to the basement (she wanted to play monopoly or something) and found out that our basement was taking on water. My dad and I went down to check it out, and at that point it had just started and the water wasn't deep; however about an hour later it was over my ankle. Apparently both of our sump pumps stopped working and that means we get standing water in our basement. Which is cool and all. I attempted to use our shop vac and a hose to start sucking water out of the basement, but I couldn't get a strong enough pull on the hose to suck up water. So the water just sat there. Luckily it stopped raining around midnight and the water mysteriously drained from out basement overnight. We aren't 100% sure where the water went.

On an unrelated note, our foundation probably has some cracks in it.

I made it back to Richmond this morning in a record 3 hours and 15 minutes. People completely flip out when it starts raining (and I think there was some sort of mudslide over 495. That probably slowed us down some).

School is slowly creeping up towards us - we are a little under 2 months away. Most everything has been straightened out - I just need to finalize where I am living and what furniture I need. (Basically everything). I was looking at SDN (www.studentdoctor.com - an online message board for premeds) and saw a bunch of the threads for secondary applications as this application cycle is gearing up. I find it hard to believe that I don't actually need to be doing that this year. I mean no offense to those who are; it is simply weird to me that over the last 3 summers, I have been filling these out, sending checks, and getting everything straightened out for my application to med school. And this summer, that is one thing I don't need to worry about. Weird.

Alright, well there's an update. I'll try and keep you posted more regularly.

still waiting (for another update),
-wait

A sweet graduation and fraud

2006-06-12T09:30:00.000-04:00

Well if this isn't long overdue, I don't know what is.

I could do a recap of my last week and couple days, but there were really only 2 larger things that sort of happened. First off, on Friday night, I drove up to DC to my aunt's house so that I could go to my cousins graduation. He graduated from high school (Bullis School) which is in Potomac, MD. It was weird because they actually wore robes -- for McDonogh we had to wear a light blue shirt and white pants. Ah well. One of the students speakers was insanely smart... She had actually relocated from New Orleans post Katrina, and has done cancer research at Tulane and LSU and is going off to Harvard in the fall. In her speech she was using words that I am sure I did not know the meaning of in high school (and let's be honest, she probably used some words I don't know today).

And then the keynote speaker spoke. This guy was pretty amazing as he talked about his own battle with cancer, and his message told the students to find their passion, and when they do, to run with it. He said there are times when you find your passion, or your passion finds you. He said that in his case one of his passions found him which was cancer, and he has decided that he wants to make a difference in the world by doing something about it. He has created foundation to support his cause in trying to rid the world of cancer.

Oh by the way, the speaker has also won the Tour de France 7 times.

Lance Armstrong is a phenomenal man and it is amazing how he truly follows through with everything he says. He says to find your passion; he found 2: Biking and Cancer relief. Both of the effects are really evident - he has won one of the hardest biking races in the world, not once, but 7 times. That takes some dedication (that's not an understatment...). In his pursuit of a cure for cancer, he has also made an impact and if you want to see how, just walk down the street and see how many people are wearing the yellow livestrong bracelets (there are 60 million people out there who are wearing them). Lance also goes to the president asking for billions of dollars to be dedicated to the cancer research. In creating the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Lance has created a powerhouse in the fight against cancer. He offers resources for those who have cancer, along with what you can do to help.

I felt like I was in the presence of greatness as he is an inspiration to me.

I said there were 2 things. And since I am a man of my word, here is the second thing. I was checking my account balance on my bank account from home at around 1:30AM on Saturday night (why this hour? I don't know really...) and in looking there, I found a charge that I didn't remember making. The vendor was some name with "cardquery.com" in part of the name. So I go to cardquery.com and start looking checking into their website and I found out that they are some sort of clearing house for smaller online companies to use so that consumers can use their credit cards. They say that you can find out what was bought with your card if you give them your first 6 and last 6 digits of your credit cards. As I figured I would be cancelling this card as soon as I could, I decided what harm could this do. So I find out that apparently I bought something called Cryptainer PE and the better part was that I could actually see and print a receipt for this purchase because this company stores them for you. In checking out the receipt, I find out that my name, my home address (not the one I am living at now - which is the address my bank has on file), my credit card number, and the other person's email address (presumably the one who stole my numbers) were on this receipt. The email address was an AOL address, so since we also have AOL, I hopped on there and looked for the Terms of Service, and then notified AOL of the possible credit card fraud and this person using an illegal credit card with an AOL email attached. I asked if there were any actions they could take against this person since they were doing illegal activities with the AOL screenname. I recieved a response saying that this should not be done over email, and that I need to contact the fraud department. That will happen at some point today.

I called my home bank Sunday morning at 9AM (when they opened) and got my credit card cancelled, but I am still a little concerned because there is one more charge that still needs to go through - currently there is one charge on my online statement that says "Withdraw - Details not available yet" with a charge of $1 which is usually just a placeholder for an online purchase. It's also weird because the date on the purchase is 6/12/06 and I found this on Saturday (the 10th).

I'll keep you all posted on what happens with this. I plan on taking this through as far as I can.

still waiting,
-wait

Figuring it all out

2006-06-01T22:28:00.001-04:00

First off - I'd like to welcome to the new readers who have found their way through my profile on the GoogleGroup for the GW class of 2010. If you want to know how I got here, feel free to go back and read some. Or email me and I will tell you. Or if you don't care and are just happy to have gotten into med school, that's awesome, because I am freaking pumped.

As I said previously, the honeymoon phase of this experience is over. I am being brought back to 2 summers ago when I was preparing for Georgetown and scouring Craigslist for a place to live, and wondering if I am ever actually going to find a place to live. I still have not resolved any of the questions of where I want to live and whether or not I want to have roommates. There are pros and cons to all of the decisions, and I just need to sit down and figure out which pros outweigh the cons and then make the decision. Currently, I am leaning towards Foggy Bottom without a roommate. But I may be starting to sway back towards Northern Virginia. Stay tuned. (And if you have advice, I am open).

We got an email from the dean of admissions at GW today discussing everything that needs to be done between now and June 15, July 15 and August 16th (the last of which is when orientation starts). The main things include financial aid, immunizations (DC Law) and insurance. Tonight I looked into the insurance plans. My favorite exclusion in the insurance plan might be "Expenses occured as a result of Injury due to participation in a riot." While I understand the premise for this, I thought it was curious, and even moreso considering it is the 4th exclusion listed out of around 30.

I also start house sitting tomorrow. I am house sitting for my landlords parents. They have a pool which I am sure I will hang out by for the next 7 days. They also have a pretty sweet TV so I am sure I will also watch a bunch of TV. They have 2 cats which I also need to take care of. "yay" But it's a little extra money in my pocket.

I am also quitting the free clinic next week. It's pretty surreal to think that I have been working there for over 9 months now and my time there is over next week. There's been tons of change throughout my time there as when I started they actually took walk in patients and now they don't. I have gotten to know lots of people there, from the doctors, PA's nurses and patients, and I have seen so much of the behind the scenes work of a doctor's office and it has totally made me aware the goings ons of a doctor's office. It has also shown me so much in terms of the problems of healthcare in America. It is really amazing the numbers of people who just can't afford health insurance -- there are people who come into the clinic very regularly and they obviously need the healthcare, and without this clinic they would be helpless as they cannot afford insurance. I hope to one day make an impact in this field.

So that's about all I have for right now. (I'm trying to post more frequently, I promise!)

still waiting,
-wait

Loose Ends

2006-05-29T15:10:00.000-04:00

So I have sucked at this whole blog thing. But I got the day off today thanks to all of those who served our country. That has given me the opportunity to write something and watch the Men's D-I Lax championships. UMass has had a cinderella run and as of right now (6:54 left in the 3rd quarter) has been holding strong, though they have given up a couple unanswered goals -- it's 9-6 UVa. As I go to finish this entry... there is 2:00 left and it is 15-7 UVa. I was really hoping that UMass could pull it off.

It's been a couple weeks since I have heard about school, and I guess I can confidentely say that the honeymoon phase of the whole thing is over. I am now working on how I am going to pay for this, where I am going to live, and all the other loose ends that I need to do before I actually get there. I have been in a bit of a quandary as to where I should live - part of me wants to live in Northern Virginia, but then part of me also wants to live right next to school. The former is good because it is generally a little bit cheaper, and the latter because I wouldn't have to commute (which might end up balancing out the whole Northern Virginia being cheaper).

I also started to clean my room up some yesterday, and it hit me that because I am finally in school, I can probably throw out all the stuff on all of the other schools. I have had this black filing thing (plastic, easy to carry) that has followed me for the past 3 years as I have moved from Richmond to Baltimore to DC to Baltimore and back to Richmond. I think I have a bit of separation anxiety as I was actually unable to throw away anything. I did, however, move the GW file from the med school application box to the box where I keep the important things. So maybe thats a good thing.

Also in cleaning my room yesterday, I looked up to my wall of post-its and decided it was time. I took a picture of the final status of my applications, and then I took them all down off of the wall. No longer do I need to keep track of where I am standing with a particular school, whether or not I have mailed them an update letter, or if I have received any word from the school. The picture is on the left, and I think you can click on it if you want to make it bigger.

Here are some loose ends from the last couple weeks. In my going to Florida, I was also able to pick up me mail from down there (the mail is forwarded from Baltimore - my permanent address) and in that I found a rejection letter from Maryland and NYMC. I came back from Florida and I finally received my decision from Penn State, who offered me a spot on the "Hold list." Had this come before I heard from GW, I am not sure how I would have felt, but really, it really doesn't matter. After recieving the contract from GW, I was then able to withdraw from both of the waitlists that I was on. That felt pretty cool.

In my withdrawing from WVU, I was emailed back and the person who emailed me said "Good luck in your medical career". For some reason, this is one of the times when it actually hit me. I know deep down inside I am actually going to school. I also know I have wanted this for so long. But then to hear that made it so real. I just thought that was really awesome. It's been a pretty amazing few weeks and I think it is setting in that I am going to be going.

I guess here's a mushy note. I know I've been through a lot over the past few years, and there have been people that have supported me throughout these times, whether it was a simple email saying good luck, or long conversations, or other times when some of you recognized I just needed to be with someone. For all of these things, I really just want to say thanks. Sometimes it was really hard for me to be appreciative because I was only seeing one side of the issue, but there were always people out there who supported me and I am not sure I could ever return the favor. So thanks.

still waiting (but now for something completely different),
-wait

Details, part 2

2006-05-22T21:40:00.000-04:00

So apparently "tomorrow" means the day after next. Well all 8 of you reading didn't die while waiting for part 2, so heeeeeeeeeere we go.

Like I said previously, I hadn't told my parents about my getting into medical school. And part of me wanted to tell them in person so I could see their reactions. Maybe that was selfish of me, but after actually seeing their reactions, I was pretty happy I did. On Thursday afternoon I started looking for plane tickets for me to fly down Saturday -- but when they all cost a lot of money, I decided that I needed to do something drastic.

I called my dad. I called him and gave him a bit of a sob story saying I hadn't been down there to see them in awhile, and wouldn't it be a great idea for me to come down to surprise my mom for Mother's day. After a little bit of thought, he decided that to be a really good idea, and, more importantly, decided he would pay for my ticket down to Florida. SCORE. I finally had a way to Florida without either of them know I had actually gotten into school.

During the excitement of my getting into medical school and making this plane ticket, I did the unthinkable. I had decided that flying out of DC was the cheaper way to go -- and I decided the even better option would be to fly out of National Airport (aka Reagan) and then fly into Dulles. When I realized my stupidity, I almost wanted to kick myself. Luckily I refrained otherwise, I could have probably hurt myself pretty badly.

So after doing Race for the Cure Saturday morning (race fee paid for by work... one good thing about working for a women's center), I drove up to DC and met Erin at Dulles airport, so I could leave my car there. Erin was also nice enough to pick up a couple T-Shirts that said GW Medicine that I could give to my parents so I also got them from her at that time. After making our way to National, I flew to Florida to surprise my parents.

I walked into our house at around 11, and in all the commotion of me coming in, my mom awoke from her half sleeping state on the couch, calling out to my dad asking if everything was ok. I walk into the living room and simply say "Yeah, everything is fine" My mom completely flipped out as she was obviously not expecting to see me. I just gave her a big hug and said happy Mother's Day! Keep in mind, I have yet to tell them that I actually got into school. We sit around and talk for about an hour, with my mom asking questions about what I am doing for the rest of the summer, and when I am going to be moving out of Richmond, and what I am going to do if I end up not getting into medical school. My dad also said he talked to my uncle and from what my dad said, I had almost thought that my uncle had spilled the beans (my uncle knew on Thursday), but I couldn't ask questions, otherwise I would have given it away. It took all that I could to not say anything, and after about an hour my mom decides that she needs to go to bed which was a HUGE relief. After she went to sleep, I wasn't far behind, but I needed to wrap the T-shirts so that I could give them to my mom at breakfast the following morning. As I searched the house up and down, my dad was a little curious as to what I was doing, and when I told him I was looking for wrapping paper for my Mother's Day present, he tried to convince me to wait until tomorrow. I emphatically said "NO. I need to do this tonight." I am sure that confused him some, but I didn't care.

I woke up the next morning, and we made our way to Lago Mar (beach club we belong to) for the all you can eat breakfast buffet. I managed to walk into the place with the present and my mom didn't notice. But let's be honest, if you know my mom, that really isn't that hard of a task. We sat down to breakfast, ordered our juices and coffees and what not, and got settled at the table. I then told my mom that I have my Mother's Day present for her, and I handed the package across the table to her. She says something to the effect of "Oh no, you didn't need to get me anything, just your coming down was plenty!" Little did she know, the REAL reason I was coming down was the fact that I was telling them that I got into school. So my mom undoes the ribbon (I went all out) and then unwraps the present and saw soemthing navy. She starts to unfurl the T-shirts and reads with some trepidation GW Medicine. She then looks at me and asks "Isn't this a little early?" I just look at her and watch as the wheels spin faster and faster in her head, and she bursts out "YOU GOT IN?!?!" I simply smiled and did a slight nod of the head. Meanwhile, my dad sitting next to me had read the T-shirt as my mom was unfurling it, looked over at me with a huge smile and says congratulations. I then get big hugs from both of my parents, and I could tell that my mom was simply ecstatic.

For a pictorial view of this occurence, take a look:

The sequence of pictures is probably pretty obvious -- the last one is my parents and I outside the bar at the beach at around 3 in the afternoon. There was obvious reason to celebrate - and it really was great to have a pina colada (with a topper) while sitting in a hammock under a palm tree. The first 3 pictures are a little dark, but hopefully you can see my mom's reactions.

One of the great things was that after I told my parents, my mom started listing off the people I needed to call. And after all the people she listed off, I told her that they already know. She then was surprised to know that she was one of the last people to actually know about school. So the whole surprise worked out really really well. Aaaand I got to have a nice little break in Florida as I didn't make it back to Richmond until late Tuesday night (after flying into Dulles of course). On my last night in Florida, my mom had gotten me yellow and navy balloons with a huge one that sung out the song "Celebration" when you tapped it. Which was great and all... yet it got a little annoying after awhile. All in all it was a great few days down in Florida. One thing that sucked was that I had to fly back through Detroit. Oh well.

Alright, well that's enough for now. I will probably write more tomorrow... Not so much on how exactly it happened, but more about the feelings behind the whole thing (read: more introspective post).

still waiting,
-wait

Details, part 1

2006-05-20T02:29:00.001-04:00

Well this post is a long time coming, whether it be 3 years, or 8 days. So I will take the liberty to expound on the previous post of "I'm in. Details to follow"

Just as a starter, for those of you who couldn't quite put it together, "I'm in" refers to the fact that I was accepted to a medical school, and that school is George Washington up in DC. I couldn't be more thrilled at this (well, maybe if it was a little cheaper) and am so incredibly excited at the prospect of going to medical school, being back in DC, and I think part of me is relieved that I am no longer wondering what I am going to be doing in the fall. Here's how it all transpired:

I was working at the office last Thursday (May 11) at one of the 2 computers and Ian (also my roommate for those who don't know) was at the computer next to mine. My phone is in my pocket on vibrate and a little before 3, it starts to ring. I pull it out of my pocket and the phone number is 202-994-1000. I thought about this a little (like .01 sec) and thought hmmm I wonder if this is it. So I open my phone and give the customary "Hello" greeting. All I hear on the other end is absolutely nothing. After 10 or 15 more seconds of attempting to get in touch with the person on the other line, I come the realization that noone is there. So I fold my phone as my anticipation deflates some. I put the phone on the counter, and attempt to start working again. But I can't stop thinking about it. I remembered that I had put the phone number to the GW admissions office in my phone, so I quickly pick up my phone and look for the number for the admissions office and it is 202-994-3534 (not sure of the last 4 digits). Thinking about this, I deduced that 994-1000 is probably the general number for GW and the number that shows up when dialing out. I relay my detective work with a smile to Ian, who then smiles, realizing what is about to occur.

3 painstakingly long minutes later, my phone rings again. Same number. Heart rate increases to near aerobic threshold (that's a lie). Opening my phone a little more carefully this time, I say hello and this time I receive a response. The female voice on the other end informs me that she is the dean of admissions at GW and jokingly wanted to know why I didn't answer the first time. The next words out of her mouth were "Well, I guess this is the call you have been waiting for." My smile broadens to an extent I had no idea was even possible. I shoot a look over to Ian and he's smiling broadly too. Truth be told, I don't remember much else of the conversation, besides the fact that if I have questions that I need to contact her, and that I needed to sign the contract within a week. I think we talked for a good 10 minutes, but I don't really know, I was just too excited.

I hang up my phone, and Ian and I embrace in a huge hug as words weren't even appropiate for the time. One of my coworkers walked in during the hug and I found out later she was going to make fun of us, but then recognized the fact that something big probably just happened.

So I leave the office with a totally different demeanor, though at the time, it definitely had not set in that I was in fact, going to be a doctor. I am not sure that it has even hit now. I have been an applicant to medical school for so many years now, and now to finally get the nod, it feels very surreal. I feel like I need to filling out the application again soon. But for the first time in 3 years, I am not "applying to medical school."

The walk out also commenced the phone calls. I had gotten a voicemail from my roommate from last year letting me know he got the call. I called him back congratulating him. I called my other current roommate in a completely serious tone asking where he was (he was home) and that he needed to stay there until I got home as I had to ask him something. I told him not to worry, but I just needed to speak with him when I got home. After my 20 minute ride home and a bunch of calls, I got home and my roommate had a huge look of concern on his face as I walked through the door. I just looked at him all serious like, and said "I am going to be in DC next year" to which he jumped out of the chair in excitement. I then cracked a celebratory beer at 3:50.

The phone calls continued through the afternoon until about 5 when I showed up to UofR as I wanted to share the news with some of the professors there. I first stopped by Dr. Mayes office and being the day after finals are over and after 5, he wasn't in his office. As he lives on campus, I started walking to his apartment, and as I am crossing the parking lot, who pulls in?? Dr. Mayes. He was really excited and told me that he and his wife would raise an extra glass of wine tonight to me (he had a bottle of wine in his hand as it was). I made my way over to the science building and found Dr. Leo who looked like he was having a rough day, but said that on hearing that news, his day just got a lot better... He then took me to Dr. Myers who was also very proud of me asking questions about what I did. I couldn't find any other professors, but I did leave a message on Dr. Hamm's door for her to call me, which she did later that night; she too was happy for me.

I eventually made it out to dinner with Ian, Mike and Aaron down in Carytown at Double T's BBQ, and that was followed by a rousing trip to Champps Sports Bar and Grille. About 15 people showed up there, and needless to say, some fun was had. Some (?) alcohol was drunk, whether that be beer or other drinks isn't a necessary detail. The details from that night were that we had a lot of fun. It was a celebration 3 years in the making, and it really was really awesome having people to share it with. So thanks. No more mushy stuff now. We made it home by 1:45 and I climbed in bed. Friday morning was rough. My boss wasn't expecting me, but I was a trooper and made it by 8:20 (8 is our supposed arrival time).

By this point, I hadn't told my parents and there's a reason for that. But I am too tired to explain that right now, so that will come tomorrow. Also in part 2 will be much more of a description what has been going through my head in the past week and a lot of realizations that I have come to in the last week. It's been quite a whirlwind, and I have come to understand certain things that I would never have really thought I needed to quite understand. That's confusing, but hopefully it will make sense after tomorrow's post.

still waiting,
-wait

I'm in

2006-05-11T22:16:00.000-04:00

I'm in.

Details to follow.

Bike shorts

2006-05-09T20:08:00.001-04:00

Hi there. I thought I should say something like "Welcome back to me" or something. It's been a good 9 days since I wrote anything. I also think the last time I wrote, I said I would try and write more... we all see how that went (not well, for those of you keeping tabs).

Here's the med school update: Nada. For the past 9 days I have heard absolutely nothing. No acceptances, no rejections, no fake acceptance email (cough cough Georgetown cough cough) and no emails whatsoever from schools. 7 weeks ago tonight, I was spending the night at the Hershey Lodge on the eve of my interview at Penn State... and I still haven't heard anything from them. They said 6-8 weeks however, so I right now I am in the middle of the window of opportunity. So while I am waiting impatiently for this, I can't be too over-zealous quite yet. Give me a week and we'll see how I am.

May 15th is next Monday, so I am hoping that some good news will come shortly. I guess that's all I really want to say about that. (Come on GW... Come on WVU... Come on GW... Come on WVU... etc. etc. etc.)

No joke this time around, but I do have a pretty funny picture someone from work sent me. The title of the email that the picture came from is: Why bicycle shorts are always BLACK!!!!

That's all I got.

still waiting,
-wait

Questions

2006-05-01T23:29:00.000-04:00

True to what I have said before, the process of applying to medical school goes through an ebb and flow process. While it had been a few days since I heard anything from schools until Saturday, there has now been 2 days (days where we receive mail at least) where I have heard news medical schools. Unfortunately the news is no different than what I heard on Saturday; this time the rejection comes from Jefferson in Philadelphia.

I moved the post-it notes on my wall tonight and realized I really only have 3 schools left to hear anything from - those being Drexel, MD and NYMC. And while I know I won't hear anything positive from these schools, a true feeling of nervousness set it in tonight - as I have said in the past, waitlists have never been positive for me, and by this point, I am not expecting anything better than a waitlist from Penn State. So that feeling of "oh crap" is starting to set in. And that scares me... a lot. Do I do this whole thing again? Do I put myself through this process again? If I do, what do I do for the next 12 months? People have started asking me the "What if..." questions and I haven't answered yet because I don't know. I don't know what I am going to do. I don't know if I am going to apply again. I don't know where I want to go. I don't know what to do with my life. For 5 years now I have had my eyes set on this goal, can I just give it up? Can I see myself doing something else?

These are some questions I think I need to start considering over the next few weeks. AMCAS 2007 opens up tomorrow meaning I can start filling out the application to medical school for a 4th year in a row, but am I truly ready for that?

As in the past, I don't like to end on such downer points, so here's another joke. An older businessman from Florida is in New York City on a business trip in the middle of a snowstorm in February. The man is walking on the sidwalk and slips on some ice and ends up breaking his hip. He obviously goes to the hospital and finds out he needs surgery to get it fixed and needs a screw placed in his hip to help it out. Shortly after the surgery, the businessman is back to normal and he gets a bill for $5,000 for his surgery. Enraged, the business man writes to the doctor asking for an itemized bill claiming he could have gone to the store and bought a screw for $1. The doctor writes back to the businessman with an itemized bill: 1. Screw: $1; 2. Knowing how to put the screw in: $4,999. Total: $5,000.

still waiting,
-wait

2 times the fun

2006-04-29T12:24:00.002-04:00

To begin, I have not posted in over a week and a half now. Why you may ask?? Well because I am lazy, and probably the more reasonable reason being that I have been going out a lot more in the recent weeks and when I get home its too late to make a post since all I want to do is go to sleep.

Another reason is that I have not posted is because I have not heard anything from medical schools in a while. So, the question is, why I am posting today? Is it because I finally have a minute or 2 to myself and wanted to share it with you all? Or is it because I finally heard something from a medical school? The title doesn't help you either because obviously I have been having some fun, but at the same time it could be a sarcastic referring to the fact that I have heard rejections from 2 medical schools.

The impetus for the post is the latter reason (while both are true). Way back in the fall I was notified by Albany that I was in the "Hold" category and on April 25th, my status "has been changed to 'no interview' " (directly from the letter). I also recieved a letter from Temple University saying that my application has been withdrawn from further consideration considering that they received over 8400 applications for 180 spots.

The first school I can kind of understand - I have no real tie to the state of NY. I am not even sure if I would want to be in Albany NY for a few years. I really don't know much about the school. The second one I do not understand completely. And for that matter, I just don't understand this process as a whole... I was interviewed at EVMS, Temple, NYMC and Maryland last year. Not one of those schools has offered me an interview this year and while 2 of them have not officially rejected me (NYMC and MD), I am pretty confident that I will not be receiving an interview. So I guess I just do not understand how this all works. Last year I was good enough for these places (MD is a top 25 school I think... and schools like NYMC, Temple and EVMS are not in the same strata) but this year I am not even though I did complete my Master's and have gotten clinical experience which admittedly is (was?) my weakest area of my application.

Instead of dwelling on the past, however, I definitely need to continue looking to the future and the prospects that are still in front of me. First and foremost, it has now been 5 and a half weeks since I interviewed at Penn State and during the interview, they indicated that it normally takes 6-8 weeks to hear a decision, however due to the time of year it may be a little bit sooner (ie: any day now). I also am waiting patiently on the waitlists at both GW and WVU, where May 15 is a very important date with waitlists. I just did a quick check on whether or not I have said why May 15 is an important date and I don't think I have so... May 15 is important because it is the date that everyone who has been accepted to medical school can hold a seat at only one medical school. So for those who are very smart and have been accepted to multiple schools (ie: not me) they have to tell all but one school "no" by this date. Therefore, there are a lot of schools that get said no to and thus spots open up for those of us holding out on waitlists.

So being that tomorrow is the end of April, I should be hearing some things in May and it could be a pretty big month (either way) Or it could be that I will just wait away another month, especially if Penn State sticks me on their waitlist, which is what I expect.

I will try and post a little more frequently. I know all 3 of you reading this have missed my wittiness.

still waiting,
-wait

SLU

2006-04-20T17:07:00.001-04:00

Today I got rejected from Saint Louis University School of Medicine. No worries, I'm not that concerned really. Rejections hurt yes, but SLU is one of those schools that I just sorta kinda threw in at the last minute. I have kept the wall updated with my post its but haven't posted that lately so I will do that now.

I also wanted to give my take on the Duke lacrosse scandal. But I don't feel like doing that right now, maybe I will in the next couple days. It's something I feel pretty strong about and I have become very annoyed with what has happened.

Golf, Memorial, Baseball, and Easter

2006-04-16T23:37:00.000-04:00

As I said last week, I headed home this weekend and the weekend turned into something where I didn't really stop running from the time I got home. Ian and I left work a little early (3) and headed up good ole 95 towards Baltimore. The drive went really well until the DC beltway. Then it took us 1.5 hours to go 5 miles on the beltway. We ended up not getting to Baltimore until a little after 7, and we headed to a lit driving range because we needed to do something after spending over 4 hours in the car. Amazingly, I was hitting the ball really well, and had more good shots than bad ones (which is a rarity). We then went and saw an amazing movie - Thank you for Smoking. I completely suggest this movie if you are even thinking about it. I thought it was superbly done, and definitely shows how if the right spin is put on it, anything is believable.

Saturday morning I headed to the memorial service for Mr. Seigman. Admittedly, this was a lot harder than expected. About 7 people talked during the service, and all but two were obviously choked up in what they had to say. It was no more than 2 weeks ago that Mr. Seigman was walking the halls of McDonogh laughing and joking, and now that is his eternal resting place (not the halls, but the columbarium on campus). Definitely a moving morning - I'm still not sure I believe that he is gone. As I was leaving, I walked up to his classroom and while things have changed in the 7 years since I graced his classroom with my presence, not much has changed and I still felt his presence.

To let out some frustration I headed back to the driving range and got some more good hits out. After that it was off to Camden Yards to watch a pretty good game between the Orioles and Angels. Eric Bedard is going to be something truly magical if he can stay healthy. I believed in him a lot last year as his ERA for the first month and a half was hovering around 2, but then he got injured and the Orioles started their slide down after he went on the DL. Overall though, the game went really well, and of course that is probably because the Orioles won.

Ian and I went to church this morning and we were really surprised at going in there as they were taking tickets. Tickets to church. And we didn't have them. The guy was nice enough to let us in - but I was thinking about it today - what if he hadn't? Would they really turn someone away from going to church? Ok ok, I understand the need to have some sort of crowd control on Easter sunday - there are lots of people who go to church on Christmas and Easter, and every church only has so many seats. And considering the church already has enough people to seat 5 services on a weekend, the extra people showing up on Easter may cause some sort of unmanageable influx, but is it really necessary to have tickets to attend church? Isn't there a better way than this? I'm not upset at this, it just raised a few questions.

We then headed off to a gathering of my extended family (parents in florida) and I got to see my sister, all the cousins, second cousins (I think thats what they are to me... my cousins kids) aunts, uncles and my grandmother. There is never a dull moment when we get together and today was no different. Finally, after a mere 2 hours and 20 minutes in the car, we made it back to Richmond.

So there's the play by play of the weekend. In case you wanted to know.

still waiting,
-wait

Georgetown and home

2006-04-13T21:15:00.001-04:00

I got home and found 2 different emails in my inbox, both from the admission office at Georgetown. I was in fact rejected from Georgetown in early January, so to see email from them was somewhat surprising. What shocked me was the subject of the first email which read "Information for Accepted Applicants". And then the second email had the subject "Email message error..." so I knew something was up. These emails were sent about an hour apart, and therefore, had I been getting email at work, I would have seen the first email about being accepted and probably would have been very confused, and really wondering and hoping. I have grown immune to a lot that goes on in this process and when things don't go my way, it's not like I don't get upset, but I definitely try not to get bitter. But it is situations like these where schools need to be a little bit more concerned with applicants and the way they are treated in this process. We have all worked so hard to even make it this far, giving schools all that we can, with lots and lots of respect (well most of us). I do realize this is a mistake, and they are just as human as you and me, so maybe I shouldn't be so cynical; it's just been a long 3 years.

I definitely won't be posting over the next few days - I am headed home tomorrow for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is Easter. Last year I was in Florida with my parents for Easter, but that is the last time I really remember being with family for Easter. So going home for that will be kind of cool. For those of the Christian and Jewish faiths, this marks one of the holiest weeks of the year. This week is Passover for the Jewish people, and for the Christian people it is the week where the prophesy of Jesus was fulfilled. I have always found these next few days in the Christian calendar in such opposition - Good Friday is the day Jesus was killed, and Easter Sunday is the most joyous day in the Christian calendar.

Now if I only knew how the Easter bunny fit in to the whole scheme.

Happy Easter!

Still waiting,
-wait

Gettin' Siggy with it

2006-04-10T19:20:00.000-04:00

You know, it's funny. There are times in my life (and I am sure yours) where one event shakes your life and makes you realize there is a lot more than going to work, hitting some golf balls, eating dinner and going to bed. Unfortunately for me, this event usually is someone dying. And, if you couldn't figure it out, this happened today with one of my mentors from high school passing away. My AP Bio teacher, Mr. Seigman, passed away this morning of a heart attack, and this is something that is effecting me a little bit more than expected. He had been at McDonogh for about 37 years and he will be sorely missed by everyone there.

This man is someone who got me really excited about science, and is one of my influences for entering medicine - though he wasn't a doctor, he is someone who taught me so much in the world of science and to truly what being a scientist means. He taught me how to be a better studier and a better person in general. He is someone who was strong in his faith, and taught me much about how someone can really reconcile faith with modern science and evolution.

As one of my influences to go into medicine, I was really excited to be able to tell him that I was going to be a doctor, and now I won't have that chance.

So no longer we will be gettin' Siggy with it. Rest in peace.

Here's the site from my school (sorry for the copied image)

Tulane and CrossOver

2006-04-03T11:54:00.000-04:00

This makes 4 days in a row (not including Sunday) and 5 out of 6 that I have heard stuff from medical schools. When it rains it pours, I guess. Speaking of raining, we had a really sweet thunderstorm tonight. One of my absolute loves is (are?) thunderstorms. The power they have, the bolts of lightning, claps of thunder, and the intense rains is just amazing. I would take good thunderstorm anyday. I was driving home from work and I just watched the storm roll in; one part of the sky was clear as day, the other half was black. And on the leading edge of the clouds, there was this line of white clouds that really just added even more mystery to the storm.

But back to the medical schools. After running in from the rain, I found an evelope from Tulane. Being that it is April 3rd, anything except a rejection would be a complete surprise from any school. However, Tulane is a little different. If you have been a consistent reader, you might remember that I mailed my application to Tulane on August 26th, and even if you haven't been a consistent reader, you might remember a storm named Katrina that tore the city apart. Needless to say, the application I mailed found it's way to some mailroom for a number of months when I assumed it was lost at sea. Using that assumption, I mailed a second application to the school, where the promptly cashed my check - then in late November, the first application I sent finally made it's way to the admissions office, and that check was also cashed. (These checks were $95 a piece).

When I first saw that both checks had been cashed, I called the office (this was in November) and asked if I could get refunded for one of those, to which they said of course, it might just be a couple months. This is completely understandable seeing as everything that their school has undergone; I completely sympathize with their situation. Now like I said, I have been expecting a rejection letter, but I was hoping I would at least see the refund first. But no, the letter I received today was, in fact, a rejection letter. Maybe this is just me feeling bitter, but if they can find it in their hearts to send me a rejection, can't they find it in them to refund my money?

I mean, maybe I shouldn't be bitter because I am not sure I can really comprehend everything they lost, and that 95 is lost to me anyways -- it's been out of my bank account for a number of months, and I have made do without it for this long. But at the same time, why should I have to spend $190 to get rejected from a school?

(end rant)

I went to Crossover today and I this is one of those days where I feel like I actually felt like I helped someone. There are a lot of days in the office when I feel like I have done something good, and that usually comes when I talk to someone on the phone and try to ease their pain as they see that they might actually be able to get healthcare. But today was different. I was working on a project (side note: as I write this, I just remember that I left everything I was working on and didn't clean it up before I left... so there I left 3 piles of papers by a computer as I was trying to pull labs.... oh well, I don't think those papers really make the landscape too different)

So one of the PA's asks me if I can help her figure out the TTY system (for the hard of hearing) for a patient who is going to need some help as the patient had just had a laryngectomy (the larynx has been removed so she cannot talk). So I end up calling a group called Virginia relay which runs the service, and then to the VDDHH (Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) and find out that this patient can get a free TTY phone and I give her directions to the place, and everything she needs to do in order to obtain her system. After we finished discussing (well after I finished talking) she just looked at me and mouthed the words thank you to me, and I could see that she was sincerely grateful for all that I had done. Thinking about it later, I realized that through 2 simple phone calls, I was going to help this lady lead a life that is somewhat normal in that she will be able to make phone calls. It is experiences like these that make my days at Crossover truly worthwhile. I feel like I am truly helping someone that is having so much trouble getting by (her yearly income was deporable... the monthly rent of my house last year in DC was more than she makes in a year).

As I write this, I can't help but think that this may come off as somewhat egotistical, but I really don't hope you all see it that way. It just made me feel good to help someone get back to some sort of normalcy; and it is this reason that I really want to enter medicine because I know that is what I want to do with my life. There have been many of these moments at Crossover, I just felt like talking about that one.

Also, if you are in the Richmond area, Crossover is putting on a 5k to help support them. If you want information on that, let me know. Also, if you aren't in Richmond and want to donate to an amazing cause, let me know and I can hook you up with some information.

still waiting,
-wait

10K and WVU

2006-04-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

Before noon today, yes a Saturday, 2 things had happened. I guess what makes this weirder is the last 2 Saturdays I have woken up at 11:45 and didn't get out of bed until after noon. Anyways, 1 is that I ran the Monument Ave 10k here in Richmond and 2 is I received another letter from WVU regarding my waitlist status.

First, the 10k. I've run this race now 5 years in a row, and with regard to my previous post, my time did fall even further. The actual race results aren't posted yet, but according to my watch, I ran it in 58:10, which over 2 minutes slower than last year. That works out to be 9:23 mile pace. I am not too pleased with that, especially considering I know that I can do better. I guess overall I should be rather happy with it because I really didn't do any running leading up to the race, except a run every now and then. The race is a pretty fun race -- there were over 20,000 runners and people along the whole way cheering you along. It's basically and out and back run up Monument Ave, which is a street here in Richmond lined with southern Civil War heroes and Arthur Ashe. (Was tennis even a sport during the 1860's?)

My goal next year is to race it again -- and to actually head back into the 40's. Knocking over 8 minutes off a 10k time would be pretty sweet and if I get into medical school, I will be running more as a stress relief.

On arriving home, the mailman was walking around with our mail (delivering it, not just walking around aimlessly) and he dropped off a letter from WVU School of Medicine. This letter informed me that I am in a small group that is on the waitlist. The letter told me to contact them as well, and that there is a possibility that I can be taken off the waitlist anytime between now and when orientation starts in August. So this adds another dimension to this process by being in yet another small group that could possibly be accepted anytime betweeen now and orientation. Of course to add yet another dimension, I am still waiting to hear word from Penn State. The next few weeks will probably be pretty huge.

I am real tired now from the race, and Saturday is my day for sleeping in and since I didn't change my alarm from yesterday morning (6:50) it is obvious I haven't gotten the sleep that I need. Tonight is the semifinals for the tourney... I am rooting hardcore for GMU... there were a bunch of people at the race today who had GMU shirts on, and I would yell to them and they would get a huge smile on there face and yell back PATRIOTS!

I just need to get some sleep before I can muster the energy to go out watch the game.

still waiting,
-wait

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

2006-03-31T17:10:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-31T00:37:00.000-05:00

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

GMU and my weekend

2006-03-27T22:35:00.000-05:00

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.

2 more things

2006-03-24T18:48:00.000-05:00

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.

PSU Interview (and Tufts)

2006-03-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

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 /2^nd /3^rd /4^th 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.

Untitled.

2006-03-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

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!

Weather, bball and PSU

2006-03-15T01:47:00.000-05:00

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

PSU

2006-03-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-10T12:18:00.001-05:00

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

Cincinnati and Kirby

2006-03-06T22:07:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-06T09:12:00.001-05:00

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.

On waiting

2006-03-04T15:32:00.000-05:00

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

Let's Make a Deal

2006-03-01T21:43:00.001-05:00

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

South Dakota

2006-02-25T17:20:00.001-05:00

Well, the South Dakota legislature has decided to rock the boat. In a vote on Friday afternoon, South Dakota's House passed the abortion ban 50-13. As it has passed both the Senate and theHouse, all that is left is for Governor Rounders to sign it into law. If (When) the governor signs it, the law will go into effect July 1st. This will obviously raise an outcry from the left and enjoyment from the right, while putting to test the "new" Supreme court.

I went to check up on the comment about "Girl Next Door" by Saving Jane (my bad on the mis-reference) and I typed into google "Girl Next Door." Definetely one of those times where I did not think about the ramifications of such a search. It's a good thing I decided to do that on my home computer and not a work computer because of the links that popped up. (I am too funny)

still waiting,
-wait

1000!

2006-02-24T00:29:00.001-05:00

I had this really great idea at work today about what I was going to post on tonight. In fact, it was so great, that I have forgotten exactly what it is. So I am going to start typing out some thoughts, and maybe it will come to me.

Many of you have may have noticed that I have put a counter on my blog (it's at the right for those of you who may be somewhat oblivious) and I have had it up for about a little over 4 weeks and today I eclipsed the 1000 views mark. Admittedly some of those are probably me checking to make sure the post looks how I want it (the pictures get tricky, and don't always come out the same way as in the preview) But to have the readership is pretty sweet. The most hits I have had in 1 day is 53 and that has actually occured twice, the most recent being Monday (which is probably in response to the 2 posts that were close together) and the other day I had 53 visits was on February 12th, following my incredible game of Hearts.

Thanks for keeping the readership up... I try to make this at least somewhat entertaining. If anyone has any ideas for what I can do better, please let me know; otherwise I will keep on trucking like I have been in hopes of giving you a smile throughout your work/school/whatever else day.

The Olympics are drawing to a close this coming weekend, and I guess I am pretty sad about this. It really has been pretty great to be able to turn the TV on at any time during the day and catch something regarding the Olympics. I will be excited to actually use ESPN.com again, but part of me also wants to hold a grudge against them for what they did to me by releasing the results early. But where else would I go? cnnsi.com? Ehhhh can't say I am a fan.

OH. I just remember what I was going to post on (see, I knew if I rambled enough I'd remember). In a story that I don't think is getting enough press (especially considering the conservative nature of it and the liberal lean of the media), the South Dakota Senate passed a bill which, if signed, would ban abortions in the state except if the mother's health is in danger. Maybe the lack of press is due to the fact that it still needs to pass South Dakota's House and then the governor needs to sign it. But with the governor being a conservative, the House is essentially the last step before South Dakota bans abortions. This of course will be challenged, with Planned Parenthood leading the way. This is the story I got my information from.

So what do I think about this? Like I said, I think it should be getting more press. I also feel the law is way too conservative to not even include legal abortions in the case of rape or incest. Working at an OB/GYN office, I have seen numerous reports (operative reports, pathology reports etc etc ) on abortions, whether spontaneous (miscarraige) or termination of pregnancies. I believe this to be a very sad event and I do not feel mothers take the latter decision very lightly (they have no choice in the former). I do have my opinion on this subject, however I'd rather not post it in such a public forum. And really, that's about all I want to say about that, I just wanted to make you all aware of the beginnings of a probable major challenge to Roe v Wade, and with the 2 new justices on the court, it could pose for a somewhat exciting (take that either good or bad) times in our legal system.

I also had a pretty sweet weekend last weekend (I realize tomorrow starts another weekend). Shina came to town, and we hung out some, and Dan brought his new girlfriend Carin in to town so we all (Shina, Brad, Max, Jess, Rich, Ellyn and I) could meet her. Bdubs for dinner and drinks at Brads afterwards Saturday night, and an afternoon on Carytown (eating my first Vegan meal at Harrison St. Cafe). Annnnnnnd then I had an awesome Sunday night getting to hang out with Brian (bwebb) and Katie (his girlfriend, who I have affectionately labeled "Katie (BWebb)" in my phone and have heard an earful about that ever since she figured that one out.) I also got to see Jacob and Joann while we dined at the fine establishment that is Friendly's (don't knock it, they have some awesome ice-cream).

So those are my rambles for the time being. If you noticed, there were no ramblings about medical schools and the admissions process regarding it. And you know what that means? There is NOTHING to post about it. With each passing day of no more interview invites, that lessens my chance of being offered another interview. And it also means that this waiting game is definetely going to be in for the long run as I wait out these waitlists during this summer. It's hard to imagine that I need do more of this "waiting." I'm in a halfway decent mood right now, so I am gonna stop writing about this so I don't depress myself.

I can't end on that note, so I will end on this joke I read yesterday:
A vet is at his doctor's office for some sort of sickness. The doctor does his physical exam, and begins asking the vet questions about where he hurts, how long he has felt sick trying to establish what is wrong the patient. The vet grows impatient at the doctor's inquisition and says "Doctor, why are you taking this long? I can look at my patients, determine what is wrong with them, give them medicine and they are out the door." The doctor then stops talking, takes a look at the patient, scribbles out a prescription and gives it to the vet while saying "Here try this medicine, but if it doesn't work, we'll have to put you down"

still waiting
-wait

Snow

2006-02-20T09:19:00.000-05:00

Today is one of the days that I volunteer at Crossover - I do this every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for those of you who have forgotten... It is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons and all day Thursday and Friday that I work at the OB/GYN office.

I woke up at 730 as normal for today; I was especially groggy as I didn't even get home until 1AM and fell asleep at 2. I hopped in the shower thinking that I wanted to be back in bed. After the shower I came back to my room and turned on the TV in hopes of finding some Olympic coverage as I got ready for the morning. At the bottom of the screen, there were weather delays with some of the county schools around the area closed, and most of them opening 2 hours late. I opened my shade and found the ground completely covered in snow. As I watched the Today show (no Olympics were on and I really wanted to see the weather) the coverage switched to the Local channels. The first report was obviously the snow and I know Richmond goes crazy when it snows, but today was ridiculous. They said there were about 5 accidents on 95 between here and Ashland (basically where the OB/GYN office is) and there were also sixty (60!) accidents between here and Virginia Beach on 64 (which is a 100 mile stretch). And then that doesn't even include all the other accidents around town.

Well I didn't think much of this, and thought since this Crossover is a doctor's office, it would pretty hard pressed to close. So I eventually make my way down to the clinic only to find out that it isn't opening until 10AM... which would mean I would be there for an hour (I am not going back). It was pretty annoying to find that out when I got there, as opposed to finding out before I showered or even before I left. And see the thing is, the roads I drove on were absolutely fine. I saw a little bit of slush on one of the side roads, but otherwise they were just wet. I mean I guess I am happy I can just sit around this morning, but I'd rather never have woken up.

I simply can't believe how much this city freaks out when it snows. Wow.

Music and the Turin Games

2006-02-18T18:26:00.001-05:00

I feel like it is getting to that point in the year when the schools I still have not heard from will start rejecting me. This generally means that I made it past some sort of initial arbitrary cut, however I was not good enough to interview. Basically I was probably on the cusp of being interviewed, but the admissions committee found just enough better people to interview instead of me. So the next few weeks could be interesting in terms of the rejections that I get.

Yesterday I decided to listen to Q94 (a top 40 station). The main reason is because I really wanted to see how often they repeated songs. When I listen to them just driving around Richmond I have noticed that they repeat songs on a fairly regular basis which I tend to find annoying. I listened from 10-4 yesterday (yes, 6 hours) and I took a poll of the songs that they played. And here are the results:

Because of You, Kelly Clarkson - 1
Saving Me, Nickelback - 2
Photograph, Nickelback - 2
You and Me, Lifehouse - 2
We Belong Together, Mariah Carey - 2
Behind These Hazel Eyes, Kelly Clarkson - 4
Girl Next Door, Kelly Clarkson - 4
Unwritten, Natasha Bedingfield - 5

I would also like to point out that Fridays on Q94 are "Flashback Fridays" and because of that they often play older songs (anyone remember Mmm Mmm Mmm by Crash Test Dummies?)

This might also be one of my favorite websites showing how bad Nickelback really is. Make sure you sound is on, and it kind of helps if you have headphones (though not necessary)

So in those 6 hours, SIX, Kelly Clarkson has 9 songs! (PS I am outraged, not happy). But this got me thinking. Does this radio station suck that much? Or does music these days really rely on such things as American Idol? Think about it. This girl was an absolute nobody before American Idol and this show transformed her into a pop icon. I guess that says a lot about the show... I guess its warming to know that given the right opportunities, anyone can be anything.

One thing I am pretty surprised about is that Amercian Idol has gotten better ratings than the Olympics. I can honestly say that I have never watched a complete episode of American Idol (I say that because I have seen clips) so maybe I do not understand what all the fuss is about, but to have that show beat the Olympics in coverage is something I am real shocked by. I attribute this fact, however, not to American Idol being so popular (which it is undoubtedly popular) but more to the lackluster coverage by NBC. I see 2 major problems to the coverage, only one of which is NBC's fault. I cannot fault them for the way ABC/ESPN have completely sabotaged the results by broadcasting them right after they actually occur as opposed to when they are shown here in the States. That is not their fault.

Where I do find fault is the way the Olympics are presented. I feel that in order for them to get better ratings for their primetime showings they need to not be so ADD with what they show. They start with figure skating, then jump to snowboarding, then to luge, back to figure skating, off to skeleton, back to snowboarding etc. etc etc. The one sport I can't stand is figure skating, so when that comes on, I change the channel. What they need to do is package sports together and show it all at once. I don't think going back on forth trying to hold viewers can really work for 3 and a half hours especially when everyone does not like the same sports. If they were to put the sports together, then they could advertise what time they will be on and that way they could get more viewers because they wouldn't lose people when they switch sports. And then if they were really smart, they would put the more popular sports on when the biggers shows are airing (Like put all of snowboard cross on when American Idol is airing so then viewers really have to choose). They need to realize they will not get all the top spots for the entire 3 and a half hours that the Olympics are shown in primetime. They said the Olympics will either make or break NBC, and I get the feeling so far they are breaking it. Of course we won't truly find out until after the games when NBC returns to its normal programming and then check out viewership rates from there.

I should be an NBC executive. I would get them back on top.

I hope you all took my advice and watched the Women's Boardercross - American Lind sey Jacobellis (right) tried to showboat on the final stretch (she claims she was unbalanced) and instead of easily taking the gold, she fell on her rear and got silver. In curling, the American men are doing amazing - they play 9 matches round-robin style and right now they are 5-2 which puts them in really good positioning to make the medal round of curling. I would absolutely LOVE to see them win gold. I also am rooting completely against Bode Miller. I was happy to see his DQ in the combined (though upset that one of my coworkers told me about) and that he came in 5th in the downhill. Men's SuperG is tonight, so I am hoping he doesn't medal again.

Hopefully the Olympics will remain exciting this week. (Although its hard for me not to get caught up in the competition of any sport I watch, so I think I will find some excitement out of it)

still waiting
-wait

Olympics and other

2006-02-16T22:37:00.000-05:00

I am sorry for the length between the most recent post and this one. I really have no excuse. And I won't make one. Our internet is back, but thanks to the people next door we never really lost it (albeit we were stealing their wireless internet... and I do that in Baltimore, so I don't feel any remorse).

There has been no update on the med school process. I have received no correspondance from medical schools since last Thursday's waitlist letter from WVU. I mailed a letter to the dean of admissions at WVU this weekend just as a courtesy thank you for not rejecting me (even though you didn't accept me) and that went out Monday, which means she probably got it today -- if mail from Richmond to Morgantown is as slow as from Morgantown to Richmond.

I am actually doing surprisingly really well with this waitlist -- that is to say I do not feel the need to stay in bed from the time I get home from work until I have to leave for work the next morning like when I was waitlisted at GW. That tells me one of 2 things. One is that the GW waitlist got me over the shock effect of yet another waitlist. Since I thought I had a really good shot of getting into GW I was devasted to get the waitlist which I tend to think numbed me to the next waitlist from WVU. I think the 2nd reason might have to be the fact that I prefer GW to WVU and while I was disappointed with the WVU waitlist, I have this hope that I might still get into GW.

I have become an Olympic junky. I cannot get enough of the Olympics. Whether it is cross country skiing, downhill, combined, ice hockey or 1 of my 2 favorite sports curling and boardercross the olympics are pretty much always on. I have one huge rant, however and that is the fact that ESPN.com has been ruining the Olympics. I have gone to said webpage and they have headlines on who has been winning. For instance on Sunday, the headline in the right box was "Flying Tomato is Golden" (meaning Shaun White won gold in the halfpipe) and the main headline was "Last out of gate wins downhill" (referring to the French guy who won the downhill). On macs if you press F12 you get all sorts of options, and today Ian pressed that to look for something and one of the pages he has is espn.com headlines telling who won the boardercross. I currently have an espn.com boycott from 7:30AM until 11:30PM when I have watched the Olympics.

Boardercross is an amazing sport. If you didn't get the chance to watch it today, check out the women (They go tomorrow). I bring this up because the final is on right now. So I am going to stop typing for a minute or 2 to watch, then I will post the results. I am hoping Seth Westcott wins (he's the American).

Ok, that was an AMAZING race. Seth did win gold on a pretty sweet move in one of the later turns to overtake Zidek . The finish was real close too. Great Olympic premiere.

Well that's about all I feel like saying now.

I also don't feel like reading this over, so there may be mistakes (probably are)

still waiting,
-wait

Hearts

2006-02-12T16:47:00.000-05:00

Foreward: I realize how much of a nerd I am with this post. And in case you didn't know how much of a nerd I am, you can see that now. Enjoy.

When our internet goes out, I get to start playing with stuff that is actually on my computer, as opposed to wasting endless amounts of time in hopes of one day reaching the end of the internet. I believe that to actually be an impossibility, however it is a goal that I often strive to go for. Every once in awhile, I feel like I may have accomplished my goal, however I then remember Facebook offers an endless amount of excitement, seeing who my friend’s friends are friends with to see if I can actually make a link to someone from my past, or to see how big circles of friends are.

However, the reason I am posting is because our internet is out (I am posting through our neighbors internet connection which my computer connects to when I am in my living room, and its not constant) and I have just gotten through a rousing game of Hearts. The competitive spirit in me ALWAYS wants to win, ie: come in first and have all 3 players behind me; and when I can’t, I feel as though I am a failure since I cannot beat the computer at Hearts. I just finished one game (impetus for this post) where I thought I was going down since the first hand I received the queen, garnering all 13 points that entails. I picked up 4 more hearts on the next round, which ultimately saved us, since without my 4, Pauline would have shot the moon, which would have doomed Michele, Ben and I to a HUGE deficit. I held steady on the next hand gaining no points, however the 4^th round boosted me up to a whopping 38 points, which was actually 3^rd place since at this point, as Pauline had 42. Michele was a very strong leader with a mere 5 points, and Ben was right in the middle with 20. Over the next 2 rounds, I held steady at 38, with Ben picking up the majority of points, leaping to 41, Pauline picked up a few to 45 and Michele held very strong, picking up 1 to be at 6.

Pauline fell off quickly over the next 2 rounds, taking a huge jump to 81, Ben also made a jump to 52, while I picked up a few to 42. Unfortunately, Michele got 1 heart, taking her total to 7. At this point, I felt I was doomed since Michele was beating me by 35 and Pauline was knocking on the door to losing since she was a mere 19 points away. I continued on, however, and in the next round, Ben picked up the majority jumping to 69. Pauline picked up 5, and Michele broke the double digits by getting 4 on her way to 11. I steadied the ship, staying at 42.

In the next round, Michele uncharacteristically took a queen and a couple hearts making her go to 25. I, again, got no hearts, and Pauline picked up 1 taking her ever so closer to 100, ultimately spelling out my doom. Ben, however jumped on Pauline’s heels by picking up 11 on his way to 80. The next round truly made a competition out of the game. For the 3^rd round in a row, I picked up zero points, and for the second round in a row, Michele took the queen and a heart, bringing her to with 3 points of me. At this point I became a little more optimistic in my chances of winning this game of Hearts. Since Michele took the queen and one heart, that helped my effort by not allowing Ben and Pauline to reach 100, allowing for one more round. Pauline ended up taking 11 hearts in the round reaching 98. Ben finished the round with 81.

This is all of course set up for what should be the final hand, assuming Pauline would take her typical quantity of hearts. Thus, I needed to make sure Michele got 4 hearts so that I could win. In my hand I received the queen, which I promptly passed left. As the tricks were being dealt, I kept wondering when Pauline was going to deal it, and when she finally did, who was there to pick it up? Michele! Now all I needed was for Pauline to pick up 2 hearts, which she did. For the 4^th straight round, I picked up no hearts, while Michele picked up 13, Pauline picked up 7, and Ben had 6. The score flashed up with my name highlighted indicating my improbable comeback victory. Being down 35, with another contestant knocking on the door of 100, I thought this game was dunzo. But nonetheless, I kept playing smartly, tried to make Michele take the tricks, and in the end, I ended up victorious.

This just goes to show, that no matter how far down you are, no matter how much of a hole you are in, you can always get out of it by keeping your head about you, staying strong, and keeping to your gameplan.

Maybe there is a greater lesson in this simple game of hearts, or maybe it was just a way to waste a few minutes of my Sunday afternoon while watching coverage of the blizzard and the Olympics; either way, I staged a sweet comeback, that will live down in the lore of Hearts history (ok, so that’s a stretch).

Oh, this also means I won't be online all the time until our problem is fixed which hopefully will be sometime this week. But I'm not gonna hold my breath.

still waiting
-wait

And the verdict is...

2006-02-09T20:28:00.000-05:00

... a seemingly apropros response.

I received in the mail today yet another waitlist letter, this time from WVU. I am surprisingly not as upset as I thought I would be; perhaps this is because I know that there is a very small percentage of out of state applicants who get in to WVU, and maybe also perhaps because I am growing accustomed to this game of waiting. It will probably work out to be something like I will wait until May when I think I will here something only to wake up one morning and it will be near the end of July and realize that yet again, I wasn't good enough to get into med school.

Alright, well I am going to go watch some TV, maybe drink another beer, and just chillax.

still waiting (and wow how that's true),
-wait

Chick-fil-A and WVU (no news, just update)

2006-02-07T17:13:00.001-05:00

So there might be something better than free Panera and that is free Chick-Fil-A. And that is exactly what was served today at the office. You most definetely cannot go wrong with serving Chick-Fil-A to an office. Walking in and finding that was nothing short of amazing. I was so happy.

Although I wouldn't put it past me to post solely on food, there is another reason I am posting this afternoon. I called WVU on my way into the OB/GYN office around 1130-12. I actually put it together that the person I was calling shouldn't be giving the interview talk since they do not interview on Tuesdays. Therefore, I knew this would be a pretty good time to call. After psyching myself up to actually talk to a person since I now knew the number was a direct line, I dialed the number and after 2 rings she picked up. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi, my name is [I decided to take this out] and I interviewed in December and I was curious if I could get a status update for my application.

Her: Oh, hi. The letters were mailed out yesterday.

Me: Oh, wow, okay thanks so much.

Her: You're welcome.

[awkward silence]

Me: well, thanks and goodbye.

Her: Bye.

So short and sweet. But here's the wierd thing. When we she said the letters were mailed out, it definetely sounded like she was smiling. (I can always tell when people are smiling when they are talking on the phone). This threw me a little bit, so I couldn't work up the nerve to actually ask her if she could say anything as to whether or not she could tell me the decision on my application. Four (4) thoughts ran through my head as to why she smiling:

1. She knows I was rejected and can only think "aw, poor guy"
2. She knows I was waitlisted and can only think "he's got a lot of waiting to do, oh wow, thats like his name, haha"
3. She knows I was accepted and can only think "this guy is gonna be soooo happy soon."
4. She is thinking to herself "here is yet another poor soul wanting to get information out of me, mwuh ha ha haaa"

I feel like number 4 is actually closest to what she was actually thinking, though in my heart of hearts I hope it was number 3.

I am afraid that I bringing too much build up to this fateful day that I actually recieve a letter from WVU. I believe that I will be crushed if it is a rejection. I also know I will be pretty upset if it is a waitlist. (Do I really need to say how I'll feel if I get accepted?). So I am getting pretty nervous about this. I really do thank you all for your thoughts for me throughout this horrible waiting game and like I said after my GW waitlist, I don't need the pity party. I will be hard enough on myself (probably not a good thing).

whelp. here it goes

still waiting.
-wait

Heart Surgery and the Super Bowl

2006-02-07T00:23:00.001-05:00

So.

I might need heart bypass surgery by the time I am 25 in waiting for this mail to arrive from WVU. I guess it doesn't help that I keep bringing it up to other people, so they are expecting it, and when it doesn't come, it makes it that much harder to tell them it hasn't come. MaryAnn at CrossOver just looked at me today, and I gave the shrug of "I dunno" and she understood right off.

I was home alone for the most of Saturday, and because it was raining, I felt the need to watch Scrubs (I bought the DVD on Thursday night, and between Friday and Saturday I watched almost 10 epidoses. It's sick) and some other movies. Basically I needed an excuse to sit around and wait for the mailman. He made his normal rounds -- he walks the neighborhood -- and dropped off a letter and Ian's Financial Times. So althought I received nothing, I also gained relief in the fact that I could stop worrying for a whole 48 hours!!!!

But wait. As I am watching Scrubs, the mailman has gotten into his truck and pulled his little mail truck to right in front of our house. "Has he forgotten something?" I ask myself. "Maybe it was too big a letter to held in the regular mail, meaning its an acceptance letter." I then see him carrying a brown box. "Maybe WVU is really cool and mails you a package" (Ok, I know that last thought was a bit of a stretch, but still). So he rings the bell, I take hold of the package and quickly scan for a name: Ian [last name saved for privacy]. Stupid Ian and his duvet cover. I mean really. (sorry bud, haha). Now I know I can really wait 48 hours (well I guess 47 hours and 50 minutes, but who was couting?)

In what is a pretty peculiar occurence, I talked to someone on SDN (Student Doctor Network) for about an hour on Saturday afternoon, and found that he also has an interview at WVU. What is peculiar about it is that he lives probably less than a mile or 2 from my house in Richmond, went to VCU, is considering doing the Georgetown program, took the MCAT twice (we had the same score first time around, and one point difference 2nd time), very similar GPA's, went to high school with John Solano and I think that's about it. It's pretty wierd how small this world really can be. I thought that was interesting.

Changing topics... the Super Bowl. I was very tired of the coverage, not gonna lie. Yeah yeah, Jerome Bettis is going home. But lest you forget, I am a Baltimore Ravens fan, and though my dislike for the Steelers does not rank as high as the Yankees, it is up there. So by defualt, I wanted to see the Seahawks win. Having a Steelers fan in the house makes this somewhat more difficult, especially since he lives and dies by the Steelers. I will refrain from making any comments about the game except I believe the officials may need some off-season training.

I did like a few of the commercials, 2 of them Bud Light. The first was with the "streaker." A brief sypnosis for those who missed it. They had the 2 cowboys standing by the fenceposts watching the clydesdales playing football as in normal years. They then showed a group of sheep with full wool. And then you see this sheep that has been recently sheered squeeze out and just run all over the field. Admittedly it took me a couple seconds to recognize what exactly was happening, but that was part of the beauty of the commercial.

The second was another bud light. A guy is filling his fridge with Bud Light and his roommate comes in and asks how he is going to protect it from the other guys drinking it. The guy stocking it says no problem and hits a button (or pulls a lever, I forget which) and the wall spins around, and all of the sudden a table and 2 chairs appear, effectively hiding the fridge. The camera then pans across to the apartment next door, and a guy yells "come on guys, the magic fridge is back" and they then grab as many as they can. The Bud Light splash screen comes up, and then it shoots back to the guys who believe the fridge is magic, and you see them on their knees worshipping the what is now table and chairs.

There were a couple other commercials I liked. There was one of the "don't judge too quickly" but I forgot what it was... I just remember laughing, somewhat in shock as well.

One thing that is great... today marks the beginning of the next season. We are all 0-0 now. All with high aspirations of making it to the Super Bowl, with lots of people only to get their dreams dashed by the one extra interception, one dropped pass or a missed tackle, leading to the demise of an entire season.

So that's about all I have to say for now, I am really growing impatient. I am going to call WVU again tomorrow and try and figure things about. We'll see I guess.

still waiting,
-wait

Lost, Scrubs and State of the Union

2006-02-03T00:55:00.001-05:00

I'm posting again, which means no news from WVU. I know a few of you are really awaiting this decision and really pulling for me, so I just wanted to send out a general 'thank you.' And the waiting is killing you, just think what about it's doing to me :-p .

Also, I have really been a slacker with responding to emails lately. So if you have emailed me, I have gotten it, I just haven't felt too much like responding. I am not really sure why, but that's what's going on. So sorry if you have emailed and I haven't responded. I will try and get around to emailing you.

Anyways, 2 stories I can tell.

1. We (Ian Mike and I) had a problem with our rent checks in January, and since yesterday was the first I wanted to make sure our landlord got our money on time. So I decided to drive down to his house and drop off our rent. I googlemapped directions and I assumed that I was to take Boulevard across the river and get to the southside (sorry if you aren't from Richmond and have NO idea what I am talking about). So I cross the river, and long story short, I end up driving for about an hour on some really sketchy streets (47th wasn't exactly 'safe') I went all the way down to Hull St (by the one and only duck pin bowling place in Richmond), onto Chippenham Parkway, twice, and eventually decided to go back to my house and check the directions. It turned out that I wasn't supposed to cross the river and his house is a mere 10 minutes away basically across the street from Maymont. Yikes.

2. I have found a new show I love to watch. Scrubs. The show has an amazing amount of one-liners and Zach Braff is really awesome in this show. It comes on Tuesday nights on NBC at 9 o'clock and 9:30. I highly suggest it. And speaking of NBC, I hear that it is in 4th place, with Conan leading the "Strive for 5" campaign so that it actually falls under the WB so it will be the 5th "best" network. I have found myself watching more NBC than other stations however. I guess that is because Conan and Scrubs is on it and those are 2 shows I try to watch regularly. Grey's Anatomy is another show I watch on a regular basis... that's on ABC though, so maybe my theory is shot. But those are the only shows I really look forward to.

Ok, a 3rd story. And I might get political. I watched the State of the Union address the other night. As many of you know I am not really into the whole political thing. I think its mostly my disillusionment with the political system and I really can't stand the partisanship that exists. This was highly evident in the President Bush's address with the whole clapping/standing thing. I can't say that I have ever really liked Bush, but I have to say on Tuesday he said a couple things that I actually agreed with, that being the need for some sort of reform for the healthcare system and the need to pursue other forms of energy while getting out of the middle east for oil. One thing I don't get, however, is the fact that congress just passed a bill to reduce healthcare spending by $39 billion, where the passage was highly partisan and with the republicans holding the majority the bill actually passed. I understand that Bush wants to keep the tax cuts permanent and he needs to reduce the deficit (which I believe to be a bit of an oxy-moron) and he apparently wants to do this by cutting healthcare spending, when he explicitly said he wants to help the healthcare spending. Maybe I am confused and if so, I don't care to be corrected, feel free. I just feel his words aren't being supported by the actions of the congress that is supposedly supporting him.

Bush also mentioned putting limits on medical liability; I concur. I am entering the profession and this is something that I think is very important if America wants to keep healthcare and not drive every doctor out of business.

Truth be told, I dozed off during the terror part of his speech (ie: the first half). So I don't know much about that.

I also watched the democratic response, and I have to say the governor of the great state of Virginia (Kaine) looked pretty much like a stiff. My biggest complaint of his speech is that he was accusing Bush about energy stuff, saying that we need to stop relying on the middle east. Didn't Bush say that in his speech? Again, maybe I am confused.

All told, Tuesday night showed me again why my main interest does not lie in politics. I feel it is a battle of rhetoric, where each side needs to be walking a fine line so as to not piss the other side off, but they still manage to do so because everyone feels such at odds with everything. You either love or hate either side (or in my case, I am indifferent).

Ok, I am done with political stuff. I can't talk about it anymore because it makes my head hurt. And I think I am done for now.

Here's to another day of waiting patiently by the phone at work for one of my roommates to call and let me know if the WVU mailed me a letter. hooray.

still waiting,
-wait

Conan and anticipation

2006-01-31T00:23:00.002-05:00

This morning I sent out letters to all of the medical schools that I am waiting to hear from, along with the schools I am on a pre-interview hold. The letter is pretty much the same letter to each school, I just switched the names, and scoured the websites to find one or 2 "unique" tidbits about each school to which I was writing. Hopefully one (or more) of these schools will the sincerity of my last ditch effort to score an interview.

I had these letters in the mailbox to go out, and when Ian came home from class today, he pulled them all out of the mailbox thinking it was the mail for the day. He said he looked through them all and was pretty shocked at the amount of mail from med schools I got today, thinking it was a pretty big weekend. And then he realized that my name was in the return address and the schools name was in the "To:" section of the envelope. Thankfully, he put them back in the mailbox, and the mailman took them away. (Presumably to their destination). The mailman didn't deliver any news to me today, which is kind of good considering I would feel pretty dumb mailing off the letter on the day I got rejected from the school.

Tomorrow, President Bush gives his State of the Union address. While I will be somewhat interested in what he has to say about Healthcare Reform, I am more excited for Late Night with Conan O'Brien's State of the Show address (at least that's what it should be). This would probably be the best annual event Conan puts on. I say best annual event, because the best Conan ever was the episode where he had U2 on and devoted the entire show to them. That might have been the most amazing 60 minutes of television. Conan and U2. Ah-mazing. That is where the background of my computer comes from, which I posted a few posts ago. Long story short, watch Conan tomorrow night, it will be funny.

In related Conan news, he was invited to Finland after his endorsement of Tarja Halonen (who coincidentally won the election) I expect them to come back with some hilarious sketches in Finland, especially considering the resemblance he bears to the president.

Alright, enough Conan, and enough typing.

I should be hearing from WVU this week. If I get rejected or waitlisted, I will probably be upset and not post right away. If I get accepted I will probably be too excited and too busy on the phone and doing whatever else that I won't post right away. That being said, if I don't post for a few more days, that doesn't mean anything good or bad happened with WVU, so don't read into it. The anticipation is killing me. I digress. (I added that because my sister gets really upset when I say "I digress" because I apparently do that too much)

still waiting,
-wait

Drexel and Meds at Crossover

2006-01-24T17:28:00.001-05:00

I've had a pretty long about 30 hours now. For awhile, I've known that Darci (who lives in California) had an interview at Drexel in Philadelphia today. And for the past about week, Erin had been bugging me to drive up to DC on Monday afternoon, so that I could accompany her to go to Philly to visit Darci. I was mixed on it for a few days because that would have meant 1.5 hours driving to DC, then about 3 more to Philly, and then of course I had to get back.

At 1130 yesterday morning, I decided to go for it. So I high tailed it out of Richmond so that I could make it to DC by 1, so that we could pick up Darci at the airport in Philly. We also stopped in Baltimore to pick up Nimmi (she works at Hopkins). Darci knew that those 2 were coming, but had no idea about me. So we're driving up to the airport (and considering who all was involved, we were late) and Nimmi is on the phone with her saying she is getting out of the car to meet her. When in reality, it was me getting out of the car to Darci's shock because she didn't think I would be stupid enough to make the drive. I decided to do it mainly to see Darci, but also to get a little bit of a break from Richmond. I've been feeling pretty low about all this crap lately, and I thought an afternoon of meeting up with Georgetown friends might be the ticket.

We eventually make our way over to Drexel at around 430 and I had the idea that since we were there, to go into the admissions office and ask about our (Nimmi and my) applications. The lady there was really nice and stopped what she was doing, looked us up in the computer, and told us (nothing I didn't know --hold-- but in this process it's always nice to ask questions you already know so you aren't surprised and react badly (or goodly... is that a word?))

After that, we met up with Shireen and went to a restaurant in this cool place close to Drexel called Manayunk. I think it's kind of like M Street, without the attitude. There, the 5 of us talked about our year last year and who's doing what, how there was some definite Physio-incest, among other things. We stopped by Shireen's place, and then hit the road back towards Baltimore/DC/Richmond. So essentially I took a tour of the Mid-Atlantic Coast yesterday, being in 4 major cities, 4 states, and probably something like 7 or 8 area codes, all in about a 12 hour period.

I definetely had a lot of fun, and it was a good "mental health day" for me.

On a completely different note, the situation about the medicines at Crossover was clarified to me yesterday. Crossover has actually 2 ways of getting medicine. The first way is that they have actually purchased medicine and the second is a donation through a pharmacuetical company. It is the latter that has been withdrawn (the shelves are empty in the pharmacy). So it is not like Crossover is not giving out medicine, the supply is just very limited. There are now very strict guidelines on income requirements in order to get medicine even from the batch that CrossOver has purchased, and that is probably due in part to the fact that once the charts are straightened out, they will get the medicine back from the pharmacuetical company. I just thought I would clarify.

No other news on med schools. Hopefully my showing up at Drexel puts a good word in for me and they can slide me in somewhere. That would be sweet. So wish me luck.

(And no, WVU has not mailed me anything yet. I am not sure what to think)

still waiting,
-wait

U2 and Wedding Crashers

2006-01-22T03:10:00.000-05:00

Just got back from bowling (well about an hour ago). I kicked some tail (haha yeah right). Just thought I'd throw some thoughts up on the wall.

1. Remember a couple posts ago I said I have been listening to Better than Ezra nonstop? Well the band has changed. It is now U2. Thursday night I actually watched their DVD of "Rattle and Hum" and then Ian and I went to Chipotle, and we listened to U2 the whole way there (and back, believe it or not). I listened to them last night on my near 2 hour drive to nowhere. And guess what, I am listening to them right now (with headphones... not sure the roommates would be to keen on me blasting it at 245AM.) Top 2 songs right now - "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Stuck in a Moment" the latter of which kinda describes (ok a lot) how I am feeling. I have included the lyrics to this song at the end. Oh, also check out the background on my computer... what a combination (this show was amazing, btw):

2. Along with listening to U2, I have watched Wedding Crashers twice this week, and cannot get enough of it. Whether it is lines like "Erroneous! Erroneous!! Erroneous on both accounts" or "Good question, I like where you're head's at and the answer is actually 2" or "Well the proper girl just eye fucked the shit out of me" or "Rule 76, no excuses, play like a champion" or " 'We lost a lot of good men out there' 'While you were playing with the Yankees?' 'Well yeah to trades... I just don't want to talk about it' " or "Crabcakes and football, that's what Maryland does" and that's about all that sticks out right now. I feel like this is a movie that only gets funnier each time you watch it. So if you haven't seen in, do that. Now.

3. Cecelia was correct in the reference to Uncle Jesse from Full House. Kudos to her. I am not sure who is the bigger nerd: I came up with the question, but Cecelia actually got it in a very short period of time. Speaking of Full House, over the summer I watched some reruns of America's Funniest Home Videos with none other than Bob Saget, and I swear he is either drunk or high (maybe both?) If you haven't watched an old episode in awhile, I suggest going back and doing that.

I have given you a lot to watch. I guess this would be because I am sick of watching my mailbox for mail from WVU. I sat impatiently today waiting for the mailman (ask Ian and Sara) while we were playing scrabble... which I won. I guess that Master's degree is good for something. I did lose in minigolf this afternoon though by 1 shot. I honestly thought I had an extra shot to spare, so I wanted to make sure I at least tied so I went way conservative with the ball not landing in the hole, but very close.

Well I just realized that it's 3AM... so I should go to sleep.

still waiting,
-wait

Here are the lyrics to Stuck in a Moment... sweet song!
Stuck in a moment

I’m not afraid of anything in this world
There’s nothing you can throw at me that I haven’t already heard
I’m just trying to find a decent melody
A song that I can sing in my own company

You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And now you can’t get out of it
Don’t say that later will be better
Now you’re stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

I will not forsake the colours that you bring
The nights you filled with fireworks, they left you with nothing
I am still enchanted by the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears, through your eyes I can see

And you are such a fool
To worry like you do
I know it’s tough
And you can never get enough
Of what you don’t really need now, my, oh my

You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it
Oh love, look at you now
You’ve got yourself stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

I was unconscious, half asleep
The water is warm till you discover how deep
I wasn’t jumping, for me it was a fall
It’s a long way down to nothing at all

You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it
Don’t say that later will be better
Now you’re stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it

And if the night runs over
And if the day won’t last
And if our way should falter
Along the stony pass
It’s just a moment
This time will pass

Blonde moment

2006-01-18T23:40:00.000-05:00

Here's a blonde moment for your entertainment:

Empathy

2006-01-18T23:02:00.000-05:00

I forgot to add this earlier.

I emailed the dean at GW simply to say thank you for letting me know about my decision and being in contact with me throughout the process. She responded this afternoon saying that it was her pleasure and to "Just hang in there". Made me feel a little better.

For the first time, I feel like someone in an admissions office is empathizing with a distressed applicant. So that makes me feel a little better.

I just did a google search on empathy since I want to add more pictures, and came across the picture on the left. Which brings me to the random trivia question. Who remembers the sitcom where the empathy belly was actually worn? And by who? First person to answer correctly gets... I don't know. Pride?

Alright, I just wanted to post that bit I got from the dean today for you all to enjoy.

still waiting,
-wait

Conan and Paris

2006-01-16T23:10:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, for me when Conan comes on that means it's bedtime. Now that I am waking up around 7, this is proving to be a bit harder of a bedtime; however I would like mention that I am still a HUGE fan of Conan O'Brien and it is my hope that one day, I will be on his show since there are many of you out there who believe I bear a resemblance to him. This may be wishful thinking, however he has had other look-a-likes on the show before. The only thing I really need is red hair, and since I was actually born with red hair, maybe one day I will go back.
The impetus for this blog, however is the discovery of a page on CNN.com (found through Mike Lee's im profile) and how Conan and the president of Finland looks alike. CNN.com

For some reason I thought this was pretty funny, as are his numerous jokes about the Finnish election on the show. I probably laugh too much at Conan. I also thought it would be worthwhile to post on something lighthearted while being able to learn something about a foreign country, and how the election can be influenced by a late night comedy host, who bears the resemblance to me.

One of my favorite Conan jokes is: "Paris Hilton's movie, 'House of Wax' made over 12 million dollars on its opening weekend. Which makes it Paris Hilton's second biggest opening."

(Really, I can't believe I have a picture of Paris Hilton in this)

Ian and I went on a bike ride this afternoon and he scared the crap out of me. We ride this area called West Creek which is a 3 mile road which is an out and back kind of thing. I kinda headed out front, and I didn't see him on the turnaround or at all on the way back. So despite my chest killing I went strong back to the car and started pulling out and he came around the corner. I felt better. As for right now, my chest is really tight and phlegmy. Yummy.

Let's be honest, this post is really me procrastinating on letters I need to write for medical schools. So I should probably get to that. Enough rambling for tonight.

still waiting
-wait

Insult to Injury

2006-01-14T13:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I made my 20 minute drive home from work with my windows down and radio blaring some Better Than Ezra. I have been listening to Better Than Ezra a bunch lately, and yesterday, I needed to have this cathartic drive home after another grueling day of scanning at the OB/GYN office.

I realized at one point yesterday that it was Friday the 13th, and a coworker pointed out that there was gonna be a full moon last night too. I am not superstituous so I really didn't think too much about this; when I think back to yesterday's events, if I hadn't gotten out of bed it would have been a much better day.

I decided to check my email around 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon for the first time all day, and low and behold there was a response from the dean of admissions at GW (I emailed her earlier in the week). She informed me that I was being put on the alternate list (waitlist) and reassured me that the committee has been conservative this year in offering acceptances. Crushed probably only starts to come close to how I felt after reading that email. I attempted to hold back the tears; my eyes watered nonetheless. Luckily I was next to a window (we're on the 3rd floor) so I could just stare out that window as I regained my composure. The second 4:30 hit, I was out of there sooner than you can imagine and hopped in my car and spent the next 20 minutes flying down 95, windows open, and music blasting (it was about 65 yesterday, so it's not like I was freezing my tail off.)

I walked into my house, looked at the mail (luckily no rejection letters), and promptly climbed into bed and turned on A Few Good Men. Some time later, Ian came home and all I could tell him was to check his email, as I had emailed him earlier in the day with some choice words that when I think about, should remember that work can monitor my emails. Water over the dam. So he checked his email and realized why I was in bed at 630 on a Friday night.

We eventually headed to dinner, and on the way home stopped at Kroger and picked up a case of New Castle and a bottle of wine (each). We rented "Kicking and Screaming" along with "The Longest Yard" (sidenote: don't go to a rental place at 9 oclock on a Friday night, which I already actually knew, but was in no mood to think about that). And this morning, there are 2 empty wine bottles, 6 empty beer bottles and a bottle of Advil that is about to be emptied.

Another sidenote: After last night, I really should seek this idea a couple of us had this summer which is a breathalyzer for your phone. (at one point I realized I had called 13 people, and thought that 13 is a really unlucky number so I called more people).

Ian and I then made it to Denny's this morning (yes, actual morning), and as we were driving up, our mailman had just dropped off the mail, and in today's mail I got the official notification of my alternate status. This of course, after dreaming last night that I was actually accepted, and the dean had written on the letter "Hope you liked my joke [smily face]" So insult to injury.

I guess the waiting game really starts now. (Also, I am feeling too lazy to do the picture thing right now. It'll come in due time)

still freaking waiting,
-wait

P.S. This may sound rash, but please please please refrain from the "At least you got on the waitlist so that is a good thing" comments. I was on 1 waitlist 2 years ago, and 4 waitlists last year. I really don't need to hear how "good" waitlists are because in my experience, waitlist = rejection. Thank you.

Maryland/Duke

2006-01-12T00:17:00.001-05:00

Well I wish I could refer to the college basketball game that was played tonight between 2 ACC powerhouses, although I should be somewhat wary of using the term "powerhouse" in reference to Maryland tonight as they seemed to be hardly a speedbump in the way of Duke's season. As I told Ian, I love to hate Coach K, but I can't help but respect him. I look at awe what he can do with a team, and I can only think that by this time next year, the year after and the year after we will all be hating on Paulus like we hate on J.J. this year. Ugh. I feel the ACC always houses such good teams and a lot of times get less respect than is due, due to the fact that once conference play starts all the teams really start beating up on each other. I mean I feel it is real hard to believe that BC is still winless in their inaugural season in the conference... I digress.

Well, Conan is about to come on, meaning I am up way too late. So I am out of here.

still waiting
-wait

Georgetown

2006-01-10T17:11:00.000-05:00

From the title (and possibly the picture) you can probably guess something happened with Georgetown. I came home today to find a nice little letter from Georgetown School of Medicine saying that my application has been personal consideration, yet the committee is unable to offer me a place in their class.

In getting my numerous rejections over the past years, I have grown pretty accustomed to getting them. "oh, another rejection" and usually it doesn't bother me too much. (Save EVMS this year, and possibly VCU.... and nevermind on BU -- see the earlier entry where I decided that 4 oclock was an ok time to start drinking following receipt of that rejection... I digress).

However, I feel something more from Georgetown. All things considered, I spent a year there last year, and the least they could do is give me further consideration, ie: an interview. They interview over 1000 people a year, so can't they let a few more slide in (ie: Darci, Droker etc.)

Oh man.... I know this is a crapshoot - that much I have learned over the last few years. And I know it is always a rollercoaster ride, so even though I am low today, tomorrow can be a different day.

still waiting
-wait

Med School info.

2006-01-09T20:45:00.000-05:00

Since I figured out the picture thing (which wasn't that hard) I decided to take a picture of the wall where I have my whole medical school listings. I realized in doing this, that I failed to mention that I am on a pre-interview hold at Drexel and Albany. Obviously I didn't lose any sleep over this, nor was it that exciting since I basically read the emails and forgot. If I had been on top of this, I would have updated each time I heard from somewhere (and let's be honest, I went through and "re-did" the process taking pictures after each change, but I thought that was overkill, so you just see where I am right now).

Hopefully you can read it, if not here is the update:
Accept/Waitlist - None
Interview - GWU and WVU
"Holding Pattern" - PSU, Maryland, Drexel and Albany
Waiting - Gtown, Jefferson, NYMC, SLU, Temple, Tufts, Tulane and Cinci
Reject - Wake, VCU, EVMS, BU, Case, AECOM

So there you have it. And see, I really am making strides towards making this a better blog. Something you can REALLY look forward to reading. Haha, yeah right.

still waiting
-wait

Back in Action

2006-01-09T12:29:00.001-05:00

Well after my "break" in Florida, I am back in Richmond. I know I haven't updated in awhile, but let's just say that internet while in Florida was horrible, at best. I got really good at minesweeper while waiting to sign online (263 on expert setting... woooo and to think, I had never beaten the expert setting before 3 weeks ago).

Florida was nice, I got a nice reprieve from Richmond, not that there was really anything going on that I needed a reprieve from. Alas, 2 and a half weeks in the sunshine state allowed me to work on my tan -- which was noticed by a bunch of people. Well, the freckles on my face were noticed. Cause in the sun, I turn into a freckle. I made some money during the time, as I work with the children's program at the hotel that we are beach club members at. It's a pretty cush job -- I "work" for an hour and a half each night (5-6:30) and then from 6:30-7, everyone who worked hangs out and has cocktail hour, where the drinks are paid for by the hotel (Pina Colada with a topper of Rum every night). And on top of it, we get paid $35. So essentially I made $45 a night (the hotel is a little pricey on the alcohol - $8 for the Pina, $2 for the extra shot).

I also got golf clubs for christmas! You will all see me on tour in the fall. Yeah... right. So my days were pretty rough -- On the days I golfed, I got to the driving range by 10, and was there until about 1230. I then went home and made it to the beach by 130. I sat on the beach until about 4, and then went home, showered, and was at work by 430 and then dinner at 7. I then watched TV, with lots of football in the last week. So yeah.

I flew back Friday night -- the flight took off at 8, and we were on the ground in DC by 9:40. That is probably record timing for the Ft. Lauderdale-DC run. Usually it takes 2.5 hours. So that was really nice. I always find it funny that it is only in the last 10-15 minutes of the flight that strangers sitting next to each other start talking. I think it serves as a time where you seem like you are pretty nice, but you don't have the burden of holding a conversation for the entire 2 hours of the flight. Pleasentries exchanged with my neighbor, I made my way to baggage claim and got bags and was off to norther virginia, spending the night with Claudine, Olivia and Mo. I spent Saturday afternoon in a bar watching the skins game and made it to Richmond by 10 oclock Saturday night.

During the entirety of break, I received correspondence from only one medical school -- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (at Yeshiva University), which is in the Bronx. The correspondance told me that I was not going to be hanging out with the Jews in the Bronx next year (read: I was rejected). Ah well. The 2nd committee meets on Friday for my interview at WVU. Which means by next week I should probably hear something. I am trying not to think about it, but since I did not go to Richmond between the interview and Florida, lots of people here are asking how it went, and whether or not I have heard everything, so inevitably I am hearing lots and lots about it.

So that is the update on the last three weeks. Short enough... meaning I really didn't do much! I will be updating more frequently now that I am back in Richmond and have more reliable internet.

still waiting
-wait

PS. Obviously you noticed a bit of a change. I am going to try and play with this some more and maybe add pictures. We'll see how technical I can get (probably not so much) And I just read it's really not that hard to add pictures. I will start experimenting.

WVU and GW

2005-12-21T23:13:00.000-05:00

Currently, I am in the Sunshine State. With Christmas now only 3 days (and 45 minutes) away, I made the annual trek to South Florida, where they are experiencing a "cold snap". I can't help but laugh at these people who are complaining that it is cold when it is 68 degrees outside.

My venture to Florida commenced on Sunday afternoon when I left Richmond Virginia at around 2PM as I headed north on 95, north on 495, north on 270, west on 70 and finally west on 68 to Morgantown, WV. 300 miles and around 5 hours later I pulled into the Comfort Inn - Morgantown. I managed to find some time to venture out to Morgantown and finding the Health Sciences Center. I didn't see anyone with a mullet, so that was somewhat comforting. From what I could tell, Morgantown was a pretty cool place.

Lucky for me, the interview day did not start until 10:45. So I woke up around 8-8:30, experienced the complimentary continental breakfast, and was on my way by 9:30. I walked out to my car to find a 1/2 inch of snow on it. Yep, definitely in the mountains. It took like 15 minutes to get to the school the night before, so I thought there might be some traffic. As I was driving in, I realized that this was Morgantown, and that even if everyone that lived in the city was on the highway, there still wouldn't be a lot of traffic. So I hung out at Starbucks for like 30 minutes and made it to the interview room by 10:30. We were given the spiel about the whole process (in a nutshell: every application gets reviewed twice, and as we speak, I have already been reviewed once and the second review won't occur to mid-January). Our tour guide then picked us up (there were only 3 of us) and we made it to the cafeteria and at lunch. After getting a tour of the hospital and the medical school, we were dropped off in the interview room.

So there is a 2 person team that interviews all the applicants that are there in one day; thus they call in the first person to be interviewed and the others have to sit and wait for that one to be done. Then when the first one is done, that person is free to go. And then the second goes. I was really hoping to be first for a couple reasons. One so that I wouldn't have to sit there and think about it. Second because I was driving to DC and didn't want to get there at like 9 o'clock that night. One of the other guys gets called first right at 1 o'clock. He comes back at 1:20. I was thinking sweet, these are gonna be short, and I will be out at 230 at the absolute latest. The next guy gets called in at 1:35 and gets back to the room at like 2:20. While waiting towards the end, I started thinking:

"Crap. The first guy was 20 minutes, and this second guy is taking 30, 35, 40, 45 minutes. So obviously something was different. WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?! Ok, I am over analyzing. No, I am not. SOMETHING is different. I can't stop thinking about this. But is it good to be long? Or is it good to be short? Can I make mine go long? Should I make mine go long? The guy who's was short goes to Harvard. That means he's smart. So maybe short is good. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh." You get the idea.

I finally get called in around 2:30, and the conversation was easy. They asked me the typical "Why WVU" as well as "Explain your Calc II grade" "Tell us about that bike trip!" "What do you think is the biggest issue facing healthcare?" etc. After 40 minutes (me thinking again: good or bad????????) the interview is over, and I make my way to my car. I start on my way to DC trying to process how it went, and honestly I have no idea. Yeah, they were friendly, but I am sure they are friendly to everyone. Because of the non-threatening tone, it is hard to tell what they really thought of me. For the biggest issue facing healthcare, I brought up the lack of insurance and thus the affordability of healthcare. One of the interviewers was in total agreement with me, and said that if I could figure something out that I would be something truly special.

I ended up liking WVU a lot. It was cool seeing a comparison between GW and WVU. GW being in the big city and talking about all the opportunities in the political realm to affect healthcare both at home and abroad. WVU being in a small town and taking the approach of being out in the trenches of West Virginia as they really teach to treat rurally. It is amazing the differences between the two, yet the end goal is the same: health. I feel both approaches can work especially considering the work of Dr. Paul Farmer who was able to start small in Haiti and essentially eradicate TB and improve the overall health of those on the central plateau. And on the flip side, through the creation of Partners in Health, he was able allocate millions of dollars from groups like the World Bank to, pardon the expression, trickle down. Essentially I can see both approaches working to improve overall health, and it would be my hope that doctors from all spectrums, whether those trained to be more on the political end, or more in the trenches, can work in concert to improve health. The realm of possibility is seemingly endless and it would be my hope one day to put a small puncture in that realm, making the possible visible.

Coming back to my trip, I made it to DC and had Chipotle with Shina. We went into her lab and I met some of her "friends" (ie: malaria parasites). Those "friends" are dead now because she killed them yesterday morning. I learned more about what exactly she was doing which was also pretty cool. While with Shina I checked my email and I got an email from GW. The email asked me to submit a details of my healthcare experience. And that was all. I have NO idea what that means. I can't even begin to describe what is going through my head as to the reasoning behind this request. I can't determine if it is good or bad. So I am really nervous how to even start to phrase this, knowing full well that it will probably have a very heavy bearing on the decision rendered to me. Scared wouldn't be an effective word to describe how I feel. It is so weird. Hmmmm.

Tomorrow should be my first day on the beach because it is finally supposed to be sunny. I know I have no right to complain since about 99% of you are reading this from a colder place. In case this is the last post before Christmas, I want to wish all you readers a Merry Christmas. Pageantry aside, take a minute to think what the day is all about on Sunday. Even just one minute amidst the hustle and bustle that is food, family, friends, and fun. I can't believe it's Christmas really soon, but that is probably mostly d/t the fact that we put up our christmas tree tonight. Still no lights/decorations, but hey, at least it's up.

still waiting
-wait

George Washington University SOM

2005-12-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

My interview at GW was on Thursday and I think it went ok. Here's a bit of a synopsis... to begin, I am not going to include names in here, just because.

So I got to the interview room at around 9:20 -- ten minutes before the day was supposed to start, and I was one of the last people to arrive. I guess I should have figured that seeing as how anal some premeds are. Nonetheless, you make stupid smalltalk with everyone in there; it's a weird dynamic in the room. Let me try to explain. You are one of 1000 people being interviewed for 150 spots in the medical school so there is some stiff competition there. However, you need also to be very friendly towards everyone because schools really like to see that you are personable and get along well with others. So there is a really fine line you need to walk there. Gets a little taxing at times.

9:30 roles around, and the Dean of Admissions (the woman I have been in contact with) comes into the room. She introduces herself and welcomes us to GW. She tells us all that she normally does not come in to say hi, but today she decided to come down. After a very brief introduction, she says "Well I hope you all enjoy the day, and Wait, can I speak to you for a couple minutes?" Reminding yourself of the dynamic in the room, to have an interviewee singled out by the Dean of Admissions is pretty much unheard of. I can only imagine what everyone else in the room was thinking. We walk to another room and she asks me a few questions, making sure that I was comfortable and not nervous (which I most decidely was). We talked for about 5 minutes and by that point I needed to be back in the room as the guy running the day had started his presentation.

After some brief introductions, the Dean of the Medical School came in and gave us a very elaborate review of the medical school, and talked about his vision for the future. I thought this was very cool because he talked about the desire to spread medicine to the wider community of the globe. Mentioning the fact that cancer is primarily a disease of the affluent, he talked much about trying to rid the world of diseases that have been long taken care of in the US. I believe this to be a very noble cause, and something I am feeling more and more convicted to be doing. This is not to say I don't think we should look for cures to cancer, heart disease, etc.; I do believe that we need to spread out our resources. I am not 100% sure where this thought process is going to take me as I hopefully enter the medical profession, but I do know that I want to help change the world for the better and that means I won't be a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, CA.

Following the dean's welcome, we were taken on a tour of the facilities of GW; that is to say we saw 2 classrooms and the 6th floor of the hospital which is 90% devoted to medical students as they undergo clinical training. It is a very cool teaching suite, with rooms mimicking a doctor's office (with the exception of 2 cameras and microphones). The facilities there are amazing and I haven't seen much like it at the other schools I have interviewed at. We arrived back in our room and more information was given to us about the school as well as financial aid information. (I think they said GW is the 4th most expensive school in the country... yikes). Then boxed lunches. Mmmm (right....) We were also able to talk with some first years, who although they have finals next week did not seem incredibly stressed (they did sit there and talk with us for over an hour). They really stressed how non-competitive the school was and this is something that I really really like. Last year gtown was super-competitive (even though the directors denied that fact from day 1). I really don't see myself thriving in such an environment as Gtown, but GW is a place where I would be really happy.

My first actual interview was with a 2nd year student. That went pretty smoothly. I basically talked about myself, my motivations to enter medicine, and what I am doing now that I am no longer in school. I didn't have any ridiculous questions like "If a 14 year old were to walk in to your doctor's office asking for an abortion, what would you do? Would you perform the abortion? Would you tell the parents?" It was a lot less stressful of an interview than that. My second interview was with a pediatric trained MD, but currently is pretty high up in the Microbio/Immuno department at GW. Although he made some comments about how maybe I could pursue a DO degree, at the end he left me feeling pretty good saying he thought my interview helped me, that he would say good things about me, that I was not pretentious like a lot of people that have come through and that he thought I would make a good doctor. So my thoughts are that if he is going to go to bat for me, AND the dean of admissions likes me, there is a pretty good shot. But I don't want to get all excited about it because I really don't want to have a let down. There's that saying don't count your chickens before they hatch or whatever, and I am really afraid that I am doing that.

We were told that we would hear a decision in 8 weeks, so that means around the first week of February I should be hearing one of three possibilities: Denial, Alternate or Acceptance. The denial and acceptance should be pretty obvious, and the alternate is just like a wait-list, but they don't actually call it a waitlist at GW. The alternate list moves some throughout the spring, but during the middle to end of May it really begins to shuffle as after May 15th, you can only hold on to one acceptance. So I could be in it for the long run again.

As for now, I am in Baltimore with Ian helping my aunt and uncle move into a bigger house with my grandmother. I have a week and a couple days before my interview at WVU, so I need to start prepping for that at some point as well (Wed-Sun). I need to figure out why I applied there besides the fact that my connection to the school would get me an interview.

still waiting,
-wait

Topeka's Finale and WVU

2005-12-04T20:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my last shift at Topeka's. There may be some more information to come out about the people there, but we will see as I have a couple busy weeks coming up.

Yesterday for lunch, Mike C. and Andrew stopped by for lunch, and Ian, Rachel, Saona and Kristen stopped by for dinner during my last day. That was really cool, as they finally got to see the place I work. Unfortunately for the dinner crew, their order was somehow lost, and it took over an hour to get their food. Fortunately for the dinner crew, they got 20% off their total bill. They were all a little bit upset that they did not get to see David Carter to see the guy they had heard so much about. Maybe that is good... that way he wouldn't try and pick them either. Mike and Andrew did get to meet him, however.

The dinner group was my last table at Topeka's, so at least it was nice to go out with a bang. They told me they were going bowling afterwards and that I needed to come. So after I said my goodbyes to the Topeka-folk, I ran home to quickly change so I could get to the bowling lanes (and start drinking). Now here comes the cool part (as if my last shift wasn't cool enough). I walked by the stack of mail and on top saw a letter addressed to me. It was one of the letters that is typical of the rejection letter size, so I quickly scanned to the return address to see where I had been rejected from. It was West Virginia University. Devastation set it, knowing that I had sent in my secondary application a mere 3-4 weeks ago, and they had a very quick turn around for this rejection.

I picked up the letter, and the first thing that crossed my mind was that the letter was taped shut since I felt the tape on the opposite side. Odd I thought. But then I felt the letter a little more, and realized that it was a bit heavier than a rejection letter should be. Somehow, I reasoned that maybe this is a 2 page rejection, or something like they needed more information. Opening the letter, I saw the back page first and read the words "From I-79" I quickly turned to the front page, and read that the committee on admissions is requesting my appearance for an interview. I was floored -- literally. I fell to the floor in absolute shock and amazement. I quickly read the letter and found out that I am interviewing on Dec 19th, only 2 weeks away. I called my parents, finally changed, and made my way to bowling.

Now you may be wondering why I am so surprised. This is because they interview about 2% of their out of state applicants -- they get about 1000 applications from out of staters. So I am in a select group of 20. That is pretty much why I am so surprised. I know need to figure out some crap... like where I am going to stay (maybe at the Clements), and what I am doing between 4PM the 19th (when the interview is over) and 8:30AM the 20th (when I leave for Florida from DC). There's the possibility that I need to drive from Morgantown to Richmond (6 hours) and then pack, and drive to DC (2 hours). This of course after having spent 6 hours in the car the previous day driving from Richmond to Morgantown. I need to start burning CD's now.

I am so excited right now... hopefully more excitement will be down the road where I receive another letter... the likes of which I don't even want to mention right now.

GW remains in the forefront right now as that interview is in 4 days. Speaking of 4, we are supposed to get 4-7 inches of snow tomorrow. That is really crazy for Richmond, VA... 4-7 inches of snow is crazy enough, but in December?!?! Crazy.

Alrighty... I'm off to some stuff around here to make the next couple weeks go a bit smoother.

-wait

Univ. of Maryland

2005-12-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

As you can tell from the title, there is some news from the University of Maryland. And this is the kind of crap I really wanted to post here... to show how long and drawn out and annoying this process of applying to medical school is. The email pops up, and it is from "Admissions, SOM" and on the subject line, all I can read is "Update Status for your University of M" and I am thinking "oh god oh god oh god" as the email actually loads (Outlook is somewhat slow on my computer) so many thoughts are running through my head, including but not limited to "Last year the subject line had the date of my interview in it, and there is no date, does this mean I am rejected? Well maybe they changed their format this year and they don't want to put dates in the subject line"

So as these thoughts are racing through my head, I get to the actual email, and a quick glance over it reveals no bolded type or anything, meaning an interview is probably out of the question.

The first line is "The Committee on Admissions at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has made an initial review of your application but has not yet reached a final decisions as to whether or not to invite you to interview" And it goes on to talk about how I will be rereviewed periodically and I can send more information. Well woop-de-freaking-do. I just feel like it is a pretty big cop-out and real annoying because it is a letter to essentially say "Wait longer". Perhaps I should be happy that I was not rejected; however at this stage in the game I would like to know either way. I say I am really annoyed, but at the same time I have become pretty immune to this kind of crap as it is what I have heard over the last three years. I seem to just kind of bend over and take it. Which is cool and all, but I am sick of it.

In related news, I am starting to get pretty nervous about my GW interview next week. I have been reading a lot lately to try and get up on some of the more recent medical news, like the partial face transplant in Paris, as well as the discovery of a new outbreak that may occur related to the Clositridium difficile, which causes severe diarrhea and has a high mortality/morbity rates. (To be released in next weeks New England Journal of Medicine). Of course, all the while keeping up with the avian influenza cases of the deadly H5N1 strain. Luckily, however, I have not had any dreams recently of being accepted -- the ones where I wake up really excited that the process is over, only to realize within 10 seconds that it was just a dream.

That's about all I have right now. Oh, but I have been meaning to give a brief synopsis of the process... listing where I am with all the schools, to keep track.

Rejected: Wake, VCU, BU, Case Western, and EVMS

On Hold: Penn State and Maryland

Waiting: Albany, AECOM, Drexel, Georgetown, Jefferson, NYMC, SLU, Temple, Tufts, Tulane, Cinci, WVU

Interview: GW

So that's where I am. Needless to say, I am prepping hardcore for my interview next week, and will be so interested in the school showing my interest from the second I step on campus, until I leave.

Oh, and my last shift at Topeka's is Saturday.

Still waiting...
-wait

More Topeka's

2005-11-30T17:55:00.000-05:00

Well it's been awhile since I posted, and that's because... ok, no real good reason.

The readership at Topeka's continues to expand, so to those of you reading this from the printouts in the office, I say hi.

For those of you not working at Topeka's and not living in Richmond, you probably haven't heard of the Department of Health violations that were announced at the opportune time of the 11 o'clock news Thanksgiving night. Way to go media, slam a place right as it enters the holiday season. After some massive cleaning Sunday night, which included powerwashing essentially the entire restaurant, the Department of Health revisited Monday morning, this time with 0 violations. Again, a great "thank you" goes to the media for not covering this aspect of the saga.

Business has been understandably slow since the report, and because of that, I have gotten more and more crap for not including more of my coworkers on this blog. Basically if you aren't included, maybe that's actually a good thing, considering you would be among people like Carter, who I think we all find a bit, how do you say it... Yeah, I can't even find a good word. Or you would be with Jennifer, which might not actually be a bad thing.

I will digress about another one of my coworkers right now though, and that would be Jorge. This character comes in, mostly on Saturdays, and just says he's working. That's cool and all, especially considering some nights when we have 7 or 8 servers, but not on Saturday where 17 servers are on the schedule for the night. Granted, 1 or 2 will generally call in sick, but what happens is that Jorge will jump all over your tables. There was one time I had a 3 table section, and his girlfriend and someone came in, and Jorge sits them at one of my tables, thus leaving me with 2, offering nothing in return. There was one time where Matt had a 3 table section, and Jorge had a party taking 2 of Matt's 3, and then Jorge continued to take parties, not giving any to Matt. All Jorge does is complain about not having enough tables, not making enough money, and then when it comes time to check out, he is the first person out the door, saying he's done all his work, when I am about 95% sure he hasn't. And on the way, he says stuff about "only" making $180 that day -- some of which should be other peoples since the bastard took tables. Working with him aggravates me so much sometimes as he is only concerned about himself, not giving 2 craps about anyone else he works with. He is the epitome of "There is no I in team, but there is a ME".

I could say some stories about everyone else there... for instance how Luke wanted to punch me in the face just so he could be put in the blog. However, today is my birthday, and I need to go get ready for what my roommates have in store. I can't believe I am 24. At least I am still on the uphill side to 50.

peace
-wait

Topeka's Welcome and Update

2005-11-18T00:24:00.000-05:00

I would first like to extend a warm welcome to my Topeka's coworkers who have seemed to find my little space on the internet. In light of that, I would like to clarify one thing I realized shortly after I posted it, and that concerns the girl Jennifer (who now reads this blog). She is not dating Katie from Topeka's as previously stated, and she is also straight. I was a bit too accepting of facts when I entered Topeka's, and with all that was going on, I wasn't about to question anyone's sexuality. That being said, I believe everything else to be true, so I do not need to add any additional clarifications. So welcome to my Topeka's readers.

I haven't updated in awhile - since I met with the dean from GW. I ended up emailing her on Thursday of last week, thanking her for her time spent talking with me, and she responded saying that the pleasure was hers, and that it was really great meeting me. I also began shadowing a PA (Physician's Assistant) at Crossover Clinic last week, so last week everything seemed to be going my way. I really did not understand this, because for that much stuff to go my way means the stars must be aligned in some sort of paranormal pattern, and I did not hear of any strange findings in the skies lately, meaning something must be really weird.

I was brought back to earth for a little while when I recieved a letter from Case Western University saying that I was rejected. Ian reminded me that Cleveland is not a great place, so really, this was good news, meaning that I was not going to be in Cleveland next year. That happened on Thursday night, and after I found out about that, Ian and I took a drive. We just kept driving - 2 hours in all - just chilling and talking. It was really good - we both sorted out some stuff, and although we got back at like 3 AM, it was a nice reprive from everything.

I headed to DC on Saturday morning after grabbing breakfast in Richmond, and spent the afternoon with Leon, Gill, and James in Cleveland Park then Georgetown. We eventually headed to Rhino's, and my sister and her friend showed up. After awhile Erin showed up, and we headed over to J Paul's after a few hours and saw Mike Grippaldi. It was a lot of fun hanging out in DC, although I didn't get to see as many people as I would have liked.

Crossover is going well. I am being given more and more control... In other words I essentially ran the front office Monday morning, which is weird because I am volunteer that doesn't speak Spanish, yet over 50% of our patients speak Spanish. It was real weird. The charge nurse at one point asked if I needed anything, and I just said a beer. She laughed really hard at me, and told everyone there, and when I went back in on Wednesday (I go to a different clinic on Tuesday's) the nurse told me that she told lots of people that. They all probably think I am an alcoholic.

Tonight I went down to Chesterfield County Courthouse and was a juror in a mock-trial for Mike. It was a very involved case of arson with talks of like 1.667 million dollars. Luckily it was arson, so our decision as a jury really had no bearing on the actual money. I realized that was the first time I was actually in a courthouse, and then the realization that it probably won't be my last considering the profession I am entering knowing that one day I will be sued for medical malpractice. Here the question isn't "If" so much as it will be "When" because although I know I will be a perfect doctor, someone will not think so. I digress.

I think that is about all I have to say right now. I have only had 2 dreams of being accepted to GW since that meeting last week, which I guess is a good thing, especially considering my interview isn't for another 3 weeks (3 weeks from today [Thursday] actually).

Still waiting -

-wait

Pre-interview interview for G-dub

2005-11-10T00:53:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I said look for a post about Topeka's and David Carter on Tuesday or Wednesday. Well there's not much new there. Things are okay between us, very professional.

Buuuuuuuuut the main reason I am posting is because of medical school information. As you know (if you are keeping up with the blog) I have kepy in contact with the Dean of Admissions at GWSOM (George Washington School of Medicine). I found out (she told me) that she was giving a recruitment presentation at VCU for the undergrads on Tuesday, Nov 8th. So that morning I headed off to CrossOver in one of my new shirts that I bought from Polo when Ian and I went the other week... looking for schnazzy, if I do say so myself. I then headed off to VCU, and proceeded to park in a 30 minute spot because parking in Richmond absolutely sucks.

The dean gave her presentation and during she went around the room asking everyone's name. When I said my name, she gave me a little wave acknowledging her recognition of me. Later in the presentation, she asked if anyone was applying and again since this was a meeting for undergrads, I was the only one to raise my hand, when the dean then winked at me, which was cool because of the understanding that was there.

So there is more in our interactions besides a wave and a wink. When the presentation was over, I went up to her thanking her for presenting, and she said "Alright, so do you want to go downstairs and talk for a bit?" Ummmmmm, let me think about that. So there were the usual neurotic premeds asking insane questions, and one of them was asking questions about volunteer experiences and how she was worried about not having enough, and how when she volunteered she was changing sheets. The dean said you need to start somewhere and eventually move up. I chimed in here saying I started at CrossOver doing filing, and I have moved up in the ranks, where I am starting to follow a PA around (which is sweet because I put that together that morning). The dean said something like yeah - this is exactly what you need to do. (point for Wait!). I then proceeded to write down all my contact information and the information about the places I volunteer to give to this girl. (Point number 2 for Wait!).

So after this neurotic girl leaves (I say neurotic, but she really is a typical premed, but for those of you not involved in this, you would think she's very neurotic), the dean and I go downstairs in the VCU commons and sit and talk for 40 minutes (give or take). Just me and her. She started off the conversation saying "Well this is your time, go ahead" I wanted to be like "huuuuuuuuuuh?" (a la Steve Saul... a 2nd reference for you bud!), but I proceeded to talk about CrossOver, the hospice, and even about Topeka's and the sexual harrassment stuff going on (only touching on that, really). I asked some questions of her too, just like how she got to be dean, and about the application process, about SDN (Student Doctor Network - a message board for neurotic premeds and medical students), and other various and sundry things. She said they have over 11,000 applications this year, and they go through every single application, the AMCAS, secondary and letters of recomendation -- so for those of you out there applying, know that they are a bit slow because they look at every application very closely. So just be patient.

Her husband showed up after like 30 minutes and I met him. I stood up when he showed up, and didn't sit until he told me too. Mommy taught me well!! So at the end, she said something like well since you have my personal email, just email me if you have any questions or anything else to update. Also, email about the week before you're interview so i remember and can be sure to be there that day. That is super sweet too because it means I definetely didn't rub her the wrong way and she wants to be there the day I see visit!! I was so excited leaving there, realizing that I just spent 40 minutes with the Dean of Admissions at GW. And what made my day even better - after parking in that 30-minute spot for 2 hours, I didn't have a ticket!

So this went so well that I had a dream last night that she emailed me today saying that the interview was a mute point, and that she has preliminarily accepted me for the class of 2010. I woke up all happy, and then I got sad realizing it wasn't true. Oh well.

still (anxiously) waiting,
-wait

Straightened Out

2005-11-06T14:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the pun, but I thought it was funny and aprapos.

The anticipation for this post has been overwhelming as within 12 hours of my putting it in my profile, no less than 3 of you have requested more information as the excitement brews.

To begin, if you have not read the previous posts about David Carter, please do so now. It will only make this post that much better.

David Carter came back to work this week after his two weeks in New Orleans. On his first night back, he had pictures of the destruction, and it still amazes me. Seeing these pictures, along with Christine's, really sheds light on the magnitude of devastation seen in the aftermath of Katrina. According to my parents, Wilma was no slouch either, despite the non-coverage in the media. Power was just restored to my parents house on Thursday afternoon - taking 2 weeks to recover. The cell phone towers are down as well, so I really have no way to contact my parents unless they call me.

Alright, alright, back to what you came here for. I had a civil conversation with Carter on Thursday night, and he told me how hard it was, and how after the 3rd day, he really was questioning whether or not he could make it... yadda yadda. So then I show up to work yesterday (Saturday) and he is working there. He is starting to be more friendly to me, which is ok I guess, but still weirds me out. Then the line is crossed. I would be standing up at the computer entering in people's orders and he would walk by (on purpose?) and kind of touch me on my side or my back. Side note, the girls at work do the same thing, but I feel this is somewhat different (and by somewhat I mean a lot). First off it is a gay man, second off with our "history" it just makes it that much weirder.

I then decide to tell Michael (my manager), and he asks me if I want him to say anything to Carter. I say yes because it is just getting weird. So then like an hour later Michael calls me into the office and I see the other manger (Debbie) and the GM (Dave... not the same guy). They ask me to close the door (which is HUGE) to ask me a few questions, and try to decide what path to take. They asked if I would feel comfortable talking to David myself to see if I can get things to calm down. I told them I thought that I had made it pretty clear, both through words and actions, and I proceeded to tell them the entire story of the fateful night. Since none of them had actually heard the whole story, they were a bit surprised on some of the details (which I have purposely left out in my blog - again sorry, I can't disclose everything). My GM then says that he will take care of it as it is quite obvious I have made the effort. I then leave the office, and Michael calls for another waitress to watch over Carter's tables for a few minutes, then asked Carter to come into the office.

While Carter was doing a couple things, I went back to the office to the group of three and closed to door. I informed them of my intentions to be leaving soon as I am not making as much money as I had hoped. My managers are really nice so it was a little hard for me to say this, but I went ahead with it, and continued on to explain that I wanted to tell them before they talked to Carter so that if they didn't want to pursue this, that I was leaving and I would be able to put up with it for 2 weeks. My manager then explains to me that it really doesnt matter if I am staying or not, because it needs to be addressed because it could happen again, if it hasn't happened before. The GM then told me that I shouldn't look at it as a closure to my Topeka's experience and I should leave my foot in the door, and maybe pick up a few shifts here and there. He said that he thinks I am good guy, and wouldn't want to lose me (but I think it's because they don't want to lose anyone since the turnover is so high there -- there are lots of people getting ready to quit).

After this conversation - where I essentially told them I am done - Carter was eventually called in and they had a 10 minute conversation. 10 minutes is an eternity in restaurant time - think if you are at a restaurant and you don't your waiter for 10 minutes. Thats awhile. For the rest of the afternoon, Carter didn't even look at me. He would walk by and look the other direction. If I was talking to someone, he wouldn't even respond to the person I was talking to. Meanwhile, everyone else was wondering why I got pulled in the office - cause usually that means you got in trouble. So I had to go through the story like 20 more times yesterday. Which is fun and all, but gets old, especially considering how long this story is.

So the long and short of it: I got David Carter in trouble, and I told them I am quitting. Vis-a-vis - everything is straightened out.

I must say that everytime I mention "Carter" I think of Carter from last year at Georgetown. So I apologize to all the Physios out there who are probably thinking the same thing.

As for the medical school front, I was rejected from Boston University on Friday. It come through email, and that really sucked. The email came at about 4 oclock, and I decided that there was no time like the present to start my night and I cracked a beer. That began quite a long night (I was up til 3) to kick off Homecoming, where I went to the cellar and then downtown to Richbrau and saw so many people with the most surprising being Chris Zuk. He moved to London this summer and I didn't think I was going to see him for 3 years, but he was there.

I think that's about it. I hope you have enjoyed the seemingly neverending drama that is Topeka's. Look for a post on Tuesday/Wednesday when I go back to work with Carter probably working as well. It will be fun!

A nice cop and "Boneless" Wings

2005-10-28T00:42:00.000-04:00

So, I dodged another bullet with the po-po today... here's what went down:

Ian and I went to Williamsburg today.... it was a hot shopping date (David from Topeka's would be jealous... hahaha) really I just needed a new button down shirt.... so on the way home, I was in the fast lane behind this white car... that in hindsight, I should have recognized to be a cop car but anyways..... there was this car coming up behind me and ended up tailgating me, so I sped up a little and was riding too close to the cop (white car in front of me)....... he flashes his lights, and pulls into the right lane, and gives me this look of absolute disgust and sternly points to the right side of the road. So I pull over and he comes up to my car and says "license and registration, I am pulling you over for reckless driving" so I give him that stuff and he askes how my driving record is. I say thats its perfectly clean (true statement) and he starts lecturing me, saying I was drving too closely, and that had he had slammed on his breaks, I would have slammed into him or ended up in a tree on the side of the road. Then I told him about the car behind me.... and he said (exact words): "Well this one is going to be on you, but in the future you are really going to need to watch out because I patrol these roads and look for people like you...... oh wait, sorry, this one is going to be on me, but you still need to watch out" I then drove off, doing the speed limit the rest of the way. My heart rate was probably at about 150 BPM cause reckless driving is a lot... including a mandatory court appearance. It was obviously my good looks that got me out of the ticket.

In other news, I received official notification from George Washington today on my interview. It will be on December 8th. I am pretty excited to receive official word, though it came in a small envelope with one piece of paper, so for the second that I was opening it, I was afraid I got switched to the reject pile. Lucky for me...

Topeka's is riding a thin line with me right now. I had a real rough night tonight, and could have dealt without all the BS from some of the other servers and customers... then of course not to mention the low amount of tips. We will see (said the blindman). The good thing about working there is that most everyone is easygoing, and sarcasm runs rampant. It's just that sometimes people really get on my nerves.

Random thought. Ian, Mike and I went to BW3's tonight (after I got home), and they had a special on "Boneless Wings." I must say that I was not too impressed with them as I felt they were merely glorified chicken nuggets. They did not look like wings, and more importantly, they did not have the same wing meat. It really was just an enlarged chicken nugget. I mean it was good, but I was really in the mood for wings and I got chicken nuggets. I digress.

I have nothing to do tomorrow, which is real sweet. Well, besides clean my room. It's a disaster area. And for the first time in awhile, I don't have the excuse that it is "test week" Cause lets be honest, I am not taking any tests, and it feels good.

Still waiting...
-wait

WVU and Wilma

2005-10-25T18:18:00.000-04:00

(Sorry again, no Topeka's update)

I ended up throwing in an application to WVU last week on request of my mom who had talked with the Dean of Admissions there (they turned out to be friends from back in the day). I also found out that my great grandfather, my namesake, as well as his brother graduated from WVU medicine.

Apparently that connection to West Virginia University School of Medicine warrants a secondary application to the school that rejected me in under 3 weeks last year. Secondary applications are handed out to qualified West Virginia residents, and only very highly qualified non-residents along with non-residents who have a strong connection to the state. As I am not a highly touted applicant to medical school, it is clearly the connection to the school that I needed to be awarded a secondary application. Hopefully now they will come through with an interview and a subsequent acceptance.

Please hold the inbreeding jokes back (for now).

Ok ok, I will give an update on Topeka's. Pardon the pun, but the story I have finally came out at work. People are asking me about it, and wanting to know more. I think it has evolved into a legend that will live down in the lore of Topeka's Steakhouse history. I had to pick up my paycheck from the HR lady today, and had to fill out a short survey of how I felt working there. I talked to her a little bit about what happened, and she said that if anything comes up in work (haha... comes up.... sorry.) that I need to let her know. She says she knows the guy pretty well and would be surprised if anything were to happen. He is on his "Pastoral Counseling" trip to New Orleans for about another week, so I have one week left of freedom (well from him).

Wilma ripped through the state of Florida (just in case you don't follow the news). A lot of the destruction occured in Broward County, which is where my parents live for 9 months out of the year. The mayor said the amount of damage hasn't been seen in over 50 years. My parents stuck out the storm in Orlando as they were on the way down when the storm developed. It's been reported (from neighbors who stuck around) that we lost our screened-in porch, and that the hurricane shutters were ripped off of our neighbors house, breaking windows and flooding their bedroom. They are now staying in our house, without power and electricity. I guess it is better to actually have 4 walls with intact windows and a roof. Pending the power recovery, my parents remain in limbo -- they are deciding whether or not to stay in the hotel in Orlando, or head back home until Ft. Lauderdale recovers some.

I also talked to Steve Saul, and he is part of the 2% that has power in South Florida. So he's going to have a "power hour party" in the near future. Clever, I think. He is fine and his building is fine.

Still waiting...
-wait

G-dubya

2005-10-19T16:05:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how some feelings can be so transient. Better yet, it's amazing how a crappy mood can go to a happy mood after reading 1 email.

Yesterday afternoon I emailed the Dean of Admissions at George Washington, to update her on what I have been doing in Richmond (We have been in contact since the middle of August). When I got home from Crossover Clinic this afternoon, in my inbox was a letter from the dean, commending me for my volunteer work. She said that she also reviewed my file this morning, and has passed me to the interview stage, with a formal invitation to come shortly. So I am really excited about this right now. Like... really excited. :-D

In other news, I guess the feeling of resentment for EVMS is still there. It is hard to let go of the school that I thought so much of. I reread the letter over and over, and I have realized it was the harshest rejection that I have gotten. There were a mere 50 words in the letter, and 20 of them was the phrase "the entering class of 2006 at the Eastern Virginia Medical School" repeated twice. (ie: nearly 1/2 the letter was a repeat... ok well kind of)

However, I am really happy that I now have my first interview, and it is in DC, especially at GW. (I guess I wouldn't mind Georgetown, but GW is a lot better).

Well, I need to head off to Topeka's now. I wonder if Jennifer is going to be there, and if so, if she asks whether or not I can take her home tonight. Too bad I can't. (please note the sarcasm.)

still waiting...
-wait

Speechless

2005-10-19T00:04:00.000-04:00

To begin, I must inform you that this post has nothing to do with Topeka's.

My parents leave for Florida tomorrow, and because of this, they decided too pay me a visit down in Richmond before they headed off. They brought with them a couple things... like my jackets (it's getting cold) and the mail that has come to me at my house. Among the postal items I received was the November issue of Outside magazine.Also mixed in the grabbag of posted items were offers for credit cards, some Nivea Facial Cleanser, that I apparently requested, and, the main reason for this entry, a letter from the Eastern Virginia Medical School (henceforth known as EVMS)

For a little background, EVMS is a school that I have really grown to love. You may have never heard of it (or maybe you have) but of the 4 schools I visited last year, the students there were the happiest I met, and it is only 20 minutes from the beach! The board scores are pretty decent as well; they may not put 1/2 the class into a derm residency, but there is something to be said for a school that rents out an entire hotel so the entire school (MS1-4's) can hang out together for a weekend. So for the past 2 years, I was put on their waiting list, and much to my dismay, I was never taken off the waitlist, which is probably quite obvious as my posting about my applying to medical school for a 3rd time.

I knew that a letter from EVMS was coming, as my dad had called me yesterday saying there was a letter for me. I had kind of talked myself into believing that they switched from email to regular mail to announce interviews, which makes no sense whatsoever, but how could I be rejected without even an interview? Here is the text of this "magnificent" rejection letter:

"Dear Mr. Xxxxxx,
Your application to the entering class of 2006 at EVMS has been reviewed. Unfortunately, we are unable to grant you an acceptance to the Entering Class of 2006 at the Eastern Virginia Medical School.

We regret that all interested applicants cannot be accepted, but wish you much success in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
[I'll leave his name out]"

Wow. WOW. Maybe I am still in shock, maybe not. But either way, I cannot honestly believe 2 things. 1: That I got this letter. 2: That they can be so cursory. 3 sentences. And somehow, I really don't believe that line about them wishing me success in my future endeavors. I poured my heart out to them last year. I sent them letters almost biweekly, I drove down there to meet with the dean over 4th of July. I really loved this school, and there is something that makes me feel so horrible about the situation. Part of me thinks that there is nothing I can do "Really, what's the point, they interviewed me twice and didn't accept me twice." I don't know, it just makes me feel pretty horrible.

Is there ever a point where I should stop waiting for this to happen? I have been driven for 3 years in my attempts to get into medical school, and yeah, I know it is still early in this cycle, but I haven't heard much yet, and what I have heard hasn't been good. It just sucks.

still waiting (?)
-wait

The Letter

2005-10-15T12:46:00.000-04:00

Of course, as soon as I say things calmed down at Topeka's, I receive this letter from Jennifer last night:

Wait - Since the beginning of our fated association I have become infatuated with the letter "W". That said, I could pose a plethora of "w" questions to you in this first of many correspondences. When? Why? What? and yet I am more curious as to the how. How will you be formally inducted into the alphabet hall of fame? Will the tone be innocence and light? Something as harmless as 2 bodies brushing by - when no one was around to notice so that clothes fall away as easily as leaves? Or will it be violent as a revolution of flesh and ideas? Ideas about limbs and which way they should bend: a new paradigm in the bedroom! But then there is nothing better than a seduction, the actors and their stage with their pretty words. How will [you] differentiate yourself with those who came before you? A special touch OR could it be that you are a symptom of a time and place, the end result of my desire to complete something/anything. To scratch a name off the list.

Take that as you will. Jennifer claims to write letters like this "all the time."

Calmer? Well at least Topeka's drama died down

2005-10-14T12:27:00.000-04:00

Well I wish I had another crazy update on the going ons at Topeka's, but I think my "fresh meat" status has worn off, and I am just another crazy who works at Topeka's. The only new thing was that girl Jennifer told me (pretty jokingly) that she a goal of hers is to have sex with guys whose names starts with each letter of the alphabet, and that my being a W would really help her out. I am not sure how this fits in her dating Katie, but I digress.

Otherwise, work at Topeka's is going alright. There have been some good tables ($10 tip on a $28 check, with a comment card saying they loved me) and some other not so good ones ($3 on $40 and $8 on $80... the first of those was a family that is notorious at Topeka's for leaving low tips, and the second was really strange, because they filled out a comment card saying that I was a really friendly server, and they liked me, yet they only tipped 10%. ugh. I feel like I need to tell these people that I only make $2.13 an hour and tips are the way I really get by). As one of the coworkers (one I haven't mentioned) said, "you can't take any tips personally... except the good ones!"

There were 2 notable conversations last night that were probably the most polar opposite converstaions. The first was where one of the waitresses was picking up another waiter, and there happened to be some porn on the computer. It was of a girl performing some action, and there were dudes on the video, who all recited in unison "Oh... my... god" It was really funny listening to the servers tell the story, and now one of our sayings at Topeka's is "Oh... my... god". The other conversation that took place was between one of the cooks and I. He asked what I was doing, and I gave him the brief version. He said that he was a Neuro major down at VCU, and then we started talking about neurotrophic growth factors over the food window. I felt like a pretty large nerd, and I also felt the need to laugh at how completely different these 2 conversations were.

I have also been volunteering at Crossover Clinic on Mon-Wed mornings and that is going alright. It is cool being in the medical environment, I just wish that I could do more. Right now I am mostly doing stuff with patients charts, making appointments, talking to patients about registering and stuff. I mean it's fine, but in the first couple days I was made to feel very small as one of the workers there would say to me "Hey babe, do you think you could locate Mario Lopez's file for me" like she was talking to a 3 year old saying "hey babe, do you think you could put that toy in the box for me" So there was one morning I wanted to punch her. The next morning it was me in the front office with another volunteer and that same woman, and she was like "Hey guys, will you watch the front office... I need to go pray" She came back like an hour and a half later... no joke. She is the one getting paid here. Come on! But it is getting better, and I hope to get myself a little more established there and maybe some mornings I'd be able to actually shadow the doctors and nurses and actually deal with the medical side of things. I am just hoping that what I am doing now is okay for the medical schools.

I am also starting to volunteer for the hospice. I head in there tomorrow to meet with my patient. And that is all I can say about that (HIPAA).

Today Ian headed off to New York to visit Sarah, and I let him drive my car to the airport. I would have driven him, but his flight took off at 615AM. So I actually ended up biking to the airport. I know many of you aren't from Richmond, so the airport is a good chunk away and I needed to actually bike through the city. It was pretty cool, and Mike was pretty amazed that I biked there, but it only took 45 minutes and is only 12.6 miles away. I almost put my bike on the roof, and that would have been bad because of the low clearance of the garage, but Ian remembered to remind me not to do that (by leaving a note).

I really wish I could give updates on medical school information since what I want to be conveying to you all is the process of the applying to medical school. But I guess most of the process is simply waiting. The sheer volume of applications these schools receive means that they need to actually sort through them all. Oh, and I am not sure I have posted this before, which would mean it is news to the blog; but I have just had a pretty hard time accepting it and for me to put something on the blog means I need to be completely comfortable with it... but I was rejected from VCU/MCV awhile back (It's probably been at least a month). It really sucks to get that rejection (again) because I really do like Richmond, and it means that I will be moving again (assuming I actually get into a school, and if I don't that I move away from Richmond). Of course moving is the least of my concerns, it just hurts to be rejected from the school that is local, and everyone asking so "Are you applying to VCU?" I keep lying to them saying that there is still a chance I will be here next year. Little do they all know... joke's on them.... hehehe.

So that's about all. I am obviously....

still waiting,
-wait

Where the F do I work???

2005-10-07T11:58:00.000-04:00

For starters, originally I was not going to post what happened the other night because I thought what happened was really strange and out of the ordinary, but after last night, I found out that it was not out of the ordinary.

My last post concerned the girl Jennifer who I was under the impression liked me. If you haven't read that, do that NOW. Well when I returned to Topeka's on Tuesday, the "drama" only got thicker, and I was put right in the middle of EVERYTHING. So I took the menu test on Tuesday, and I passed, so I began my shadowing experience on Tuesday night. I ended up shadowing a guy named David. While I was taking the test, he said that after work we should grab a beer together. That sounded innocent enough, so I acquiesced. It ended up being that David was cut about an hour before me, so he ended up giving me his cell phone number and for me to call him if I wanted to grab that beer. He said he was going to be at the Applebee's down the road. In the couple minutes that followed, I found out that David was gay. But, I still didn't think too much of it. I mean, just grabbing a beer with a coworker. So I end up shadowing another server for about an hour, and then I was cut, and I had a dilemna on my hands, so I ended up calling Ian to see what I should do. He said he probably wouldn't do it... but I was kinda thinking that it was just Applebee's, it's not like its a big gay scene. So I call David and show up to Applebee's.

While at Applebee's, I found out that he doesn't drive because of a DUI. So I offered to drive him home, so he doesn't have to walk it. I also found out that he is going to New Orleans in a couple weeks to do Pastoral Care, and that he is going to seminary next year. That put me a little bit at rest thinking that this guy wouldn't actually try and do anything if he is going to be a pastor (however, I should have thought about the Catholic priests). We end up going to another bar, and it was during this bar experience that I became... well scared. He started talking about his exboyfriends (numerous), how he got married in 1980 as a cover up to his being gay... yes, that puts him at about 50 years old. Then he starts talking about how he isn't sure if seminary is right for him... yadda yadda... and then suddenly stops and says that he has never told anyone this before, and that he is probably telling me because he thinks I am cute and sexy and that he has a crush on me. The long and short of it... the conversation was pretty one sided with me giving "uh-huh"'s and informing him that I am, in fact, straight ("oh, well that's cool" was his response). There was a lot more said, but I kind of want to leave that out, because it makes me feel pretty uncomfortable.

So I end up saying I was leaving after feeling appropiately uncomfortable after being hit on for about 30 minutes by a guy who is old enough to be my dad. I guess I now know what its like to be a girl hit on by the older sketchy guy. Since I told him I would drive him home, he leaves as well, and I drive him to his house. And he lives with his mom. I pull about 1/2 way into his driveway, leave the car running, in drive, with my seatbelt on, and stick out my hand to shake his to attempt to cut off any advances and told him that I would see him on Thursday. He proceeds to make another pass at me, asking me to pull the car forward and turn it off. I again state that I am not that way and that he should get out of my car. He finally did, after a one sided hug... where I needed to push him off me.

So. I wish the story ended there. Buuuuuuuuuuut it doesn't.

Thursday comes and I show up to work and run into Jennifer. I happen to be shadowing her that night and the thought that runs through my head is "good, at least its the girl who likes me, and not the guy". Jennifer and I run into another server and they start talking/joking about the pediphile... and I was dumbfounded as I questioned whether or not it was David. It was. I pressed Jennifer a little more and she eventually asks me if he has tried to hit on me yet. I proceeded to tell her the entire story of what happened Tuesday night. She laughed really hard, and then told me a story about her and him when she was 19. They went to a bar, and David told Jennifer that he was a really good kisser, and ended up taking his hand, putting it behind her head and kissing her, tongue and all. So Jennifer wasn't sure what story was funnier, but since mine was new, she said it will make her laugh for a long time coming.

Jennifer and I continue talking about David, and then eventually how another one of the managers is also gay, but that he's a lot easier to joke around with. Eventually Jennifer tells me that the manager asked her "Do you think Wait's a homo?" Jennifer said no way, but he didn't believe her... soooooooo he asked her to find out. Hence... THE NOTE. It turns out that Jennifer doesn't actually like me, and that would mainly be because she is also gay! And dating someone there named Katie!

So, if you are like Ian, you may be wondering "Is anyone who works there straight??" And there is an emphatic yes to that one. One of the other waitresses, who is 18... 18! has talked to Jennifer about wanting to spice up her sex life. She has already done Cops and Robbers, has chains and handcuffs and what not, but needs more ways to spice it up.

I digress. I am going to see how things go over the next couple weeks (I am finally on the floor tomorrow night, so I actually start making money which I need at this point). But if things get any weirder, I might keep my eyes peeled for other jobs in the food service business.

Oh, and no news on medical school.

-wait

Check Yes or No (while waiting)

2005-10-02T00:44:00.000-04:00

Tonight was my last night of scut work! I know that term is usually is indicative of the crappy work 3/4 year students due in medical school, it sort of fit tonight as well. It is the "Hey, take this to table 43. Take this to table 12. And this to table 2." My only question to that is "Where the F is table 2?" At Topeka's we don't actually have a table 2, but we do have an incompetent server who screwed up table numbers all night and screwed up orders. Really makes for an interesting evening when you are delivering a filet mignon to a table that wanted mozzeralla sticks.

I thusly finished food running tonight and can now tell the difference between a sirloin, filet mignon, porterhouse, T-Bone, and Rib-eye. All things considered, the only difference I can see between a filet and a sirloin is that the filet gets 2 toothpicks and the sirloin gets 1. I digress.

The expo last night was named Jennifer. She is probably an inch or 2 taller than me, and maybe about 25. Her mom is the bartender at Topeka's, and Jennifer carries an attitude bigger than I don't know what. People call her mean, but the only thing I can do is be "mean" back. I have found out the true meaning of "fight fire with fire" over the past couple days as I have heard about many of the servers/hostesses complaining about the others because they are "mean." But the only thing you can do is go to their level, and that usually makes them laugh. I somewhat feel my maturity level has decreased, but at the same time, it is awesome interacting with all of my coworkers as they are not what I have come across in my ventures through the University of Richmond and Georgetown University. Of course I say that in complete fear of making some huge overarching generalization, however many of these people have been looking just to get through High School, and the people I met at Georgetown have Master's degrees now. (Please don't think I am so horrible person by saying this). I really have loved every minute of it and am really starting to like the people I am working with it. Sarcasm is rampant and that is basically what gets us through the nights.

Back to Jennifer though. Tonight she was a server (as opposed to expo last night) and I was acting like I always do -- Like I said, playing off what the others give me -- and at one point, I saw Jennifer writing in the corner of the restaurant by the break room. I had happened to be looking for the manager at this time, and tried the break room, when Jennifer handed whatever it was she was writing to me. It said:
"Check one:
_ Girlfriend
_ Boyfriend
_ Single
_ Seasponge"

I got a pretty good laugh out of this and sort of felt like I was in 3rd grade. I was reminded of the country song "Check yes or no" when the singer was given a note saying "Do you love me? Check yes or no" Unfortunately I did not have a pen, but a few minutes afterwards, Jennifer gave me a pen to check which box it was the most pertained to me. Being the sexy stud I am, I chose single. For the rest of the night, things started getting a little "weird" that is she wasn't as playful, but started asking me more in depth questions (other than "what kind of food is this"). And it really felt like she was more thinking along the lines of "oh crap, what do I do now" thing. I just liked to laugh at the humor of it all.

Wow, I really can't believe I just broadcasted that to everyone reading this. Let's just say I am not going post what I really think about the situation, and you guys can use some sort of imagination. (Don't let it get too out of control :) ). I am sure though in time you will find out what has happened (either way).

Doing a complete 180 -- I recieved 2 small envelopes this week from Medical Schools. Which is REALLY disheartening. The first one was from Tufts University. But luckily, that only said that my application was complete. The second was from Penn State (in Hershey, not State College). The letter said that I was in the "Continue to Review" Category and that a decision about my application would be made at a later date. Fun Times. Essentially that letter means (I think) that they don't quite want to reject me, but I am not yet quite good enough for an interview, but I could be if they do not recieve enough applications that are better than mine.

So the waiting continues. I found the complete irony in the title of my blog "Waiting Around" the other week when I put together that I have been waiting around for a medical school acceptance. I originally used it as a play on my name (which, by the way, I have gotten TONS of jokes at work about) but it has completely transformed into this dogma that is my life. I am in a perpetual state of waiting. Not to get too philosophical, but isn't that essentially what all of life really is going to be? Waiting for something new? The way I see it is that I am waiting to get into medical school, then I will be waiting to go to school, then I will be waiting to start meeting with patients, then I will be waiting to hear about my residency, my job, my wife, my kids, my retirement (and, morbidly, my death). It's a constant waiting game. I guess the only thing I can do is enjoy each different period and what it gives me. Whether that be waiting (heh) tables, or treating patients, every "thing" that I am going to encounter is going to have some sort of mark on the story that is my life.

So maybe that can incorporate into a possible signoff slogan: "Still waiting..." (I'll see how that flies over the next few posts.)

-Still waiting...
waiter

Laguna Beach, Espanol, Zoolander

2005-09-28T12:05:00.000-04:00

I have finally started doing things. Last night was my first night at Topeka's Steakhouse. I was essentially just thrown in to see how I could handle it. My manager made me aware of the numbering scheme, and then dropped me off at the host stand, and said "Have Fun". So after a little apprehension (I have never hosted before) I caught the swing of it, and started seating people. It was a little weird as the other 2 hostesses were 15 and 17, and at one point I found myself talking about Monday night's episode of Laguna Beach with the 15 year old, while filling in the 17 year old on the most recent happenings between Jason, Jessica and Alex. I then laughed at myself because I thought about Ian, Mike and I watching Laguna (we are 22, 24, and 23) and then I was talking about it with someone who is a sophomore in high school.

The night was pretty easy. They kept saying how it wasn't that busy, but the amount of people they had was about as busy as it got on Friday nights when I worked at Chi-Chi's Mexican Restaurant. So it seems like I will be making some more money than the summer at Chi Chi's. Which is good.

I also went in this morning for my "interview" at CrossOver Clinic. Again, the quotes are there because it was a formality as she asked what is the most that I could work because they need all the help they can get. It seems like a pretty incredible place, giving healthcare to the uninsured. I am in the middle of Mountains Beyond Mountains and I can't help but think about Paul Farmer on the central plateau of Haiti helping not only the uninsured, but the people who maybe have never seen a doctor before. I know the central plateau of Haiti and inner-city Richmond are 2 COMPLETELY different places, but I felt the parallels that can be drawn are intruiging.

I start work there on Monday at 8 in the morning. I will be there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings from 8-12:30. I am really excited about this, and I know it will be hard at times, but I feel like this experience is really going to do something to me. One thing I am a little iffy about is that Wednesday is OB day. This is one field I really don't want to enter. So that will be... exciting.

Also, as a benefit (I guess you can call it that) the clinic is teaching a spanish class, which sort of started last week, but doesn't really start until this week. So I get to learn spanish as well. I am excited about that as well, because that is something that I have wanted to pick up.

I'm also trying to come up with a way to end my posts. Some sort of saying that kinda signs me off... Like Walter Cronkite - "And that's the way it is". Ian might shoot me for the Walter Cronkite reference as when we were at Rachels the other night, we played Cranium, and I couldn't guess Walter Cronkite after the reference to Zoolander ("You think you're too cool for school, but newsflash _____________... you aren't"). And to think, I actually won the walk-off when we went to Camp Varsity with UVa my senior year. Curses. I think I need to go hang my head in shame.

Alright, well I guess I should eat some lunch. My eating schedule is really being thrown by working through dinner. I guess I will work something out.

-wait

Employed?!?

2005-09-24T01:31:00.000-04:00

Well as the title of my post indicates, this guy (pointing 2 thumbs towards myself) is employed. Where you ask? Well it is a place called Topeka's Steakhouse 'n Saloon. I did a quick google search of Topeka's, and found that in Richmond, it is ranked below Ruth Chris, and Buckheads (understandably) yet above Outback Steakhouse. I am currently in the process of memorizing the menu (I almost have the appetizers down, I think). I start my training on Tuesday night and by the end of next week, I will be a full fledged server. Then I think you all need to come to Topeka's and have me as a server, and then tip me really well :) The best part about it (except for Grippaldi) is that you can have a bucket of peanuts at your table and just throw the shells on the ground (very similar to 5 Guys Pizza). Note: Wow. I feel very dumb. I must have been really tired when typing this because I know that 5 Guys is definetely burgers and fries, and defintely no pizza. So thank you to that person "Anonymous" who corrected the error of my ways, and many apologies.

I have also lined up a couple of other opportunities in the healthcare field (which is what I really need). On Wednesday I "interview" for a volunteer position at the CrossOver Clinic in Richmond. I should start there by the beginning of the next week (they probably have a few tests they need to do on me, ie: TB). And finally, after having an incredible meal with Kim McKnight last Tuesday night, and found out that she is working at a Hospice as the Volunteer Coordinator. So she is going to give me an "interview" (even looser than the one at CrossOver) and condense an 8 hour orientation into 4 hours and I should be starting that at the end of next week.

So basically, I am starting to get busy. I don't plan on getting excruciatingly busy, because I do want to have some fun this year. If I could truly have it the way I wanted, I would work at CrossOver for a little while, and eventually they will find a job opening for me, and I can get paid doing that job for more normal hours, and drop a few shifts at Topeka's.

Hopefully I will be busy enough to not feel like a loaf sitting around the house watching TV all day, yet not so busy that I never see my roommates or the inside of my house. (I plan on only working about 6 shifts at Topeka's -- 4 dinners and 2 lunches, so it can't be THAT bad, right?)

On the medical school front: No news. I am complete at all of my schools. I believe that Tulane is now not requiring a secondary, so that makes me complete at all of my schools. I want to call them and check for sure about the secondary, but they moved from New Orleans to, believe it or not, Houston. They actually opened the phone lines on Monday for applicants to call, but then closed them on Wednesday so that they could evacuate. I feel pretty horrible for them, however they definetely seem as upbeat as possible, all things considered.

In other news, I have been having a blast in Richmond. Tonight I went over to Rachel Burgess's house, and played Cranium with Ian, Rachel and Kristen, followed by watching Sahara. Rachel has mono, Ian is sick, I might be coming down with what Ian has, so a low key night was definetely in order.

Otherwise, I haven't been doing much, and it feels so great. Lots of people have told me to really enjoy this time, and I truly have been. It has been great to just wake up when I feel like, and not do much throughout the day. I have been starting to read more, restarting Mountains Beyond Mountains since school took over last year. I also have grand intentions to read Brave New World, HealthCare Meltdown: Confronting the Myths and fixing our failing system, Harry Potter 2-6, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Bourne Trilogy, and the Chronicles of Narnia. That's a lot to read, I realize, but just like this summer where I felt it necessary to catch up on some movies, I am feeling it necessary to catch up on some books.

Nick Huck comes to Richmond tomorrow, and I havent seen him since the big snow storm in January. It will be good to see him. These are the things that have been keeping me busy enough to not feel complete boredom, yet still comfortably relaxed.

That's about all I got to say for now. I realize I haven't been updating too frequently, but that's cause I haven't been doing that much. Eventually I will be busy enough to have more to post and talk about.

Up and Running

2005-09-14T22:49:00.000-04:00

The title just reminded me of a slogan that I saw on a truck as I was driving along interstate 95 one time this summer (it's been a few times now). The slogan said "We need to get up, before we get off." The immature side of me laughed nearly uncontrollably and I almost hit the jersey barrier. Then rational side of me kicked in, and I tried to put together what their slogan truly meant. I just tried a google search of that slogan, partially in fear of what may show up, but alas, no topics came up. And I really cannot think of what the slogan could truly stand for. I don't even remember the company to which the truck belonged.

Aside from that aside, we finally have the internet up and running here at 4702 Radford, of course not without its headaches. After having spent 45 minutes on hold with the phone company yesterday, and then performing the work that the technician should do, I got our telephone service hooked up, which was shortly followed by DSL. I then attempted to hook up the wireless router (a Linksys router which are generally very good) and spent 3 hours fiddling with that, while talking to Dave V. online so he could maybe guide me through it. After 3 hours I gave up.

Today though, I switched from my linksys router to a netgear router and everything works, sort of. I tried to set up a password for it, but when I do that, it makes the internet connection really choppy, and sends my computer through a pretty serious cycle of restarting over and over and over... So it's just an open network. If any of you techies have any ideas for me on that, I'd appreciate it. The error I get says its a Graphic Device Driver problem, which doesn't make too much sense to me because I feel a graphic driver wouldn't have much to do with the internet.

But who am I to discuss computer matters? I am trying to get into medical school. Which serves as a nice segway (I think I had a nice segway last post too, I'm getting good at this.) as I have finally pushed off all secondary applications. To my knowledge, 10 schools are absolutley complete, 6 should be complete, and 1 was mailed today. That of course leaves Tulane, which I have heard no news on.

I am gonna truly start the job search when I get back from Baltimore this weekend, ie: I will start waiting tables soon. As much fun as it has been sitting around watching TV, waiting for the telephone guy to come, I am just starting to get bored, and I feel like a complete waste of space. People say I need to enjoy that time, and I do, but I also feel the need to be doing something. Call me masochistic or something. Oh yeah, and I need to start making money.

I have another cool story about how some lady tried to rope Ian and I into a pyramid scam. But I don't feel like talking about that now.

Untitled (too many random thoughts)

2005-09-10T23:16:00.000-04:00

Oh, right. My blog.

Well it has been approximately 3 weeks since I updated my blog, and I actually do have a pretty good excuse. It is that for the past 2 weeks, I haven't had the internet long enough to post a new entry. I moved to Richmond about 2 weeks ago, and my internet time has been solely devoted to checking my email and working on secondary applications, of which I have now officially completed, with 2 minor exceptions:

1. Boston University -- I received that yesterday (Friday) afternoon, I completed it today, and need to just throw it in the mail on Monday.

2. Tulane University -- Being the "smart" person I am, I sent my secondary application off to Tulane at the first chance I could following the re-processesing of my AMCAS (which occured on Friday, August 26th). It dawned on me about Monday that Hurricane Katrina might have an impact on this application, and on this past Thursday (September 8) I asked the USPS what they thought the status of my application. The nice lady said that it is probably swimming in the Gulf of Mexico right now. So, that application remains in limbo. Obviously I will resend, I just need to figure out if/when/where etc.

Of course, my lowly application to Tulane University is the least of concerns, considering the devastation seen in New Orleans. It is freaking unbelievable some of the pictures I have seen, and I can only hope and pray that something good will come out of this situation, though it is hard to see that now.

So I decided to go ahead and apply to go to the Gulf Coast region to volunteer. If accepted, I would be "deployed" for 2-4 weeks and I have no idea what I would be doing. I just thought I'd throw that out there.

I also realized today that tomorrow is 9/11 (/05). It is REALLY hard to believe that 4 years have passed since that all too memorable day. It's amazing how long ago that seems, yet it still feels like yesterday that I was sitting up on the second floor of Thomas watching TV awaiting word.

Which makes me think that tomorrow before the beginning of the U.S. Open Men's final they are going to do some elaborate ceremony in memory of the fallen.

That serves a nice segway into the idea that I have watched a lot of tennis lately. We got DirecTV set up on Tuesday, and I have watched Tennis everyday since then. I am not sure what I going to do on Monday without it. The Agassi-Blake match was phenomenal... Ian and I stayed up til 1:15 to watch it (Mike wussed out and went to sleep).

So I head back to Richmond tomorrow... hopefully I will be back in time to catch the Ravens/Colts on ESPN. I am also going to start looking for jobs this week. I believe that I will be setting up an interview to volunteer at the Crossover Clinic in downtown Richmond on Monday, so hopefully I won't waste the entire day away. And then I will probably be entering some restaurant asking if they are hiring so that I can make a little bit of money throughout the year.

Hopefully the internet will be up and running at our house tomorrow as well. That is assuming that the telephone guy came on friday afternoon, and the DSL modem arrived Friday as well. I think that is hoping for too much. So hopefully Monday. (at least that's what I am banking on).

I will be back in Baltimore next weekend for the wedding of Laura Peace. This should be one heck of a wedding. It's pretty wierd cause I definetely grew up with her and her 3 brothers (we were friends from the waaaaaaaaay beginning... like still in diapers together... I mean we're not in diapers now, but we've been friends since we were in diapers... you get the idea). So she's getting hitched to a guy that is like 6'4, and she is something like 6'1, so they are gonna have some ridiculously sized kids. Hard to even imagine.

Well that's all I feel like saying now. It's a bunch of randomness thrown together. Til next time.

-waiter

Richmond and Wake Forest

2005-08-21T22:33:00.000-04:00

Prologue: I just saw the "Title" box at the top of the page. That is pretty cool because I can actually title my posts and make it look all cool and formal. Not that I am formal by any stretch of the imagination. But it makes it look better. At least in my opinion.

Well the 2004-2005 application season is officially over for me. EVMS started classes last Monday and they wait one week to make sure their class is full. And Maryland... well who knows, but it is August 21 so if I was still hanging on, I should have my head examined.

So begins my down year. I don't have to study, which is a very good thing. I do have to earn some money, which kinda stinks, but this is the first year that I actually am earning some money instead of spending it. All things considered, I am not sure where I will be earning this money, but it will come.

One thing I am sure of is that I am moving to Richmond. I searched Thursday and Friday of last week to find a place and saw a couple REALLY nice places, a couple pretty cool places, and 1 horrible place. After showing Clements the pictures, we headed back to the place that was "pretty cool" and decided on that. The price was right, location wasn't bad, and it just seemed to fit. For those of you familiar with Richmond, it is about 2 blocks from Willow Lawn Shopping Center. (Just inside the city line). I move sometime next week. I haven't determined when yet as there are a lot of things that I need to put together before I leave Baltimore (again). I knew it'd be temporary move. Oh, and for those of you curious, I am living with Mike and Ian [last names omitted for privacy concerns]. It's gonna be super sweetalicous.

As for applications, as a refresher: I have submitted my primary application ("AMCAS") and am currently awaiting/working on secondary applications as they come in. I have been fortunate enough to turn the applications around in a timely manner (I spend no more than 2 days on them). Currently 9 have been turned in, 2 are in my hands, I just need to complete them, and I still have not heard from 7 schools.

And then there is 1 school left, which is Wake Forest. Apparently they are really cutting people out pre-secondary this year and I was on the unfortunate end of yet another rejection letter. The first one of this application cycle. Yeah it hurts, but again, I am used to it. I have trouble telling my parents because my mom gets so upset with the situation because she doesn't realize a lot about the process. So in telling her, she basically gets all pissy making me feel awesome. Really awesome. (please note sarcasm. heh).

But life goes on and I know there are more rejection letters coming my way. In fact, I'm happy that they rejected me before hand because that saved me from writing their essays again and sending them more money. Now I just hope that I don't get 18 more of them... 17 more would be ok, because that means I got in somewhere.

2005-08-12T01:06:00.000-04:00

AMCAS woes and Niels Bohr (and pornography).

For those of you unfamiliar, AMCAS stands for "American Medical College Application Service" and serves as the initial application for medical school. It officially opens on May 1 of the year preceeding the year you want to enter medical school and you can submit as early as June 1 of that same year. (It does take a loooong time to fill out). I got around to submitting my AMCAS on July 28 of this year, still relatively early by many standards but I was not all gung-ho if you will. After submission, the people at AMCAS, who remain a mystery to all of us, process your application.

My application was finally processed this afternoon and in comparing my transcripts to what I entered on AMCAS they verified everything. But the problem here is that they neglected to account for every single flat A that I recieved at UR. Now seeing as this is my 3rd time applying, there are admittedly not 800 A's on my transcript, but there are enough to lower my GPA by over 0.1 points on a 4.0 scale. A tenth of a point may not seem like much, but really, it is. Not only did they not account for all my A's, but they also do not recognize all the credits that I had saying I only had 98 credits when I graduated college.

I found all of this out at around 5:10 and since the office was closed, I hopped on the internet (ok, the neighbors internet.... which I was already on) and emailed the office. Hopefully I will receive a response and the situation will be rectified in the morning.

On another note, I found a job opening in Fredericksburg, VA for the exact position I want. But the problem is that I want to live in Richmond. Alas, the search goes on.

My mom asked me today to show her exactly what I do while looking for jobs since that is apparently all I do now. What does anyone do? They go through the classifieds and for me, that is online. She really has yet to figure out what is on the internet.

Which reminds me of a story from high school... I had to do a research project on Niels Bohr (a Danish Physicist) for some class -- probably something for Mr. Blue as it was on the atomic bomb. And I remember I was researching on the internet and I was reading a webpage that had "Niels Bohr" across the top with a picture of him. My mom walks in and asks me what I was doing, and then gets all accusing-like. She says sternly "Are you looking at stuff you shouldn't be looking at?" I was like, "MOM! It is Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist. Do you REALLY think I would be looking at porn at this time of day??" Makes me laugh to this day.

Okay, well I will update more once I have something more to update.

2005-08-10T02:02:00.000-04:00

Hunting for jobs sucks.

That is all.

2005-08-04T02:48:00.000-04:00

Another rejection brings out the continued notion that I won't be going to medical school this year, an idea that I have ascribed myself to over the last few days. This time it is Temple. Which is cool and all, but the letter they sent me was the same exact letter they sent to every other rejectee from their school this year. At least they could have the decency to send me a different form letter, one to the tune of "We did really like you as indicated by our decision to keep you on the wait-list, but we don't have space for you". But no. They give me the song and dance about having over 7000 applications and then the kicker "Unfortunately the tyranny of numbers requires us to reject many who have the potential to become physicians"

First of all, what exactly comes to mind when you hear "tyranny." This is how dictionary.com describes it:

A government in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power.
The office, authority, or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler.
Absolute power, especially when exercised unjustly or cruelly: “I have sworn... eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man” (Thomas Jefferson).
1. Use of absolute power.
2. A tyrannical act.
Extreme harshness or severity; rigor.

I think dictatorship, a la Hitler, Lenin, etc. etc. etc. So are they saying they have a dictatorship? Well isn't that cool. Last time I checked, Temple is in North Philadelphia and as Chris (my roommate from Georgetown) put it, "If you go to Temple, you will be robbed at least 1 time per year". The last thing they have is a dictatorship over the medical school applicants and that is based alone on the location, not to mention other stuff with the school like the accredidation problems they were having last year and having 8 (yes 8) people per cadaver -- 4 on each side.

Now don't get me wrong and misinterpret my rantings and ravings. If they had accepted me, I would have been there in a heart beat as opposed to applying to med school for a third time. It is just the little annoying things that get me and am frustrated at yet another rejection. I have all the letters from both years in a folder in my room.

When I get into medical school (notice how I don't say if :) ) I am going to do something with them... and no, it won't be burn them. I will probably make a collage out of them (yah, kinda girly) but I can post it on my wall to serve as a constant reminder that not everything in this world is given to us. These past two and a half years have served as a humbling experience for me; it's an experience that I, though feel somewhat brusied and broken from, wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I am sure some poet or literary-type figure said something to the effect of it's not the destination that is most important, but the journey.

And the journey, my friends, is what makes it all worth it. We can't have the good times if we don't know the bad. It is the people that join you on the journey, whether it is for 1 hour, or 3 years, that make the journey worthwhile. It is the places you go, both literally and figuratively, that make the journey worthwhile. So I hope you look around (I'll refrain from that stupid saying with flowers) and realize the journey you are on, and recognize that it probably isn't that bad, all things considered. Things will work out along your path one day, probably when you least expect it. Everything may suck now, but remember this time so that one day you can look back and laugh.

-waiter

2005-07-29T23:39:00.000-04:00

3rd time's the charm, right? I have officialy applied to medical school for the 3rd time, hoping that I can actually gain admission. These are the schools I have applied to:

Albany
Albert Einstein
Boston U
Case Western
Drexel
Eastern Virginia Medical School
George Washington
Georgetown
Jefferson
New York Medical College
Penn State
St. Louis
Temple
Tufts
Tulane
Cincinatti
Maryland
VCU
Wake Forest

Yep. That's a ton, but this is it so I am going balls to the wall. As for my number one? It is the school that lets me in. I submitted my initial application - AMCAS - yesterday, and recieved confirmation today that they have both of my transcripts. So now all I need is to get certified and the secondaries will start pouring in so I will have my hands full. Cincinnatti (I am going to have to learn how to spell that at some point) has already said their secondary will be available on August 1st, and there are a few schools that have their secondary as .pdf online, so I can get cracking on those this weekend and next week. I WILL be on top of it this time around (not that I wasn't before, but this year will be super anal).

In the meantime, I just finished painting my bathroom a bright shade of green. It is something between THIS and THIS (not that that gives you any idea whatsoever, nor do they look any different - they are, I promise). So I have been kept real busy all things considered.

I have also been looking for jobs - the top two right now seem to be a radiology tech student where you get on the job training, and a patient care tech where I clean dialysis machines. The latter says one year experience needed but only 2 years of college, so hopefully my master's will outweigh the experience. Both jobs are in Richmond - so there is a chance that I will be moving to Richmond. Who knows.

Well Panera is getting ready to close, so I should leave. Until next time...

-waiter

2005-07-21T16:20:00.000-04:00

And then there were 3. Well, in actuality, it is probably 2. I got back from California/Vegas yesterday morning (took the red-eye) and recieved a letter from Fern at NYMC saying they have had less than expected movement on their waitlist, and that no position would become available for me. Sweet.

I have also essentially given up hope on Maryland as well, as I have talked to someone who was in the 1/3 above me that has not received a phone call to come off the waitlist. So that leaves EVMS and Temple. I don't think there is anything else I can do for EVMS, and I could probably afford to send an email (or 10) to Temple.

On another note, I did make it out to California without throwing Darci or Erin out of the car. We drove straight from DC to Flagstaff Arizona with a stop for dinner in Louisville Kentucky. We left at 11AM EDT, and arrived in Flagstaff at 9PM (not sure what time zone that is, because they don't do daylight savings time... so they were on Pacific Time, but in the Mountain Time Zone, I digress). We saw the Grand Canyon the next morning, and made it to Darci's house in Bakersfield, after stopping at an In-n-Out in Barstow (coincidentally, our first stop in California after getting gas for $3.06 - and yes, that is the cheap stuff). After 2 nights in Bakersfield, where through emails we learned Dr. Sherman has a partner, we headed off to L.A. and spent 2 nights at Mark's house and then a night at Alex's house. We did all the touristy things - Malibu, Santa Monica Promenade (3rd St.), saw the walk of stars, the Kodak Theater, Beverly Hills, drove down Sunset Blvd, eventually made it down to Orange County and Saw Huntington Beach, Newport and of course, Laguna Beach. (The new season starts Monday at 10PM; MTV is running marathons pretty much all this weekend to get you caught up).

We then headed off to Vegas. (What happened in Vegas, stayed in Vegas, sorry.)

Just kidding. We stayed at New York New York, saw a show - Zumaniti - highly recomended if you are ever in Vegas, we walked the strip, saw the Venitian, Paris, Bellagio (outside) MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay among others. Everything was so nice, but it was freaking hot. They have been setting records over there - it was 116 on Monday; at least it was a dry heat, I guess. But its still hot.

I flew home Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, and am now back in Baltimore, commencing the job search, and pondering what I want to do with my life. Right now, it is be a bum. But that will be old by, let's see... tomorrow.

Expect more updates as my boredom level increases.

-waiter