What a great first day. It’s the first first day in a long time in which I did not get lost or have something truly humiliating happen, usually resulting in tears. I met more of my classmates and professors, and I am even more convinced that this school is exactly where I need to be.
I have some new school supplies. Boy do I love school/office supplies. Pens, dry erase markers, and highlighters in every color, new syllabi, canvas binders, and a reflex hammer!
Now is the time of the first day evening when I survey the chaos of all the information I acquired today and try to put it into a sensible, usable format.
White Coat Ceremony and my family’s visit were awesome. I’m so SO happy to be where I am right now.
Retreat was fun. I met many of my classmates and smashed my boobs during the human bowling portion of our version of Olympics. I really gave 100% and enjoyed most of the two days. Pictures on Flickr soonish.
Zoe is cute. Really, really cute. She had a great time with her Gigi while Joel and I were at Retreat. I love that child.
Today we had plans to go to the zoo, but then it rained all afternoon. So we’re saving it for another day and instead went to The Chocolate Bar for a sugar overdose while my crock pot roast finished cooking.
Medical school officially begins tomorrow. I can hardly wait. For once my excitement is not of the nervous variety. I’m feeling very zen about the whole thing.
Pre-entry is complete. I feel SO much more ready for school now. I’m kind of in awe that such a program was available to me, and that the past five weeks went by so quickly. The gears in my head are now turning. Props to Rachel and to my tank group for getting me through the rough patches.
Immunizations are done; now I just need to turn in the form.
SYTYCD declared a winner; I was pleased. Now what will I do on Wednesday and Thursday nights? (Oh, right. Study.)
We have registered and paid for retreat. Costumes have been decided. I have gone from 100% old, fogy, stick in the mud, “I’m not going to retreat” to a somewhat matronly, “I’ll go and even dress up, but no drunken debauchery.” Should be fun. And hey, if it’s a big Fish Camp-esque disappointment, there is, as Joel pointed out, much value in shared experiences.
I’m so excited because my family will be here next week! It has been too long!
Y’all noticed that ZoeTube went live, right? Much gratitude to Zoe’s Daddy, Aunt Ali, and Nana!
The last week of the pre-entry program is upon us, including four exams. One - at least I - might have thought this weekend would be one of studying, with the occasional break for consumption or sleep.
While there certainly was studying, there was also fun. The whole week was rather extracurricular heavy, even though it was, as my classmate put it, a bit of a sh*tstorm academically. Tuesday was the Astro’s game, Wednesday was So You Think You Can Dance and the baking of carrot cake cookies, and Thursday was the pre-entry dinner at the Doctors Butler home, which is a very special experience for us new students. The weekend brought more studying (of course), New York Pizzeria pizza and Rock Band with new friends, and Rachel introduced us to lasagna rolls, which were SO GOOD. Mom made her delicious ice cream. All were happy and full-bellied. Tonight I actually ran the vacuum upstairs. I do love freshly vacuumed carpet.
I’m in for some hard core learning the next few days. I’d like to be more efficient and focused with my preparation; it still seems haphazard and overwhelming at times. But I’m not freaking out, and this gives me hope. Today we had a practice anatomy practical choreographed by the tutors (who I hope are compensated well for their incredible job). I got about half of them right, and I’m happy with that for now. I can learn the rest in the next few days… right?
Speaking of exponential learning, Zoe continues to expand her vocabulary. This morning she woke up (too early) and jabbered non stop for about an hour. When prompted she might provide the following:
What a lion says: Rawr!
What a cow says: Muuu
What a cat says: Mew or Mow
What a dog says: Woof! or Hrm hrm hrm! (whining)
Where her belly button, nose, eyes, ears, mouth, hair, head, and toes are
What page Cookie Monster and his cookie jar are on
What color a banana is: yeh-wo
All of this is tragically adorable. She also takes her diapers to the trash, writes a Z on the white board (it looks like a Z to me anyway, and she says “Oh” after it, like she’s about to spell her name), and swiftly completes her wooden puzzles of colored fish and numbers (she has been doing that for about a month and a half).
If it sounds like I’m bragging, I kind of am, but it’s also that I haven’t been writing this down in her little journal, and I’d like to have some record of it while I’m thinking about it.
Can we still call her a baby? I think I might have to start tagging things about her with “Zoe” instead.
So I’m still finding my stride, to include prioritizing my limited computer time. I’m keeping up with reading all the blogs I read, and not so much updating my own.
We had a good visit the past several days with Joel’s Mom and sisters. My Mom is in Wisconsin with my Dad at a major air show, where I’m told a jet pack was revealed, which I must hear about. I’ve always wanted a jet pack.
My Mom will be relieved to know that this afternoon I tended to that pesky matter of immunizations before classes start. I have misplaced my record, so titers are required. But two items are checked off, and by next week I’ll have the rest. In a related story, and this is for Rachel: my shoulder hurts.
Tonight we went with many of my classmates to the Astros game against the Cincinnati Reds, also known as Zoe’s first official pro baseball game. Minute Maid Park is pretty impressive. A good time was had by all. Zoe was an absolute angel. I had every expectation of needing to leave before the third inning, but she sat in my lap calmly and happily the majority of the evening. She cheered appropriately and entertained herself with her recently acquired friends. I can already tell that there are some real gems in my class. We’re in the right place.
Tomorrow is our last anatomy lab during the program, and we’re doing four labs in one. I hear sleep calling my name more loudly now that I think about the stamina I’ll need for that…
This program is no joke. I’m loving it. I mean it’s crazy hard and I’m sure it’s only going to get crazier in the semester proper, but what an experience. My classmates get more interesting every day (in a good way), and slowly but surely I’m finding my stride with the studying. Some things are starting to stick anyway.
Zoe is precious as always, showing more and more personality every day. Tonight we went to Hermann Park again. It was such a beautiful, almost cool, night after the rain today, and she just marched all over the place, confident and sassy.
Biochem quiz and team based learning tomorrow, followed by physiology lecture, followed by anatomy lecture and lab… So this one is brief. Thursday we get to play doctor with a standardized patient for the first time, which will be a refreshing and motivating break from all this science. I love science just as much as the next med student, but I got into this mostly for the live human side.
Zoe’s new favorite word is definitely “no.” Whatever question you ask her, the answer is “Noooo,” complete with an emphatic head-shake. It’s cute, not adamant, because sometimes she seems to mean yes, and she’s just saying “no” because it’s her favorite.
This morning she stirred at 6:53AM, a mere 7 minutes before my alarm was set to sound. I brought her into bed with me as usual, relieved that she would drink a little milk before the long day apart. She might have drifted back to sleep were it not for the alarm.
When it sounded she sat up and said, in her sweet little voice, “Noooooooooo!”
(Happy 17-month birthday, Zoe! Props to Joel for capturing this. As if any moment is better than another, be sure to catch Zoe raising the roof at the end.)
Right this second I do not care about figuring out what my particular study style is. News flash: I am in this program in large part because I did worse in science classes and on the MCAT than my peers, which is because I do not know how to study.
Can’t someone just tell me how to do it?
Historically study groups have been WRONG for me. But I’ve worked myself into a doozy of a panic attack on my own. So I kind of want to go to sleep.
At least I’m dealing with this now instead of in August.
This is a brief study break to say a couple of things:
1. My school is Apple unfriendly. Joel put Vista on my MacBook so I can dual boot. The result is the unshakeable feeling that my machine has been violated. I’m even using IE to write this post. Yeeugh.
2. I cannot get enough So You Think You Can Dance. I just love it. Joel enjoys making new, more ridiculous names for the contestants since he finds their actual names humorous. The one that is in my head constantly is “Kerfloffington” (for Kherington, who is absolutely adorable). I look forward to finishing my prereading tonight so I can watch the elimination show. They’re all so good at this point - they’ll be sending home a very good performer no matter what. Watching SYTYCD with Zoe is great fun - she dances almost the whole time, and she really uses the whole room to do it.
Much gratitude to Zoe’s Daddy, Aunt Ali, and Nana!
