Mini 2: Finished

They say it's a marathon and not a sprint, but that's a load of nonsense - it's a 26 mile sprint. It's a break-neck, headlong dash to a finish line so far away, I can't even see it - I just know that slowing down isn't an option. It's like I'm being chased by the Wolves of Failure, and in order to keep ahead of them, I've got to sprint like my life depends on it. Mini 2 was on Monday, and I'm back to sprinting. I think it went alright; it wasn't as nit-picky as the first one, and I felt better coming out of this one.

Interestingly, a new study room opened up next to the study space I used to frequent. This is on a big room with rows of single-seater desks - I call it Alaska, or, alternatively, the Caribbean Tundra because it's absolutely frigid. I got some serious studying done - it's a place to concentrate and focus if I ever saw one - it's just that my teeth were chattering the whole time and I could hardly hear myself think.



I love how we don't get so much as a day off - the way things are set up, we have our lab practicals on the Thursday or Friday before the mini-exam. So we're trying to balance studying for the practical with studying for the mini (they don't overlap at all, I don't care what anyone says). It's rough, especially since the mini is on a Monday - classes start again Tuesday morning. After the last mini, I didn't take a break at all - the day of the actual test, I was back at the study space, learning the clotting cascade. This time, though, I allowed myself the pleasure of some merlot and chocolate cacke at Tomato's with Nicole - and then came Tuesday morning's introduction to the cardiopulmonary system.



Oddly enough, I think I'm going to enjoy the "rough-stuff" - cardiac and pulmonary physiology. It's not that I'm particularly good at it - but since I've had it in MERP, I've gotten a bit of familiartity, and it makes sense. The thing I kind of like about physiology is that it can't be limited by rote memorization, but rather is exemplified by application. Maybe I'm just telling myself that it'll be fun...

Speaking of fun, though, I have an AMSA (American Medical Student Association) suture clinic today, and I'm really looking forward to it. I figured my dues should get me more than a t-shirt, and I should start acquiring skills that might actually be useful some day. (Not that clathrin and cardiolipin aren't useful...they're just.....you know.....not associated with anything I might ever see as a doctor). I don't know what to expect - I've only spoken to one person who had done the clinic, and it sounds like something I'd really enjoy - Lord knows that if I closed up a surgery with the stitching skills I've got already, I'd better get myself a fantastic lawyer.

We're supposed to be getting some interesting weather tomorrow; apparently, a storm or something is going to roar our way, causing waves of up to 15 feet. Now, for all the storms I've heard about, I've seen precious little in my time down here except for the occassional rain. I don't want to jinx myself, but I'd like to see a good Texas-sized thunderstorm - the lightning around here must be fantastic with only the mountains in the background.

I try not to stress - it's just not who I am. Here's a picture from yoga on the beach.