Yummy yummy in my tummy

So back in October, my mom came up for the weekend and this happened:

It sure lasted me a while. This week I used up the last bit of meat to make a red pepper paste-garlic-turkey-bulgur concoction:

Typical dinner at Chez T

And these crescent rolls are ridiculously easy to make. Just put a mixture of thyme seeds and olive oil and bake for 20 minutes until golden-brown. Super fast and easy. You can also do a parmesan-oregano spread instead or even Nutella and chocolate chips (see friend's blog here for recipe). :)

I like YA fiction and I cannot lie

Every year I look back and list the books I've read throughout the months. I usually average 23 books per year, but of course this year it's going to be half that number. I did not read a single book between mid-July and mid-December, sigh. Here are some thoughts:

1-4) The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I read these because I was intrigued by the trailer for Beautiful Creatures and like to read books before I see the story on the big screen. The story is much more rich and you are the one creating the imagery in your mind. The movie was okay. Not too bad, but I think it didn't do too well so I don't expect the other books to be made into films. I really really enjoyed reading this series. It had a nice blend of fantasy, romance, and mystery. I initially thought the beautiful creatures are the witches, or "casters," but it actually refers to humans. (BTW, that wasn't a spoiler, don't worry.) Pretty easy and fast read and you get hooked.

5) A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

I admit, I put off reading this one because I am stubborn and was waiting for the paperback to come out so that my entire set would look the same (I have paperbacks of the first four books). But the publishing date kept getting pushed back...and back...and back. So I caved. I'm sure I actually would have held on to my resolve and waited for the paperback had I not been starting med school in a few months. Since these books are usually 1000+ pages, it's a huge commitment, and I really did want to finish (whatever's been published of) this series ASAP. It was one of my least favorites of the five, but perhaps I'm biased because the book is Dany-heavy and she is one of my least favorite characters. Sorry Khaleesi fans. (Side note: I know the show refers to her as Khaleesi a lot, too much for my taste in fact, but really that's a title, not her name. She is Dany. Please.)

Tell me this asymmetry does not give you heart palpitations.

6) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

What a charming book. Don't expect a happy ending since the central premise revolves around two teenage cancer patients, but it's really sweet. Can't wait to see the movie!

7) Stiff by Mary Roach

A book about what happens to bodies after people donate them. Each chapter is dedicated to a different thing - anatomy lab, crash testing, forensic testing, etc. Not that morbid, believe me. And eyeopening.

8) This Won't Hurt a Bit (and Other White Lies They Tell You) by Michelle Au

Ha! Dr. Au has her own blog (the underwear drawer) and is the brilliance behind the scutmonkey comics. This is sort of an autobiography and I just love her tone and honest musings about third year, internship, residency, and how to balance work life with family life. She explicitly states things you know we are all thinking so it's very validating.

9-10) The City of Ember/The People of Sparks by Jeanne Du Prau

The first book in this series was gifted to me by one of my undergrads that I supervised at my old lab (cue the aww!). She apparently asked an employee at Barnes and Noble about something that would be appropriate for a Harry Potter fan (she knows me too well :) and this is what was recommended. I really liked it! It has the post-apocolyptic/dystopian future vibe that is so prevalent in lit these days, but the main characters are 11 or 12 years old so things are told from a more innocent/less jaded perspective which is refreshing and interesting when you realize what they are referring to through their descriptions. I didn't like the second book as much. It felt less character-driven and more plot-driven, but I still read through it. I started the third book as well, but I'm not sure if the same characters are going to show up since most of the storylines were tied up during the second book and the setting suddenly changed in the third. I stopped after the first chapter to switch over to Divergent (see: below), and now it's the end of break so I probably won't get to this for a while.

11-13) The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

I admit I wasn't too intrigued when I first heard about this series. I think I saw it on a BuzzFeed post or something and thought it looked mildly interesting so I wiki-ed it and didn't think I wanted to read it. Saw the trailer last month and thought, hmm, it does look good. And then one of my friends read the entire series in the middle of finals week because it was just that good. So of course I had to read it. I did spend the bulk of my reading time on this series and didn't get to read as many other books as I thought (I had 8 set aside, and got through 4 which is better than nothing!), but I don't care! It was so so good. I know a lot of people are disappointed with the way things ended, and I can definitely see why. There are a bunch of questions that are still open or the answer wasn't satisfying/didn't fit, but I'm not regretting reading it. I definitely cannot sit down and write a short story let alone a trilogy so you have to give credit where it's due. The books are definitely page-turners and they're easy. I don't think it's fair to compare to Harry Potter or The Hunger Games. They are all different. And at this point in my life, I'm reading more for entertainment than analysis (see: # of YA lit on this post) so I'm happy! Guess I will be seeing plenty of Shailene Woodley next (yikes!) this year at the movies.

Things I did over Winter break

Movies seen: 4
Books read: 4
Number of times went out with friends: too many to count

What a relaxing, glorious 16 days this has been. This was the first break that was truly a vacation - nothing to study, no presentations coming up, no clinic since I went back home for two weeks, no waking up with alarms. I cannot believe I go back tomorrow. I wish I had a timeturner. It's going to be back to the grind starting Monday, with more difficult classes (I presume), more responsibilities at clinic, and who knows what else.

Movies seen:
Catching Fire (again!), Frozen, The Desolation of Smaug, and 12 Years a Slave

Other fun stuff:

Annual Cooking Baking Pahtay. This was from last year because we ate all the cookies this year before I remembered to take a picture, ha!

Traditional BJs date with college friend R who is also in med school. Yeah, we go for the pizookies. :)

Three future docs

Block 1 Reflections

Block 1 is over! It really was a 20-week marathon...and I passed every class above average, bam! I figured I should write my thoughts about each since it's still fresh in my mind:

Physiology - I seriously thought this would be my easiest class, oh you know since I have a degree in it and all. It started out pretty easy, but once we got into the organ systems, things got super detailed and I was spending more time on this than I anticipated. I also went ahead and royally bombed the renal quiz. I mean hardcore failed it. Seriously. Which is sad since I felt like I had the best grasp on renal material in comparison to the heart or pulmonary sections. The problem was that the quiz was one case only and I missed a key physical exam finding (bad!) so I came up with the wrong diagnosis (very bad!) and my explanations therefore were tailored to this completely wrong conclusion. Oh well. It was sort of a wake up call in the sense that I don't think I was studying physio the way I should have. I was focusing too much on details and not considering the big picture or what physical exam findings would indicate. So in a way this was a good thing in that I really really really studied for the next module and reviewed very thoroughly for the final. I still ended up getting the lowest grade in this class among all of my block 1 classes, but oh well. The irony is not lost on me.

Anatomy - what a wonderful class. I feel sorry for other med students who have to study anatomy without our instructors. I mean they are seriously wonderful and stay waaaaay after class or come in just to review material with you if you need it. At first, I was annoyed that we had to do dissections and figured prosected bodies would make life and learning so much easier. But looking back I understand the importance of doing these things on your own and taking care of and learning from your person. Dorothy was such a great teacher. (Obviously her name isn't Dorothy. Maybe it is, but I don't know. My group thought she looked like a Dorothy so we named her that.) We wrote little notes for her and left her flowers after our final.

Histology - oh dear. This was my least favorite class (sorry!). Slides, slides, and more slides. What is there to say except that I coasted through the first 15 weeks of this class (like barely missed a question) and then missed A LOT of questions on the last couple of quizzes. So just like for physio, I rage studied for this final and did super well. Yay!

Biochemistry - it's biochem. What more is there to say? This year, the curriculum was adjusted slightly so that the genetics portion of Block 1 was switched with the Metabolism portion from Block 2. I think this was fine. Although the metabolism section was heavy and done in a very short amount of time, the clinical correlates really made the material stick for me, so I was happy with it.

Doctoring - I can do a full physical exam. Which is basically what I've been bragging to my friends back home and they probably want me to shut up and stop repeating that statement. But I can do a full physical exam. Oh yes. I can.

Overall - I do think I overstudy, but I also think that that is part of my personality. I like to be very thorough. It was the same in high school and undergrad. If a teacher said not to worry about a certain topic because it wouldn't be tested, I still studied it for my personal knowledge. There were quizzes where I triaged certain topics but I still studied everything (just not as thoroughly as I would like).

I am a little worried about Block 2 in the sense that this will be uncharted territory for me. I had already taken most of the classes offered in Block 1 but EVERYTHING in Block 2 will be new material: Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology, Immunology, Endocrine/Reproduction/Nutrition/Genetics (well maybe I know a little bit of ENRG after all). Just have to take it one day at a time and adjust things if necessary.

Goodies for finals from my Big Sib!

Dinner and a Movie...with a side of influenza

I saw Ender's Game a few days ago. (Confession: I actually have not read the books. I know. I know. Embarrassing. I hadn't even heard of the series.). I really liked it. At first, all I could think about was Hugo Cabret since the lead character was in that movie, ha! But the plot was captivating and intriguing. I hear the books delve into ethical considerations a lot more, so I think I'll read the first one over winter break. Don't know how far along I'll get in the series though - it's apparently 12+ books. That's a lot of commitment at this point. Sad. But true.

My lab group and I also went to dinner at this Mexican restaurant I've been wanting to try. But if you ever want a twist on dinner, you should do what one of our class presidents organized for us: Progressive Dinners! You go to someone's house for the Appetizer course, then the group plus the Appetizer host head over the Main Course house, and then the group and Main Course host end up at the final house for Dessert. Your group gets bigger at each point since you're bringing along the previous course's host so it's super-fun and tasty. My classmates are so talented. :)

Unfortunately, though, I am now sick. What was the point of that mandatory flu shot, again? Ugh. Luckily, it was a light weekend so I didn't have much to study. Unfortunately, it was a light weekend and I didn't have a lot to study...so I could have been doing other things. :( I even had to cancel my clinic shift.

Five days till Catching Fire comes out! Ten days till I'm home for Thanksgiving! Cannot freaking wait.

Med School Meltdown

This week I had my first med school meltdown. It was about a flat tire...Seriously. I was driving home from school and heard a loud noise, followed by those grating sounds. Okay, I thought, I'm basically a mile from home...maybe I can make it? Yes? Please? Nope. I felt the car slowing down so I quickly exited and put on my hazards. I figured I'd call AAA and get this sorted out quickly so that I could squeeze in some study time until the Peds SIG dinner later that evening.

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Apparently, AAA won't help you if the cardholder is not present. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. I thought I could use my dad's information since my car is registered under my parents' names, but I guess they require a physical presence. At this point, I was on the verge of tears because I didn't know what to do. I was in a No Parking zone in this city that I've lived in for a grand total of 3 months, basically all alone. Good thing it wasn't dark!

The AAA lady gave me the number of a towing shop, suggesting that they could come and switch my tire since I had a spare. I called them and they said that they would only tow the car. Well, tow the car where?!?! What do I do after that?!?! That wasn't useful to me! I decided my next best option (besides begging a friend to drive out and help me) would be to call my apartment manager to ask if he knew about any nearby shops. At this point, I was *really* frustrated, so the tears starting flowing and my voice was cracking. And so my apartment manager actually came over and changed my tire himself! I couldn't believe, that was too kind. I baked him some brownies as a thank you but unfortunately they were a disaster so I put together this instead:

Even though it was shitty afternoon and I was even considering not going to the dinner because I was so frustrated, I'm glad that I just let that go and went anyway. My top choices right now are Pediatrics and Psychiatry so it's nice to get a perspective from practicing physicians as to why they chose their specialties and get an idea about their lifestyles as well. I'll probably try to start shadowing soon, too. I'm meeting with my preceptor this week (she's in Family Practice, though), so I'll take it from there.

Red October?

Wow! I haven't realized how long it's been since my last post. Well...actually, I have. I've been meaning to write, but I always leave it for the next day, and then the day after, and so on. So here we go.

A couple of weeks back, we had the Body Donation Memorial - basically a ceremony for those who have donated their bodies which we learn from. Their families came and set up pictures and newspaper clippings of major life events. It was really great talking to some of the families and expressing our thanks for their generosity. My class will be planning next year's ceremony. I've started a journal entry to organize my thoughts about our person and what that means to me. Hopefully, I'll get to share that once the block is done.

Here is my anatomy lab group, btw. We are a super cool bunch and many other groups have complimented both our dissections and how well we work together. :)

Credit to my very artistic med school bestie

After our second practical, we all went to the Dixon Corn Maze and had some good Fall fun walking around the corn husks and trying to find our way out in the dark, haha. Definitely have never experienced anything like this before.

And today, we actually had the day OFF (what?!?!) so the female portion of our lab group (see above) decided to shop shop shop. I mean, we need nice clothes for Doctoring and clinic right? We had a nice lunch afterwards at this place called Seasons 52. Apparently they have a seasonal menu and some of their items change weekly, hence the name. Ha!

You may be wondering why I've titled this post as such. Historically, this month is dubbed Red October but so far it's been okay. I think the course instructors have restructured a lot of the material from previous years so things have been a bit more organized and integrated. Can't believe that after Monday, we'll have taken 6/8 of our quizzes (already completed 2/3 of practicals), not counting finals of course. Thanksgiving cannot come soon enough though. I really do want to go home and just...eat.