Quick update on what's been going on, because I'm about to head out the door to hang out with a friend from Belhaven (Pedro!!).

It's been a good week. The biggest two things that happened, in my mind, were the first gross anatomy tests and the braces. The tests went fairly well. I did better than I thought I would do, considering how under prepared I felt the night before. I didn't get an A on the two tests combined, but it was close enough. What I did learn was that I need to review for a little while longer in the lab before the practical. Personally, I think I should be doing better on the practical portion than on the written (should be easier, if you're prepared!).

The braces haven't been as bad as I thought. Of course, a heightened sense of self-consciousness accompanied them, but I'm pretty much used to them now. It's funny, everyone has been sharing with me their stories with braces. One thing that frustrated me a whole lot was that I got a loose bracket last night (Friday), which means that I can't get in to get it fixed until Monday. I hope this doesn't happen much, because I was trying so hard to follow every single little rule they told me to (not eating cookies and chips is difficult!). I think I just brushed my teeth a little too vigorously. It's annoying because the bracket is still connected to the wire, but it keeps moving and flipping around. Oh well. Two years from now, I'll probably laugh when I remember how much this annoyed me.

Other than that it's been a fairly relaxing week. After anatomy, my brain was fried, so I haven't really been doing much of anything with regards to school since then. We basically have a three-day weekend (only one class on Monday), so I hope to get a decent bit accomplished.

We had our class elections this week, and I think we have some great officers. I gave my little presidential spiel, and I was honest with the class. I told them why I wanted to do the job, but that, if elected, I would only be able to serve a two-year term because of my MD/PhD status. They ended up choosing someone else, and I think they made the right decision. I was bummed for about 5 minutes when I found out, but that's about it. It would've been great to serve the class in that way, but honestly, I think my heart is more with the community. The free clinic is great when I go (haven't had as much time this semester as I would've liked), but I'm looking for other opportunities. I wish there were a community-outreach-related position that I could have run for, because that's what I'd love to get people interested in. It's too easy to become wrapped up in yourself in medical school.

So that's all I have to say today. Keep voting for the Children's hospital, please (10 times a day for the next month).

http://xbox.childrensmiraclenetwork.org/default.aspx

We're in second place now. If we get a new game room, I'm going up to play video games with the kids.

Alright, an update is overdue, I admit it. It's been a while, and blogging has been on the backburner for me, primarily because I feel like I have no interesting updates. Things are going great, but it's just been the same-old, same-old stuff.

Anatomy is my favorite class right now. I enjoy studying for it, and the labs are a blast. However, I have had a minor allergic reaction to formaldehyde, which is putting a small damper on things. I'm hoping that the issue will resolve itself shortly. Our first test isn't until two Mondays from now, so I probably be getting behind on it over the next few days in order to study for the upcoming Biochem and Genetics tests (this Tuesday). And I also have to travel to Tupelo tomorrow to run a marathon early on Sunday morning.

So my free time for the weekend will probably consist of the evening off tonight (probably go to the movies), driving to and from Tupelo, and running the marathon. Other than that, I'm going to try and get some good studying in.

Biochemistry isn't too bad. It's not uninteresting material, it's just that I don't feel like it's incredibly relevant to clinical medicine. I know it will help to understand diseases, but I think I could still be a competent doctor if I understood everything from a level above the biochemical level. I need to know this stuff for the big ol' STEP test, though, so I'll learn it, and try to do so happily.

Genetics is interesting to me, despite the fact that I've only attended 1 out of the 6 or 7 lectures we've had. I've been trying to wade through the 350 or so powerpoint slides that we'll be tested on on Tuesday, trying to figure out how much of it I want to learn. I would love to learn it all, but the class as a whole is only 2 percent of our overall grade for the year (biochemistry is 20%), and that will definitely be a factor in my studying.

I've barely thought about developmental anatomy so far. We have a test in it the same day as our anatomy test, so I'll be looking at it next week as well. Again, I know I should be interested in this material, but I'm really not. I think I could do fine without knowing a lot of it.

Physiology will be starting up in the next few weeks. I'm excited about that, both because I love the subject, and because I like all the professors that I've met in the department (except for one, who won't be teaching any of our classes).

Ever since we've started school, I've had this feeling that I want to do more than just study. I want to be involved in things outside of classroom work, and I think that I might just have a chance. We had a lunch today where the M2-M4 class officers came and spoke to us about their roles on campus and within the class. It's been odd, but I've had several people ask me over the last few days if I was going to be running for president. It threw me off, but not because I hadn't considered it before. I just figured that some of the older students in the class would want to do it, and I thought I'd defer to them. But I think I've decided I'm going to run. It's no big deal if I don't get it, and I think I'll run regardless of who runs against me. I'm totally fine if people don't vote for me, but I know that it's something I would enjoy doing, and it would be a great way to serve my fellow classmates.

So that's what I've been doing. School mostly, but also a healthy chunk of free time as well. Definitely enough to keep me sane. Plus, keeping up with the exercise and the 8 hours of sleep per night is invaluable.

I wrote this all very quickly, and I'm too lazy to proofread it right now, so I apologize for the inevitable errors that this blog entry is sure to contain.

So long.

Oh, and an addendum. I went to the orthodontist, and apparently I need braces. I know it's ten years late, and I'll be like a little kid, but whatever. My bite is slightly off on the left and right sides, and if I don't do something about it, apparently the enamel will wear on one side and create a lot of problems later on. So those are going on in 10 days. On the positive side, the orthodontist I happened to go to is a very strong Christian and I know his son, who plays soccer for Belhaven. He said that because I'm medical student, he's giving me a discount. And it's an incredible one.