It's a good thing eBay doesn't use paper mail....

Let's just say it's been FOREVER. And this post isn't even about medical school...well, mostly. RANT: So, I'm buying a replacement part for my Sony PSP because it's been broken forever. I had purchased a new joystick in mid-January, but the previous seller hadn't shipped it and after some poking around other buyers of said replacement part haven't gotten theirs either. I don't get it. The seller has a 9X.X% rating and emailed me saying there was a problem, but I've sent an email message and an eBay message and still no responses. COMMUNICATION. Why work so hard to have good rating and then let it go to poo not responding??? So, I have to dispute that. Maybe that put me in a bad mood.

So, I ended up buying the part from another seller and I'm setup on Paypal and go ahead and pay and complete the transaction. RANT#2 I turn to my email and I have not one, not two, but FOUR emails.
a) from eBay saying congrats you've just won, pay up.... hey, thanks, it was a "buy it now" item and i'm still logged in completing my transaction
b) from paypal saying payment made! hey, thanks I know, but it is good to have a receipt.
c) from seller saying congrats you've just won, pay up! go it....see above.
d) from seller saying hey thanks for paying up. *exasperation*
it's a good thing eBay doesn't use paper mail....but really, there's a shortage of electrons too, isn't there????

p.s. i gotta go study GI.

thirty-three

man. one day you're worried about classes and exams and whatever and the next day your friends...your school...your life...changes.

forever.

so my thoughts and prayers (yep, sometimes) go out to those in blacksburg and their families and friends and loved ones....and to you - my friends and my colleagues. i will be there for you and i ask you to be there for me....for each other. things should never get this bad.


go HOKIES.

Technology

The endless distractions, information overload....obscures the beauty of our surroundings, the people around us, nature. TV, internet, MP3 players, cell phones, laptops, PDAs......shelter? Comfort, necessity, interference, noise, cold, barriers. Keeping us from relating one-on-one, in person....in life.

Isn't it cool that you can be hundreds or thousands of miles away from someone you know....love....care about and you press a letter....press a key...and flow begins through some microcircuits and a burst of electronic energy, you are......connected......instantly. Miles turn into milliseconds and that person you are missing is right there....in the same room and relating and sharing. Electronics.......life.

11 September 2006

Five years ago, I was studying for the same test that I'm studying for right now: The Abnormal Amniocentesis Module. I was enrolled in MCP/Hahnemann University's post-baccalaureate medical science program (now Drexel's). Because we had a reading day off, I was still at home making my way slowly out to go study. I came down to the kitchen when my father told me that a plane had hit one of the twin towers. I was distracted with what I had to do for my exams and getting things together. I brushed it 0ff as some goon of a private pilot flying his Cessna too close for comfort - like that guy who landed his plane in Red Square, Moscow. I was putting my stuff in the car when I heard my dad call me. The second plane had hit the other tower. Exams and studying immediately took a back seat. I stared at the monitor...for hours, upon hours. The towers fell, the Pentagon struck, normal people fought beyond expectation.

I had come to the program from Penn State, which was largely homogenous for Pennsylvanian residents. MCPHU was comprised of people from all over the country including New York. I learned that a few of my classmates had family that worked in the towers. Thankfully, they had made it out alive. I later learned of friends who knew someone that was murdered that day in New York City. My heart grew sad and sadder yet again, as I visited New York for the first time after it had happened. The skyline looked naked. The hole in the ground. A few years earlier, I celebrated my cousin's wedding at Windows on the World. The magnificent sculptures had fallen. How could they celebrate their anniversary now?

But, life had to move on. Life has moved on. My cousin has three children. My brother has added two. Resilience.

It is important for those of us that had a more intimate experience to share it with people removed from the experience. It is important for us to remember. It is important for us to never forget.

Peace to those still in anguish at their losses. Thanks for all those that serve our nation. Rest in peace to all those that lost their lives that day.

how do you measure.....measure a year??

One year ago today, I was getting ready to take the MCATs AGAIN...not a bad score thing mind you - an expiration thing. I had decided to go forward with taking the exam and taking a (last?) chance at medical school very, VERY late last summer and I was left with two weeks to study - one of which I spent on vacation! :O Not exactly a recommended course of preparation, but I knew my previous experiences would pull me through the exam. Thankfully, they did.

After the exams, I went straight to my friend Jaime (female) and Tom's wedding reception. Happy Anniversary!!! Not like they'll read this though. lol. It's crazy that they've been married for a year already. Married....sheeshhh! That's a different discussion altogether.

So, in the past year, I've filled out assloads of applications for schools, spent thousands of dollars on fees for those applications, drank a bit of alcohol because of those applications, went fishing, went racing, bought another car (cheapo-bucket), and spent every second on the rollercoaster of "will I/won't I get into medical school". I wish it wasn't such a long process, but at least I'm done with that and the year's toil was fruitful. But again....it's crazy that I'm finally here.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm going to "WAKE UP" and not be in medical school or get the letter that says, "We made a mistake on your application." But that is fading now and everyday I gain more confidence in my abilities.

I am happy that I am here and I will make a great doctor.

August 5th - Backdate this entry

I don't really know much about blogging. So, if someone knows how to backdate an entry, by all means let me know how. Thanks!

Anyway....

Orientation started 'yesterday' on the 4th of August. Saturday's events included some optional tours/sessions. The one that I went on included a drive around the area to investigate Alternative Study Spaces (A.S.S.es as I suggested). I'm not much of a 'library guy', so I thought it would be useful....turns out there's nothing really close to the Queen Lane Campus - no little coffee shops on the corner, bookstores...

During the tour, I sat in a car with a 2nd year and 3 other 1st years. That was the more useful part of the excursion. We got to pick our "sage's" brain on a more intimate/informal setting. It was kind of a long afternoon and I started fading out. The radio was playing and The Fray came on...sometimes I feel this way and I blurted it out loud, "Does anyone else feel like the refrain?" I think it's a normal feeling of......anticipation? excitement? anxiety? Maybe a little of everything, but I know it'll be good.

"Everyone knows
I'm in Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind"

wooohooo! 1st post

It was an awesome moment in my life. Yesterday, Drexel University College of Medicine's Class of 2010 received our white coats!

For the uninitiated, the White Coat Ceremony is a newer tradition in the medical community where a few speakers comment on the profession and discusses the tenets of science, education, compassion and ethics that are important to a career as a physician. The class recites the Hippocratic Oath for the first time as new initiates into the profession.

Our keynote speaker was Dr. Richard V. Homan.
http://www.drexelmed.edu/med/news/newsprint.asp?ID=51
His speech focused and stressed Humanism in Medicine and for me it was an emotional moment...the culmination of years of perserverance, desire and a little bit of luck. Today, it all came together in the realization that I am in the right place at the right time to start my career in medicine.

As IF I needed any more affirmation of how perfect everything is coming together, I was driving home on the Schuylkill Expressway and the traffic was light and the sun was setting in the west. I flipped around on the radio stations and landed on U2's "Beautiful Day". The lyrics might not apply or make sense, but the refrain is......Perfect.

It's a beautiful day
Don’t let it get away
It's a beautiful day
Don’t let it get away