"There are days that make the sacrifices seem worthwhile. And then there are the days where everything feels like a sacrifice.."

The key to being successful is what we give up: sleep, friends, a normal life. We sacrifice it all for that one amazing moment, that moment when you can legally call yourself a doctor. There are days that make the sacrifices seem worthwhile. And then there are the days where everything feels like a sacrifice. And then there are the sacrifices that you can’t even figure out why you're making. - Meredith

Test block two is complete. On average, this one was a little more stressful than the last. I'm not sure if that's because of the way the material was arranged (lots of classes didn't overlap very well, so it was literally like studying five weeks of material for five different tests in five days), the way the tests were arranged (with the big ones spaced out MWF), or that I just didn't pace myself quite as well during the block - but as usual, M and I made it through together, and I'm fairly happy with the results.

Things I learned this week: 1) Getting news of any great magnitude - be it good or bad - is not conducive to productive studying. 2) I can't cram for anything except Micro... but I'm an awesome Micro crammer. 3) My best friend and M2 "other half of my brain" is pretty much amazing - and I'm beyond glad that God put us in each other's lives at just the right moment... definitely couldn't make it without her.

The weekend was lovely. Friday night, I went to Mistletoe Marketplace for the first time... so much fun. I see a new annual tradition headed my way! Saturday, Mommy came up and we went shopping (Mistletoe again... and some other places). Yesterday, just football and lots of relaxation... followed by Girls' Night, the Grey's Anatomy we missed Thursday (stupid test block).

There were grand master plans to go to school today, but those fell through when the bed was just waaaaay too comfy. And after looking at the schedule for tomorrow, I'm calling a repeat. Four day weekends? Anytime. Thanks med school. It's nice of you to "play nice" after last week. :)

De Nile. It's not just a river in Egypt, it's a freakin' ocean

Sometimes reality has a way of sneaking up and biting us in the ass. And when the dam bursts, all you can do is swim. The world of pretend is a cage, not a cocoon. We can only lie to ourselves for so long. We are tired, we are scared, denying it doesn't change the truth. Sooner or later we have to put aside our denial and face the world. Head on, guns blazing. De Nile. It's not just a river in Egypt, it's a freakin' ocean. So how do you keep from drowning in it? - Meredith

So it's been two weeks already, eh? The title of this post about sums it up. Finally got to a "non-denial" place about this test block, just in time thank goodness. I had too much fun (is that even possible?) being normal and just had no desire to return to the mundane world of M2 year.

Highlights from the last couple of weeks:
NICU day last Monday - lots of cool cases around right now, also super cool to see some of my last on-call deliveries from the summer "all grown up". A few long-term kiddos have even gone home. It was so nice to be back, but one day is just a tease.

Starry Starry Night - very cool. I'm getting the hang of the Easely Amused experience.. and getting addicted.

FAIR!!! It was my first trip to the fair, and it was lots of fun. Ate a huge turkey leg, a funnel cake (complete with strawberries), and rode 'til I almost (literally) threw up. Thanks M for a fun time, and not laughing at me toooo much when we had to stop that one ride...

"Life As We Know It" - Very very cute, very much a chick flick, very much recommended.

Church- as much as possible. Having a home place of worship is great!

There was, of course, lots of studying in between that and this past week and I'm finally beginning to feel caught up. I'm no where near ready and it's going to be an insane 10 days or so before the next block starts. But I'm totally looking forward to week-after again. This M2 thing? It's pretty cool.

"....To stop thinking like a doctor, and remember what it means to think like a human being."

"They say that practice makes perfect. Theory is– the more you think like a doctor, the more you become like one, the better you get at remaining neutral, clinical, cut, suture, close - the harder it becomes to turn it off. To stop thinking like a doctor, and remember what it means to think like a human being."

It's been a lovely two weeks. Renaissance was AMAZING. I don't know why I waited so long to play that game - I'll definitely be doing some Christmas shopping there. That was Tuesday... after that I guess I went to school for a couple days, it's been a very "non school" type of couple weeks. I needed the break, but I suppose it's time to get back on the horse. I didn't realize how much break I'd need after the test block - the M3's warned, but since I didn't spend 20 hr days studying the week of tests I honestly figured I'd be alright. Guess the exhaustion kicks in no matter what.

This week has been very sluggish. Today we did ENT exams on each other, that was kinda fun. My partner played "kid" since I was the only self-proclaimed pediatrician to be in the room. She whined, moaned , and pulled her ears away from me. Fun times in M2 land. We also had our second PIG meeting today - I think it went great!

Also, M and I have secured a preceptor for ICM, even though the ICM people haven't told us a thing about when this is all going down - which is funny, seeing how it's supposed to happen in less than two weeks. As is med school - we never REALLY know what's going on.

Studying still hasn't come back full force.. but it will tomorrow. I've got a long weekend due to a lucky break on the path/ICM schedules, and I plan on catching up and getting ahead (if possible). Monday I'm playing in the NICU. Can. Not. Wait. It's been a long nine weeks not in there. We have one mandatory at two oclock, but I'll be in baby land until then :). Easely Amused after - where I'm painting "Starry, Starry Night" . I'm sure it'll be WAY better than VanGogh. Hahahaha.

"I like my money where I can see it... hanging in my closet" - Carrie, SATC

I promised I'd update with a non-medical school/fun post eventually, so here goes the epic weekend:

Friday night - Grey's Anatomy, Girls' Night In, and out and out forgetting that school ever existed
Saturday- Starkville! First "live" football game... and it was way too much fun. Melissa thinks she might even turn me into a State fan. Eh, I don't see that one coming any time soon - but I did cheer for them and get excited when they beat the pants off Georgia. My football fandom goes as such: Ole Miss>Mississippi Teams>Bama/Florida>All Other SEC>The rest of the country...
Sunday - church, football (Saints... what more can I say. Don't break our hearts this season boys... it takes an offense AND a defense).
Monday - had a freaking mandatory TBL (team based learning, or more affectionately known as total BS and lies) that was extraordinarily painful, followed by keifer's and writing of test challenges.
Today - it's off to Renaissance with M and N for lots and lots of retail therapy, good food, and laughs.

It's a very happy time in my life. Welcome to it :)

Foreman: "Now all we have to do is read her subconscious and hope that it's completely rational and went to med school."

Test block OVER!!! What a week it has been. The title of this entry, although intended towards a patient in an episode of House totally describes a majority of our professors and their approaches to test questions. I'm just relieved to be on the other side, and super excited about a school free weekend. So far, it holds promises of lots of food, friends, football and fun. Going to my first college game tomorrow night - pretty excited about that. Tonight is going to be low key... I've got about enough energy left to lift my head off the pillow and look at the computer screen (and that's pushing it!) even after a couple hour nap.

I can't say the week was pleasant, but it was much easier considering the fact that M moved in and we muddled through it all together. How you'd do this without a best friend beside you, I have absolutely NO idea.

In personal news, one of my very good friends from home has officially announced her pregnancy - I'm so happy for her and her husband. They are going to make wonderful parents. I was lucky enough to be in the wedding, and if all goes well (and baby stays put til his/her due date), I may be lucky enough to be beside her on this big day too - it falls at the very end of April, so I'm going to have to have a talk with Peanut and convince him/her to wait until after finals, but soon after, so that it isn't close to fourletterword test day.

Looking forward to October. Fall is in the air (somewhere), I'm making another trip to Easely Amused (Starry Starry Night by Meg, the artist...), and there will not be one single test. Much different than Blacktober last year. All my prayers and well wishes are already with the M1's. Other projects for October involve a day or two back in the NICU and some more research on the longitudinal study that Dr. K and I were looking at starting toward the end of the summer. Crazy how quickly the year is passing.

This could quite possibly be the most boring blog post ever. Just wanted to let y'all know I hadn't dropped off the face of the planet... and hopefully I'll have fun things to post about soon!

A patient's history is as important as their symptoms. It's what helps us decide if heart burn's a heart attack... if a head ache's a tumor....

"A patient's history is as important as their symptoms. It's what helps us decide if heart burn's a heart attack... if a head ache's a tumor. Sometimes patients will try to re-write their own histories. They'll claim they don't smoke, or forget to mention certain drugs... which in surgery can be the kiss of death. We can ignore it all we want, but our history eventually always comes back to haunt us." - Meredith

Another wonderful week in the world of med school. I can't believe the test block is right around the corner, but shockingly, I feel much more prepared than I thought I would at this point and I'm truly not overly concerned. Kind of ready to get it over with.

The big exciting news of this weekend post is that I've finally found a church I feel "home" at in Jackson... why it took me so long to go, I'll never have any idea. But God was definitely drawing me there yesterday and it was an incredible experience. Very different than any church I've ever been a part of (It's. So. BIG!!), but exactly what I need at this point in my life. We also started up bible study on Wednesday, so I've spent the week getting back to the basics and the things that matter - my relationship with Jesus and His community. It's a lot easier to go through the trials and tribulations of daily living when you're in concert with Him. Even though I've struggled a bit with my humanism this week, it's been revealed to me in multiple ways and through multiple people that He is good, and He has put some amazing people in my life to help me walk this journey :)

So once again, it's kind of a boring "med school" update. I'm ready to get back in the clinical setting, the classroom is for the birds. Which is why I'm sitting at home studying today instead of in the classroom... I'm tired of being a bird. It seems we study better not sitting in class and the stress level is much lower, so I'm slowly becoming one of "those" people. I'll never be a complete non-class-goer, but not being there every class is awesome.

Now, back to breast pathology. Don't forget to do your monthly self breast checks!

doctorspeak

Sometime in the last two months, something changed. Not only are we beginning to think like doctors, we're also beginning to talk like doctors - and not in the awkward "using big words because we just learned them" way of last year. Nope. Instead, doctorspeak has become almost as comfortable, if not more so, than the common English that I've been speaking for 25 years. For example:
CC: 25yo WF presents for occasional "heart racing".
HPI: Sxs appear seasonally, with peaks in September and December/January
Physical: Normal findings... (lots and lots of three letter abbreviations)
Dx: Football FEVER!!!!!!!

Why yes, my friends, it is officially football season! As if this week needed help getting any more fun and less school productive? :)

Other things that happened this week outside the realm of study central:
-First PIG meeting on Thursday. I think it went pretty well :), and i've tweaked the sticky parts so that next month's is even smoother
-Easely Amused Thursday night was AMAZINGLY fun. Our painting "Sweet Georgia Brown" looked pretty tough, and I have no artistic ability.. so I was a little bit nervous about that. But it was super fun, turned out really well, and is definitely an experience I'll repeat.
-Mommy's birthday yesterday... we had a good time hanging out/catching up. Family is something that too often gets neglected during this process (especially last year) and I'm grateful that I've found a better balance so far this year.

Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL long weekend!