Transportation

This morning I walked about a mile to get to Mass (Holy Rosary). It was nice, lots of families, tons of firefighters for some reason. It wasn't too hard to get there, but it still made me anxious to get a car. I wouldn't say that a car is absolutely necessary, since I have a nice roommate who drives me to the grocery store/train station, but life would be MUCH harder this year if my parents weren't driving my grandmother's old car across the country for me to use. I can only ask my roomie to shuttle me around for so long before it'll strain the relationship.

Public transportation is available. One AMP student lives off campus and takes the bus every day, but nothing beats being able to go directly to the store to get some Nutella when you're feeling blue.

My mother's going to visit this week. She's done getting my sister set up for her first year at MIT, and I'm looking forward to using her rental to get some furniture. I've been here close to a month and all I have are a bed, lamp, and a floordrobe. My roommate's a fan of IKEA, but I'm sticking to craigslist. Slightly more sketchy, a lot more cheap. But no meatballs :(

You know what else I haven't procured in a month at NYMC? Nerd friends! Where my nerds at? I'm getting desperate. If I don't find someone to watch anime/sing Broadway/make LOST theories with soon I'm going to start "accidentally" planting specific links in the group emails.

Study group

We had a nice group study session today. I had hoped Dr. Lerea would show up to walk us through histology slides. I'd even written in my email to the AMP group email list that people better come study with me or I'd be alone with Dr. L and it'd be awkward. Unfortunately, I learned afterward that Dr. Lerea is a part of that email list. Terrible.

Everyone was glad we got together to talk stuff through, but nobody was anxious to lead discussion or just speak in front of everyone. I guess it makes sense, since this program is more about absorbing information than "developing leadership qualities."

The other students were surprised that I use wikipedia extensively while I'm studying. That site is what got me through bad lectures and inadequate textbooks all through undergrad, so I don't understand why the other AMPs don't share this dependency.

I've come to the conclusion that the previous occupant of my bedroom was a werewolf. Not only is there a weird amount of hair all over the carpet, but the hair itself is crazy thick and coarse. I'm serious, you could use it to repair holes in your jeans.

Socializing

There was a whopper of a sunset while I was walking back from the gym. Since I had spent all day studying in my room I appreciated that the one moment I spent outdoors was the most beautiful.The picture doesn't really do it justice.

I'm going to try to make a movie night or something happen in the near future. The point of the program is to prove that you can make good grades, so I spend most waking hours studying alone. I know I might only be here a year, but I need to make some friends. As nice as they are, I'm upset that the program directors are the people I've talked to the most in Valhalla.

Those guys really are great. They're out best cheerleaders, and genuinely care about our success. During orientation they took us out to a welcome dinner, gave us directions to nearby gyms and movie theaters, and told us their doors were open ~20 times.

I wonder if any of the other AMPs would be into V for Vendetta.

Histology

The second week of classes starts tomorrow. Since the AMP (Accelerated Master's Program) students take half of the first-year med classes I only have class twice a week. This leaves a lot of time for enjoying beautiful Valhalla and bunny spotting. It's there. Keep looking.

Our only class now is histology (micro anatomy/cell bio). We'll have 3-4 hours of lectures on Tuesday, and 2 hours of lecture with another 2-3 of lab on Thursday. Lab is mostly learning about a structure and then immediately looking for it in a section.

There's a lot more memorization to this class than anything I had in undergrad. I've already begun luring classmates, troll-like, into study sessions with promises of pizza. Luckily all the other master's students are into communal focus.

We'll start a biostatistics course in a few weeks, but I've heard it's not the kind of class you lose sleep over. Until then I'll keep reading the histo class transcriptions ($110/semester) and strengthening my relationship with wikipedia.

Welcome

This is about my year as a Basic Medical Sciences master's student at New York Medical College in Valhalla. It's a brand new program, and a second chance for 20 pre-meds to earn some street cred.

Topics will include academics, life in Valhalla, and adjusting to post-undergrad existence in a place I didn't know existed until 8 months ago. Classes begin 8/12.