Second Exam

I spent the weekend in NYC again. I think I've only spent two weekends total in Valhalla. This time, however, I had a good reason for going out of town: tickets to a Ratatat concert! I bought them a month ago, completely forgetting that I don't like concerts. It took two awful opening acts, a 2.5 hour wait, and second-hand smoke to unleash the memories of my few hateful concert experiences. Plus side: I got a sweet t-shirt.

I will pay for my unfocused weekend by studying nonstop for our midterm on Thursday. This one will include a practical test, where we will be asked to identify and describe light and electron micrographs, not all of which we've seen before.

We only have a month more of histology lectures! After the mini-board we'll have a few weeks off (except for biostatistics) before we start the second trimester and (dun dun duuuuuun) biochem/physiology!

UTSA

I received my first invite to interview at a med school the other day. This is my second med school application cycle so it won't be my first interview ever, but it's still way exciting. I didn't get an interview last year until almost Christmas.

The AMP directors were psyched about my interview. They told me to set up a time with each of them for a practice interview, so by the time I head to Texas I'll be all pumped up.

But who knew it was so hard to get around this part of the country? I grew up 10 minutes from an international airport and now I have to take a cab, train, and shuttle bus to get to JFK or La Guardia. It will literally be a 12 hour journey to San Antonio.

Fortunately I have tons of friends there to stay with. Hopefully one of those friends will escort me to the pre-interview social happening at an establishment known as The Flying Saucer. A school that encourages partying the night before the interview...gotta be a good sign, right?

Biostatistics

I'm writing this during our 10-minute break in the middle of our 3-hour biostatistics class. I've never taken any kind of stat before and was too caught up in histo this week to read for this, so this class was way over my head within minutes. I gave up and started reading histo notes. Also, taking pictures of my classmates.

The girls in the program went to the local Cheesecake Factory last night for dessert and gossip. We had a lot of fun except for the massive, unlit construction on 287.

Study Break

The lab test on Friday took all of 15 minutes. I messed up a question because I was too nervous, and all of my partner's telepathic advice was not helpful. Later that night a lot of the AMPs and first years went out to a bar/dance club called "The Thirsty Turtle." That night the club had a carnival theme, so there were balloons, carnival games out back, and this creepy guy walking around the dance floor on stilts.

Standing in front of the stiltwalker is a first year I don't know, but refer to as Sawyer for ponytail reasons.

All classes are canceled on Thursday because it's a "study day." One of the cool things about being part of such a small institution is that they can make a day off whenever they want to. In undergrad the only day off we got was MLK day. At NYMC there are days off for all of the major Jewish Holidays plus a few study days.

Lab Quiz Prep

My parents were at the same showing of "Spring Awakening" I saw. Apparently my dad and I got some of the same impressions:
Anyawkward (thank you, michael k), today we started gearing up for our first lab quiz. On Friday students go into one of the lab classrooms with the histo instructors two at a time and answer questions about slides projected on the wall. "What is this structure? What would the EM of it look like?" That kinda stuff. It only counts for 3% of the class' grade, but since there are only going to be six questions we want to be on top of our game.

Of course, the really big news is that the AMP students of the female persuasion have decided it's time for a ladies' night. The boys in the group are somehow already super chummy, with their flag football games and pickup basketball.

Fun fact: there are 12 dudes and 8 ladies in the program. I found that surprising because most med school and post-bach programs I've looked at make a huge deal of trying to keep it even. Then again, this is a pretty small program...

I wonder what will make up Ladies' Night...I don't know what the other women are into, but I've learned that Taboo pretty much equals instant friendship.

Saying Hot Hot Hot

It's crazy hot in Valhalla today. I maintain that it's not worth paying $100-$400 for an AC unit but I'll definitely be studying in the library until things cool down.

In the wake of our first exam I feel like the AMP students are getting a handle on everything. We're gradually being treated less like SMP (Special Master's Program) students and more like first years. There haven't been any AMP-specific gatherings in a few weeks.

I literally ran into a cadre of jugglers while leaving the gym yesterday. Recently I've been missing my undergrad circus arts compatriots like whoa, so it was nice to hang out and teach patterns and stuff. The guy I mostly talked to said he was trying to form a club, and maybe even find a legit way to do such things
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First Exam

Today was our first exam in Histology. It was a 65 questions, multiple-choice, and pretty tricky. They had the answer key on the school's database (the DCDB) in an hour or two. Unfortunately I can't figure out my grade until I see the stats on the rest of the AMP and first-year med students. AMP students are graded according to what percentage of the med school students they scored in. I think you have to score in the top 20% to get an A.

The fun part of your fist histo test is that upon its completion the second years get together and buy beer for the first years' immediate consumption. The second years are really into it, and even sent out a cute little powerpoint detailing the history of this lovely gesture:

Last week my mother came to visit, which meant I could use her rental car to drive around and actually buy some furniture. It all came from a combination of craigslist and Target. We wound up having to rent a truck from the Home Depot to carry a dresser I bought to campus. They charge ~$20/75 minutes.

I live on the second floor so getting the dresser into my bedroom was difficult. It was way too heavy for me, but I couldn't reach any of my friends on campus. At one point a med student with burly arms walked by. I ran after him to ask for help, yelling, "YOU WITH THE ARMS!" but he drove off before he heard me/ignored me until he could get to his car. Eventually the super was able to help me out.

I spent most of last weekend cramming for the histo test, but I spent one day visiting in New York. I got cheap tickets for Spring Awakening from TKTS. I had a lot of problems with the story, but the music is still in my head and it was great to see people from undergrad.