| The future looms... |
[May. 14th, 2008|09:10 pm] |
I realized recently that, even though I plan to go to med school, I have no plan for what I do between college and med school, which is really a more immediate, pressing issue. It's pressing because apps for some fellowships are due pretty soon (as in the end of the summer) and take a long time to prepare. Being me, this realization came with strong feelings of panic and anxiety, followed by obsessive internet searches. First productive step after freaking out: I emailed professor O'Leary, the amazing ochem prof who is temporarily my advisor until he leaves for Bowdoin in July (sadness!). He helpfully suggested that we talk the issue over at lunch that Friday. This would have been more helpful if I hadn't been thousands of miles away. We decided that we would postpone our chat until I'm back in Claremont at the end of June, leaving me more than a month in which to stress out moderately. My next contact was my mother. Everything mother suggested involved moving back to Davis and living at home. I love Mom, but she must understand that this is not really my number one choice.
At this point, I think I'm considering way too many options. I'm considering Peace Corps, but I'm also vaguely considering applying for a Marshall or Gates Scholarship. Yes, I realize these are vastly different options, but I could kind of see myself doing either, or a lot of things in between. Lab/Research jobs might be the most obvious choice, given that I have more experience in that area than any other, but I don't really feel like it'll add much to my life or my med school app. I wouldn't hate it, but I probably wouldn't love it either. I'm considering MPH programs (including doing something equivalent at Cambridge through the Gates scholarship or some such), but I don't know if I have enough experience or demonstrated interest in the field to get in. Also, that would be another two years of school in addition to the four for med school. I'm gonna start getting old and possibly burnt out. The Marshall and similar scholarships are ridiculously intimidating. I looked at the profiles of some of the people who got the Marshall...these people might as well have cured cancer. Living abroad appeals to me, and part of me would like to do something completely different like volunteer in a developing country. Enter Peace Corps. I've heard mixed things about Peace Corps, but I'm still strongly considering it. It scares me a bit, mostly because I think I'd get really lonely.
So please, if you know anyone who as done Peace Corps or an alternate volunteer abroad experience, gotten an MPH, applied for or recieved a Marshall, Rhodes, Gates Cambridge or similar scholarship, or has had any other vaguely health-related (non-medical school) experience, please let me know what he/she/they thought. I'm casting my net pretty wide here, but the more input and advice I get, the less I freak out. |
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| Purely superficial, but... |
[Jan. 7th, 2008|03:37 pm] |
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Is it just me or are the republican front-runners a lot less attractive (physically) than the democratic ones? Think about it...Hillary, Obama, Edwards vs. Romney, Huckabee, McCain. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 3rd, 2008|07:04 pm] |
I liked this blogger's 10 ten list until she endorsed Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight. I know I have ranted about this before, but I still consider this album the biggest musical disappointment of 2007.
There was an article in the Seattle Times that (exboyfriend) Scott told me about that discusses online candidate match quizzes. For curiosity's sake, I took a couple (USA Today's and SelectSmart.com's) and BOTH of them had Kucinich ranked as my best-fit candidate, which I think is hilarious. Why do I have to agree with the candidate who's clearly unelectable? I sympathize with this man, quoted in the above-mentioned article:
Curt Anderson, who runs SelectSmart.com out of his home in Oregon,acknowledges the shortcomings. He said he's a devout liberal whoprobably lines up most closely with Kucinich, a man Anderson says hecan't envision as president.
"But I didn't want to include a question like, 'Would you vote for a candidate who is elflike?' " Anderson said. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 6th, 2007|12:12 am] |
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I really just need some time to sleep and to think about myself and who I am, what I want, and where my mind is. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 28th, 2007|09:05 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Girltalk - Non Stop Party Now | ] |
I now have a little over three pages of text for my 20 page endocrinology paper, and I already have 15 references. Endnote, how did I ever live without you? |
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| Harwood Halloween Awesomeness |
[Oct. 28th, 2007|02:38 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Menomena - Boyscout'n | ] |
Harwood Halloween was amazingly awesome this year. Ted Leo and the Pharmicists were really fantastic, but what I appreciated most about them was that they were so upbeat and good for dancing. Dance we did. The concert was at the Sontag Greek Theatre, which is an amphitheatre that has a fire pit in the middle. No fire was going last night, but they put this metal thing over it when it's not being used. It's pretty sturdy, but it's in four pieces and when a few people jump on it you can definitely feel it going up and down. Basically, it ended up being me and my friends (usually a group of about eight, probably) dancing absurdly on the fire pit cover, which of course makes noise when you jump up on down on it. It was like clapping in beat to the music, only way more so. It may have been totally obnoxious for the people around us, but it was the most fun I've had in a long time.
I can't believe that show didn't sell out. I'm so embarrassed that my school (and the Claremont colleges in general) has such a lack of appreciation for Ted Leo. I think the crowd was pretty good though. Everyone there was really into. There was crowd surfing and the whole bit.
After the concert, we hung out for a bit in Scott's room, which also kind of turned into a dance party, much to my enjoyment. Eventually (after some other detours)we got to the actual Harwood Halloween party, which was in the parking garage of our ITS building. We got there late enough that there wasn't a ridiculous line (the line last year was about an hour long, since they were only letting a certain number of people in the party at one time), but it was ridiculous inside. It was pretty much a gross, very crowded and sweaty dance party, where you occasionally got poked in the eye with someone's fairy wings or shoved aside by a guy in fake armor and a viking hat (as a side note, Ted Leo put on someone's viking hat during the concert, but he said what he really wanted was the pope hat that someone had on). There were at least a couple instances where I had to wedge myself very closely between Melissa and Chris to avoid being grinded on by a guy who's face I didn't even see, but such is the way with these parties. Always good to have my friends there to protect me from sketchiness. This party was definitely not the high point of the night. My feet were absolutely killing me, and they hurt for hours afterwards. After a while, we decided to going back and watch Jurassic Park (Chris's idea, of course..."we" now means three people) and I didn't get to bed until about 5am. This was not so ideal, seeing as I have a pchem exam to study for, but so it goes.
Best time I've had all semester. It makes me smile just thinking about it. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 17th, 2007|11:29 pm] |
I'm going to Cambridge next semester! I'm excited, but kind of freaked out about how hard it's going to be and how much money I'm going to spend. The other two chem majors who applied also got in, which is awesome because I'll definitely need some people to work on pchem with. Word on the street is that it's easier than first semester pchem at Pomona, but not by much. I'm just hoping that I'll have time left over to enjoy the fact that I'm in a different country.
Study abroad is such an amazing thing. It's so weird to think that I will have friends in the following countries next semester: Cameroon, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, China, Spain, Germany, Australia, Argentina, and probably several others that I'm forgetting.
In other news, I officially hate endocrinology. The more I study, the more I feel like I'm going to fail my midterm. Why can't I pick the good bio classes? |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 14th, 2007|09:09 pm] |
The concert last Thursday night was awesome. The driving to Hollywood and paying $15 for parking was not so awesome, but Beirut was a lot of fun. There were two opening acts, the first of which (Alaska in Winter) was fairly awful, but we only were there for his last song. The next artist was Colleen, who played a crazy seven-stringed viol/cello-like instrument, among other things. Very chill and not real upbeat, but somehow not boring, either. I now want to drop out of school and play horn in Beirut, and possibly marry Zach Condon.
I was thinking about albums that I've been listening to a lot lately (the "Now" albums, and albums that I've listened to consistently for several years and think will stick with me for a good while (the "Stand-by" albums), and this is what I think the lists might be like:
Now:
Andrew Bird - Thrills
Menomena - Friend and Foe
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
The National - Alligator
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Bloc Party- Silent Alarm
Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel The Illinoise
Stand-by (my personal classics)
U2 - Joshua Tree
Counting Crows - August and Everything After
DMB - Before These Crowded Streets
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Radiohead - OK Computer
Aimee Mann - Lost in Space
Of the "Now" albums, the only one that I think has a serious chance of making it on the stand-by list is Neon Bible (maybe Come on Feel the Illinoise...possibly).
Okay, so really I'm just procrastinating by making pointless lists. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 9th, 2007|09:00 pm] |
During lunch after my pchem test last week, I was lamenting my failure and Kush asked me if I thought I got over or under 70%. He offered a bet, saying that he'd give me five bucks if I scored under 70%. I didn't feel entirely comfortable taking that bet, I guess because I was trying to be at least somewhat optimistic about the situation.
Next biochem class I ended up offering Grace a bet (also of five dollars) that I did worse on the exam than she did. This I was fairly confident about. Chris, who was present for both conversations, commented that it really just sounded like I was trying to make money off the test. Hey, I might as well get something good out of it.
I expect to recieve five dollars tomorrow. |
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