Day 2279: The end. Wow.

Hey there team.

I am proud to tell you all I have completed my second year of medical school. Can you believe it?! It doesn't have nearly all the fanfare that last year's completion did, but that's probably because this year wasn't as much of a struggle as last year. I learned a lot about myself, personally and academically, in my first year of medical school and I think I was able to use that to my benefit this year. Pathology and microbiology and pharmacology have all come and gone and I'm still standing. Way to go, me.

With that, I leave you with some pictures from my last day of relaxation before it's boardsboardsboardsboardsboardsboardsboardsboards.

Danny treated me to a yummy Sobelman's burger
and "bloody masterpiece" for my M2 year coming to an end!

A butterfly in the Puelicher Butterfly Wing at the
Milwaukee Public Museum (free on Mondays for residents!)

An awesome wall of African art/woodwork at the MPM.

Having crazy beetle adventures with Danny at MPM

I have a lot of great things planned post-boards -- Danny and his family are so kind and wonderful and they are taking me to Disney World! I feel like after taking the most important exam of my life, it really will feel like the Super Bowl so you better believe I will walk out of that testing center saying "I'm going to Disney World!"

After Disney, my family and I will be going to Canada! Banff National Park to be exact. My Mom has always wanted to go and I think it'll be a great time to bond with my mother and sister.

And then I come back for orientation in late June and rotations begin July 1st! This is really happening people. I'm finally going to be in the clinic, where I belong! I can't wait!

I'll talk to you all in June or July!

All my x's and o's!

Day 2214: Spring Break

It's finally here!

Yesterday, Friday, I took the entire day off and it was glorious. I slept in. Danny and I went to meet Neehar for lunch at Milwaukee Ale House, where I ate a bacon-stuffed-bacon-cheeseburger and had a yummy stout beer to wash it down. Then, my burger was obviously too filling, so I came home and took a nap while Danny played Tomb Raider 4. I woke up, I watched some TV on my computer and Danny continued to play his video game. We went to a classmate's house around 8:30pm where they were having a little get-together. There were about 15 people there and it was a ton of fun. They had food and booze (a perfect combination for a good time) and it was all the classmates I like, so I couldn't have asked for anything better :)

Today, I slept in and finally cleaned my apartment (dirty dishes, the bathroom, my room, my closet, etc). How I love a clean living space. Then I went to the gym (my gym schedule has been extremely erratic lately) which I loved. And then I went to Target to run some errands. Then to the grocery store to buy some vegetables (since my life has consisted of eggs and pasta the past few days). Then home to make this. While chopping the vegetables for the quinoa salad, I watched some Global Health videos for an assignment. Now I have to write a one-page reflection on each video. Then, I will either do some Step 1 (that's what my upcoming boards) studying or learn more kidney stuff for this block of pathology.

I am taking a relaxed approach to spring break. I definitely plan on studying, but I am so happy that there is no new material for an entire week! This will let me solidify what we have learned so far in path and also start getting my Step 1 study schedule together.

For those of you I haven't told, unlike last year, where spring break was this wonderful time of going home and seeing my family, spring break this year is more like the mark of doom. Every M3 (third year medical student) I have spoken to says spring break (or right after) is when you begin actually studying for boards. Well, I have been studying every (few) days for it since late January. Even so, I don't feel terribly ahead of the game. Instead, I have a minor panic attack every day about how spring break is almost/now here and how I still feel like I don't know anything. Don't get me wrong, I know some things, but not everything. And that, my friends, freaks me the hell out.

So, the next five days will be filled with learning but at a less stressful and erratic pace.

Danny, his brother and I are off to New York on Thursday as my last hoorah of fun. (YAY!) I still plan on studying in New York because that's my life from here until June but so be it. As I was discussing with an M3 pal of mine, getting to and through boards is a rite of passage for every medical student. I plan on kicking this rite's butt and sealing my fate as a future urologist.

(Are these wordy posts getting annoying? My next post will have pictures, promise.)

Day 1347: Lunch

Today's picture: lunch

I woke up late today so I stayed home to study. Luckily, this lunch was all packed the night before!

For those of you interested in my food fare, this is a pretty standard lunch for me. An apple, plus another type of fruit, a peanut butter sandwich (crunchy! Yum!) and salad with tomatoes, onions, cheese (and mushrooms).

Day 1122: Ohio, the end.

Ohio was pretty tame. My friend was busier than balls so I just hung out in her apartment and watched Sportscenter and my new semi-obsession, "Khloe and Lamar." I just want to tell you all. In six weeks, I have never seen SO much reality television in my life. "Real Housewives" of any city imagineable, "Khloe and Lamar," "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Voice," there are more. My brain just can't remember them all.

M and I did end up playing trampoline dodgeball (what a workout!) and eating at a restaurant featured on "Man versus Food." Here's a picture of the Thurmanator (comprised of: Bottom bun, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle, banana peppers, 12 ounce burger, bacon, cheddar, another 12 oz burger, sautéed mushrooms & onions, ham, mozzarella & American cheese, top bun served with fries) that an acquaintance ordered. I was feeling fat that day and couldn't stomach all that food so I got another burger, haha.

The best part? My friend couldn't finish it and he got a to-go box. ...only to forget his to-go box! Oh man. Life is so cruel sometimes.