Day 273: And the week is over. Sort of.

Come Tuesday, most of my workload is over. I have all my labs Monday and Tuesday so I'm going-going-going and then it comes to a bit of a standstill. It's nice because I work my butt off and then I recuperate the rest of the week.

Anyway, I was crazy productive on Sunday (for the first time in a long time). I ran six miles (again!) so go me.

With my BFFFHs commenting more, I'm going to try and find the perfect balance between science and personal.

Science-wise, Organic lab went great today. The other Organic professor asked my BFF Organic Lab Organizer who I was. That was pretty amusing. (I sent the other Organic professor an e-mail, essentially, complaining about how it takes two years to get our pre-labs when some of us want more than a day to prepare for lab. He replied and was extremely cordial about it. So he wanted to know who I was, haha) I'm a pretty big deal in the Chemistry department ... apparently. I just think it's funny.

Let's see, what fun facts can I tell you guys? Remember action potentials? Well, that's all your brain receives (is action potentials). That's why your life is based on action potentials. It's pretty crazy. We're learning about senses in physiology right now. Fun fact: When you taste food, sour and salty are tasted (milliseconds) faster because they directly affect the ion channels that affect the action potentials going to your brain.

These areas are actually completely random.
Your tastants are everywhere!

The other tastes (sweet, bitter and umami) need to create secondray signals that are eventually sent to your brain. This is why they are (milliseconds) slower to process. (Like I said, fun.)

Personal-wise, I'm trying to ooze more confidence (if that's possible). I need to learn to treat men like dirt so they'll want me bad (they're really that dumb :P). I think I want to run a 10K at some point and maybe a half-marathon by the end of the year? That's after I get all A-pluses, a perfect MCAT score and abs. I think that's it. Doable right?

Day 144: Test results...sort of

I think I just realized how boring this must be for all of you. Tests, studying, blah blah blah. I'll try and be better about making it more personal without laying all my goods out. Sound like a plan?

Anyhoo, the Organic exam was good. I have no idea how I did because there's always the inevitability of human error but I felt prepared. I've finally decided how this professors tests. Most professors have you read the book, do problems and ta-da! You know it. When you walk into the test, you've seen it all before. That is not the case with this guy...let's call him Professor Steeler (he's from the Pittsburgh area). He truly tests you on concepts. Reading and doing problems won't cut it. You need to actually understand what is happening in the reaction and why the nucleophile attacks the electrophile and whatnot because come test day, he will throw you a curve ball. And if you're a good hitter, you'll be able to tweak your ability (in this case Organic Chemistry knowledge) to hit the ball (answer the question).

The Physics lab test went fine. He actually tested us on Labs 1, 2 and 3 (instead of only 1 & 2). Therefore, upon his mistake, we have to have another test this week. There is one nice caveat though. He called out some students' names after the test and said "If I called your name, you got above a 90 so you can decide whether or not to take the test next week. If you don't, I will just count this grade as your first test grade." ...he called my name, so that was nice. I don't foresee me taking the test next week since I need to study for my Biology exam on Thursday.

Ooh! Here's something personal...I'm off to New York next weekend! We have a fall break and I think I need to get my butt out of town for a few days to clear my head and not be here basically. It's nothing bad but it'll be a nice break. I get to eat good food and see my wonderful friends and just be in a city that thrives and where I don't fear for my life when it gets dark out (only half-kidding).

So this week, get through it. Study for Biology. The end.