Day 1338: Something you bought

Today's picture: Something you bought

I bought this new eyelash curler when I found out they no longer sold the Shu Uemura eyelash curler in the states. I tested it for the first time today and I love it!

School-wise, exams are coming up in 10 days. I really am not stressed about exams. I probably should be but ...I'm not. We'll see how I feel next week. Aside from that, it snowed yesterday, I almost froze my hands to death when I brushed/scraped the snow off my car. Boring boring.

Oh! Important school stuff. Lately, my physiology class has been very physics-heavy. Lots of Ohm's Law and lots of flow and resistance stuff. Dad! You would be so proud. And, you would probably understand bloodflow better than I would, haha.

One last thing, this whole anti-piracy situation going on is a wee bit tedious for those of us in graduate school. I don't have Wikipedia, okay, fine. I have books I can learn from. But I can't even make my flashcards today! I mean, yay for solidarity but come on. Some of us have to save lives in the future ;)

Okay, back to the books! See you all tomorrow!

Day 438: I still hate physics

I'm off to the gym to relieve some MCAT stress. This cartoon is so true. The calculus (which I'm only taking now) is so much more bearable than all this physics crap. You know, on my two diagnostic MCATs thusfar, I have scored dismally low on the Physical Sciences (Physics and General Chemistry). That was my better section on my real MCAT. I think I need to stop avoiding the pain and start really honing my Physics skills.

All the "Physics for Dummies" books (not the actual ones but similar to them) my Dad bought me have obviously done me no good. Physics and I are like the Montagues and the Capulets. And one of us is going to have to die before we solve the feud. ...I'm pulling for Physics to spontaneously combust (which is actually against the Laws of Physics/the Universe). Damn you Physics!

Day 346: Some updates

My Organic exam went well enough today. I was for-serious about acing it and I hope I did.

My Physics professor finally handed our exams back. It was pretty terrible. I mean, I did well enough but it was by no means an A. It's okay, he seems really fair about the whole situation so I'm really not that worried about my grade. (I may have just hit an "I'm-over-school" plateau)

Lastly, I think you should all know I'm in love. I informed my family today. I totally heart this kid. It's so crazy. But in all seriousness, he's cute and smart and driven and he's a man-with-a-plan. Too bad he doesn't like me. But that is just a minor detail ;)

Studying for my last Physics test this weekend. As well as completing my final organic labs (I'm so done with this notebook business). And cleaning my apartment. And all these other good things.

Day 337: So many things!

Tuesday was the end...of Physiology...lab. It was a metabolic rate lab and that was interesting. I actually have a slightly low body fat percentage...which is interesting. Have you seen me? I'm not really "slightly below". haha, mainly due to the amount of food I intake. ...which is enough for an elephant. ...or a pack of lions.

Anyway, fun facts about el cuerpo:

• As you all know, when your pee is yellow, it means you are dehydrated and your body is retaining water -- fun fact, I now know why that happens
• Women should have about a 22% body fat (that is a healthy body fat percentage)
• Women who have abs actually go below that 22% (crazy! Now it's "okay" that I don't have abs ;P)

There are more facts but I have so much to tell you all!

The main bit is that today's Physics test (the 4th out of 5 tests) was terrible. Granted, I personally thought it was as hard as our previous tests. However, it was so bad that our professor sent us this today...

Today's test was too difficult, and that is my fault. I feel that you all deserve an apology from me for having that test, and I am sorry for not being more careful with writing the test. The test will be graded and curved, but I'm not sure that a curve will be enough to fix the problem. Most likely this test will be weighted significantly less than the other tests in the semester. I'll discuss all this in more detail in class on Friday, but at least don't spend the next two days worried about your performance on today's test.

Again, my apologies for that test, in hindsight it was not really appropriate for this class.

Crazy right? And the more that I think about the exam, I realize that I completely bombed it. And not Jessica-bombed it, but hardcore, regular ol' person, bombed it. I completely missed the second problem solving question. Missed meaning zero. ZERO. I don't get zero. I at least get partial credit. So yeah. It was a good thing I was so darn busy today because if I had real time to process that exam...I probably would have freaked out. Bad.

At this point, I've got bigger fish to fry so I'm going to watch some TV now and then do some Organic and more physics and physio review soon.

Just wanted to keep you all posted.

Thus far/today, Jessica is sane. Yay!

Day 322: Rejections and other things of note

I have officially been rejected from every program/internship I applied to. I don't remember hearing back from UCSD but I'm pretty sure it will be (or was) a rejection. Meh. I wasn't holding my breath for any of this stuff.

Anyway, my Physics exam yesterday went fine. I know I got some wrong but I didn't feel as bad about the exam afterwards as I have in the past.

I watched the Carolina-Michigan State game yesterday with JB. I think he loves me. I mean, duh, I'm fabulous but he needs to get his act together.

Anyway, go Tarheels! Yay for a fifth championship! ...they're no UCLA (with 11) but they're trying ;P

Physiology quiz tomorrow morning and then I'm home free. No class on Friday due to Good Friday. Gotta love the religious days off.

Day 300: Exam Results and Physics Frustrations

Exam results. I did well in Organic (not quite perfect but close) so that was good. Talked with Dr. Red about my test and we just chatted for a bit. It was nice.

So my low A in Physics? Uhh, apparently there were only 8 A's in the entire class. Here's the breakdown:

• 90 - 99 : 8
• 80 - 89 : 23
• 70 - 79 : 33
• 60 - 69 : 23
• 60 > : 10

So, with only 8 A's. I'll take it. Honestly, Physics is becoming extremely frustrating because, for this last exam, I did at least 75% of the odd problems for each chapter. I did the practice test. I went over the results/answers and figured out what I did wrong. I proceeded to study the parts of the practice test I didn't understand (concepts, problem solving, et al). And I didn't have much to show for it.

I'm completely sure that my professor just throws all the exams up in the air and decides what the curve will be from there. Seriously! The curves he comes with are, pardon the pun, real curve balls. He's all about standard deviation...which is really freaking annoying.

A possible standard deviation equation
(umm...okay...)

He uses different curves for each exam to create said standard deviation. It's just a guessing game because none of the points correlate with anything that makes sense.

Anyhoo, the first real school week in two weeks. Getting slowly back into it. It was a decent way to start off the week though (doing decently on two exams). Hopefully I'll ace my physiology quiz on Friday 'cause I need to. The heart. Pump, thump, pump. It's pretty cool how it works. I'll give y'all some fun facts in the next entry. With pictures, I promise.

Day 297: An eye-opener

I took a practice MCAT today. Um, yeah. It could have gone better. A lot better. I'm just frustrated with my application of my knowledge. Surprisingly (for this MCAT anyway), my Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) was better than my Biological Sciences (Organic Chemistry and Biology). A lot of it was luck really. I just happened to have learned most of what was on the Physical Sciences portion and I hadn't learned a lot of what was on the Biological Scienes section. Oh well. I'm trying not to beat myself up over it, but I'm actually extremely disappointed in myself.

In other news, New York was wonderful. I really miss my NYU pals and I'm so very impressed with how far they've all come. They're all working gals with plans and significant others and bills and other adult things. I'm still in student-land :P

Let's see, in pure idiocy news, I washed my iPod. Yes, washed. As in put in the washer. With my clothes. I guess I was anxious to get my dirty clothes from pre- and post-NYC washed that right after I worked out yesterday, I just tossed the jacket (holding my iPod) into the wash. I'm an idiot. I know. Huge freaking idiot. Ugh.

My waterlogged iPod :(

Anyway, I'm trying to decide if I want a new iPod Touch or a new iPod Nano. Any suggestions?

Lastly, I got an A-minus on my Physics exam. That's fine. All of my friends and I decided that the test was terrible and some of us (not me) were ready to cry when it was over. It was a bad test. Thus, I will take my A-minus and run with it. The Organic exam from Friday went fine. It felt like one of Dr. Red's usual exams so I'm sure he'll grade it more difficultly this time around.

I really need to do well on things to boost my academic ego. Physiology's been kicking my butt lately and then with this practice MCAT and washing my iPod and general badness... I just need something good (that I earned) to come my way. At this point, I can only move forward so I'm going to study more. That's really all I can do.

Day 289: My how things change!

Snow day on Monday. Everything has been shifted and moved.

The moral of the story is I have an Organic exam at 9am tomorrow (original date) and a Physics exam after that at 10am (which was rescheduled). Then I have SIP stuff to do from 11am-1pm and then I have to get my act together for NYC (my flight is at 3:30).

I think I pulled my hamstring?

Anyway, back to studying.

Day 285: Cold studying

It's cold out...and in my apartment. To avoid utilities overages, I set my thermostat to 65 degrees. Apparently I have to keep it at that temperature so my pipes won't burst. Anyway, I'm feeling especially cold right now, so I'm wearing four layers of tops, two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks and a hat. ...I look amazing.

In other news, I ran eight miles today. I'm aiming for double-digit mileage. (And then a half-marathon?)

I've got a lot of studying to do this week. I'm not that worried about it for some reason. I think I just know I'll get it done. And Organic seems less daunting this time around and Physics is Physics. Physiology is just cool. We're being quizzed on muscles -- skeletal (the ones we can see and feel) and smooth (the ones that make up blood vessels, airways and abet digestion). Hmm, what can I tell you about muscles that won't put you to sleep?

Oh, this is interesting. When there is a blockage in your blood vessel, pressure on that blood vessel increases. This increased pressure causes your body to produce more (vascular circular) smooth muscle to support the blood vessel (so that it doesn't burst = aneurysm). If the blockage (aka plaque) doesn't move, too much muscle is built around the vessel and this creates even more pressure on the blood vessel. Eventually the plaque will enter the vessel (rather than just hang out on its outskirts) and that could lead to a myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Crazy right?

The body is crazy freaking cool. I can't wait to cut one open!

Day 275: And the first results are in.

I managed to pass everything! Yay!

Physics: I could (and should) have done better on the exam but there's four more, so I'll survive. I'm getting better about forcing myself to do it. Blah.

Physiology: Quiz 4 tomorrow. It's mainly about the sensory neurons. Fun fact, the reason that smell brings back such strong memories is because it is tied directly to the limbic system, the organizing center for feelings and whatnot. The other senses pass through your thalamus, where it has to be processed first.

Organic: Dr. Red was uber-kind when he graded. I managed to get an A (with or without all the bonus points and the curve) but even so ... it doesn't feel like I earned it? If that makes sense? I just like feeling confident after an exam and I feel like I could have come out with an A, B or C after that exam. So, I don't know. Whatever. An A! Yes!

And the studying continues...

Day 267: Exams galore!

I need to be doing Organic problems so this will be a quick update.

I had my Physics exam on Monday -- it went fine. It definitely could have gone better. I realized after the exam (while doing lab problems) that I totally messed up the last problem. I knew I had to combine the resistors, but I couldn't figure out how that related to the problem.

(An example of series resistors;
not my exam problem)

It wasn't until I did the lab homework did I realized what the heck I did wrong. I hope (like crazy) that he'll give me a good amount of partial credit for at least getting all the concepts and math (not the numbers, the math) right.

My Physiology lab quiz on Tuesday went fine. I still suck at Organic lab. It's just a lot of freaking stuff.

My Physiology lab quiz today was not what I expected. I may not have aced it, which is annoying. However, at least I grasp all the material, which is good. Anyway, cross your fingers for a 10.2 score.

Organic exam on Friday.

An alcohol dehydration reaction

I'm not feeling comfortable with all these stupid alcohols and ethers and substitutions and eliminations and stupid solvents but it's nothing a little (lot?) practice won't cure.

Oh, and this past Sunday? I ran six miles. Yes, six. It was pretty amazing. I don't expect to beat that but I think I deserve a little bragging. I mean six miles. That's a lot of freaking mileage!

Lastly, Chris Brown and Rihanna. Seriously? Chris Brown? And Rihanna? Dang.

Day 263: Labs and exams and a lot of work.

Next week is my first week of exams. Physics on Monday, Physiology quiz on Wednesday and Organic exam on Friday. Let's not forget my labs on Tuesday. I took some pictures of my Organic lab notebook to show you how much work goes into this ridiculous thing.

(This lab was 16 pages, one-side)

Anyway, I need to do a lot more studying before my Physics and Organic exams. I realized what my problem has been this semester. Last semester, I was scared out of my pants that I couldn't do it. In response to that fear, I studied all day every day.

Now that I know that I can handle it, I'm just not with it. I'm fine, really. Just by my standards (and compared to last semester) I'm feeling behind. Like way behind. For example, I'm usually a chapter ahead in Organic. That was the only class that mattered last semester so that might be why I'm feeling behind. I'm dividing time equally between all my subjects so I just can't dedicate all that time, I suppose. I don't know. Either way, don't worry Dad. I'll be fine. I'll get my act together.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I will be having another Physics dinner party. Dinner followed by me helping girls with Physics (I know, it still seems rather unlikely).

You should all check out Hungry Girl. This website is amazing. If anyone wants to get me the cookbook (hint, hint) just for fun I think I'd love you for life. And deliver your first child. And perform your appendicitis. Among other doctorly skills I will eventually acquire.

Lastly, I think you should all know today rocked. I made this recipe from Hungry Girl, found my camera memory card (that I misplaced because it's me), and sold these boots I bought off eBay (not the right fit). Sweetness.

Day 255: Lots of things to say.

To make this easier on the eyes, I'm going to bullet the things I've been meaning to tell all five of you :)

• I have had a full week of labs this week and they are going to be hard work! I'm glad to be done with labs by Tuesday but man, a full day of labs on Tuesday? That is a looong day.
  
  
• I am just about done applying to internships (yay!). I'll find out in March so, yeah.
  
  
• I helped some old SIP kids/friends with Physics I homework Tuesday night. I felt tres smart and I actually helped them, which was the biggest surprise. I managed to answer all their questions and help them answer all their homework problems.
  
  
• I have started my SIP sessions for Chemistry I. I'm really glad to be SIPing for this class because I didn't learn it very well over the summer so this will be a great refresher.

You know, I thought I had more, but I guess that's all I can remember right now.

Day 251: Physics frustration and knowledge entropy!

You know, I forgot how annoying Physics is. I've been doing my assigned problems for about 2 hours now. And I still don't get them. UGH. I mean, I get the problems in the book, but then the numbers (within the problem) change and then the math gets fuzzier. F-you fuzzy numbers! Grrrr...

I was much more productive today than I have been in days past. I think it helps when I haul my butt out of my room (and away from my computer and this evil thing called the internet) and sprawl all over the living room. Here is a fun science analogy.

Entropy is a scientific term describing the disorder of things. Things (in nature, life, and science) occur spontaneously (naturally, without at input of energy/work) the more disorder there is. Therefore, based on the disorder of the living room (as a result of books, papers, writing utensils, etc) ... I'm going to say the flow of knowledge is spontaneous. And I suppose that last bit was a bit of a stretch but hey, the analogy worked!

A picture I took using my phone (of my entropy!)...

Knowledge! Whee!

Day 247: The first real day of school

I had all my classes today. Physiology at 8 am (packed!). Organic II at 9 am (same old Dr. Red). Physics II at 10 am with the new professor (I'm feeling good about him; thusfar, he's coherent which is more than I can say for last semester's professor). And then an hour break and then SIP for Chem I. It was a day, that's for sure. And I'm done by 1pm, which is sweet.

My classes are going to difficult, but nothing I can't handle. I just need to get a hard-core study schedule together and then I'll be good. Physiology is going to be great. Organic II is going to be party (filled with lots of work, but I'm excited). And I may actually learn Physics this semester. Shock, I know.

Oh and I saw ... what's his name ... I keep forgetting all these fake names I give people ... anyway, the one I used to hang out with religiously and everyone thought we were dating? Yeah, that guy. Saw him for the first time since half past never. It was fine. I've decided boys are idiots because they're the ones that don't know what they want and are flighty. Pfft, good thing I'm going to kick his ass on the MCAT. Ha! Suck on that!

Day 207: I win!

Muahaha suck on that science!

I passed my Biology and somehow managed to pass my Physics class? Granted, I freaking deserved it after studying my butt off for the final. All I have is my Organic final on Monday and I'm not even going to lie, I am not stressed at all. Everyone else seems quite stressed and unwell and I'm kind of excited. Even after our review session today, I'm still feeling a-okay. He's writing a 2-and-1/2-hour final for our three hour final period and I don't know. I'm excited about it...and still not worried.

I think this complacency (for once) has nothing to do with wanting to go home but with knowing that everything I'm doing is review. Unlike most of my class, I am not learning things for the first time. It's pure review. It's actually pretty sweet.

What kind of nerd says she loves Organic Chemistry and is not stressed-or-pressed about it? (Me!)

Day 202: Some good news

I finally got in contact with the only girlfriend (Joy) I wanted to keep from the bunch of bad apples (that I once called "friends") and we missed each other. We were both busy studying for respective events so we were just busy. She still loves me and I still love her and all is right with the world.

Onto more good news...for those of you who know me, and I'm all about mitigating any good accomplishments because I hate bragging more than anything else, I'm going to step out of my shell a little and tell you something. We got our Organic test results back and I did fine. Better than fine actually. I...kind of...well...got the highest grade on the test? Thank goodness he didn't call me out and say "Jessica got the highest grade on the exam" but it was pretty sweet to figure it out. In other good news, the class did so crappy (the average was 54) he's adding 10 points to everyone's score. I never count that stuff (he's done that twice now) but it's pretty sweet to know I've got a decent exam average. I mean, really freaking sweet.

The Physics test went fine. I did pull a Calvin on one question (I couldn't figure out how the numbers worked so I wrote a paragraph about why there should be a change in temperature) but I could care less.

If only my professor provided me with such a loophole...

I've decided if I come out with not-the-best-grade due to my circumstances...I'm going to deal with it. No tears. No pouts. No pissy fits. I'm just going to study my ass of second semester and kick butt on the Physics portion of the MCAT. If I can't fix the past, I can learn from it and improve my future.

So now I'm going to keep studying Physics concepts (specifically momentum and impulse and things that involve Greek letters), watch some "Dexter" (don't tell me!) and study some more for my final on Wednesday.

Day 200: More tests (ridiculous), finals and blood!

Hello hello!

I am so close to the end, I can taste it. It tastes like sweet victory, hard work and sheer joy. Well, sort of, haha.

There has been a lot of Physics drama in the past three days and here is what went down. Apparently, the test printed funny and all the correct answers were lighter (in color) than the other options (it was a multiple choice test). Some kids figured it out and whispered the knowledge to their friends and thus cheating ensued. As a result, Professor Oldy McOld has decided to issue a retest on Monday 12/8. ...did I forget to mention that our final is on Wednesday 12/10? Oh yeah. So there's that.

Class was a vicious environment on Friday -- filled with seething students and an unappreciated professor and you can only imagine the sort of bickering and back-and-forth cattiness that occurred. It was not good.

The moral of the story is, shut up, stop whining and study. I'm not happy about taking another test (so close to the final no less) but instead of whining I am going to study more concepts and make sure I've got the math down. What else can I do? Bitch and moan some more. Yawn.

My Organic exam can go either way. It's fine though. As previously mentioned, we can drop an exam and even though I hate that mentality ("I can drop a test so this last one doesn't matter"), I did study hard and whatnot but if it goes the bad way ... well ... I can drop it. How begrudging of me.

Finals next week include Physics on Wednesday and Biology on Thursday. Then it's Organic on Monday 12/15 and then HOME ON THE 17TH. I'm a little excited and antsy. Can you tell?

And on a joyous note, I gave blood today! Whee second time! Let me just tell you, that is a big needle. And I have an excellent iron count. Yes!

Day 197: The end is near!

So many good things have happened since I last posted.

• A friend from SIP gave me a ton of MCAT books. I am SO happy. I really want to start prepping for it because (I will only say this once) I am going to rock it...with hours upon hours of preparation. That, plus some hardcore dedication and true blue confidence...there should be no reason I will not kick the MCAT's butt!
  
  
  
  This is the actual stack of books my friend gave me.
  

• Said friend has a Deaf roommate! I signed with him! I realized after the fact that I have never actually interacted with a Deaf person so it was pretty great. My signing was gosh-awful but he was very nice and he asked me where I learned to sign (high school and college) and I asked him what he was studying (English) and it was quite a nice conversation. I really miss signing. I was terrible though :\
  
  
• I have decided to give a rat's patooty about the douche-y friends and I am completely ready to drop all their butts. Once I decided this (over Thanksgiving), I got so much joy out of it. I'm trying to figure out the best way to tell them to f-off but I have decided I am just going to ween myself out of their presence and wash my hands of them.
  
  
• Biology I lab finished on Monday. Whee! (All the words necessary.)
  
  
• I have a Physics test in T-minus 1 hour (give or take) and I just want to take it. I always get like this, too much studying makes Jessica antsy for tests.
  
  
• I have an Organic exam on Friday that I'm excited about it. Well not excited, but preparing for. And yeah, a little excited. We can drop an exam and I have never understood that mentality of "oh, I can drop an exam so it doesn't really matter how I do on X test." That is just so dumb and lazy. I'm kicking this test's ass!
  

Day 188: Friends and physics

I realized today, the core group of friends I have here, are not really friends. We were friends throughout the summer and now...I'm a blip on their radar. It certainly didn't occur overnight and I think I did what I always do (which is pull out of these situations before I can get hurt) which may have abetted the situation. However, it didn't help because it still sucks.

Everything feels incredibly strained when we're together and I feel like I'm forcing myself upon them. At this point, they've stopped being friends and are now somewhere between acquaintances and friends. I'm not included in any outings anymore and it kind of sucks.

Therefore, my return to California now seems imminent and necessary. Come July 31st, 2009 -- I am driving me and all my stuff back to sunny California and getting out of this hellhole called North Carolina.

I hear ya lady, I do...

On an academic note (I can't believe I didn't post about as soon as I found out)...my decrepit physics professor is NOT going to be my professor next semester. I might actually learn something. I mean, what a concept! Huzzah for the possibility of learning! I just have to get through this class (and the final) and then I'm going to go home and teach myself what I have not learned these past 13 weeks.