Day 840: The belated Milwaukee (and road trip) photos

Day 823: Lots of things (for once!)

Hey everyone. I know I've been MIA for most of August, but I assure you it was  not due to laziness (which is usually the case). Saturday August 7th was the day my best friend married her true love. Gross, I know :p but honestly, I was co-maid of honor and it was a true pleasure to be apart of something so magical and treasured and beautiful.

Sunday August 8th, I flew out to Milwaukee to see my beautiful friend Nicki. I hung out with her and her friends (all of whom are completely awesome) and got to see a (")big(") city in the Midwest. Nicki's uncle got us some killer seats to a Brewers game and I forgot how fun a baseball game live can be! I flew out to Mil-Town (as Nicki occasionally calls it) to see it, but it was mainly to help my lovely friend drive out to sunny California. She got into a PhD program out here (I could go on and on about how intelligent and bright she is) and I helped her move her life out here. It was a fabulous drive and we had gobs of fun hanging out and seeing the lack of sights along 80. (Pictures to follow in a separate post)

After returning from our road trip, I left for MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) camp. It was my first time at sleep away camp and I had a blast! I was not fortunate enough to have a camper (since most of these children are wheelchair-bound, the camp is great about maintaining a 1:1 camper:counselor ratio) but my role as an "Activities leader" was better suited for me. I helped set up stuff for the numerous events happening and helped relieve counselors when they needed it. I got to see how the camp was run, help the nurse and doctor with medical things, and meet a ton of campers. It was perfect. There are so many things I experienced and took away from camp that I think I'll make a separate post about it.

And now, on August 22nd, I am en route to San Antonio, Texas where I have the great privilege of interviewing at a medical school out there! I know! I can't believe it either! All my hard work and effort is slowly paying off. This is the key moment--showing them my commitment to people and health. I'm doing gobs of research today about healthcare and the school to be as prepared as I can be. The first- and second-year medical students are putting on a little meet-and-greet for interviewees tonight and I plan on attending to get a better feel for the class and a firsthand account of what the med school has to offer. Fingers crossed I like what I see!

Okay, this post has probably bored you to pieces :p we'll be in touch!

Day 797: A big day

Actually, yesterday was the big day.

I gave my first paper presentation! Luckily it was only to our little lab and not to the entire journal club (lots of labs, lots of big principal investigators/big wigs) -- phew! It was a paper about a certain protein that's secreted when the tissue dies and what it's presence in the blood means for the future of stroke treatment. Blah blah blah. It was a decent paper and a decent presentation. It was tough since I didn't know what half the cytokines (signaling molecules) were, but whatever. I did it!

I was also rejected from my first school yesterday.

They didn't have a secondary so they based it solely on my personal statement and stats. ...I'm not sure what that means. Either way, I'm bummed to be starting off my second round of medical school apps with a rejection, but such is life. As my dad likes to say, "get over it and move on." That's the plan pops, that's the plan.

Hmm, what else? Oh. Yeah. I went from this...

...to this.

I really have to get used to this new smile. I had my old unique one for 20+ years. And I've had this one for a day. It'll take some time to adjust. For all of us. Trust me when I say, I look weird. Different.

Day 789: An update

This post goes out to my friend Mona, who is livin' it up in Europa right now! (If I could seethe through fiber optic connections, I would :P)

Let's see. What can I update you all on?

I have received secondary applications from 12 of the 16 schools I applied to. I haven't gotten too sick of filling them out just yet, and at this point, it's actually the last four that matter (three of them are state schools), so I'll need to keep my head in the game.

My friend Nicki and my mom have been wonderful about reading through them and making sure I stay on message, etc etc. (Thank you both!)

What else? My life was consumed with the World Cup and my team won!

(All pictures via F-Yeah! World Cup!)

My best friend's wedding (the event, not the film) is in less than three weeks! It's a little scary to think the summer has gone by so quickly / she's finally get married / we're all growing up / etc etc. Life. SLOW DOWN. You're going too fast for me.

P.S. I saw my orthodontist today and my tooth might be dying. Yeah...about that... I'll keep you posted!

Day...whatever...SPAIN WINS THE WORLD CUP!

Day 771: Speaking of secondaries

While reviewing/recycling some of my responses, I just realized I made a typo. I have weighed my options and decided not to freak out. There's nothing I can do about it, so meh.

And to clarify, I am not complaining about my secondaries. Just noting how sore my wrist is. Also, my previous grievances were about my lack of interviews, not secondaries. Secondaries are a dime a dozen, interviews are much rarer. Like four-leaf clovers and the pennies with the Lincoln Memorial.

(I know you weren't being mean. I appreciate your support! :D)

This picture was taken from this person's Flickr

 I loved staring at the itty bitty Lincoln when I got these pennies

Day 771: Secondaries, the second time around

And I've only received secondaries from five schools so far...