November Notes, Day 20

"The Calm After the Storm"

Today was that weird kind of day where all of a sudden there was nothing to do.  I'm back in Sacramento for a week, and our annual party is over, all the work on the house has stopped for a few weeks, and it's that strange kind of let down when you've been running full blast for what seems like weeks and weeks, and the stress is finally over.

I remember experiencing the same thing in medical school.  You'd have weeks of classwork, then weeks of endless nights preparing for midterms, then a solid week of exams with no rest except to grab something to eat to get back to studying... then Friday would come.  Your exams would be over by around noon, and suddenly you were free with NOTHING TO DO.  You didn't feel the need to rush to get back to the books... that was for Sunday night.  And for just a few hours you could relish in the now.

That's kinda how today felt once I finished all the things I needed to do.  I walked outside and stood in the sunshine, feeling the slight breeze, and just enjoyed being in the moment.  Tomorrow it's back to the rush of the ED for a full 5 days in a row, but today was just a chance to recharge and renew.

NaBloPoMo Day 18

"Oh, I don't drive. I keep taking the test over and over again, but, I'm all, this is hard."



That's kind of how I felt after taking my board exam today... "but, I'm all, this is hard." That line kept me laughing for a while. Hopefully, I will find out in 90 days that I don't have to take this test over and over again... once was enough...!

For fun, I will share with you my test taking anthem... A good friend and I were working our way through med school prerequisites. We were both "non-traditional students" a good many years older than most of our classmates, so we supported each others' decision to go through it all over again. One of our most challenging classes was Organic Chemistry. We sat across from each other in class, and our ritual before every test was to tell each other, "Hakuna Matata." No worries.

We both made it through premed. We both made it through medical school. Now years later I still think of those times... struggling with every exam... working three jobs to pay for school... sweating out the MCATs.... wow... wonder where my friend is now...?

Enjoy!

NaBloPoMo Day 16

So, I have my Emergency Medicine board exam on Thursday, and for the last month I have been doing review questions and reading study guides.  This in addition to working and getting used to my new surroundings.


Now, like the Larson cartoon to the left... my brain is full.  I think I've hit the wall.  Tomorrow should be a semi-relaxing day of driving over to Redding to spend the night before the exam.  I'll take my camera and perhaps capture some of the sights we pass.


For now, it's time to sleep.... perhaps to dream... although, most of my dreams lately have been about being back in medical school and residency training.... eek.. it's hard being a life-long student!