Many Thoughts

1. This week has been rather crazy (then again, this is true for every exam week). I think I've got a good system for studying this semester though. I go through all the material twice by myself, then get together with 2-4 other friends and we power-review through every lecture and leave no details untouched. Then I do 2-4 practice exams, then I read over the "quick notes," then sleep, then get up early to read over some more notes, eat breakfast, then exam.

I did pretty well on the neuroscience exam on Monday - about a 90.5% or so, which went up to a 92.5% after a question was re-graded. Yay! But I suspect I'm still below average, grrr. However, the physiology exam this morning was a different story. Let's say I feel like I've been mentally trampled over. And the bitching and moaning from my classmates attest to the fact that the exam wasn't well-written. I'm almost positive I passed though (they haven't posted our grades online yet, only the key - how rude). Gah, I still have one more exam to study for on Friday!! :-(

I saw the following YouTube vid uploaded on Facebook by a friend. It's a parody to the tune of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance," though it's sung horribly off-key:

Just Pass (P = MD)

-----
2. I also spent the last few days pondering over what to do about Jay - that is, whether to pursue "just friends" or "hopefully something more." You see, he's expressed no interest whatsoever in completely quitting pot smoking. He acknowledges that he's going to have to cut back to a couple times a month or just a few times a year, but never 100% quit (though it seems like he rarely smokes pot right now anyway). Cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, pot smoking, and drugs are all deal-breakers for me.

Now, though I said above that it's a deal-breaker, I've decided to attempt to pursue "hopefully something more." See, we chatted a little bit online these last few days and he tells me how it feels like his life's "in a state of constant flux" and that it's "gone into overdrive" since he started up school again. He's feeling the busy-ness of school and the excitement that comes with knowing he's clearly moving towards his goals. All this requires a lot of effort and focus; he's a smart guy, so he's well aware that smoking pot decreases focus and he'll have to smoke less of it as he gets busier and needs to focus more. So by my reasoning, while he may still smoke pot from time to time, it'll become less and less frequent as his career advances.

So here's what my "plan" is concerning Jay. Probably go on 3-4 more dates or something, get to know each other more in person, see how things are, and hopefully they'll be moving towards something more. If so, then I'll just have to be explicitly clear that if he smokes pot I don't want to be around him when he does, just like I don't want to be around him if he's going to be drunk. I also don't want to be around any pot he or his roommate(s) may possess, because on any chance that I'm caught near pot, there goes my career instantly out the window. If he can live with those 2 caveats, then we're golden.

There are a lot of "if's" but hopefully each one of them will become true. I really want things to work out the way I hope, but only time can tell. :-)
-----
3. The current opening song to the anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, has been stuck in my head for the last week or so. It's such a great anime, definitely in my top 5! :-D The song is called "Period" by the Japanese band, Chemistry.

"Period" by Chemistry

Here's a YouTube vid with the full version of the song and (Japanese & English) lyrics.
-----
4. Last week after I shadowed the Dr. P (the ID specialist), I sent him an email thanking him for letting me shadow. In my email, I also asked what he'd like to see in the LGBT student group or what direction he'd like for it to take. His response was:

Regarding the group, I guess the most important thing is to have it be something that makes LGBT students feel comfortable at [med school]. Beyond that, working toward improving the [med school] culture and curriculum are "extras." So, whatever will make people feel comfortable and want to be in the group is what I want to see.

I'm toying with the idea of running for president of that group next year (because no one else seems to want to touch it with a 10-ft pole). Any ideas on how one might help fulfill Dr. P's vision? I have my own ambitions for the group, but that's for a later post.
-----
5. Lastly, several days ago Biki linked me to this hilarious YouTube vid. I think the message is pretty damn clear. Enjoy!! :-P

Best HIV Commercial