It's April, which means the NBME is right around the corner! And with that comes finishing basic sciences!
A lot of people have been asking me if I am stressed about it and honestly I'm more stressed thinking about taking the STEP in (hopefully) four months from now.
We had our final class last Friday, which gives us about a week and a half to study on our own before we write the exam. I'm currently reading First Aid and doing Kaplan questions (trying to aim to hit at least 1500, currently at 1329).
Oh ya, our school has merchandise now! (woo!) Starting next semester, school uniforms will be made mandatory. (boo!) I snagged myself a long-sleeved sweatshirt just to wear around the house when I'm back in Toronto.
Omg it's December which means there are only 10 days left before I go back home to Toronto! It's been a pretty crazy month with lots of ups and downs. So much has happened and yet everything's still the same. Path II finished two weeks ago. Block 4 is right around the corner, followed by shelfs in a week's time after that. Can't really think of what else to write so... pic dump!!!
Mahi-mahi salad in a deep fried taco shell at Jimbo's
Fro-yo in Maho
Carousel for late-night italian gelato :D
Fanciest ice cream parlour!
So many flavours...
Trip to Phillipsburg after finishing the Path shelf
Burgers n fries n pina coladas in Phillipsburg. Oh and lots of shopping :)
Block 3 was this Monday. Path went fantastic - class average was probably around a 90? Micro went okay, class averaged an 80? Ethics finished last Friday, and it went better than I had hoped, and the final class average was in the high 80s.
Our new psychology professor is a very boisterous and energetic woman whose speech mannerism reminds me of a less pious version of Sheldon Cooper's mom. So far I am enjoying her lectures.
We are starting bacteriology in micro. Bacteriology is all about differentiation between different strains. Is it gram positive or negative? Cocci or rod? Catalase positive or negative? Does it cause endocarditis? Etc...
Yesterday (Thursday) a group of realtors flew down to Statia to meet with the students and teachers so that they can help us secure housing on St. Martin. As soon as they arrived, they were swarmed with students. It was like a zoo. I stopped by to get in touch with the agent I was corresponding via e-mail with, and we agreed on a time and place to meet on Saturday so I can take a look at the places myself (I will be flying to St Martin on Saturday). A lot of properties have already been rented out to students, and places are still going fast I hope I'm not too late!
So on Monday the third semester students wrote their block 1 exams. Path was fair, micro was a little trickier than expected, and psych was, to put it bluntly, a disaster. I think the class average for psych was a 60 raw, with only 3 people passing. Of course everyone was outraged, and we all complained in class the next day and so the professor curved everyone's grades by 10 percent, which is the first time that has happened to a regular block exam!
After exams that day I went to the grocery store for a much needed restocking of my fridge and bought what I could grab since I was getting a ride home from a friend. That afternoon I made a flourless crust pizza out of cauliflower which was a hit among my neighbour, my friend and myself. It was an interesting experiment. It tasted like pizza but without the texture of a doughy crust. I might make it again later but for now I feel like I've eaten enough cheese to last me a while! Recipe here.
The rest of the day I just relaxed on my couch while watching Food Network on TV. Then my friend came over in the evening and we ate pizza and chicken wings and fries. Okay that never happened. We only had the pizza I made but I wish we had chicken wings and fries and other junk food to celebrate finishing our exams but delivery doesn't exist on the island here.
The next day I went to buy more groceries, this time with my neighbour (who is also my classmate). We made fried rice together at my place, which was fun and turned out really yummy! I added pineapples and a little sweet and sour sauce to my batch.
It's the last night before I fly back to Toronto for 2.5 weeks and my last shelf exam is tomorrow morning at 8 AM. I spent half my morning packing everything in my house and the other half waiting to move.
Can't wait to be back in Toronto where I can enjoy the small, simple things that I used to take for granted, like: - walking around without being stared at by strangers - enjoying Starbucks frappucinos, non-fat milk and no whipped cream please! - going window shopping at Eaton/Fairview, then deciding that I deserve to buy clothes for myself and purchase stuff without even trying them on - stuffing myself with platefuls of sushi and sashimi at AYCE sushi - drinking so much bubble tea because I'm not going to get the chance to drink it outside of Toronto! - eating all the yummy, juicy fruits from the fridge that I can get my hands on - watching movies in the theatre while munching on popcorn - sleeping at 2 AM not because I have to but because I want to - taking the subway to places and using the down time to nap/stare into space/do crosswords in metro - wearing jackets to stay warm - seeing friends again - 3G and wifi everywhere - eating a meal for under $5 - waking up in the afternoon and skipping breakfast - being able to eat whenever and wherever and whatever I want - going grocery shopping at Costco and going around and sampling all their food samples - listening to radio stations in the car - eating home cooked meals
Yup. That's pretty much my plans for Spring Break. To lead a normal life for two weeks. That is all.
So I imagine this will be me tomorrow when I get home:
Also, the school just posted their Residency Placements for 2013 here.
Just had block 3 exams. Physio, neuro and biochem (in order of increasing exam difficulty). They were a little rough, but it was to be expected. This was the hardest block for biochem (pathways), and we had renal and resp for physio. And neuro was, well, neuro. What used to be an easy course is not so anymore thanks to one or two people in the class that ruined it for everyone. I passed everything but definitely could have done better. One more exam before the shelfs, and I'm already worrying about them. Everyone is agreeing that second semester is one of the toughest.
I have started jogging in the mornings about a week ago. Like actual jogging. Not the jog-for-five-minutes-around-the-block-jogging. But jogging for 3-4 miles every morning, and sometimes in the evening right as the sun sets. It's a nice work out, and it helps me keep motivated. Now if only I could keep this stress-eating under control, things would be a lot easier…
Anyways, here are some photos I took recently:
View of sunset during one of my runs.
My first week and a half.
I made cookies from only two ingredients: banana and oatmeal!
POSTED ON Thursday, November 1, 2012 AT 6:23 PM \\
Nov 1
It’s November!!!
Where did October go?? Oh yeah, it went towards studying for Block 2 exams, which was this Monday. So our new professor for histology just made us write the most ridiculous exam ever. Like. Ever. The entire class failed, except for 2 people. I won’t go into the details of the exam here. But it was ugly. Well that puts everyone in the hot seat now. Anatomy and Public Health were easy-breezy in comparison to Histology. But the end of Block 2 exams marks the beginning of the home stretch! Exactly one month and ten days until the semester is over. One more set of blocks right before the shelf exams.
On Monday I went snorkeling with some classmates. Unfortunately, my excitement was dampened when we got to the beach and saw that the waves were extremely strong. Trying to get into the waters was difficult because every two seconds there would be a strong wave that knocked me off my fins – I mean feet. It was so bad that at one point my fins actually slipped off and I lost one to the sea. After that I decided to call it quits. Plus my feet and ankles were getting rubbed raw by the rocks and rubble at the bottom of the waters. I would still love to try snorkelling on a day when the waves were calmer.
Halloween was on Wednesday, and since I didn’t have a costume prepared I decided not to attend the Halloween party that was happening at the Old Gin House. Instead I went to play ultimate Frisbee. Wishing I got candy on Halloween though.
The weather has been the usual sunny skies and humid air. I'm just glad we're not seeing any more hurricanes. I've already had my share of wet weather to last me the rest of the year!
That’s it for now! Just waiting for the weekend to come.
It's April, which means the NBME is right around the corner! And with that comes finishing basic sciences!
A lot of people have been asking me if I am stressed about it and honestly I'm more stressed thinking about taking the STEP in (hopefully) four months from now.
We had our final class last Friday, which gives us about a week and a half to study on our own before we write the exam. I'm currently reading First Aid and doing Kaplan questions (trying to aim to hit at least 1500, currently at 1329).
Oh ya, our school has merchandise now! (woo!) Starting next semester, school uniforms will be made mandatory. (boo!) I snagged myself a long-sleeved sweatshirt just to wear around the house when I'm back in Toronto.
Omg it's December which means there are only 10 days left before I go back home to Toronto! It's been a pretty crazy month with lots of ups and downs. So much has happened and yet everything's still the same. Path II finished two weeks ago. Block 4 is right around the corner, followed by shelfs in a week's time after that. Can't really think of what else to write so... pic dump!!!
Mahi-mahi salad in a deep fried taco shell at Jimbo's
Fro-yo in Maho
Carousel for late-night italian gelato :D
Fanciest ice cream parlour!
So many flavours...
Trip to Phillipsburg after finishing the Path shelf
Burgers n fries n pina coladas in Phillipsburg. Oh and lots of shopping :)
Block 3 was this Monday. Path went fantastic - class average was probably around a 90? Micro went okay, class averaged an 80? Ethics finished last Friday, and it went better than I had hoped, and the final class average was in the high 80s.
Our new psychology professor is a very boisterous and energetic woman whose speech mannerism reminds me of a less pious version of Sheldon Cooper's mom. So far I am enjoying her lectures.
We are starting bacteriology in micro. Bacteriology is all about differentiation between different strains. Is it gram positive or negative? Cocci or rod? Catalase positive or negative? Does it cause endocarditis? Etc...
Yesterday (Thursday) a group of realtors flew down to Statia to meet with the students and teachers so that they can help us secure housing on St. Martin. As soon as they arrived, they were swarmed with students. It was like a zoo. I stopped by to get in touch with the agent I was corresponding via e-mail with, and we agreed on a time and place to meet on Saturday so I can take a look at the places myself (I will be flying to St Martin on Saturday). A lot of properties have already been rented out to students, and places are still going fast I hope I'm not too late!
So on Monday the third semester students wrote their block 1 exams. Path was fair, micro was a little trickier than expected, and psych was, to put it bluntly, a disaster. I think the class average for psych was a 60 raw, with only 3 people passing. Of course everyone was outraged, and we all complained in class the next day and so the professor curved everyone's grades by 10 percent, which is the first time that has happened to a regular block exam!
After exams that day I went to the grocery store for a much needed restocking of my fridge and bought what I could grab since I was getting a ride home from a friend. That afternoon I made a flourless crust pizza out of cauliflower which was a hit among my neighbour, my friend and myself. It was an interesting experiment. It tasted like pizza but without the texture of a doughy crust. I might make it again later but for now I feel like I've eaten enough cheese to last me a while! Recipe here.
The rest of the day I just relaxed on my couch while watching Food Network on TV. Then my friend came over in the evening and we ate pizza and chicken wings and fries. Okay that never happened. We only had the pizza I made but I wish we had chicken wings and fries and other junk food to celebrate finishing our exams but delivery doesn't exist on the island here.
The next day I went to buy more groceries, this time with my neighbour (who is also my classmate). We made fried rice together at my place, which was fun and turned out really yummy! I added pineapples and a little sweet and sour sauce to my batch.
It's the last night before I fly back to Toronto for 2.5 weeks and my last shelf exam is tomorrow morning at 8 AM. I spent half my morning packing everything in my house and the other half waiting to move.
Can't wait to be back in Toronto where I can enjoy the small, simple things that I used to take for granted, like: - walking around without being stared at by strangers - enjoying Starbucks frappucinos, non-fat milk and no whipped cream please! - going window shopping at Eaton/Fairview, then deciding that I deserve to buy clothes for myself and purchase stuff without even trying them on - stuffing myself with platefuls of sushi and sashimi at AYCE sushi - drinking so much bubble tea because I'm not going to get the chance to drink it outside of Toronto! - eating all the yummy, juicy fruits from the fridge that I can get my hands on - watching movies in the theatre while munching on popcorn - sleeping at 2 AM not because I have to but because I want to - taking the subway to places and using the down time to nap/stare into space/do crosswords in metro - wearing jackets to stay warm - seeing friends again - 3G and wifi everywhere - eating a meal for under $5 - waking up in the afternoon and skipping breakfast - being able to eat whenever and wherever and whatever I want - going grocery shopping at Costco and going around and sampling all their food samples - listening to radio stations in the car - eating home cooked meals
Yup. That's pretty much my plans for Spring Break. To lead a normal life for two weeks. That is all.
So I imagine this will be me tomorrow when I get home:
Also, the school just posted their Residency Placements for 2013 here.
Just had block 3 exams. Physio, neuro and biochem (in order of increasing exam difficulty). They were a little rough, but it was to be expected. This was the hardest block for biochem (pathways), and we had renal and resp for physio. And neuro was, well, neuro. What used to be an easy course is not so anymore thanks to one or two people in the class that ruined it for everyone. I passed everything but definitely could have done better. One more exam before the shelfs, and I'm already worrying about them. Everyone is agreeing that second semester is one of the toughest.
I have started jogging in the mornings about a week ago. Like actual jogging. Not the jog-for-five-minutes-around-the-block-jogging. But jogging for 3-4 miles every morning, and sometimes in the evening right as the sun sets. It's a nice work out, and it helps me keep motivated. Now if only I could keep this stress-eating under control, things would be a lot easier…
Anyways, here are some photos I took recently:
View of sunset during one of my runs.
My first week and a half.
I made cookies from only two ingredients: banana and oatmeal!
POSTED ON Thursday, November 1, 2012 AT 6:23 PM \\
Nov 1
It’s November!!!
Where did October go?? Oh yeah, it went towards studying for Block 2 exams, which was this Monday. So our new professor for histology just made us write the most ridiculous exam ever. Like. Ever. The entire class failed, except for 2 people. I won’t go into the details of the exam here. But it was ugly. Well that puts everyone in the hot seat now. Anatomy and Public Health were easy-breezy in comparison to Histology. But the end of Block 2 exams marks the beginning of the home stretch! Exactly one month and ten days until the semester is over. One more set of blocks right before the shelf exams.
On Monday I went snorkeling with some classmates. Unfortunately, my excitement was dampened when we got to the beach and saw that the waves were extremely strong. Trying to get into the waters was difficult because every two seconds there would be a strong wave that knocked me off my fins – I mean feet. It was so bad that at one point my fins actually slipped off and I lost one to the sea. After that I decided to call it quits. Plus my feet and ankles were getting rubbed raw by the rocks and rubble at the bottom of the waters. I would still love to try snorkelling on a day when the waves were calmer.
Halloween was on Wednesday, and since I didn’t have a costume prepared I decided not to attend the Halloween party that was happening at the Old Gin House. Instead I went to play ultimate Frisbee. Wishing I got candy on Halloween though.
The weather has been the usual sunny skies and humid air. I'm just glad we're not seeing any more hurricanes. I've already had my share of wet weather to last me the rest of the year!
That’s it for now! Just waiting for the weekend to come.
