No study withdrawal here!

Been back in Socal for 3 days now and have lost track of what day it is 4 times so far. Went to visit the people I use to work with today and gonna go hang out with old friends tomorrow.

Just wanted to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a joyful, stress-free last shopping day before XMas. Don't forget to leave the milk and cookies by the tree tomorrow night or for those of other denomination...uh...i dunno...maybe just eat the milk and cookies before bed? whoa awkward...

GPA-O-Meter

So for some reason, Drexel is releasing their grades one by one, one each day. These fall semester grades will partially determine if med schools deem me worthy to breathe their rarified air and grant me an interview...or at least a personalized rejection of how if it were up to them, they'd admit me in an instant...blah blah blah...with an actual signature that smudges when you run a wet finger over it!

So far, 4 scores have been released and my GPA-O-Meter sits at 3.81...no thanks to the B I got in Physiology. Man that class just kicks my ass, I dunno why. I'm stupid for physiology, that's a bad sign, it means that I'm going to be a terrible doctor who will mistake a coronary artery for a vagus nerve and cause a massive drop in cardiac output by pinching what I thought was the vagus nerve but is actually the coronary artery....nevermind that they are in wildly different places and look completely different...under a microscope...just kidding, they are different with your bare eyes...speaking of eyes, did you know eyes are the only place in your body you can see parts of your central nervous system (CNS for you nerdy types)

Anyway, just in case you wondered how smart I really was...I'm 3.81 smart baby...you better believe it....wouldn't trust me with your coronary circulation tho... :\

1 more exam left

Physio and biochem exams in the can...gonna go read a book and relax at a coffee shop all day and tomorrow, the deprivation continues with immunology for thursday

Instructions for using a hand dryer

Your common, everyday restroom hand dryer...or is it?

accidents

I was riding my bike to the local borders bookstore late last night to look for a new book to read and I almost got hit by a car, well actually the guy accelerates and then slams on his brakes right in front of me. I thought about the mouth full of rear window in my face and decided that I wasn't in the mood for glass tonight. I swerved just in time to avoid certain death or dismemberment. Today, on the other hand, I wasn't so lucky, again with the car stopping in the middle of the road, this time I was prepared, so I went to go around her just at the same time that she decides she wants to start parallel parking. I must admit I wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing or what she was going to do as I usually would. So the space between her, me and the parked car next to me quickly got smaller and smaller and I was going to be sandwiched in between them. I am now at the hospital waiting for an amputation on my right leg that is literally hanging by a sliver of flesh. Ok it's just a big bruise and I'm at the library next to the hospital. But it looked bad...or awesome depending on your perspective

That was the most fun I've had in weeks. The girl ran for it, so I gave chase. Unfortunately for her, she was in a car and I was on a bicycle. You know that scene from Casino Royale at the beginning where Bond chases the guy across construction yards, in the air on cranes, thru an embassy with embassy guards shooting at them and then at the end Bond faces off with the guards and he's holding the chasee as his human shield and then he shoots the guy and shoots the gas tank and everything explodes spectacularly...well my chase wasn't like that at all. It was better...WAY Better!

I cut corners, went thru supermarkets, smashed through windows, dove down hidden side streets as shortcuts, I think I got on some rooftops at one point like that time in Batman Begins where he takes the Tumbler on rooftops before landing on the freeway, well I didn't land on the freeway...but needless to say, the girl will not be having a great Sunday...cuz she's in prison, not because I beat her up, I don't condone violence against women, only against taco bell dogs and cats...possibly pigeons too.

disclaimer: possibly some or potentially all of the above is probably or may not be a figment of your author's imagination

Truffle Season

I went to the market today and took a look at their mushroom offering. They had quite a variety and it all made my mouth water...I should make a mushroom pie...with 20 different kinds of mushrooms and hanger steak bits filled in.

So among the mushrooms, there was this little box of mushroom that kinda was all on its own. I took a closer look and imagine my surprise when I saw that it was a BLACK TRUFFLE! If you are a gourmand, you will know truffles are like the holy grail of food...put it on anything and it will instantaneously transform into fine cuisine...if you ever made a bet where you stake eating a shoe if you lost, well fear no more, add truffle and that shoe will taste like...er chicken.

So back to the mushroom pie...so I'd make a butter/wine/truffle reduction sauce as pie filling....does that not sound good? Well, better than truffle and shoe at least

It was $300 per pound and this little beauty was $15 worth. I was sorely tempted to buy it, but I don't know what to do with it, I've never cooked with truffles before, but I did just buy a pound of hanger steak...hmmm...butter, wine, truffle reduction sauce over tasty steak...

Good Truffles also depend alot on where it came from and the season. It's truffle season now and the best black truffles are from France and Europe...viva la france. Unfortunately, this baby had no country of origin sticker, passport or any other form of identification.

Boy you shoulda smelled it, it was so good, even though it was chilled.

medicare sucks big rotten walnuts

I'm glad there is medicare, but at the same time, can't it be better? It's like someone gave them a fixed amount and told the insurance providers to make plans that overall costs within that fixed amount. So you've got plans that have no doctor copayment but expensive drugs or a doctor copayment with cheap drugs. And then you've got plans that have dental and vision and others with just dental. And then you've got plans that are only in effect in certain zip codes, what the heck is up with that. I hate retirement and I wish I was 50 years younger and not disabled so I can work and have employer covered insurance, that was so nice compared to this. Ah you young whippersnappers have it sooo easy =)
(Note: there are no hidden messages to this rant)
(Note Note: there is no hidden sarcasm in that last note)

I'm going to start my own HMO, non-profit, by the people for the people, socialist health care, who wants in? Might be expensive gotta pay the CEO bank cuz he's smart and handsome.

I have to give the medicare website props though, so easy to sign up

This plus physiology is killing me. I want to sleep forever, until the end of time or medicare becomes good, whichever is soonest.

Just one more week then home sweet home

I finished this book and am now halfway into this one. The first book is great, I highly recommend it, plus the cover's Orange, mostly, so considering how great the color is, the book's gotta be good!!

I am also putting this song on eternal repeat...for now at least...the lyrics are so upbeat...makes you feel bad for being depressed...ok not really, but it helps you keep your chin up and "keep moving forward" (-Walt Disney)

almost froze my lips off

We went for a 55 mile bike ride on a new route this morning and it was freezing. I almost died of hypothermia! Ok not really, but I didn't have breakfast so I was dying by mile 40 and went to have lunch at this burrito place in manayunk (they should pay me in nachose for this free advert) and I ate almost 20$ worth of nachos and burritos...they were that good and I was that hungry. I forgot to order the 1$ churros though, pretty miffed about that. OK back to the story, the entire time I was eating I was shivering so I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands and I looked in the mirror and my lips were freaking blue! I almost lost my lips and even before I ever kissed anyone....so embarrasing...no I'm kidding I've kissed lots of things...girls...I mean. People were staring!

On the ride we saw this car stopped in the middle of the road, at the top of a huge hill and it was on FIRE...literally. People were stopping at the intersection to have long looks it was kind of annoying, I mean once you've seen a car on fire, you've seen em all right?

The midpoint of the ride was Valley Forge national park. It was surreal to think thousands of guys in dilapidated coats and crappy shoes holed up there hundreds of thousands of years ago when the American Revolutionary War raged on. I mean we were COLD, they must've been FREEZING. The scene was probably the same as that seen by George Washington and his men, which was a stark wintry landscape with naked leafless trees. Here's a quote from Wikipedia: "Alternating freezing and melting of snow and ice made it impossible to keep dry and allowed for disease to fester."

Speaking of books, I slacked off today and am reading this book....and it's snowing outside, my car is half covered in snow, it's sticking this time, instead of just melting after touching down.

Got a physio exam on Friday, hope I ace it. It's the first of 3, ending the next Thursday. Less than 2 weeks before I go home.