Selling Out

I told myself I wouldn't... but I have. I've joined Twitter (experimentally right now). So, if you're one of those who wants to follow my random internal monologue, check it out.

DrKT on Twitter

There's also a permanent link on the right for those interested.

Blog Day 2008

So I have to give much thanks to Jenn from Free and Flawed, who listed me as a recommended read. So awesome and unexpected. So thank you!

In return, I thought I'd add my 2-cents to the blogging world about what I like to read (besides the big obvious blogs, i.e. Sartorialist, Post-Secret, Apartment Therapy etc).

That being said, here's my 5 recommendations, with a why or a how (note: besides one, they're all medical people... but don't worry, they're good):

1. Angelaborations (and all her other blogs). I first met Angela in elementary school, at least according to my mother, when our parents signed us up for dance classes. Apparently we became friends while doing pirouettes to Copeland Fanfare for the Common Man. However, I don't really remember getting to know Angela until HS while doing theatre. She is quirky and crazy fun, which comes out in her blogs.

2. Nimish Parekh. I cannot remember exactly how I found this blog, but I'm always excited when it pops up in my google reader. Parekh is a medical student who takes beautiful photographs in his spare time, and those who know me know I love photography.

3. Zac at Agraphia. Another medical student who just makes me laugh at some of his posts. Blatantly honest about his thought and feelings on school, medicine, and life.

4. Nurse K at Crass-Pollination. HILARIOUS! This lady knows how to tell stories. What's even better is that they almost all comes from situations in the hospital.

5. Kat at Inked_Caduceus. First found this one in StudentDoctor Network. She's a 4th year medical student at the same school I go to. I read her entire first 2 years of school before starting my journey and have loved following her journey through the hospitals.

Join the fun! What do you all recommend reading?
1) Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
2) Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2008
3) Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs
4) Post the BlogDay Post (today, August 31st)
5) Add the BlogDay tag using this link and add the link to the Blog Day website

What was he thinking!?

Words of Advice: Don't chose a right-hand man (or woman in this case) who happens to be under investigation for unethical behavior. It makes you look 1) bad, 2) uninformed, or 3) crazy out of your mind.

While Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin basked Friday in the prospect that she might become the nation's first female vice president, an investigation into her was under way at home.

Republican John McCain introduced Palin in Dayton, Ohio, as his running mate for the November election. She described herself as a bipartisan reformer and a fighter against corruption.

In Alaska, meanwhile, questions over whether she or an aide broke ethical or personnel rules in firing the state's public safety commissioner have led to an investigation that is expected to last several months. (CNN)

And I'd also like to add:

The "who" is a young, articulate, smart, tough, pro-life woman who is the governor of our northernmost state. She is conservative and a mother of five, including a son in the Army who is set to be deployed to Iraq on September 11. Her youngest child has Down syndrome.

The "Barracuda" nickname came from her aggressive basketball play on the state championship basketball team. She is a hunter, pilot and lifetime member of the NRA.

She is blunt, outspoken and charming. And don't assume she can't stand toe-to-toe with Joe Biden. She is a great debater. And she was runner-up for the Miss Alaska title, won Miss Congeniality in that contest and plays the flute.

She also has a compelling story and is a most interesting choice. She will be known by all in 24 to 48 hours in this instant media world, and I am betting she will be well-liked.

The "why" is she is a governor and outside the Beltway. Conservatives love her, and she shares John McCain's value system. She is also known for taking on the establishment and ethics is her forte. (CNN)

Hmm... Firstly, her personality does not make her a qualified candidate, it merely makes her a person who has a personality (even if it is quite manish). And the "why" is her being known for her ethics?! Clearly not the case.

Good pick McCain... Good pick. I mean are you even trying? You might as well hand the presidency over to Obama, not that I would mind... but seriously?!

The Sky is Purple

Currently I'm sitting at my dining room table looking out my awesomely massive windows at Canada. But what makes this cool is that sky is literally purple. No joke. It's pretty, but makes me think that it might not be good.


Anyways, test over. As for how I did... No clue. I tend to confuse myself of tests so I'm thinking I did well enough to pass and be good, but not where I want to be. We'll have to wait until Wednesday to find out. Boo.


On other fronts, the drama of med school gets even more intense. Now some admins are super powertripping and driving us all crazy with legalism and "uncooperative"-ness. I wish I could say more, but really cannot online. If you want to know, give me a call.... Mom, I'll tell you about it this weekend.

P.S. In case you all forgot or missed:
1. IT'S A HOLIDAY (sing it now!)
2. OBAMA has the nomination! HOLLA!
3. It's a guilt free, study free weekend (those never happen)
4. I'm going home tomorrow... and going to the Obama rally with my momma on Sunday! Who's excited?! That would be me! (fingers pointing to myself)

AHHH

I am FREAKING out about my exam tomorrow.... Just going to throw that out there.

I cannot for the life of me ever remember what Quinolones except that they inhibit topoisomerase and that they are used as antibiotics... I never remember what the mechanisms of actions are unless I'm looking at them and I CANNOT go from bug to drug when looking at a test question.

Basically, I'm feeling a little screwed right now... considering the test will be OVER in 24 hours. AHH.

PTL that the weekend is a long one, cause my brain will definitely be needing a break/ needing to do easy catch up studying for clinical medicine.


P.S. Besides me being very anti-street drug to begin with. I highly recommend never doing IV drugs because you will get staph or candida endocarditis, which requires 4+ weeks of antibiotic therapy, if it's even treatable. And believe me, you don't want this... highly fatal and all.

Good Morning World

Good Morning! And welcome to a new week. Just wanting to add a little update so people (i.e. my mom, grandma, etc) know what's going on with me.

Test grades came back. I did ok, not exactly what I was expecting... but apparently that's the hardest test of the Immuno/Micro course. And as usual my class seems to be setting new records. Our dean of basic science, who is also one of the micro profs, was overheard saying that no other class has ever performed that well on the Immuno exam. Yay us! But, it makes me want to tell my class to chill out a bit and try testing their social skills. Third year will be interesting when all this people who only know how to study are thrown into the hospital.

Anyways, we started basic microbiology this past week (systems based micro starts today). And can I just say that it was one of the most overwhelming weeks in med school yet. It wouldn't have been so bad except for the whole pharmacology beast they threw at us. You see, they want us to learn what drugs treat what bugs. This in itself would not be bad, but they haven't even taught us the bugs yet.

I told my mom it would be like dropping me in the middle of France and then having some French person try and teach me German. Not only do I not understand where I am, I don't understand enough French (besides a few words here and there) and certainly do not understand ANY of the German. (For those of you who are lost: France = Microbiology, French = the bugs, German = pharmacology).



It has been quite the overwhelming week and weekend trying to remember a bunch of drugs that all sound the same, treat basically the same things, but somehow are different. Needless to say, I've spent most of the weekend trying to learn the pharm and not really looking at any of the other material and not feeling like I accomplished anything. However, the other stuff isn't too hard (at least that's what it seems, I hope that's the case for the test).

In other happier news, one of my favorite people from undergrad is in my area for a few months this year. She's a 3rd year DO student and is doing multiple rotations in the area. She just got to town yesterday, so we met up and went out to dinner. Can I just say that it made my weekend! I'm so excited!! She's kind of far away right now (35+ minutes), but later in the year she'll be like 5 minutes away!!!! YAY!

Well... I should probably go... you know class and all that. But I hope you have a wonderful week!

P.S. My goal for the week is to work out, something I've not been doing and really need to do. We're starting today.

1 Down, 33 To Go

Immunology is done! That's right, 2 weeks in and a subject is completed... kind of. Immunology is paired with Microbiology, and we still have 3 more to go with that one.


Speaking of.. did I mention yet that we have a test in 10 days?! Whose excited?? NOT ME!

Seriously not going to have a life this year. This could be a problem.

I tried solving part of this problem last night by studying while watching Definitely, Maybe. But there was more watching than studying. I can say that it was a good movie though. I recommend it for anyone wanting to watch a chick flick.


On other fronts, we had our fellowship last night and had a bunch of new faces around our table. It was so great! I'm really looking forward to the year.

Lost for Words?

Do you ever find yourself glancing off towards another individual? Intrigued, you want to start up a conversation? Or maybe just jump to the part where you declare your emotions in a romantic gesture? But when you start to get up the courage you lose all your words? Never fear, the Bureau of Communication is here:

Just fill in the blanks and email it off to that certain someone! Yes, that's right, no need to even print it off!

Have something else unsaid that needs to be said? Check out their other forms.

Favorite Study Tools

It being a new school year I thought would share some of my favorite study aids that have gotten me through school this far.

In undergrad I became a huge flash card person. However, with the magnitude of index cards I went through, this did not seem very economically anymore. But I still needed some method to study...

About the time that I was going through this dilemma I found iFlash, a flash card program for Macs. If you are a Mac person who is also a student (at any level) I highly recommend this program.

I took a couple screen shots to share with you all:

This is the main screen. The individual cards are listed in the cute, and the card that I was editing is in the Inspector screen in front.


Review time: iFlash is set up to help you review! You can flip through cards easily and fast. My favorite little button is the "Know" check box at the bottom. This allows you to get rid of the cards you know in future study sessions.

The program also allows you to add photos to the cards and they can be printed in PDF form (which came in very useful during neuroanatomy and when sharing with friends)!

All in all a very useful program for any student.

In the future I'll try and add some of my other favorite study tools. Until then, my immuno studying is calling my name.

I Should Be Studying....

I really should be studying, seeing as I have a super hard Immunology exam on Monday. But, I've felt distant lately... That being said I need to share some studying happiness.

Some of you might remember when I discovered Ingrid Michaelson at the end of last school year. Well, I have a new artist: Courtesy of Starbucks and my awesome friend Jacki. For those of you who are not Starbucks patrons (which I cannot or will not ever understand), they have free music give aways. Every Tuesday they set out some new cards for songs to download at iTunes.

Well, a few days ago my friend Jacki and I picked some up new songs. She downloaded them right away, I on the other hand did not.

Enter today, aka Study Craziness Day: Jacki mentions some song to me (while we are putting in about 6 hours at Starbucks). I looked at her in confusion. She replies with "The Starbucks downloads?!" And they nicely let's me listen to her iPod.

Meet Priscilla Ahn!
Soothing and lilting, much like Ingrid Michaelson. And the new happy study music.

I highly recommend you check her out on iTunes or on Pandora, cause she's pretty good.

And now my regularly scheduled program of Studying recommences.

Dear first years

Dear first years,

I understand that you are super excited to be in medical school but it
is Friday night of your first week. Why the frick are still at school
at 11:30 at night? You have next to nothing to study.
Go home and have a life while you still can.

KT

How in the World?!

So one of the great things about living in ghetto D is amazingly ghetto fabulous cars. I think I've posted one before...

Please don't think that I go around taking pictures of such cars (mostly cause I think I'll get shot at), but I have one question about this one:

How the frick does one actually open the door to this one, let alone get into it?!

Can we please note that the wheels are almost as tall as a normal car!?!?!

Prettiness

For those you haven't actually been around me since a year ago July... I've been salivating over the iPhone for a very very long time.

I kept telling myself... "I'm going to get one.... I'm going to get one", but nothing ever came off it. You see, I have verizon (and am on a family plan) and love it.

Introduce my pretty pink razor. I love my pretty pink razor. Have since I got it almost 2 years ago. However, recently it has been slowing down a lot - causing much frustration and angst.

I knew it was time to upgrade, enter Katie's rational for "needing" an iphone:
1. I need a PDA, and don't want a PDA and a phone... thus necessitating a PDA-Phone
2. PDA requirements at my school narrow down the choices of verizon phones to 1 phone
3. Above phone is $500... and windows based.
4. I have a Mac... everything I run in life is on a Mac (most importantly my iCal!!!! seriously not joking about that, see a few posts ago)
5. The iPhone is $200-300 less than incompatible PDA-phone through verizon
6. Epocrates on the iPhone is freakin' AMAZING!
7. IPhones are pretty

Well today was the day... loans are hitting the bank and I'm losing patience with my pretty pink razor.

TODAY I AM AN iPHONE OWNER!
YES, that's right. I finally did it. I am a proud owner of a very pretty WHITE iPhone with an even prettier PINK case!

Euphoria is setting in.... but so is exhaustion and that fact that I haven't studied at all this afternoon. Oops.

But let's be honest: Dinner with Mom and buying an iPhone trump the lack of studying.

The Last Supper

Each year the summer prosectors take a picture. Each year has to out do the last.
I think that this year's did a great job. I find this SO funny...

Here's the original for comparison:

A Bad Omen

Remember that art installation that I mentioned a few months ago? If not, here's the link. (I would upload the pic again, but blogger is being incredibly annoying and not working today).

Anyways, IT IS GONE!

Jacki told me today.

This is bad. How can they take down the "Everything is Going to Be Alright" sign the day before 2nd year starts?! It's like saying, "EVERYTHING THING IS SUCKY FROM HERE ON OUT" or "GOOD LUCK, BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT".

This is very, very, very bad.

Too Cute

Too much candy from Capucha on Vimeo.

Thanks Angela for sharing it.

"Michigan Blues"

There's a good article in TIME this week about the importance of Michigan in the upcoming election, or more specifically the importance of Oakland County**. The article puts to light how important the economy is when it comes to voting in Michigan.

I understand that the recession has been hitting the nation, but let me point out that Michigan was technically the only state in recession last year, and the only one to lose population due to people leaving the state in search of jobs.

The article puts it nicely:

"But to fully grasp why the economy is the first, last, and only issue on the minds of Michigan voters this year, this one fact reveals all: two months after the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup, there is no waiting list for season tickets."

"Despite its wealth, Oakland is feeling pain from the economic downturn. The most recent round of auto-industry cuts has walloped white collar engineers and researchers who call Oakland County home. Take a drive through the hardest-hit neighborhoods, and you'll see blocks on which one-third or more of the houses have a FOR SALE sign planted in their front yard."

"But this year McCain's approach to the economy may be squandering that reservoir of goodwill. During a primary-campaign stop-over, he offered a straight-talk diagnosis: 'Some jobs that have left Michigan are not coming back.' He has since tried to massage the message, but that task was made more difficult during a visit with GM workers, which McCain spent explaining why one of his closest advisers had just dismissed concerns about the economy as a 'mental recession.'"

"The other challenge Obama faces in Oakland is Michigan's tainted Democratic brand. Democratic governor Jennifer Granholm has an approval rating of only 20%. And in Detroit, which lies just on the other side of 8 Mile Road, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick faces a long litany of legal and ethical woes stemming from his affair with a co-worker. Kilpatrick had to post a $7,500 bond to remain out of jail and take a court-ordered drug test. Republicans hope a weakened Democratic machine in Detroit will hamper Obama's effort in the fall. "Obama will have to go in himself and build his own machine," predicts GOP state-party chair Saul Anuzis. It's a fairly safe bet that the nation's first black presidential nominee will turn out the vote in the country's most predominantly black city. But the danger for Obama is that years of scandalous headlines about a young black man in power in Detroit will have a much subtler impact on the way suburban voters view Obama's candidacy. As longtime Democrat David Bonior notes, 'Often there's a reaction against Detroit in Oakland County.'"

All I got to say is they nailed it on the head. We're looking forward to lots of presidential campaign exposure.

**Oakland has been one of the top 5 wealthiest counties in the country

Hitting the Ground Running

Today is the last day of the last summer of my life. I know that may sound a bit dramatic, but it's kind of true. Tomorrow I start 2nd year... After which there is board study and then 3rd year rotations.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Tomorrow I start 2nd year. That means that my life is going to be even crazier (if that's at all possible) and even busier.

This leaves me a little bittersweet... I'm sad that my summer is over, but I'm excited to see friends that have been gone for the last 10 weeks. I'm not looking forward to the nastiness that is 2nd year, but I'm excited to actually learn stuff that is completely useful.

For those of you unfamiliar with how medical school works, here's a brief paraphrase: Normal first year; Abnormal second year. What that means is that the entirety of last year was spent learning what is supposed to happen in the human body: from anatomy and physiology to biochemistry and neuroanatomy. This coming year is all about disease.... and it's going to be painful.

My roommate's mom read the following analogy somewhere and passed it on to us: First year is like taking an umbrella and sticking up your butt, it hurts and is not at all pleasant. Second year is opening that umbrella while it is still up your butt, which sounds like death to me. Third year is pulling said open umbrella out, which is when you obtain the most bodily harm. And fourth year is spent recovering from this traumatic experience. Now doesn't that just sound like peaches?! Do you not want to jump on AMCAS right now and start filling out your application for medical school?

Anyways, the umbrella opening begins tomorrow at 10am, with 5 hours of lecture.
They really don't let you get re-acclimated to school this year. And although the schedule doesn't look all that bad this week, let me remind you that it is the first week back and we all forgot how to study over the last 10 weeks. And to make matters worse let me point you to Monday, August 18th:

Yes, that's right. We have a test in 2 WEEKS! And then another one in LESS THAN 2 WEEKS! Are they frickin' serious?! How the crap and I supposed to learn something that quickly? Might I also point out the lack of study days this year! When the crap crappiness are we supposed to review when we have classes all day every day?!

I guess my coffee machine will become even more of my best friend... while it tries to trick me into thinking that lack of sleep is an effective way to be productive. Which I very well know is a lie, but nonetheless, almost necessary to believe in order to make it through the next year.

But it doesn't stop there... it goes all year and gets worse. I was looking through the calendar and there were a few weeks that I wanted to cry about by just looking at them. I'm beginning to understand why the 2nd years were the way there were last year. It makes me want to become a hermit for a year, which we all know would be very impossible for me to do.

Boo. Boo to all that the next year brings. But yay to learning interesting stuff. But mostly boo.

5 Stringed Cellos and Paper Violinists

So the origami here is cool, but I think I like the cellist better. Might have to try and find some of his stuff on iTunes. (under 3 minutes for those busy people out there).