Ramblings of the Day

|::|The Maternal Newborn exam was tough, but it was also fair. Not too many tricky questions, just an old-fashioned straight-forward, you-know-it-or-you-don't exam, and I happened to know most of it which was a really great experience and a big departure from Biomed days. My Biomed teacher actually proctored the exam, and he asked me about it afterwards...the first time I said "it wasn't too bad" but then he kept asking me about it, about "ambiguous questions" and "answers even geneticists wouldn't know" and I finally said that I actually thought it was one of the best exams I had taken since being at the school. And I meant it. I won't get the highest grade I've ever gotten on an exam because it wasn't the easiest exam I've ever taken, but it was one of the best written exams. It covered the 6 units it was over evenly according to how much material was in the unit...she put what unit each question came from, which really helps if you're one of those people who is always trying to "picture the notes" when you get stuck...and there were enough questions to miss a few and still do ok (60). Enough for me.

|::|Random side note (on the rare chance that any men read this blog): putting your hand in the small of a woman's back to escort her through a door is a little personal...I keep saying I'm going to start wearing my ring again because people look for it when they talk to you, but I don't feel like it. Just don't touch me - which shouldn't be dependent on whether I'm married or not!

|::|The brown people are having another meeting next week to collect our thoughts and get on the same page before our meeting next weekend at the Associate Dean's (our advocate) house...we had asked for the names and numbers of the incoming brown folks so we could call and give them a personal welcome, followed by individual cards signed by all of us - which we requested postage funds for (both are things that the med school does) but the Dean of Student Affairs brushed us off, so that's first on the agenda...

|::|Me and the man are in the market for a car, and it's such a headache. We were going to buy a newer (ie: 2003+) Honda (had one...loved it!) or Toyota (good car, period) so that we wouldn't have to worry so much about maintenance...but after looking at my credit report and being pleasantly surprised (up almost 150 points since this same time last year, woo hoo!) we are now leaning toward a cash purchased, 5K or so, car to get us through 1 year as we try to get the score up even higher so we can get a good interest rate on a really nice car. But of course that require some additional savings for the repairs that are sure to follow the purchase. Ugh.

|::|And lastly, I think I'm studying abroad at the end of the academic year. Oaxaca for Medical Spanish immersion for the month of August. Some women from our program have been working with a language school there for the past decade and they have the neatest opportunity: 7 hours a day of Spanish only instruction, including classroom lessons, private 1 on 1 sessions, 1 hour conversation sessions each day with people from the community AND.....drumroll...working/volunteering at the side of the lay midwives of the region as they provide midwifery care in Spanish...can we say FABULOUS? And the best part...it's cheap! Less than $1000 for the month including room, excursions, & food money. Still gotta buy your airfare though, but I'm working it out....