So, fall break has pretty much been a rousing success. First, I got a lot of errands out of the way on Tuesday afternoon, including renewing my passport in anticipation of next year's trip to Tanzania (or Ecuador, because who really knows at this point?) and dropping by both CHP offices to say hi to everyone. It was really wonderful to see all the familiar faces. I love my new Duke community beyond all reason, but that's not to say I don't still miss the old one. Even the conversations about flu clinics brought a bit of nostalgia... and THAT is saying something! :)
On Wednesday, I ran nine miles, almost by accident... I didn't really intend to go that far, but once I hit the Tobacco Trail, it was easy to forget where I was... until I hit the giant Fayetteville Road intersection and realized, hmm, now I've got to run this whole route in reverse -- I'd better turn back! :) So I went home and watched a movie, painted my toenails, and generally bummed around the house until dinnertime, when about a dozen of us had dinner at a classmate's house followed by drinks on Franklin St. This was an awesome, awesome night, mostly because I finally started to get to know a few people more 'deeply' than just our usual conversations about school. I guess now that we're all two months into this whole drinking-from-a-fire-hose, cerebral-bulimia PA school thing, we're finally getting comfortable enough with one another to start sharing our 'stories' and our lives outside of school, which is so wonderful. One of the things I wanted most out of this program was not just to become a great PA, but to make lifelong friends -- not just the type of friends I've had the past few years, where you're friendly with someone for a while and then lose touch when life carries you apart, but true, lifelong friends that I'll be able to call up in 20 years and say, hey, how's life? Anyway, so the reason Wednesday night was so great was because I finally felt like that deeper level of friendship started to be reached, and several others verbalized the same. :)
On Thursday, three classmates came over and we "worked on our physical exam"... which really consisted of about twenty minutes of actual work interspersed with just talking about nothing in particular... and then later in the evening a few of us went to Raleigh and had paella and sangria at Red Room. I kind of wish we had gotten more work done, since our final exam is just one month away and I still feel utterly at loose ends in terms of physical exam memorization, but I was probably expecting too much of us for day two of fall break. :) Anyway, then Friday was my solo 'Detox Day' at the beach with my Kindle, headphones, and coffee, which I capped off by inviting myself over to a classmate's house at 10:30pm and subsequently getting mildly addicted to the show Glee. (How funny that I have always remarked upon how much Lea Michele resembles a young Idina Menzel, and then on Glee they end up being mother and daughter!)
Then yesterday Liz and I braved the Saturday-night crowds to go to the fair. Warning: do not try this at home. It took us a total of 2.5 hours to get from our apartment through the gates of the fairgrounds, including several harrowing encounters with haphazardly parked cars. However, I am pleased to report that fried Reese's Cups are just as delicious as ever. :)
Today's been pretty low-key so far... I went for a run, made some cheddar soup and some gnocchi, informally diagnosed one of my friends over the phone (with the help of my Epocrates program, LOL!), and made a halfhearted attempt to study microbiology for tomorrow's exam... but I've already organized a study group with a few friends to meet before school tomorrow, so knowing that we'll be going over it again then makes it hard to want to do it right now. :)
Anyway, I'm sort of surprised that I'm itching to get back to school after "just" five days away, but I really kind of am. I've found myself missing my classmates at various points this weekend -- clearly I'm too accustomed to spending my days with 74 awesome people. :) I even kind of miss the mammoth PowerPoints and the daily eight hours' worth of answers that they provide to all the unasked clinical questions in my head. I still feel so utterly privileged to be part of this class, and while this mini-break was needed and welcomed, I must admit that I'll be happy to get back to my third row aisle seat tomorrow and keep pressing on with our education.
On Wednesday, I ran nine miles, almost by accident... I didn't really intend to go that far, but once I hit the Tobacco Trail, it was easy to forget where I was... until I hit the giant Fayetteville Road intersection and realized, hmm, now I've got to run this whole route in reverse -- I'd better turn back! :) So I went home and watched a movie, painted my toenails, and generally bummed around the house until dinnertime, when about a dozen of us had dinner at a classmate's house followed by drinks on Franklin St. This was an awesome, awesome night, mostly because I finally started to get to know a few people more 'deeply' than just our usual conversations about school. I guess now that we're all two months into this whole drinking-from-a-fire-hose, cerebral-bulimia PA school thing, we're finally getting comfortable enough with one another to start sharing our 'stories' and our lives outside of school, which is so wonderful. One of the things I wanted most out of this program was not just to become a great PA, but to make lifelong friends -- not just the type of friends I've had the past few years, where you're friendly with someone for a while and then lose touch when life carries you apart, but true, lifelong friends that I'll be able to call up in 20 years and say, hey, how's life? Anyway, so the reason Wednesday night was so great was because I finally felt like that deeper level of friendship started to be reached, and several others verbalized the same. :)
On Thursday, three classmates came over and we "worked on our physical exam"... which really consisted of about twenty minutes of actual work interspersed with just talking about nothing in particular... and then later in the evening a few of us went to Raleigh and had paella and sangria at Red Room. I kind of wish we had gotten more work done, since our final exam is just one month away and I still feel utterly at loose ends in terms of physical exam memorization, but I was probably expecting too much of us for day two of fall break. :) Anyway, then Friday was my solo 'Detox Day' at the beach with my Kindle, headphones, and coffee, which I capped off by inviting myself over to a classmate's house at 10:30pm and subsequently getting mildly addicted to the show Glee. (How funny that I have always remarked upon how much Lea Michele resembles a young Idina Menzel, and then on Glee they end up being mother and daughter!)
Then yesterday Liz and I braved the Saturday-night crowds to go to the fair. Warning: do not try this at home. It took us a total of 2.5 hours to get from our apartment through the gates of the fairgrounds, including several harrowing encounters with haphazardly parked cars. However, I am pleased to report that fried Reese's Cups are just as delicious as ever. :)
Today's been pretty low-key so far... I went for a run, made some cheddar soup and some gnocchi, informally diagnosed one of my friends over the phone (with the help of my Epocrates program, LOL!), and made a halfhearted attempt to study microbiology for tomorrow's exam... but I've already organized a study group with a few friends to meet before school tomorrow, so knowing that we'll be going over it again then makes it hard to want to do it right now. :)
Anyway, I'm sort of surprised that I'm itching to get back to school after "just" five days away, but I really kind of am. I've found myself missing my classmates at various points this weekend -- clearly I'm too accustomed to spending my days with 74 awesome people. :) I even kind of miss the mammoth PowerPoints and the daily eight hours' worth of answers that they provide to all the unasked clinical questions in my head. I still feel so utterly privileged to be part of this class, and while this mini-break was needed and welcomed, I must admit that I'll be happy to get back to my third row aisle seat tomorrow and keep pressing on with our education.
stormed at 14:30
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