Up On the Roof

The Air Is Fresh and Sweet

Magdeburg is being smiled upon by the weather deities. We finally have spring! Today is gorgeous. Blue sky, gentle breeze, 65 degrees or so. Instead of going to the park, where my fresh air would be ruined by ubiquitous cigarette smoke and bees and ants and all sorts of icky crawling things, I am sunbathing on the roof of our building.

It's a very nice roof, full of character. It's L shaped and sloped, which gives me a woozy feeling whenever I stand up. There are nine old chimney stacks (or some sort of stacks) and one satellite receiver. The roof itself is not a uniform black; the vertical portion of the L is a rough grey with black tarring, whereas the foot is more charcole-colored. We have a nice view of the Magdeburger Dom and various church spires, the railway tracks, and a bit of the Hundertwasserhaus. I like this roof and am proud to call it mine. Our wlan is also strong enough to get up here, which is wonderful.


Row Row Row Your Boat

Since Jeanne has begged me to let go of any aspirations I may have had of playing rugby, I need to find something else to occupy me at Mount Holyoke. She mentioned that crew, riding, and lacrosse do not require one to have played in high school. I like animals and did a brief stint of summer camp riding, but I have a feeling I'd be pretty lousy on an equestrian team. Lacrosse could be neat, but I am worried about that which NO incoming college student worries about: losing weight! Lacrosse involves a lot of running, and while that's super for cardio and all, I have heard that running is good for weight loss. Admittedly I don't really know what I'm talking about, but it seems logical, and I really don't want to lose any weight. Just the opposite.

Now as to crew, I don't look at myself in the mirror and see "rower" written all over me. I'm small and elbowy and not very strong (which can change, of course, but the small and elbowy is there to stay, I think). Then I think to meself, "Self, there is one person who sits in the boat and doesn't need to be big and unelbowy! The cox!" And I'd be terrific at yelling at people at 5am. :-P But seriously, I've been getting up earlier recently and really enjoying it, so that wouldn't be an issue.

It's a strange feeling though, thinking about being a cox. My aunt coaches crew and I know next to nothing about the sport. I do know, however, that the cox is responsible for controlling the boat and rowers; it is not just motivation -- it is also the technical aspects. Why should anyone put that trust in me? It seems a mighty lot to think I could learn enough about it in time for practices, let alone a race.

And if this is me thinking about Division III Junior Varsity Crew, imagine how I feel about possibly becoming a doctor. At least that's not for a long time, if it is to happen at all.


Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I am very happy that my parents are coming in a few weeks. I love them very very much.

I will also be doing something that, at the beginning of this year, I never would have thought possible: missing the school and co-workers and kids. The year isn't even over yet, but what with MHC excitement, parents visiting, and sommer coming, it is certainly winding down. Just under four months left.

You Can Make Me Really Happy...

... by getting me Irish Gaelic textbooks and CDs. Or by sending me to Ireland for an introductory course. Or both! And I wouldn't mind anything that has to do with Ireland, really, especially if it involves pretty pictures of the land.

More on Med School

I'm Weird

When I ride the trolley to work early in the morning, there are often many students who take the same trolley. One batch of them gets off at Liebknechtstraße and the second batch at Spielhagenstraße. At each of these stops is a school and the students are all on their way to class. They carry backpacks and textbooks and posters and lunchboxes. They talk about teachers and courses and tests and grades and planning prom.

Dear God.

It's so annoying.

Not because the students are disagreeable, but because when I ride with them, I feel distinctly at a loss. I like school. I am a good student. I do the learning thing pretty well. And after 14 years of class, suddenly not having homework or papers or textbooks is baffling. It's difficult not to be a student. Really difficult. I mean, I'm looking forward to finally getting my summer reading assignment from Mount Holyoke, whereas most high school grads can't wait to never again have summer reading. Freak.

I think this is one of the reasons I want to go to medical school. If asked to write a sentence containing the phrases "medical school" and "safety net" a reasonable outcome would be something in the order of, I have a safety net set up in case I get rejected from medical school. Why, oh why, is my sentence, I want to go to medical school because it is a safety net to protect me from never needing to actively study again.

Of course it isn't that simple. But the idea of planning my future in a series of educational gradients is quite attractive. High school, college, med school, residency, CMEs... Yep, sounds great.

How weird am I?


Two Neat Med School Programs

1. Mount Sinai Humanities & Medicine Early Acceptance Program sounds as if it were created just for me. Sarah's Special. Go read. It's super-duper cool.

2. The Atlantic Bridge Program is also attractive, though really it is just an application service to apply to Irish medical/dental/veterinary schools. Hmmm. I doubt my folks would be so thrilled at my spending four years in Ireland, and to be honest I'm not entirely sure how I would feel, but... I really do want to go back to Galway. If I get into the Mount Sinai program, I could probably do a semester/year abroad there, but if I don't, then the premed courseload will be in all likelihood too intense to take the time "off."