Elphaba Lives!!

It took me 3 months to start and one week to finish Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire. I loved Wicked and highly recommend it to anyone and was thus very excited to start the sequel. Once I started it I wasn't sure if I'd like it. I've read other books by Maguire and didn't like them nearly as much as Wicked so I wondered if I would like Son of a Witch that much. Well, I do! It took a while to get into but I loved it. It really raises questions of identity, what defines who we are and how we grow up. Reading Son of a Witch about a year after Wicked was like returning to a beloved location and rediscovering it. I think Maguire kind of left it open at the end, so hopefully he is thinking of writing a sequel to the sequel. I think anyone who likes to read should read these books, but it would probably help to read Wicked first in order to understand the situation and characters in Son of a Witch. Next I plan to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe after seeing the beautiful movie! We'll see how long it takes for me to finish it.

What Christmas Means to Me

I love Christmas, it is my favorite holiday. Not because of the presents, which is why I liked it so much as a child, but because of the significance of it. I love singing the Christmas hymns about the birth of Christ. I love getting together with family and sharing about my life and finding out about theirs. I can't really explain the feelings I have of Christmas, but I always get teary eyed when I hear O Holy Night or Hark the Harold Angels Sing because of the beautiful imagery of the birth of Christ. I can't even imagine what that night was like but when I try I am overwhelmed with emotion. This Christmas I felt was extra significant because of it being on Sunday. Normally I would be upset by my traditions getting mixed up because we went to church on Christmas, but this year I was overjoyed to worship on that special day. So, people may say what they will about the materialism of Christmas or whatever, but it is still the most special time of year for me.

A Much Needed Vacation

I am half way done with my first year of med school!! I am soooooooooo ready for a vacation. Today was my first day off and I still had to wake up early, but at least I got to indulge in a nap! This last week of finals was harder than the other two test weeks. We had less tests but they were pretty hard and some were cumulative so I feel very burnt out. But I made it!! I really look forward to seeing friends and family over the holiday's and I am very excited to go to my friend Beth's baby shower. I haven't seen her at all since she got pregnant and I really miss her. I only get two weeks off for break but I know they will be the best two weeks all year! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

The Problem with Med School

I have waited my whole life to undergo this experience. However, the biggest downfall I see so far is that there is not enough time to really enjoy the material. I am really excited about the material that we are learning, but the pace is SOOOOOOOOO fast that I am finding myself struggling to stay interested. For instance, right now we finished learning about immunity. In college we took 8 weeks to do this, but here we took about 3. I think it is fascinating but I just don't have time to get excited about it. There is just too much to learn! I am still having fun but I'm ready for vacation! Hopefully I will get used to the pace as time goes on and will learn to appreciate what I am learning despite the speed in which it is presented to me.

More On Tests and Also a Life Update

I feel like all I post about is tests and my grades. Well, in a week and a half I will have more tests! Another full week of exams, but this time most of them are cumulative so they will be a bit harder. I can't believe that I am almost half way done with my first year of med school. It feels like I just started! We are learning some pretty cool stuff right now. I learned how to do an abdominal exam and we are learning a bunch of immunology. I have been learning about laboratory tests, which is really neat because I worked in a clinical lab for two years and now I am learning what all those blood tests are for! Sometimes I really wonder what I am getting myself into, but I know I would not be happy doing anything else with my life.

I have to start thinking about what I will do with my summer. It is the last summer that I will get, pretty much for the rest of my life. My original plan, as many of you know, was to have a baby but that didn't really work out so now I have to think of a plan B! I think I will have to get a job, so I am considering doing research since I will not only make money but it also looks good on a resume.

Many of you know that before I started school I was healing from a bad disk in my back. Well, I am very happy to say that I am pretty much healed and I no longer take pain medication. I still have pain almost daily but it is not that noticeable anymore and it mostly comes after sitting for long periods of time. I have learned to live with it and I don't think it has impaired my studying at all.

An update about moving: I don't think it will be happening for a while. The church is struggling to pay Steve right now so we can't really justify paying rent when we don't know if he will be getting paid in the future. I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but for now we are happy where we are, although the commute really stinks!

I am really looking forward to Christmas and a full two weeks off from school! It will hopefully be a good time of recuperation and I hope to be energized to start another quarter. Hopefully I will be able to post more too!