Hmmm...

Hmmm...it appears that people are still reading this. I'm not exactly sure what to do with this information.

I guess I'll give you an update.

Medical school is awesome. I love it. I've met some really great students. I'm not the only parent in my class (2 Moms, 1 Dad - out of 145 students). I did very well on my first exam and am presently preparing for my second exam. I started school with total focus, nothing but studying and parenting were allowed, but as I've become more comfortable with the pace of the material, I have relaxed a little bit and begun to re-introduce some of my old hobbies back into my life. My family and I are doing well in the big bad city. My son is thriving in his new pre-school and my husband enjoys telecommuting. So, all is well.

I'll guess I'll start thinking about what I should post next. I'm mean, if y'all are going to keep reading, I might as well start posting again :)

What a week

What a week. What a summer. The past few months have been very intense. Finishing my PhD was much, much harder than I ever could have anticipated. It was hard enough that I stopped writting for a full two months.

But last week was a great week. After all of the unnecessary drama of the summer, I defended my thesis work last Tuesday and successfully completed my PhD. Then on Wednesday, Peanut and I hoped in the car and drove to the big city to sign our lease. On Thursday we received an offer on our house, on Friday we countered it, on Saturday our counter was accepted and the house was sold. Finally, on Sunday we had a wonderful party to celebrate my graduation and to say goodbye to our friends. An unimaginable weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

The beginning of my adventure into medical school is now eminent and I have to figure out what to do with this blog. I'm not sure how or if this project will continue to evolve over the next weeks, months and years. I would love to be a source of inspiration for other non-traditional students out there, but at the same time, I fear for my anonymity. I am now tasked with figuring out the specific balance that will allow this blog to survive the transition. Here's to hoping that I have a few readers out there who will be willing to make the transition with me.

That's Dr. Mamadoc to you sir.

I passed!

Whoo hoo!

Another one bites the dust!

I don't normally like to combine lots of different announcements into one long rambling post, but a lot has happened since I last posted, and I feel the need to catch you all up.

My biggest, most wonderful announcement is that, MY THESIS IS DONE!!!!!! (Happy dance!)

I submitted five copies of my monster 157 page document to my committee members on Monday morning. The time for obsessing and rewriting is over. It is now literally out of my hands. Each of my committee members will have two weeks to read the thesis, and on March 9th, we will gather for the defense. I expect that after the defense I will have more revisions to make, but hopefully, they won't ask for more experiments.

I now get to check one more thing off of my pre-graduation check list. And oh boy, this one was a biggie.

Things to do before graduation:
1. Finish research - done
2. Submit paper - (we're just waiting on the statistician)
3. Committee meeting - done
4. Submit thesis - done
5. Defend
6. Revise thesis
7. Publish thesis

Monday was actually a very eventful day for two reasons. After I turned in my thesis, I got back into my car and immediately drove across three states to St. Louis for what I assume was my last medical school interview. The people at SLU were very nice, I liked them a lot. However, the school was very run down, and there is no way I would raise my son in that part of St. Louis. So, even though I think the interview actually went very well, I will not be attending SLU, even if they offer me a spot. I am officially rejecting a second medical school (the first was Tulane).

And just so I don't go and get all cocky, what with all of this "rejecting a medical school" talk, yet another medical school has decided to reject me. Bye-Bye University of Illinois - I actually would have liked to live in Champagne. Maybe I'll catch your on the flip side - residency applications.

For Sale By Owner

Ladies and Gentlemen, step right up! For a mere $150,000, you too could own this genuine 1920's craftsman style bungalow. This beauty comes complete with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, study, formal dining room, galley kitchen and full basement. The 900 square foot master suit was recently remodeled to include a beautiful new bathroom with mosaic tile and a whirlpool tub! Don't miss this deal! It's one of a kind!

Well, it's official. We have put our house on the market. This act, above all others, signifies that we are serious about going to medical school. Anyone need a house?

This won't hurt a bit

I was just rejected from Michigan State - a school that I never bothered to actually figure out where was located (Michigan?). I can honestly say that these rejections hurt much less after you have an acceptance.

So I have yet another piece of advice for the future pre-meds who will stumble upon my blog. Apply early and apply broadly. I've been flat out rejected by schools I thought were a sure thing (Rosaline Franklin) and given interviews at schools that I thought would throw my application in the trash (Case Western). And if you live in my state, with its one lone medical school, DO NOT put all of your eggs in that basket.

Check it off the list

As of today, I officially get to check off one more item from the pre-graduation checklist. I had my final committee meeting yesterday and I must say that it went splendidly. If all of my committee meetings had been that easy, I would have actually enjoyed graduate school. We discussed my research, which is ready to be submitted for publication. We discussed my thesis, which is due in two weeks. Finally, we discussed the philosophical implications of my work. In this conversation, I was clearly the expert in the room. Throughout the entire meeting, there was an air of "Why are we here? Didn't we already graduate you?" For my efforts, they gave me an A. This will translate into 3 full semesters of a 4.0, because I haven't been graded in quite awhile. And for all of the pre-meds out there, this is why graduate grades aren't considered in the medical school application process. Because I just pulled 3 semesters of a single grade, in one day. I don't know why I was so nervous about this meeting. Originally, we had intended to broach the subject of defending to my committee at this meeting. However, the defense was set in place almost a month ago, so yesterday was really just a formality. I guess it had something to do with the fact that I had originally planned on having the meeting in October, but had to keep pushing it back due to technical problems in the lab. Had I been advising another student about this meeting, I would have told them there was nothing to worry about. But it's always easier to say that from the outside.

My thesis is now due on the 23rd, which will be very tight. I will have to continue to work on it around the clock to meet the deadline, but I think I can pull it off. I will submit my thesis to the committee on the morning of the 23rd, and then immediately get in my car and drive six hours to a medical school interview. I then have two weeks to prepare for my actual defense, which after yesterday's meeting, I am feeling much more optimistic about. My best friend is defending her dissertation this afternoon, so wish her luck. Go Josie!

Things to do before graduation:
1. Finish research - done
2. Submit paper - (we're just waiting on the statistician)
3. Committee meeting - done
4. Submit thesis
5. Defend
6. Revise thesis
7. Publish thesis