the end of the quarter

whoa. i just read my blog post from exactly one year ago, and whoa. can i just say that i am in a much, much better place? last year's fall quarter seemed to last FOREVER, while this year has gone by in a busy blur. i wasn't a huge fan of my classes last year, and tori and i were reduced to begging for rides, riding the bus, and walking to the grocery store (internal debate: if i buy this half gallon of milk AND some eggs, i won't be able to carry it all. if i don't, i'll probably have to starve.) needless to say, our lives are much improved. as is our dinner conversation (remember this?)

i have learned a few things this quarter, however. although my list isn't nearly as impressive as last year's, i'd like to keep with the tradition and let you know that now i am 4/6 of the way through my education (really 4/5 if we're counting real learning), and here is what i know now:

1. medical school is a game. a game called "let's throw more and more information and tasks at these students, and the fun part is that they'll do it because they don't wonder any more if they have a choice." i think this is their idea of how to prepare us for the future, when things just get worse and worse.

2. the (newest) lowpoint of my medical school education: performing a genito-rectal exam on a man while he instructed me on how to do it properly. the rectal exam was the all time low ("ok, now let me show how much lube to use. ok, now, in a little further.") poor ehete, our roommate, was more scarred by the female pelvic exam. quote: "you guys, i couldn't sleep last night. every time i closed my eyes, all i could see was a cervix."

3. my sense of humor has gotten decidedly less mature. and more vulgar.

4. i don't EVER want to be pregnant. in fact, my time with the women's health block was almost enough to convince me to have a prophylactic hysterectomy right now. ask me sometime and i'll explain how absolutely TRAUMATIC being a woman can be. poor tori had to endure so many conversations where i explained to her that i was traumatized and she explained to me (and eric) how much she wants a baby!

5. going to bed at 9:30 p.m. is never shameful.

6. on the other hand, it is sort of shameful to be thrown out of the library. not that i know from personal experience or anything, but the pathology book may have been a dead giveaway when i snuck into the law library this week. not my proudest moment.

7. have i pointed out how incredible it is that tori, ingrid, and i are all here at stanford together? honestly, what percent of people get in to these programs? i'm not trying to brag, i've just realized how lucky we are to be here. as much as i complain, i really do love it. and i'm so glad we've gotten to share more than a few delightful moments (hamburgers, pumpkin ice cream, and running through the main quad as an escape from the establishment come to mind.)