I geeked out my classmates.

Medical students are an interesting group of nerdy overachievers. We are the people who wrecked the curve in your science generals and destroyed it in your 'Family Economic Issues' upper division FCS class. Type A grade grubbers who think jokes like "a sodium ion and a chloride ion got into a fight and got arrested for a salt," are funny. The good news is we generally understand each other pretty well. Yesterday, in histology, I started up a lively conversation of "if you could be any type of cell, which would you be?" (I would be an astrocyte or a macrophage, by the way). A few minutes into the conversation someone expressed surprise that we were talking about our favorite cells. I must have been tired because I heard myself (I couldn't stop) tell them about the time I made a diagram of a cell using my Café Rio salad on a date. It got kind of quiet. "You what?" asked the engineering major from the Y. "Ooooooo," said the obsessive video gamer, "that's pretty bad." "Wait, do you have a girlfriend?" asked all the girls in unison. "I know," I said, "but in my defense, she asked me to do it and she did go out with me again." I hope I saved face, but I'm afraid the secret's out--I'm the biggest nerd in the whole class only not smart.

working out the kinks...

I had my first exam today. I was hoping it would feel kind of like this:It ended up feeling more like this:

There's always next week.

assessment

Before I start class next week, the School of Medicine asked me to complete a couple of personality assessment tests to figure out how I'm going to work. I just got some results:


The first one makes sense to me--I think it basically means I use my head and not my heart when making decisions. That's probably true for me in most areas, helpful in work, can be bad in dating. I like the results on the second one--I avoid conflict as a way to solve problems. I like that they told me this and then went on to explain how it could be a good thing--"well, you're a pretty bad problem solver, but at least you don't get into arguments over small stuff..." Right. It also tells me I like short meetings (true) and that I see conflicts as distractions from the final goal (probably).

Next they gave me a list of preferred careers (mind you that my dad took one of these when he was in high school and it told him that he should be a mailman...) and the top areas are Architecture and Engineering; Life, Physical, and Social Sciences; Business and Finance; and Legal. Is it just me or does that not narrow it down at all? It feels like a vague horoscope or a fortune cookie that doesn't have a real fortune (you have a strong personality). Good thing I've already made up my mind on what I'm going into.

What’s happened to my blog?

It’s funny, when I started this thing it felt like I would never run out of stuff to write about. I had all these stories and opinions that were dying to spill out onto the internet for people to read. I’m not sure, but I think that it may be a winter/summer thing because as we moved into Spring and now Summer the well kind of dried up. I’ve been so busy this summer that I haven’t had time or energy to worry too much about the blog. And I am hesitant to make a travel log because I just don’t think it would be all that interesting to anyone buy me. That being said, I’ll give a general overview of what this summer has been like:

Awesome.

Barring a foot injury that has kept me from running over the last several weeks (it’s pushed me into swimming, actually), this has been the best summer of all time. Fortunately, the injury hasn’t kept me from waterskiing, sailing, biking, or barbequing. With the imminent end of my life of carefree fun at hand, I’ve made a serious effort to do as much as I possibly can over the last several months. It’s gotten to the point where the bishop’s wife asks me, “What was it this week?” every Sunday at church.

Part of what has made this summer great was the running. During the winter, I had my doubts about whether or not a marathon in April was a good idea because my training schedule kept me from skiing. I’ve discovered, however, that starting off the summer in marathon shape has made everything else more fun. I could pick up at any time and take off on a long run, hike, or bike ride without worrying about how long or difficult it would be. I’ll definitely do another marathon someday.

This aforementioned ‘death of the fun life’ is dramatically worded, but in a way it’s accurate. I won’t have time to do a lot of the things I enjoy doing. However, I have every intention of logging in some great running time as soon as my foot heals—running is likely to be the only thing that will keep me sane. Also, let it be known that I am nervous for school and I get more and more nervous as it gets closer. I hope I can hack it. And this is not a false modesty or anything like that. It’s been over a year since I last took a test or memorized anything. Hopefully the transition to school-mode won’t take too long.

Everyone I talk to who is in medical school has a different opinion about it. There are those who love it and those who hate it. It’s discouraging/intimidating when I talk to a second or third year student who tells me to go into dentistry. I usually try to end the conversation as quickly as possible and never speak to these people again. If you are toward the end of doing something hard, don’t ever look back at the people who are starting and tell them to quit because it’s hard. Even if you hate it.

Anyway, I digress. The point is: this has been the best summer of all time, even though I haven’t written much about it here. I hope your summer has been sweet too.

Cliché

Every blog I've ever looked at has some article (post) titled "neglected," complete with an apology, an excuse, and a resolve to do better. I make no apologies, no excuses, and no resolves; but I would like to acknowledge that this blog has been neglected. And to state that I hope that the neglect isn't permanent and that dwarn.blogspot.com doesn't just fade off into the millions of abandoned blogs on the world wide web. I may be slow and uninspired, but I'm no quitter.

White Rim Trail--Canyonlands National Park

Boatable

I like making up words. Especially if the meaning of the new word can be easily deduced. Here’s one of my favorite Daveisms:

boatable
adjective
1. being able to have fun on a boat, used specifically in describing a girl
a. willing to be the first one to jump in, no matter how cold the water
b. wanting to try waterskiing/wakeboarding even if she hasn’t ever attempted it before
c. being not whiney in nature
d. enjoying the company of other people on a boat
e. appreciating of the setting of the lake/mountains/canyons where boating takes place

I guess I didn’t make up the word—it has a real definition that has to do with water that can be navigated by a boat, but I’m pretty sure I invented the definition I mentioned above. Boatable is on my list of requirements that make a girl datable. And I feel like it’s not asking too much because it’s not about being a good skier or wakeboarder so much as it is attitude. It doesn’t matter if a girl was raised on a lake or if she’s never set foot on a boat before. In fact, there are few things that are more attractive than a girl who wipes out 10 times trying to get up on a water ski for the first time and wants to keep trying.