Med School Interview

My Neuro exam went okay, my mock interview went well, and I currently need to prepare for my next Practical - right after the Fourth of July weekend (they have no sympathy!) - and then my final, which is the same week, the immediate Friday following that (not only no sympathy, they wish to kick our ribs in while we're down.)

BUT! my most recent hurdle: I had a real, live (yeah, as opposed to dead) interview today at one of the cooperating med schools we're looking into transferring for our last two years when we do the fun stuff: clerkships, rotations, clinical experience, etc. :)

I was nauseous yesterday night and spent hours reading up on healthcare system and ethical issues just in case the interviewer decided to pick my brains apart.

Except what happened was ...

Morning comes, I roll out of bed and into my business suit (my, as in my cousin's suit, as in I have no real clothes of my own. Actually, do you know how hard it is to find a good skirt-suit in size 0-2? Macy's smallest was labelled a "2" but was probably really a 4 since I drowned in it. I don't understand. I'm so ... small-boned. I tried to gain weight before and ... let's just say I wish I can gain weight that would actually build up and give me curves as opposed to just congregating in my thighs.)

So off I went, baking in the summer heat in my suit, checking every two seconds to make sure my skirt didn't do its lil circulation dance around my hips until the slit in the back migrated to the front. Got on the train, basked in the frigid AC, and then made the transfer to my next train that would take me to the medical center!

Only I got on the wrong train. Oh yes, can you have faith in the future of medicine or what?

I sighed when I realized and moved off the train only to wonder where the uptown connection was. Damn it, was it one of those stations I had to get out of and cross the street to catch the returning train? I asked a lady and she pointed me in the right direction. She also had the most adorable son who clung excitedly to his mom as he stared at me with wide eyes, "Mom, she's so pretty! The lady's so pretty!" LOL. So I thanked both his mom and him and as I scrambled to head down the steps, I heard him continuing, "She has such pretty shoes! I like her shoes!"

Thanks, kid. You're my fav guy now.

Anyhoo, I made it to the station where I had to get off and I got out in not one of the most nicest neighborhoods. But it's okay - bright daylight. A distinguished Indian gentleman with glasses and a messenger bag approached me and asked if I needed any help with directions. He pointed the right way to me and then advised me to be careful around people in the neighborhood since it's not the safest place and I could potentially get mugged.

Thanks, nice person! *wobbles off in high heels*

So I had my interview with a doctor who specializes in the pediatrics department and it was nice. He didn't really go over my app before the interview though so he basically asked me what was listed on it, my hobbies, my study habits, and he told me about the school and the rotations system and the hospitals students get to work in. Then we talked about President Obama's healthcare proposals. I brought it up and for some reason, by that time, it felt more like I was interviewing him. I'd say something, ask him something, and he'd explain, continue into another topic, and hmm ... Somehow, there goes an hour. It might have been a bad thing that he talked more than I did, but that was how it went down and ... sighs. All in all, I hope it was a satisfactory interview and that the doctor would at the very least remember me in a positive way.

Went back to the train station except this time, it was one of those funky stations that the uptown and downtown trains run separately. So I stood at the corner peering around for a while since the uptown is generally located across the street. Except it wasn't. So I was convinced it was in camoflauge. Behind a van or something.

Third friendly person of the day came to my rescue. A young man asked me if I needed any help and I kinda mumbled, still peering around, "Yeah, I don't quite know - where the heck is the uptown station?"

"The uptown? Oh!" And he looked around too.

So we both glanced around us and I grumbled, "Isn't it generally across the street?"

"Yeah, right?" He laughed and then told me to wait while he jogged across the street. He then waved me over and directed me down the block. "I think it's down the street there and then you make a right."

"Okay, thanks!" I wandered off and lo and behold, the station was indeed nearly two blocks away from its brother. Weird.

Whew, I've been really exhausted these days but I feel pretty unproductive. I haven't done anything particularly strenuous ... just the norm. Hmm.

Anyway, I'm working on the next chapter for TM and I hope to finish the story soon. Not next chapter, but I'll try to get the rest done sooner than later. About time.

And ...

R.I.P. Michael Jackson. What a legend. What a legacy.