So I have a friend from high school, she now teaches high school (confusing I know). She teaches a class for students interested in health professions. So she asked me to come and speak to her class. I love speaking to high school kids, mostly because I feel like I'm doing penance for the 3 years that I spent leaving school. Don't get me wrong, I had an awesome time leaving high school, but I feel like I owe something to myself for the creating an abyss in my mind where my high school education was supposed to go (hence my affinity for reading books that I should've read in high school).
Back to the story... She asked me to speak to her kids about what medical school is like. I had actually spoken to her class in the past, so I told her I would. Well what started out at a 30 minute presentation to her class, quickly turned into 2-1hour presentations to all the students at her school. This called for a more laborious approach to the presentation. I spent a few hours throwing together some powerpoint slides and notes, and showed up ready to roll. I spoke for about an hour each time without any problem... unless you consider putting half the kids to sleep a problem (I don't!). After the presentation was over, I had the following exchange with my friend:
Me: Friend, thanks for having me over
Friend: Yeah, thanks for coming
Me: No problem, I never knew anyone in medicine prior to med school so I'm glad to help. Hopefully, the kids thought it was beneficial.
Friend: Yeah, I think it was really good, and it seemed liked they really enjoyed it...
Me: Bull#%&#, but thanks anyway...
Friend: Yeah and if you give me your address, I can send you your check.
Me:....
Friend: Yeah, we have money in our budget for speakers.
Me:.... Ummm, for this?
Friend: Yeah, you did a really good job. And by the way, when you type this up, please don't start all of my sentences with "yeah." I think it makes me sound stupid.
Me: Wouldn't dream of it...
So not only did I have fun chatting with the high schoolers, but apparently there's a major award associated with it. I couldn't be happier... So I guess what I learned is that money can buy happiness.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Making a Match List
So I have been debating for some time about whether or not to even start a blog. I have always liked writing, but rarely write for other people to see. Then I tried to make a match list...
I did interviews at 13 different residency programs during the last month and a half, and now I have the unenviable task of ranking them from 1 to 13. I say unenviable because it seems like an impossible task. At most I spent 2 days with any one program. During the interview each program put on their very best face and accentuate the positive aspects of their program while minimizing the negative aspects. Basically, it's like quickly walking through the a Russian orphanage, and then after leaving being asked to rank the kids from 1 to 13. How? I don't know which ones throw tantrums, wet the bed, or are lactose intolerant... and believe me even if the kid can't be in the same room as ice cream there's no way he's going to tell me. He's not going to tell me this stuff for several reasons. First, he's worried about whether or not I'll take him home. Second, he's also worried that I'll tell all my other infertile friends that the kid requires a special diet. He keeps this from me, not because he's bad person. I mean it's not like I walked through with a screen printed t-shirt that says, "Asthmatic with a Short Temper." It's a dance my friends... and a complex one. It just ends with a very awkward decision about which kid to take home.
So what does that have to do with blogging? Well this insurmountable task requires a new level of procrastination. It's not enough to simply peruse ESPN's website, my favorite Yankee-related blogs, and the blogs of my family and friends. It requires me to really stretch myself in the realm of procrastination, and for me that's definitely saying something. I mean, I have basically spent the last four years overloading a single ESPN server by myself. So it occurred to me... I should start my own blog. Hopefully, it will not only consume a lot of my spare, but it will force me to put off more important things to write regular updates. And that's the type of procrastination you can believe in!
I did interviews at 13 different residency programs during the last month and a half, and now I have the unenviable task of ranking them from 1 to 13. I say unenviable because it seems like an impossible task. At most I spent 2 days with any one program. During the interview each program put on their very best face and accentuate the positive aspects of their program while minimizing the negative aspects. Basically, it's like quickly walking through the a Russian orphanage, and then after leaving being asked to rank the kids from 1 to 13. How? I don't know which ones throw tantrums, wet the bed, or are lactose intolerant... and believe me even if the kid can't be in the same room as ice cream there's no way he's going to tell me. He's not going to tell me this stuff for several reasons. First, he's worried about whether or not I'll take him home. Second, he's also worried that I'll tell all my other infertile friends that the kid requires a special diet. He keeps this from me, not because he's bad person. I mean it's not like I walked through with a screen printed t-shirt that says, "Asthmatic with a Short Temper." It's a dance my friends... and a complex one. It just ends with a very awkward decision about which kid to take home.
So what does that have to do with blogging? Well this insurmountable task requires a new level of procrastination. It's not enough to simply peruse ESPN's website, my favorite Yankee-related blogs, and the blogs of my family and friends. It requires me to really stretch myself in the realm of procrastination, and for me that's definitely saying something. I mean, I have basically spent the last four years overloading a single ESPN server by myself. So it occurred to me... I should start my own blog. Hopefully, it will not only consume a lot of my spare, but it will force me to put off more important things to write regular updates. And that's the type of procrastination you can believe in!
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