Four weeks!

After finishing my last set of finals last week (I'm officially done with second year!!....assuming that I passed all my classes), I had to dive straight into studying for Step 1....and it has not been fun for the past week. I'm not sure if it's because I'm still exhausted and mentally drained from finals or if I don't have enough endurance, but I just feel like I'm not cut out for this. Supposedly most people study a good 12-14 hours every day for step 1 and it makes sense because there is just so much material on this dang exam, but I've barely managed to do ~10 hours. It also doesn't help that my shoulder is STILL injured from three weeks ago and I haven't had the chance to go to the gym since then. I'm hoping I don't turn into a blob of fat during the next four weeks because I am planning to go to Punta Cana right after taking the exam...and I would like to be able to wear a swimsuit haha.
I'm still hoping I can find a good rhythm and I'm praying that I do well enough to rock this exam. It's sad that there's so much riding on this one exam, but I guess that's the reality of it and all I can do is try my best. Alright back to studying.

NC madness

Just saw this clip on youtube and thought it beautifully portrayed the necessity for marriage equality. I'm still in disbelief that amendment one just passed in north carolina. I can only hope for the day when the government realizes that it is disallowing a basic human right to a portion of its citizens.

Super short vacation

So amidst all the chaos of school/finals, I had the opportunity to go to Seattle this past weekend (I'm still here) for a research conference where I was able to present a poster. I arrived here during the day on Thursday, and I'm taking a red-eye flight out in a couple of hours (already dreading it). It was my first time in Seattle so I just wanted to write a quick reflection of my short time here.

I definitely can't see myself living in Seattle for the main reason that it rains too much here. I usually get affected when it rains for consecutive days, so I'm surprised that all these Seattle residents are OK with the rain that seems to occur most of the year. I do think it's a great city to travel to. The people I've encountered here have been really friendly, and I guess I just love the fact that people are able to walk everywhere and places are easily accessible by public transportation. Perhaps I'm just saying this because one has to drive everywhere in Stony Brook, but regardless, I know that I need to live in a city where there are people roaming the streets.

Since I was limited with my time here, I ended up just walking around and going to different coffee shops, since Seattle is known for their coffee, and visiting the supposedly famous Pike's Market. The crowd in Seattle also surprised me because there seems to be a mix of people from different crowds. On the same street, you will encounter businessmen, young students, hipsters, homeless people, and of course tourists. I also noticed that the guys here are also very good looking and seem to be in good shape, which is always a plus.

I'm hoping I'm able to visit Seattle again in the near future and see more of it but I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience a glimpse of it (and the good looking guys). Tomorrow, it's back to reality because I have three finals this coming week, and then on Thursday, it's boards study time for the next five weeks. I'm hoping I can survive the 12-15 hour/day study schedule.