today i had another lazy day. i went to class, went to the gym, and did some more practice pharmacology problems, but that’s about it. i’m starting to feel a little bit guilty (and nervous!) when i hear all the pre-start-time-buzzing in my pharm class about actually working in lab. not unlike many of my med school colleagues (admittedly including me), these wet-behind-the-ears grad students are already expert whiners. “i have to start an experiment after claaaaaaaaaaasssssss,” moaned one girl. “i mean, it’s not fair. i’m going to be there forevvvvvvver.”
no, darling, you will not be there forever. forever is obgyn or medicine call, not staying until 9 to finish an experiment.
see? i’m even whining retrospectively.
the thing is, i purposely set my start date rather on the late side (sept. 7), but i feel justified in doing this: my PI actually thought that was a great thing for him, because he has some med school classes to teach in the meantime and would be tied up with that. furthermore, none of the other phD students had to suffer through what i did last year, and i needed some good solid resting time.
i’m actually starting to feel rested. it’s pretty fabulous.
i think i’m starting to realize that in my program, no one is paying the slightest bit of attention to what i’m doing. i’m planning on taking november through mid-january to study for the boards — a little bit generous, perhaps, but my 2nd-rotation’s PI asked me to move my planned 8 week stint from its original november time frame to later in the year because his lab is just too full of finishing phDs and postdocs. anyway, i’m planning on using that time to study, mainly, and finish classes. but if i wanted, i could use it to go to tahiti and sleep on the beach for 2 solid months. no one would know. no one would care. i suppose they (whoever “they” may be) would care if it were pointed out to them, but they certainly don’t care enough to check. and after last year, when i felt like some resident or other figure of hierarchical superiority was breathing down my neck at all times, it feels so good to be invisible.
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the title of this post is inspired by the fact that i went on a girls-date last night, meeting up with two of my classmates for dinner. it made me happy. i have had a lot of trouble making female friends in my class, mainly because most of the women seem to fall into one of several categories:
a) catty, sorority-esque, obsessed with designer labels
b) brilliant, beautiful but painfully insecure, resulting in disastrous need to play femme fatale and flirt shamelessly with all males in sight, including residents and attendings (at least that’s my psychological analysis)
c) extremely studious and not very friendly. do not understand my need to read both biochemistry articles and jane magazine.
d) really, really, really religious
i’m not saying that i couldn’t be friends with anyone in any of the above categories, but it’s tough. fortunately, there are a few who do not fit any of the above molds and i had the pleasure of their company last night. it was so nice.
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