Am I really an idiot?

For the past few weeks, I've been spending a lot of time at the medical school. I've gotten to know a little about most of the students in my class, and I had assumed until today that they were pretty much like me. Obviously, they weren't exactly like me. How fun would that be to have 125 cynical, story-telling doctors? Wait, that doesn't sound so bad...

Back to my point. This morning I accidently mentioned in the study lounge that I was excited to watch the presidential debates and how I thought one candidate was a complete idiot and the other was a complete bore. Well, I offended one particular student in the lounge. He proceeded to tell me that I was a complete idiot. Now, I agree that maybe I shouldn't have stated my opinion so bluntly, but isn't everyone entitle to their opinion? I didn't say that people who supported the candidate were stupid. I didn't even say that the other guy was the best option.

So, I conceded that I was an idiot for saying that, but since I'm always up for a good argument, I asked him why he supported his guy. Instead of a typical answer most people my age would give about the issues, he went off on a 30 minute speal about a bunch of war bullshit I didn't understand (this is the same kid who calls the student paper the "communist liberal paper" as if that is going to get me to stop reading it). I was thinking, "Damn, I must be pretty stupid since I have no idea what this kid is talking about." But then I tried to interupt him, and realized as he lost his place, that he had no idea what he was talking about either. I asked him where he heard all of this, and he said something about watching Fox news and his dad being in the military. Then I realized, these weren't his opinions. They were other people's opinions that he was passing off as his own. Now I was thinking, "Dear God, wouldn't you think someone who is so educated would be able to form his own opinions?" I mean, if you have no strong feeling about politics (as many people my age don't) that's fine, but don't state someone's elses opinion as your own. I began to realize that this is probably happening all of the time. People only listen to one side of the issues be it through their parents, co-workers, classmates, whoever. Then they think that must be right because everyone else says so. I say, by God make up your own damn mind. If you disagree with me, that's great. I'd love to have a debate with someone who is a strong-willed as I am.

Caramel Apples

Don't you love when you do something and it brings back childhood memories? For me, this happens the most in the fall. Fall has always been my favorite time of year, even when I was little. So for me, the typical fall activities bring back a lot of fond memories. Today, I went to the store and bought a caramel apple and for some reason it made me feel nostalgic. So, I've been sitting here at my computer eating the caramel apple and reminiscing. Of course, now I have sticky, caramel goo all-over my keyboard and desk, but I guess that brings back memories, too.

I've been thinking about my childhood a lot recently as I've been visiting my niece and nephew. I'll just watch them and think, "Damn, I lived a care-free life like that not so long ago." I guess I'm just not ready to think of myself as a grown-up. Seriously, I don't feel like I'm old enough to be married or have kids yet. But, I have MANY friends who are married, and some of them already have kids. To make me feel even older, I saw a friend from high school today and was trying to remember the last time I saw him. Then I realized that it had been five years. Five years?! Do you remember when you were little and 1 year seemed like an eternity? Now I see someone I haven't seen in five years and all of the memories come flooding back like it was yesterday. Am I the only one having a hard time growing up?

So, I'm going to finish this messy apple, and maybe I'll leave the goo for a while so that I can go outside play. (or, maybe I'll just go back to studying)

Reflections on a clothing-optional establishment

Last night I had the opportunity to go to a place I'd never been before and conduct a psychological experiment. Because I was feeling adventurous (read: drunk), I agreed to go to what I would like to call a clothing-optional establishment. Having never been there before, I was intrigued by some of the behaviors I observed. I mean, there were grown men laying on the floor with money between there teeth just waiting for some half-naked woman come and shake her breast in his face. I don't know about you, but this isn't something that I see everyday. This got me thinking, Why would men shell out $10, $20, even $100 to see a naked woman? I mean, haven't they ever seen it before? Aren't they all pretty much the same? Aren't the men embarrassed to be aroused in public? Also, who has to clean up those bathrooms?

This is obviously only a human thing. You don't see your dog going crazy, shelling out doggie biscuits everytime he says a naked bitch (hey, I'm being technical). Animals are always naked, they are used to it. Seeing another animal naked is no big deal, so why do we care so much? Because we wear clothes all of the time. Now, trust me, I'm not suggesting that we stop this practice, but it does pose an interesting question. If everyone stopped wearing clothes, would we get used to it too?

I was also curious what the draw to these places is. I mean, really, couldn't these guys easily get the same arousal at home for free or pretty close to it. So why pay so much money? Sure, a living, breathing person is more interesting than a picture, but it's not like the guys are really allowed to touch them. Besides, many of these guys were married (you'd think they'd take off the rings, wouldn't you?) I mean, if you have a girl already, why do you wanna look at another one you can't touch? If you don't have a girlfriend/wife, why are you looking at a stripper? I mean, come on, they know they don't have a chance with these girls. Hence the reason I got free drinks last night. (hey, I'm not that cheap, don't worry)

I'm a curious sort of person and am always looking for what I could learn from every situation. Here's what I learned last night:
1. Strippers must have really good balance because there is no way I could walk around all night in 6 inch heels.
2. A man's intelligence is inversely proportional to his level of arousal.
3. There's a lot of money to be made by simply taking your clothes off. Hmm, tell me again what I'm doing in med school...

So, while last night was interesting, I think that I've collected enough evidence to conclude that I won't be going back anytime soon.
JZ

Baby Clara's here!

It's been a crazy weekend. I've been so busy that I unfornately neglected my blog (I'm sure both people who read this were very disappointed). I think the beginning of this weekend's craziness started with my near breakdown on Friday morning. I had an anatomy exam at 8am and then a second anatomy exam at 3pm. That's right, two exams in one day. Anyway, at about noon I was going nuts from the stress, lack of sleep, and hours of studying. Then I get this phone call from my mom saying that my sister had just had an emergency c-section because her baby's heartbeat had dropped. Well, that was just the icing on the cake. I was stuck in Champaign, wanting to go to the hospital but instead trying to prepare for a second anatomy exam and then for 7 exams today. After about an hour (trust me, I was a wreck), I realized that maybe this whole studying thing wasn't nearly as important as I thought it was. True, I needed to study for my exams, but wasn't that what I have been doing for the past 4 weeks? Isn't the whole point of this to be a doctor and take care of PEOPLE rather than just take exams? Shouldn't I be able to have a life? Well, I went to my exam at 3pm, not worrying about getting a good grade, but instead just worrying about doing the best I could and then getting the hell out of there and up to the hospital. It worked. I passed my test (I found this out yesterday), and I went to go see my niece who is the cutest baby girl I have ever seen(cutest baby boy is my nephew by the way). I've included a picture below, I think, so that y'all can verify this. According to the specialist, her heart problem should resolve itself in a couple of weeks, and she should be fine. So what started out initially to be very stressful, turned out to be fine in the end. I learned a lesson from this tiny baby not to take anything for granted just because I'm busy, and that studying for a stupid exam isn't the most important thing in my life.

Well, enough of all of this seriousness. I'm off to clean up this mess in my room and then on to the bar. Hey, I did just take 9 exams in three days...

Clara Ellyn Carpenter, Friday Sept. 17, 2004 

"Respect your mucous"

That is some of the handy advice I got from my Immunology professor today. It seems that mucous is an amazing thing, but I won't bore you with the details. I'll just say that your runny nose is just the beginning of your useful mucous secretions.

I'll move away from the disgusting topic of mucous now. I thought everyone would be interested to know that there is a special someone in my life. I've been spending a great deal of my time this past week with a very interesting man. He's every thing you could want in a guy. He doesn't talk back, he doesn't show off for his buddies, he doesn't drink all your beer, he helps me study, and he never gets in my way. Well, in fact, he doesn't go anywhere (he smells kinda bad too). Mr. Cadaver and I have gotten very close this week. Although I can't wait until I don't have to spend all of my "free time" in the lab. One good thing about it (well maybe good thing) is the stress of my impending exam is making me crazy. Here are two examples:

1. I was leaning in close to Mr. C to get a better look and the smell was starting to make my eyes burn (ain't that always the way). So I said "I think I'll just close my eyes and look, so it doesn't burn so much."

2. After washing my hands with the special soap when I was done with Mr. C (always important), I noticed they smelled "like bad breath." Which I didn't think was funny, but everyone else started laughing so...

Well, back to studying. Have a good night, and "respect your mucous."
jz

Football and Politics

As I was listening to the news about the election today, my usual anger started to build. How in the world did George W become president? Why aren't there more people trying to get him out? I guess I just don't understand why there are so many people who support George W. For the past few weeks, I have been trying to think of a way to convince people that Georgie's views on abortion, gay marriage, war, overtime pay, firearms, etc. are wrong, but they just won't listen. So I've been trying to develop a new approach that maybe they will understand. I think I've finally come up with an idea that everyone can relate to. I'm talking about football.

Take a minute to think about a football team that has been on a losing streak for a few years. So as not to offend anyone, I'm not going to mention any names of teams in Illinois or surrounding states. Okay, what happens when this team has been consistently losing for a while? Well, many things happen. The players lose confidence in themselves, morale is low, and the fans either stop caring about the team or they turn against it (does everyone see where I'm going with this?). Now, who is to blame for this? That's right, the person that is blamed is the coach. He is the team leader, and he is responsible for making sure the team is successful. A good coach may not make a bad team win, but a bad coach sure as hell can make a good team lose. Sure he may lead the team to a few wins here and there, but these short victories are always followed by a string of embarrassing losses. So how is this problem corrected? Right again, you fire the coach. Well folks, we are on a kind of losing streak, too. Our morale is low, and our fans are turning away from us. If we want to pull ourselves out of this hump, we need to make a change. I say, it's time for a new coach!


Not convinced, go to this site.
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/bush/

Take care all!

You learn something new everyday

Did your mother ever tell you that you learn something new everyday? Well, she was right. Here's what I learned this weekend.

1. There are only 24 hours in a day. That I already knew, but what I learned was apparently not everyone knows this, namely, my professors. I'm expected to study for 1 hour for every class (9 hours), spend 2 hours in the lab, go to study groups (2 hours), and go to review sessions (2 hours). I also need to eat and shower (formaldehyde gets gross after awhile). I am then instructed to get 8 hours of sleep every night. Does anyone else see the problem with this?

2. Buffalo chicken wings wreck havoc on your digestive system. Trust me, you don't want to know.

3. 3 cups of coffee + buffalo chicken wings = disaster (see #2)

4. Stress can make you freak out because you can't figure out how to get the damn spatula in that little f***ing drawer.

5. Exterminators don't promise to kill bugs. That's right. We called the exterminators to kill the creepy, long-legged centipedes that have been hanging out in my room. But, after having nasty-smelling chemicals sprayed in my bedroom, the little critters are still have a grand 'ol time.

6. When you think that your clothes don't smell like formaldehyde anymore, you are wrong. Actually, ALL of your clothes and YOU smell, so you no longer notice it.

What the hell are Janet's musings?

As most of you may know, I have just begun my journey into medical school. The more I get into it, the more I realize how much I need a place to rant and rave and tell stories about my experiences. I promise, this won't always be a bitch fest. Occasionally, I plan on imparting a few "words of wisdom." So if you've ever wondered, "Gee, I wonder what medical school is like," or "Gee, what's Janet been up to these days," or "What the hell is going on in Janet's head," this is the place for you. Enjoy!