A few quick rants

*Okay, three f***ing dollars for a gallon of gas? You have to be kidding. This is getting a little ridiculous. I know some will say this is because of the hurricane, but I'm not buying it. Come on, we were on our way to $3 well before the storm.

*Not to complain again about stupid Rockford drivers, but I'm going to complain about stupid Rockford drivers. So, yesterday when I turned onto my street, I could barely get my car around the corner because two cars were blocking the way talking to each other. My tail-end was practically in the intersection still, and there probably 5 cars stopped from the other direction. Finally after about 5 minutes (and a little encourgement on my part) the lady in front of me started to go. She got about a block and then started to pull over to the side of the road toward a parking spot. Silly me, thought she was going to park so I kept going. I was wrong, apparently she was going to pull a U-turn in front of me. Now, she knew I was behind her from when I was encourageing her to move. I was literally inches from hitting her. And I would have hit her because the driver's side door was just in front of my bumper. What does she do now? She waves and smiles at me. Yeah, so it took everything I had not to just take my foot right off that brake pedal and plow into her. Self control, Janet, self control.

*If you have a sweating problem, please don't wear a coat in 80 degree weather. Especially if you are inside giving an extremely boring lecture.

*Speaking of sweating, what's up with people not showering every day. There's this guy in my class who always looks like he hasn't showered in about 3 days. But he looks like this every single day. At some point, you have to shower, right? So, wouldn't you look clean then. At least smelling clean would be nice.

*Why does every single doctor I meet ask what I want to specialize in, and when I say I don't know yet, they tell me, "That's good. You won't really know what you like until your third year anyway." If I'm not going to know for another year, why ask me now?

A spinster-esque rant

So, I was going to talk about taking my test today in my typical sarcastic fashion, but I read, this post and feel the need to expand on her idea.

First of all, I do read Cosmo. Not because I am thinking about using the sex tips or really expect to afford the clothes in there, I just find it entertaining. It's almost like some alien world to me, the lives that these women lead. Anyway, back to the point she was making about clothes saying that they are first attracted to confidence/independence. This is a load of shit. When I think of my girlfriends who are single, I think they are probably amoung the most confident, independent people I know. They definately aren't single because men confidence so attractive. You know why they are probably single? Because men are intimidated by smart, confident, independent women. Trust me, I know this. The girls who always have a boyfriend are usually the ones who base their self-worth on being with someone else.

Now, I know some guys would be offended to be lumped together like this. They would say "I'm not like that. I'm different." To them I ask, when you tell your buddies about some girl you like. What do you say? Man she was confident? Or, damn you should see the size of her tits? I'm not saying physical attraction isn't important just don't go telling everyone that confidence and independence and intelligence are the most important things and then go home with some dumb, blonde girl who has never been alone or worked a day in her life.

Man, that was spoken like a true bitter, single girl (not exactly how I would classify myself but it sure sounded that way)

Update

I just found this about stem cell research. It looks like someday in the future scientists will be able to create stem cells without "killing" embryos. Hey, I'm all for that. But don't get excited just yet. It'll take years to do it, plus involves the use of embryonic cells first.

People

Okay, before I get to the main point of my post I just want to say that I finally agree with a republican. See here.

I hate people.

Yes, that's the point of this post. Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate everybody and I don't hate an individual person. I just hate people as a group. I think when people get together in a group, they get obnoxious.

Case in point, I was Walmart (the gathering ground for obnoxious people so of course I was there) in the school supply section. Being August, I should have known better than this, but I had a weak moment. Anyway, so I turned down the aisle to get paper and as soon as I got in the aisle I noticed that there were 3 moms with carts talking and blocking the aisle. I go to turn around and as I do, a clerk comes up behind me and says, "Careful." Of course, I jerk around to see what she is talking about, and I immediately slide and almost fall to the ground. Someone has spilled a drink on the floor. The clerk proceeds to put a cart over the spill to block the way. Now I am stuck. The ladies are right in front of me and can clearly see that I am annoyed but they proceed to talk. After probably 10 minutes of standing there trying to get their attention, I finally asked them if they would move out of the way. Instead of saying sorry, they looked at me annoyed and then backed up just enough for me to squeeze my fat ass through between them. Argh.

Other people I hate:
1. bad drivers. This seems to include pretty much the whole of Rockford.
2. People who walk very slowly in the mall and don't stay to the right. Hello, some of us have better things to do than spend all day poking around. I feel like there should be lanes in walkways, just like roads.
3. people with bad breath who get in my personal space
4. actually anyone in my personal space. unless I invite you...
5. people who are late. especially after I tell them that I hate that so please just tell me when you are actually going to show up so I don't sit around waiting.

I could go on but I'll refrain so you don't think I am a complete witch. Just to prove I'm not, here's a list of people I like.

1. anyone between the ages of birth to 2 years.
2. people who hum/sing to themselves. I always wish I could be that cheerful. Well, maybe not always.
3. old married couples
4. people that will hold the door open for you if they see that your hands are full of groceries
5. anyone with an attitude like me :)

Okay, so at the end of my last post I said I wasn't going to get political. Well, I've got just a few opinions and then I'll get back to my normal stuff.

First, a few comments about the Cindy Sheehan hoopla. 1) She has every right to state her opinion and hold demonstrations. Gotta love that 1st amendment. 2) While I don't necessarily think that 'W' needs to meet with her personally, I agree that she, and the rest of the U.S., has a right to ask for and receive an explanation on this war. And it is still a war whether it is officially called that or not. We are spending billions of dollars and losing hundreds of men and women, and most of us (I would argue that includes 'W') don't know the reason. 3) The fact that this one woman has made so many headlines suggests to me that most Americans want answers because if they didn't, this woman probably would have been swept aside in the media's eyes as "just another nutcase."

Second, these freaking gas prices are outrageous! Seriously, $2.75 for a gallon? I remember paying less than a dollar (yes, yes, Dad, I'm sure you remember paying a nickel). While I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, isn't it strange how the oil prices increased so much within the past 5 years? Just asking...

Finally, a thought on stem cell research. One of the newest experiments involves the use of eggs donated by women specifically for stem cell research (for reference see the New England Journal of Medicine, July 7). These are not fertilized eggs mind you, just the normal eggs we will all lose naturally. This is happening in Korea, obviously not here, good ol' W. would never agree to something like that. While I don't know the details of the techniques (hey, I'm only an M2), here's the gist of it. Scientists would take an 'adult' cell, say maybe a maybe a muscle cel and implant the nucleus of that cell into a donated egg where it would develop into a blastocyst. This type of cell can become any type of cell in the body. Korea has conducted this type of research and it is looking especially promising in treatment/cure of diabetes and spinal cord injury. This makes me wonder if I would consider donating an egg for research purposes? Would you? What about if you had a family member with a disease that would benefit from this research? There are some risks involved, but would the risks outweigh the benefits? Of course, I will most likely never get the chance.

Just a quick update since I've been rambling on. Classes are going fine. I'm still trying to get used to the new 2hr format. Right now, I'm spacing out at about 1 and 1/2 hours in. Isabelle is doing fine too. She has now figured out that I am not going to take her back, so she is now attacking my legs, hair, arms, head...pretty much my whole body...in my sleep. She actually ran up and jumped onto my leg as I walked in the door yesterday. Yes, I was standing with a cat dangling from my let. After I knocked her off, it took me a minute to realize that wet feeling on my leg was probably blood. Good thing I'm not squeamish.

Boring

Man, I'm lame. I know, I know, this shouldn't really be a surprise to me at this point. I think I just realized this because I am content to spend my whole weekend studying and hanging out with my cat. Seriously, at 23 shouldn't I be out drinking and trying to pick up men? Ehhh, that sounds like too much work. It's much better for me to be hanging out in my pajamas, drinking a glass of wine and watching my cat go crazy (I swear, all cats get the 'night crazies').

Okay, so I've decided that I have a box that I just am not going to unpack. It's just a box of odds and ends that I may need, but I really just have no place to put them. Normally, I would make a place so that I could get all of the boxes out of my apartment, but I feel like since I live alone if the box doesn't bother me, then it stays. Is that bad? I think I'm still in the mode that my bedroom can be a wreck as long as the rest of the apartment, that people see, is clean.

It's strange now. I feel older, especially after this weekend. For the last 5 years that I didn't live with my parents, they would drop by but not really stay and visit. We would go out shopping and eat, but then they would go home. I guess it was just weird for them to visit me. This weekend, my mom came up to stay with me. She actually stayed overnight. It was strange. Not because I didn't like her being here, but because I realized that I'm an adult and this is what the rest of my life is going to be like. My parent's house isn't my home. My home is here and any time I spend with my family it is to visit.

Actually, the whole story about my mom coming is kinda funny. First, the reason she came up is because of my ditzyness (is that a word?). So, I tried to be good and remember to bring everything, even things that I won't need right away like my jackets and sweaters. So, I thought I had remembered everything until we went to Walmart. There was this girl wearing a backless, halter top with a bra and some REALLY short shorts. It was pretty tacky. Anyway, I looked at her and thought "Man, she really should rethink that bra." Then I was like, "Damn it, I left all of my bras at home." Yeah, so I went a week with 2 bras, the one I was wearing and an extra I packed in an overnight bag.

On a side note, I was initially tempted to put up some of my 'political thoughts,' but I think my family thinks I'm a crazy liberal so I'll refrain. For now anyway...

So, I got my kitty yesterday. She's so good that she hasn't had an accident yet and seems to be adjusting well. I am having a problem with her though. I think she has gotten too attached to me (if that is possible). Whenever I am here, she wants to be on me. Right now she is perched on my shoulders. I mean, it's nice that she is cuddly but I need to work. Maybe she is just sucking up to make sure that I don't take her back to the shelter. I know she didn't get a lot of attention there.

In other news, I think classes this year are going to be so much better than last year. We are actually learning how to be a doctor rather than a bunch of background science. Plus, my class has been cut down to about one third the size so we get more personal attention. What's funny is that we are kind of being treated like high school students. For instance, they registered for all of our classes for us, set up all of our appointments for immunizations (if we didn't already get them), and provided meals for us in the cafeteria. It's strange. Even as an undergrad, I was in charge of registering for classes and making sure all of the appropriate forms got turned in. Although sometimes I think I need the extra. Yesterday I was talking to lady from the Rockford Mental Health clinic located at 1610 ParkView. So I asked, "How far is that from here?" She looked at me like I was an idiot and then kindly informed me that was the address of the building I was standing in. Duh, the clinic was in the med school building.

I'm still in the process of unpacking. Every time I move I am amazed at how much stuff I have. I still have 3 crates of stuff that I have no room for. I did I get so much? I always end up sending stuff home to my parents or throwing it away and then a year later when I move (yep, I've moved every for the past 5 years) I go through the same process again. I think my clothes and books have the ability to mate and multiply. That's the only explanation I can think of.

Greetings from Rockford

So, after spending most of my summer in Bloomington, I have now finally moved up to Rockford. I of course still do not have internet at my apartment. That'll probably take a couple of weeks yet. But, I thought I should at least let y'all know what I have been up to since I last wrote.

First, I spent 10 wonderful days in Hawaii with my dear friend Katie. It was probably the most relaxing 10 days I have had in years. Once I got back I started a six week internship at a hospital in Bloomington. Those were pretty hectic weeks. I followed/observed a different doctor everyday. I got to see some pretty interesting things like: liposuction/tummy tuck, breast biopsy, laminectomy (spinal surgery), laser eye surgery, laser hair removal, cystoscopy, prostate biopsy, urethral sling, and various other typical office procedures. Plus, I preformed my first rectal exam. Very exciting!

Now, I have moved into my apartment in Rockford. I'm living by myself in a large 1 bedroom. I was surprised at how big it is. I don't have cable, internet, or phone service yet, but I am getting a cat tomorrow. I'm not sure what I am going to name her. I'm thinking Isabelle. What do you think?