Getting the ball rolling

So, it's 5-something in the morning, and I had a recent onset of writers' block while doing some Med School apps (a criminal process, but maybe more on that later), and I thought I might try to get the ball rolling here in the blog. I've never been an avid reader of blogs, save a few medically related ones, and I certainly never contributed much, except for once or twice on Stanek's old site. I'm really excited about this though...we should get some pretty interesting input with our different backgrounds, and it'll give us a chance to keep in touch throughout the year. I guess I'll give everyone a little update as to where I am, what I'm doing, and why I have better than a 33% chance of getting divorced at least once before settling down with a family.

Right now, I'm a senior at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, a private school known for having horrible parties, a zombie-like student body, and a large amount of premed pricks who pretend like they're the shit. Ironically, I don't really like premeds...except for a handful of awesome premed friends, they generally just get on my nerves (maybe more on that later too). I'm majoring in Biology and Medical Anthropology, and currently trying to find a med school that I want/wants me. I'm usually up until 6 in the morning, either playing online poker, studying, or dissecting some poor creature in the lab (or a combination), and four hours of sleep is usually the norm. Life is sweet.

I should probably mention my future goals and whatnot. The plan is to go to be a cardiothoracic surgeon, but this is easier said than done. After this year, I'll have four years of med school, six or seven years of a general surgery residency, and two or three years of a cardiothoracic fellowship. I may even tag on one more year for transplant or pediatric surgery just for fuck's sake. After these 12-15 years, I'll actually be where I want to be. So I'll be about 33-36 before I can really practice cardiothoracic surgery on my own. And they say doctors are in it for the money. Heh. I also want to do some work with Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health, or some similar organization...not sure where that'll fit in, but it's gonna get done.

Well, I'm sure we'll all discover new and interesting things about each other, but this should do for a quick update. Like I said, I can't wait for the discussions to start.

Jim