24 hours

Just another 24 hours until I have a break. A full week to sleep, read, relax, study, and set my own schedule. Of course, between now and then there is an exam, and I haven't been 100% confident in my studying recently. I'm putting a lot of time, energy, and effort into it...but I'm not sure how much I'm actually learning.

Fortunately, I don't have a choice about the pulm exam. By lunchtime tomorrow it will be over, and I will be packing for my flight back to Portland on Saturday. Hallelujah.

With the exception of 1 or 2 days of federal holiday, I haven't had a break in months. And the sad thing is that I just want to study for the boards. Sure, I want time to sleep and have some fun, but I don't really resent being busy because it distracts from my social life. I signed up for that. I resent being busy because it means I have less time to study for Step 1. And, now that I have scheduled my exam date, I want to study even more. March 9th is rapidly approaching.

Enough whining. Time for more practice tests.

Mood: dug in, so to speak
Song: A set of Baroque pieces, mostly choral, I just bought off iTunes. I just finished Bach's Concerto No. 1 for One Harpsichord. Now listening to Palestrina's "Stabat Mater," performed by the Schola Cantorum of Oxford. It's the perfect music for translating my caffine high into productive work.

Post-election and pre-Thanksgiving

I'm finally returning to normal life after the election. The biggest news around here was that our smoking ban passed (by a wide margin!) and that Ohio citizens were smart enough to reject the smoking "ban" backed by RJ Reynolds. Amazing. Oh, and yes, the Democrats took the House and the Senate. That was pretty exciting too. :-)

Otherwise, I now find myself with three days before an exam. And four days before I go home for a week! Can I push myself to the end of this week?

The Onion: can it predict the future?

GOP Throws All Financial Support Behind One Candidate

SCOTTSDALE, AZ—With just seven days remaining until the mid-term elections, the National Republican Congressional Committee has allocated its remaining $256 million cash-on-hand to Arizona incumbent J. D. Hayworth's campaign, in the hopes of retaining at least one House seat. "Considering Rep. Hayworth's strong stance against terrorism and this infusion of money, we're feeling really good about this race," said White House chief strategist Karl Rove, who is personally managing the remainder of Hayworth's campaign from his Scottsdale office."He's going to be in a very competitive position if he spends just 90 percent of this money attacking [challenger Harry] Mitchell." Hayworth will be joined at campaign events this week by 23 prominent Republicans, including Dick Cheney, John McCain, Bill Frist, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Nugent, and Rupert Murdoch. In a poll released today, Mitchell leads Hayworth by six points.

T minus 8 days

Although I should be preparing for my upcoming cardio exam, I'm spending most of my time looking at election news. I looks like Ohio is safe in terms of the Senate, and tonight we have some exciting news showing Jim Webb up by 5 points in Virginia. With only 8 days to go, any positive momentum in the VA, MO, or TN senate races is really encouraging. And 5 points in VA is huge.

I'm also hearing encouraging rumors about Ford's internal polling numbers in TN. They're internals, so I won't trust them until I see similar results from Rasumssen, SUSA, etc., but they're encouraging nonetheless.

How am I supposed to study renal vascular hypertension when the fate of the Senate hangs in the balance? C'mon, let's get this exam over with...

Two weeks left

Hi everyone. I'm back...sort of. School is kicking my butt and I'm feeling as busy as ever, but the election is two weeks away. And we all know what I'm most concerned about.

Along those lines, this will be a short post, except for the list below. It's part of a pre-election Google bomb. In short, these are the links that I (and many others) are the best descriptions of the candidates listed below. And, fortunately, we know that Google will pick up on it...

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
--AZ-01: Rick Renzi
--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
--CA-04: John Doolittle
--CA-11: Richard Pombo
--CA-50: Brian Bilbray
--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
--CO-05: Doug Lamborn
--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell
--CT-04: Christopher Shays
--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
--FL-16: Joe Negron
--FL-22: Clay Shaw
--ID-01: Bill Sali
--IL-06: Peter Roskam
--IL-10: Mark Kirk
--IL-14: Dennis Hastert
--IN-02: Chris Chocola
--IN-08: John Hostettler
--IA-01: Mike Whalen
--KS-02: Jim Ryun
--KY-03: Anne Northup
--KY-04: Geoff Davis
--MD-Sen: Michael Steele
--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
--MN-06: Michele Bachmann
--MO-Sen: Jim Talent
--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
--NV-03: Jon Porter
--NH-02: Charlie Bass
--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
--NM-01: Heather Wilson
--NY-03: Peter King
--NY-20: John Sweeney
--NY-26: Tom Reynolds
--NY-29: Randy Kuhl
--NC-08: Robin Hayes
--NC-11: Charles Taylor
--OH-01: Steve Chabot
--OH-02: Jean Schmidt
--OH-15: Deborah Pryce
--OH-18: Joy Padgett
--PA-04: Melissa Hart
--PA-07: Curt Weldon
--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
--PA-10: Don Sherwood
--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
--TN-Sen: Bob Corker
--VA-Sen: George Allen
--VA-10: Frank Wolf
--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
--WA-08: Dave Reichert

What month is it?

The last time I checked, it was August. Now it's nearly the end of September. And while I now know a substantial amount of information about the nervous system and head/neck anatomy, I seem to have lost a month.

I can't even begin to say what sort of fun things I'm going to do once the exam is over tomorrow. Sleep! Sit! Read anything I don't have to memorize! Leave school before sunset!

Seriously, let's get this over with. 16 hours and counting...

A Reputable Influencer

I'm swamped with neuroanatomy, but I felt the need to post an email I received a few moments ago. Apparently I'm more popular, or at least more reputable (and more influential) than I expected.

Hi,I was just browsing the 'net and found your Hans Zimmer-related blog entry: http://amateurchef.blogspot.com/2006/09/digging-in.html and I think you may be of some help to me. I'm reaching out to you on behalfof M80 & Image Entertainment regarding the release of 'Yanni Live! The ConcertEvent' on DVD and CD. Since you blogged about Hans Zimmer, I thought that youmight be interested in posting the press release or a review of the DVD or CDon your blog? You seem like a reputable influencer, so I think you'd be a bighelp to us. For your help or review, I would be happy to send you a copy of YanniLive! on DVD or CD.Please let me know if you're interested!

Thanks!
Nico, M80
(email and website removed)

Two comments:
1. Who puts an apostrophe on 'net?
2. Anyone want a Yanni Live DVD?

Sincerely,

Your Reputable Influencer