Whew!

Thank god exams are over. Right after Thanksgiving, which was really fun because we had a big get-together at my house with family and med school friends who couldn't go home for whatever reason, exams started. I definitely ate dessert before dinner on that one -- Thanksgiving was dessert, with all the fun and party planning and cute photos, and then the exams were dinner. Really godawful, indigestible dinner. They stretched out over two agonizing, sleepless weeks, to end just a few days before Christmas. We had a lovely, quiet Christmas at home, although my poor dad had to work. But I baked gingerbread and cookies from scratch, and cooked a jambalaya pasta dinner, and generally had fun in the kitchen.

I spent my break relaxing, sleeping, unwinding, and seeing family and old friends. I traveled quite a bit, to India and Singapore, but hopefully jet lag won't get in my way. We saw Singapore, which hasn't changed nearly as much as I thought it would have since we were last there, and India, where my uncle has started an organic farm. It's really beautiful, but it seems tough to manage. I saw cousins and uncles and aunts and nieces and nephews (!). I can't believe I'm old enough that my cousins are having babies. But then again, even my good friends from college are having/expecting kids already.

Work is going to pick up soon, but I haven't posted in a long time so I thought I would. For Christmas, I asked Santa for canvas and paint and stuff, so maybe I'll eventually be able to post my procrastination attempts.

I just got my grades back -- and, in spite of my best efforts, they're fine. It was so dumb -- I took way too many credits, thinking I could handle the workload, and then signed up for all kinds of activities, and by the time the end of the semester rolled around, I was miserable and sleep-deprived and trying really hard not to get sick. I'm really excited about the spring term, but I'm trying hard to minimize the number of activities and stuff I sign up for. One creative thing (painting), one athletic thing (riding) and one service thing (homeless clinic). That's it. Nothing else. All other commitments, except the most minor ones, will be curtailed. And I'm not taking any electives. None. Zip. Zero. Nada.

Okay, my computer's dying, so I'm going now. Bye!