View of the Empire State Building while waiting to skate at the Roxy.

A beautiful garden in Prospect Park

Grand Army Plaza near Prospect Park

First Week

Hard to belive I have only been here a week. It feels like so much longer. So far, I have managed to get a bed and a dresser. I know, it does not sound like much! I still must get some furniture to sit on besides grandma's card table and chairs. I am gonna go on a massive hunt tomorrow to find a couch! I am still happy with my place and am managing without ac. The picture above was taken from my living room. You can see the statue of liberty in the skyline. I joined a gym around the corner and am finding the other little shops that are in the area. The week ended with a dinner on Thursday with Liz, DT and VG to celebrate both mine and DT's birthday. We ate at this great place with Southern and Jamaican cuisine. Would love to go back again it was so good. For Friday, I had arranged for a bunch of us to go to a bar. It was an awesome time. It was so nice to see everyone I hadn't seen since before the boards. I put pictures up from both the birthday events on the right sidebar.

My plan right now for the rest of my break is to play tourista. I got some guide books today and am ready to go. I'll make sure to take my camera along to document the sites!

Road trip

The trip to Key West was great. Angie and I managed to travel almost the entire southern part of Florida. This included Orlando, Tampa, Key West, Coconut Grove and many other random stops along the way. We met up with EC at city walk Universal Studios the night I arrived. Then it was onto Tampa the next morning. Ang's in-laws live there so we stayed with them for the night and left Foster (the dog) there while we were gone. We saw the Bodies exhibit there too. It was well worth the trip. It is an incredible site to see and thankfully these bodies did not smell like our cadavers we had back in anatomy! If you get a chance definitely go see the exhibit.
Our trip to Keys was a nice road trip. It took us through alligator alley. And yes, finally after much looking I did see about 4 or so gators sunning themselves in the canal alongside the road. I was very excited. After we crossed the 42 bridges we arrived in Key West. We did the standard tourist stuff. We saw the sunset off the Mallory Square, ate at Sloppy Joe's, went to the "southern most point", swam in the nice and bathwater warm pool and went out on the Western Union Schooner for a sunset sail and ended up staying for the stargazing sail.
On our way back north we stopped over in Coconut Grove (area of Miami). I wanted to see the area where my family had once lived. I wasn't able to see the house because it was recently torn down. It was my Grandmother (Dad's mom) house. It was a beautiful area and I would like to go back at some point. Yesterday we went shopping at the Millenia mall and ran some other errands.
Now, I am on my way back to Brooklyn to get settled into my place. I ordered a bed yesterday over the phone. I had no idea how expensive this would be! Thankfully, I convinced the mattress man to give me a great deal (or so I thought, 60% off). I will see shortly whether it was worth it. Not sure what I am gonna do with the rest of my break till I start my roations in September. There are lots of ideas floating around in my head. I will be posting pictures on the side bar from all the recent events (keys, dc, jersey shore, etc).

Guess what?????????

It is official……..I passed USMLE Step 1 and am now a Board Certified Medical Student!!!! I am so happy to never have to take that test again. Thanks for all the support you all offered.

I am currently in Orlando to visit Angie for a week and for our road trip to Tampa and Key West. Since I last wrote, I have moved into my new place (minus any furniture). I have not spent a night there because the floors were not dry from being revarnished. The place actually seems better than I had remembered when looking at it the first time. I still have to buy a bed and all those sorts of things. Before going up to move in I stopped in DC and went to the Pig Roast at P&B’s house then out to celebrate AY’s B-day in Dupot Circle. After moving in, Liz and I drove down to the Jersey shore to meet up with Leah for our annual reunion. It was a great weekend. Then back to the farm on Sunday and then back to DC where we (mom, P, S, A, & I went sailing for a couple hours or so on the Potomac River in a sail boat we rented. It was so pleasant. I will post more pictures from all these events when I get back to NY!

Ready to go.....
I am all packed and ready to head north. I have no furniture or even a bed (other than the air mattress) but I have almost everything else I could need. Over the last week, I have spent some time searching through mom's sheds where my belongings had been stored for the last 3 years (with the exception of my clothes) and managed to discover how much stuff I have. Luckily there was only one disappointment.......the box storing my high school year books was not secured properly and had become home to some rodent (rat or mouse). This creature decided to eat part of the binding of one of my yearbooks. I was not to pleased about this and have since moved the books into the house. Another thing I discovered was that I have enough frames to give one to every person I know and still have plenty to keep for myself. Needless to say, I am not taking these items with me. Just more things to haul around and I am sick of moving my stuff from one place to another. I look forward to remaining in one place for at least a year! Once I finished the sheds, I hit the clothes and inside stuff. I found a whole lot of business clothes from my days at GHS. These will come in handy as I retire my flipflops and shorts.

My current plan is to head up with my mom to DC for P&B's Pig Roast followed by AY's Birthday Party! On Tuesday, I will be moving into my new apartment. I did indeed sign the lease when I met with the landlord last week. He wasn't as shady as I thought he might be. I also found out when signing the paperwork that three other people had also put down a deposit on the apartment. Not sure how we ended up being the lucky winners, but I am thankful we got it. After I move in, I am heading to the Jersey shore for a weekend UR reunion with LS and LR. This is gonna be followed by a week with Angie in Florida. We have a roadtrip planned to Key West. I am definitely enjoying this summer break as long as I can!!

Brooklyn, New York - my soon to be new home!

It has been a hectic weekend trying to get a place to live. I am currently waiting to hear back from the broker to say that my guarantors (Mom and Sam) are approved. Being a medical student with no income it becomes difficult to do anything without someone to back you up. I am thankful I have a family with the means to help me out. The place my roommate CL and I found is in the area of Brooklyn we had wanted to live in. It is not the ideal place but
will definitely do for the next year. We spent two days searching for a place. We saw seven places in two days. On Saturday at 5 pm, we finally found one that met our needs. It was insane though, once we saw it we had to run (trying to keep up with the broker in her high heeled shoes) about 7 blocks to her office to contact the owner to let him know we wanted the place. The places in this area go as soon as they are listed. It is cut throat to get a place. I will be able to move in August 1^st if all goes well.

After I meet with the landlord today and sign my lease (hopefully), I will then be able to head south to the farm to pack up for the move. It has been three years since I have seen my belongings. I can’t wait to discover all the things I forgot I had. No need to go shopping when I have so much already!

On another note, here are some pictures from the family reunion in FWB. You can see the rest if you click the link on the sidebar.

Crab Island

Me and Aunt Cathy

All the kids!

Sylvie with some sanddollars before she let them go.

Travis, my newest nephew!

The after sunset at the El Matador on Okaloosa Island.

Hunting for a place to live

I'm in NYC looking for a place to live. The fun begins tomorrow. I hope my roommate and I can find something great without too much hassle. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Also on the sidebar (to the right of this post), I have put a link to the photos from the reunion. Enjoy!

IT IS OVER!!!!!!!!!

I'm exhausted but glad to have it behind me. Now, I will keep praying that I passed. Iwill also keep praying for everyone else I know who has yet to take it. Hang in there, your studying will pay off.
Gotta head to bed so I can make my crack of dawn flight to FWB.

No More Studying!!!!!

As of last night at 8:32 PM EST, I have called it quits on studying for this ridiculous exam. The damage amounted to 7 weeks, 49 days, of studying for 12-14 (or more) hours a day. It has been an experience. I never imagined that I could cram so many details into my head. I have diagnosed myself and everyone I know with every medical condition you could imagine. Despite all the work I am a little (well A LOT) scared and nervous. Will I be able to retrieve all of these random facts tomorrow. I pray somehow all the synapses are working and allow me to access this stuff.

So, on the 50th day, I have taken a break to rest up. As you can see in the picture, I need it! I have aquired some major bags under my eyes (about 3 per eye). My skin is very pale. And although the scale says I have not gained or lost weight, the distribution must changed either from the gym or from sitting for a total of 686 hours. As I put on real clothes (not scrubs or sweats), they are a little snug. I am gonna hope that it is all that muscle I built up at the gym!

For my day of rest, I went to the testing center today to check out the facilities, it seems fine. I'll find out tomorrow. Then spent a few hours shopping. Thank goodness it was a weekday and no one was out. The grocery store was empty too. Some man looked at me and said "no work today?" I hardly knew how to respond. This guy has no idea that it was my first day outside, out of the house for that matter, in over a week!

I can't wait to have a life that does not involve studying. Tomorrow at 8:30 AM I start the test. (This is the day I have been dreading since I started medical school.) Good news though after 5:30 PM EST tomorrow I will officially be on SUMMER BREAK. I head to FWB on an early morning flight and can't wait to see all my family! Please continue to pray that all goes well. It is much appreciated!
 

Alligator Advisory

My dad sent me this....I had to share with the rest of you. I thought it was pretty funny!

Because of extended drought conditions in many parts of the state The Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising boaters, hikers, hunters, fishermen, golfers and tourists in general to take extra precautions and keep alert for alligators while in:Alachua, Marion, Lake, Collier, Lee, Seminole, Osceola, Okaloosa (aka FWB), Brevard, Putnam, Polk, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernado, Santa Rosa, Orange and Walton counties. They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their shoes or clothing to alert but not startle the alligators unexpectedly. They also advise the carrying of pepper spray in case of an encounter with an alligator. It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of alligator activity. People should learn to recognize the difference between small young alligator and large adult alligator droppings. Young alligator droppings are smaller and contain fish bones and possibly bird feathers. Adult alligator droppings have little bells in them and smell like pepper spray.

I am in DC at P&B's studying. I have three more days of it! I will take one day off and then its test time. I can't wait to be finished. Then I will be off to FWB!!!

Please say prayers for me, cross fingers and toes, light a candle, make packs with the devil......whatever it takes so that I can pass this thing. The last thing I ever want to do is take it again! Now back to studying.

Here is a little bit of FWB and the famous sugar beaches. I'll be there in two weeks working on my tan and seeing every relative I have!!

Only 5 more class days of USMLE Bootcamp. We have the Godfather of Path coming to teach us on Thursday. I hope he is all that they make him out to be. My last study day is tomorrow and I have lots to do. We shall see if it I can accomplish it all.

It has been raining nonstop here in Delaware for at least three days. It makes me want to crawl back in bed and sleep rather than study. No time for that though, sleep is for the weak.  

T-MINUS 19


This is a picture my dad took. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it with everyone. It reminds me of my childhood. (He has been dubbed the unoffical photographer for the FWYC and has taken some amazing shots!) I can't wait to get down there and see FWB for myself. It has been too long and I sure do miss it.
Thursday is the new Saturday......today is my day off. My last and finally one will be next Wednesday. It has not been as productive as I would have hoped for but ohh well. I am still burned out and just trying to get through each day shoving more information into my brain while praying that what is crammed in won't go out. I can't wait to be finished with this. The good news is I booked my flight to FWB for the 12th of July. I will be there by noon! I can't wait to see everyone. It can't come soon enough!

Burned out....
Today is my study break day. I only have two more of them left till my class ends. I must say it is hard to keep up the momentum. I keep trying to motivate myself and continue to do the work but boy is it hard. I can't wait to have this experience over with and enjoy some time off. I am looking forward to the family reunion in FWB that I will just barely make it too after my exam. This is actually the reason why I scheduled my exam on the 11th, I couldnt' stand the chance of missing the gathering. It will be so nice to see everyone and meet the new babies that were born while I was away. We just had Biochem taught by a professor from USA in Mobile. He was amazing. I wish he had taught me the subject the first time around. Tomorrow starts Immunology followed by Micro, Pharm and Path. Please feel free to leave words of encouragement or advice. I can use all the help I can get. Now....I must get back to work.

half way through bootcamp

I have finished three weeks of camp and now three more to go. Last night a group of us went to downtown Wilmington. So nice to get out of the hotel. I forgot what a pretty city it is. Today was a "study break" (our one day off a week) so spent it immersed in physio. The highlight of my day was an outing to buy more pens and tabs and then some dinner at Chik-Fil-A (my favorite fast food place!). Now it is back to the books. Sad life here. Study, study, study and yet more studying.......

2 weeks down, 5 to go

Another week has passed and I'm still hanging in there. Today was a long lecture day, 8 hours of Behavioral Science. It was kind of bizarre going to class on a Sunday, but lately all the days seem to run together. The prep is going well so far despite being overwelming. My eyes seem to be bloodshot from lack of sleep and the ever present AC draft in the lecture room is making me stay sick for the last 2 weeks. I am trying to fight it off with loads of Vitamin C but so far it isn't working.
On Friday night, I took a study break and met up with Liz and family to see the Break Up. It was so nice to hang out a bit and catch up on things. And Saturday night I met her for some late night chocolate milkshakes at Charcoal Pit!
The good news is that I finally got my start date for my clinical roations. I am off until September!! So, the plan is to move up to NY at the start of August and get settled in. Then I can do some traveling before the real work starts. At last, I can unpack the things I packed away 3 years ago. No telling what is stored in mom's shed. If anyone knows of a place available up in that neck of the woods for rent please let me know.

Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body
This is what our physiology professor shared with us today. This self inflicted pain of studying for the boards must be worth it??? This is the same professor with ADHD that chugged two red bulls between breaks every hour for 9 hours for the three days he taught us. He is very talented at what he does, but it was sure hard to keep up the momentum he had. Perhaps, I should take up the red bull drinking and see what happens. Anyhow, not much to report. Still going to the gym and that is the extent of my life outside the hotel. If I have any exciting news, I will update the blog, but otherwise don't expect to see anything new here till after July 11th. In the mean time, please pray for my brain to continue to function till this pain ends.

Week One of Bootcamp

I am already exhausted from the start, not a good sign. The hotel is way more than I had ever imagined for a holiday inn. It is acutally very nice and my room is great. I have everything I could need except a kitchen and laundry facilities. I did invest in a water boiler thing from Target, so i can make lots of stuff now. The food they give is is a "continental" breakfast which consists of only coffee, bread and some variation of egg. The lunch is huge. It is more of a dinner size meal than lunch but it is good. I joined a gym down the road two days ago. Figure if I am in bootcamp, I might as well be in shape. Went the last two days. It was good to get outta the hotel and realize there still is a world. The board prep stuff is consuming. Yesterday we managed to cover all of genetics in 8 hours and today we did embryo and gross anatomy (1 of 5 anatomy days). I already feel behind but I think this is normal. The outside of class time is meant to be used for only brief reviewing of the days material and doing questions to identify weak areas. I have yet to get a routine. But am trying really hard. The two hour season finale of LOST kinda interrupted my flow last night. I had to watch it though. It was insane how much happened in the episode. Luckily though, I have no more shows to watch and can keep the tv contained in its chest. Ok, my study break is coming to an end. I must get back to work!

Me and Angie in Clarendon celebrating me being back in the US of A.

This is for Uncle Bill who I hear is reading my blog. Me and Lucy after our delicous meal last night.

The Ivan Class- SGU Class of 2008

Holiday Inn

The last week has been hectic, but relaxing. I have managed to see a few of the people that I have missed so dearly. Lots of quality time with my mom and all the Howtons and by coincidence Angie too. She came in for a long weekend to celebrate Allie's law school graduation. It was perfect so I could see her before heading off to study. I was even able to go to ABH's birthday party. I can also report that I have a new cell phone to communicate with the world. No phonecards and no echo.
Last night, I saw Lucy and the family for dinner. She and Hank is quite the chefs and I can't imagine ever wanting to eat out if I had a dinner like that every night. Sure does beat the ramen, I have been eating. I am still trying to get used to the idea of being back for good. Such a different world from the Caribbean. It is rather chilly here. About 60s with some highs in the 70s. Angie told me I looked like winter with my longsleeves on! I don't miss sweating, but I sure don't like having goosebumps. Been doing lots of driving around for various errands and am proud to report that I have only done the "international salute" (turning on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker) about 5.
The car is all packed up for the drive up to Wilmington. I have way more clothing than I could possibly need. Hopefully, this will eliminate the need to do laundry. My 6 weeks of living in a hotel will be roomy compared to the hotel that the girls and I lived in up in Long Island. I'll have my own bed!!! A friend of mine taking her class in Chicago said the course isn't bad and she is enjoying it. I am optimistic that mine might be the same. I have posted a link on the right entitled "Sailing the Grenadines". These are from the day trip I took with some friends right before heading north.

I'M BACK!!!!!!
I made it back after a long day of travel and sadly without any luggage. Hopefully, it will arrive sometime this week. (Good news is my red dress is not lost, I had it in my carry on!). I am at P&B's till later today and then am heading to the farm with my mom. Plan to stay there until Thursday then back to DC. It is still strange to think I am not going back down to the Caribbean. I will try to post my pictures of the last days in St. Vincent before the bootcamp starts, especially the ones of the Cays.

I'M COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!

My time in the Caribbean is offically over!!!!!!!! I have passed my classes and get the "ticket north". I am still in shock that it has ended. I keep thinking back to the start of MPH and how much I have done since then. I would not change any of it! I feel so lucky for it all.
Today, I flew back to the Grenadines for some quality time with a few of the islands and the Tobago Cays. It was just as amazing as the last time I was there. I will post pictures later. And.....I came home to find the water is out again. So, here I sit covered in salt water and sand. C'est la vie. I will miss this! Funny thing is that due to the constant absence of water, I have become professional with brushing my teeth with bottled water. I hope there is water for me to shower before I have to board the plane. Otherwise, it will be a partial reinactment of the post hurricane ivan arrival.

WISH ME LUCK!
My last Exam for the basic sciences is tomorrow in Pathophys. I can't wait to have it over with. It has been difficult to sit still and study knowing so many things are coming to a close. Luckily, this week I finally found a new study spot, the lecture hall, to be productive. But, sadly that ended today when everyone from the library evacuated due to "pepper" spray. So my quiet place was no more. Good thing now is that I am finished with studying (well untill Board Boot camp starts)!!

Yesterday, I decided to go back to the Tobago Cays. I bought my ticket and am going on Friday with a few friends. I am really excited about seeing some of the islands we didn't have time to see on our sailing trip. I doubt I will have a chance to post pictures from the trip till I get back to the states because I am turning off our internet on Saturday. This may be the last post from St. Vincent!!!

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO!!!!!

Finished my Pharm final this AM! It wasn't too bad thankfully. Now all there is left is Pathophys on Thursday. The hard part is finding (and then maintaining) the motivation to study so close to the end. I only have 5 days left here then back to the United States of AMERICA!!!!!

Today was the last day lecture!!!! It marks the end of the basic sciences part of med school. No more sitting in the lecture hall with my other 300 and some classmates (well not that many actually make it to lecture at 8AM) trying to pay attention or having to stay awake for four hours. I am almost offically half way done!!!!!! Unfortunately though to complete the term, I must study (cram) for the last two tests. Pharm on Monday and Pathophys on Thursday. Even better is that I am leaving on Sunday the 14th (provided my flight is not delayed, overbooked, or non-existent). After this, I have a week off before starting Boards Bootcamp (aka Kaplan Step 1 Review Course) in Delaware.

15 days!

I still can't believe I will be leaving this place in 15 days! After living down here for what seems like forever (3 years!).
I dont' know what I will do when I have:
running water
no mosquito bites all over my body
a real grocery stores
a cell phone with reception, no echo and a real plan (not pre-paid!)
can drive without fearing for my life
see lines on the road
steering wheel on the left side
paved roads
not afraid of being swallowed by potholes/ditches
not have to use matches to light the stove
have hot water in the sink
not have to flip a switch to heat my shower
water pressure
no more transformers
no more ants, spiders!!
dont' have to check my bed for those things
Sadly I will miss:
the perfect warm weather
sunshine
random rain showers
views of the grenadines
sunsets
beach time anytime
island hopping
palm trees
carefree lifestyle
being on island time
wearing shorts/tank tops/flipflops all the time
(this isn't a complete list.....i will save some for later)

It is all bittersweet to think about. I consider myself lucky to have had the oppourtunity to live in a place people save a lifetime to visit. AS brought up a good point in the comment she left. If we hadn't gone out in the middle of the DC blizzard for the SGU open house, I dont' know that I would be where I am today.

On another note, I am pleased to report that the water finally came on!! Now, if it will stay on till I leave, I will thrilled! Monday is "Worker's Day" and NO SCHOOL!! I think it is like Labor Day. To celebrate I will be studying in the library the entire time in an attempt to make up for my lack of motivation which I have been experiencing since the last set of exams.

water, water, everywhere except where you need it!

So we are about to enter day 3 of no water! I don't mean a dribble here and there, i mean BONE DRY! Turn the tap and nothing happens. This is due to the lack of rain in the last couple months and the country has decided to turn off the water to conserve. It is supposed to come back on at 4 pm everyday but I that has yet to happen. Luckily our place has only had it out for two days. some are going on 5 days without. Good thing we are all resilent afte living through Hurricane Ivan. At least in this case there is electricty. Last week the power was off for two days so we are lucky it is just water now! I take for granted how much water it takes to live day to day. Brushing teeth, showering, shaving legs, washing dishes, washing clothes, flushing the toilet and washing hands. (My list will probably grow the longer it is off.) Our landlady was kind enough to bring us some 5 gallon jugs so we have some for emergency use and I have lots of bottles of water too. The last shower I had was on Wednesday morning with a trickle of water, so by tomorrow I pray that there is something in the taps or else I guess i might have to bathe in the pool (nasty thought!). Lets hope it doesnt' come to that. I mean i did last 5 days after the hurricane. It can't possibly get to that point. Only 17 days left on this island! I really will miss living down here even under conditions like these.

Basil's Bar before meeting our tourguides.

me and jz in the mule

Rescuing the skirt!

Me and L at Lagoon

early morning calm

view as we are leaving on the ferry

Sunset from Firefly

Macaroni Beach (my desktop background right now)

more of Lagoon

first stop......Lagoon

castle top view of mustique with Bequia in the background

View of St. Vincent's from the plane. The island off the coast is Young Island.

our little plane to mustique.....well via Bequia

View of the Grenadines from my place. Mustique is between the two sets of islands.....have to squin to see it!

Gosh it is hard to even know where to begin. So the original plan was to fly to Mustique at 10:30 AM (10 minute flight) and fly back at 5 PM. Well, since when do things go as planned! There were five of us: me, J, B, L and A. We should have known it would be an adventure when all of the sudden we realize our plane was landing in Bequia rather than Mustique. (This was an unplanned stop.) So no big deal, we picked up some baggage and passengers and headed on over to Mustique (only 4 minute flight from Bequia). Flying in was beautiful. You could see some of the perfectly manicured villas on the coast and many others dotted around the island. Once we landed we got out and tried to rent some transportation. Unfortunately though, everything is closed on Sunday so we had to take the only taxi at the airport (there are only 3 on the island!!). We took the taxi and headed for the famous Basil’s Bar. We were totally unsure where or what we were doing. So we try to arrange for the taxi driver to take us on a tour. After some negotiations we manage to get a post lunch pick up to start the tour so we can be back at the airport for our flight. Lunch was good. We end up meeting the only other people at the place, three guys who were thrilled to find people their age. After much conversing they decide we should get a free tour from them. So we paid our cabbie enough to keep him happy and started the tour. They had a “mule” (it’s like an ATV/gator/golf cart and is what everyone has and what we had wanted to rent originally!) First we went to Lagoon. It was breathtakingly beautiful and all to ourselves. The entire trip we didn’t see hardly anyone at all. It was as if everyone had gone out of town. The entire time the guys they were telling us…..”Just miss your flight and stay”. At this point they are our only source of transportation and made it easy for us to miss our flight. None of us objected. How could we leave paradise? So we continue with our tour to Macaroni Beach (rated one of the top ten beaches in the world over and over). And it was! The water was so perfect and the sand as soft and almost as white as FWB’s. After that we had “accidentally, on purpose, miss our flight!” The tour continued to see some of the homes. Then onto watch the sunset at Firefly. Everyone was so hospitable and eager to share their island with us. Later we went back to Basil’s Bar for Karaoke. It was entertaining and apparently the only thing to do on the island. The great thing about missing our flight was that there was a ferry back to St. Vincent at 730AM we could catch. The ferry was about 1 ½ hours long and choppy. I must say it was the best most random surreal experience I have ever had. I would go back in a heart beat if I could. Now, as I am driving down the road I can see Mustique in the distance and I can’t believe that place has been there all this time and I just now experienced it.

Mustique

Just got back from a tropical paradise and will be posting soon about the adventures. It will be hard to put in words but I will try. And I have tons of pictures!

Grand Anse Beach......the scene of many afternoons.

The famous Grenada sunset.....I miss seeing this every night.

before our snorkel/scuba trip

28 days from now.......

I just got back from Grenada tonight. I had a wonderful time visiting the old roomies and seeing other friends. I wasn't sure how I would feel going back but it was an awesome time. I felt as if I hadn't left. Despite the Easter weekend where most places are closed, I was still able to eat at a number of places I had wanted to: Boulangerie, Nick's, Big Fish and was even some Glover's Pizza and a chicken wrap from Pearl's. When I was living there these were definetly not places I would have thought of missing. Not long after arriving on Friday I went to the beach with SM. The sun was so strong we didn't last but a few hours. On Saturday, I tried to go snorkeling in Flamingo Bay but unfortunately there was something in the water that was stinging everyone. Not sure what it was but perhaps "sea lice" or something similar. Either way I still have a rash from where it got me. Besides my fun outdoors I did managed to get hooked on the show "House, MD". Too bad there is no FOX here in SVG or else I would be watching it weekly. Not much else to report from my trip other than a relaxing time and I will miss that place. No telling if or when I will ever go back. Kind of sad, but good to move on. Soon enough, 28 days to be exact, I will be leaving this island too but I am not sure if it will be as memorable as my 2 plus years in Grenada.

JULY 11th I am set to take Step 1 of the USMLE! I just scheduled it online. Kind of weird that I will be taking it in the building right next to where I worked for a year at GHS. I hope the stars are aligned that day for me to do well. I will need all the help I can get.

31 DAYS!!!!!!

Finally I have reached the one month mark until I am back in the states for good!! Now, if only I could find some motivation to study my world would be perfect. I have a bad case of "ready to leave itis". Its kinda like senioritis, but since I'm only half way to graduating that term really doesn't work.
I had my BSCE on Monday. It was definetly a marathon test taking session and I am glad to have it behind me, no telling if I passed or not. Have to wait to see what they say at the end of April.

So I am pleased to report our place was not burglured on Break-In Day and I pray this continues to be the case for the next 31 days. The only intruder I have had is another spider. This one was the baby of the Massive spider (30% its size). Under normal circumstances, he would be considered big, but after having the real HUGE one I know he is the baby. God help me if I find another big one, I might pass out. I did see one (not as large as mine but about 80% as big) at the gym the other day. I was thankfully he was there and not in my room. The one I just saw was running under my desk. I quickly smashed him with my flip-flop before he had a chance to get away. I wasn't about to let him get under my bed. I would have spent all night looking for him before I could ever sleep. I'm sure there are more where he came from and I wish I could do something to keep them far away from me. My flip-flops seem to be the best killing machine for spiders, ants and any other random bug that I find.

It must be the week for the uncles. My Uncle Hall shared with me his art website that is being built. It is currently in the beginning stages of set up but it looks great so far. And...My Uncle Pete had a very nice write up on the front page of the Washington Post Business Section on Monday. The other family news is that my niece Isabelle turned 17 on Saturday! Happy Birthday Isabelle! It sure does make me feel very old! And lastly, my brother, WT, passed his Real Estate Exam (not sure which part) perhaps the one to be a Broker?

Ok, I am gonna go do some work to get my mind of that spider and hopefully then I can sleep.

8 hours

Tomorrow I have my BSCE II (Basic Sciences Comprehensive Exam). It is 400 questions covering the first two years of medical school. The test is 8 hours long and consists of both internal and external questions. Since my long term memory is not that good, I have been studying. I surely don't remember the details of Anatomy or Biochemistry from back in the day and wonder if i even retained the stuff from my test two weeks ago! The studying is good though because I am giving myself a boost for when I am studying for the USMLE Step 1 (one month from now!). Supposedly, passing for the BSCE II is a 53% but there is debate as to if I really even need to pass it. Regardless, I would regret not having done some preparation and it really can't hurt. So we shall see what happens.

Additionally tomorrow is known as Break In Day. Since all students are stuck in the test for 8 hours locals have found it a good time to break in and take whatever they want. The penthouse above my place was hit last term and I pray that we aren't hit this time. Thankfully, the SGA has set up a room for us to put our "bags or even suitcases of valuables" into during the exam so that we don't lose irreplaceable items (passport, computer, money, harddrive, and anything else we don't want taken). I just went thought a panic a few minutes ago when I couldn't find where I had hidden my passport but finally I located it. Good thing since I will need it to go to Grenada on Friday. Yes, I am going back. Gonna go visit the old roomies who are still there and visit the beach and perhaps some of the restaurants that I miss (I never thought I would say that!).

Sailing Pictures

You can look at my pictures from the trip by clicking on the link on the right sidebar under the other links. Enjoy!

Paradise Found

I am alive and well after the sailing trip. It was amazing. We left St. Vincent's Blue Lagoon on Friday AM and headed straight out to the Cays using both wind and motor to get us there before dark. It was a little rough in the areas where there wasn't an island to break the wind. I had no idea how many islands made up the Grenadines. The majority of them are uninhabited. I spent a bit too much time below decks getting all our stuff packed away and managed to feel sick (not get sick) on the way over. Once we arrive in the Cays about 4 ish we dropped anchor. There were lots of other boats anchored out too but we did find a place to ourselves. We then swam and snorkled. The water was crystal clear. It reminded me of Destin's East Pass near crab island. The reef we snorkled, Horseshoe Reef, is one of the longest barrier reefs in the Western Hemisphere. It was beautful. I saw loads of fish, different types of coral, stingrays and so many more things I don't know the name of. Since we had not eatten since breakfast, we cooked an early dinner. Spent the rest of the evening watching the stars pass and saw a few shooting stars too. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well below deck and ended up finally getting out of bed at 6:30 AM to find a gorgeous day starting and some sea turtles swimming near the beach. Later that morning, we all headed over to Petite Tobac. It is an uninhabited island outside of the main grouping of islands. It was used in Pirates of the Caribbean (where Johnny Depp is dropped 0ff). White sands and palm trees and lots of shallow reefs. It was so pleasant. I could have spent all day there. I found lots of shells, urchins and a pefect conch shell buried in the sand. After this, we headed back to the boat. By this time the tide had fallen significantly to leave the highest parts of the reef exposed and perfectly calm waters. I went snorkling some more it was so clear though you didn't even need a mask you could see everything from above the water. I wish I could have spent more time there but we had to head back and sail to Bequia before nightfall. Pete and Sam fell in love with sailing. The captain taught them how to tack and Pete how to sail the open seas. We spent the night in Bequia and relaxed. I tried sleeping on deck that night but was awakened by a middle of the night rainshower and had to move below :( On Sunday midmorning, we headed out of Bequia and didn't even use our motor. We managed to sail all the way back with only windpower. I had a great time. I only wish we could have stayed longer!

I came home to find my sister, HB, had the baby on Friday. 6 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long with "long toes". She is doing well and the baby looks perfect from the pictures they sent.

Today we found out our prelimary hospital placements. I got my first choice and am very happy about it. Now I just have to finish the term (1 month and 11 days!) and then pass my boards and I'm set! I need to get cracking with the studying after my self declared week off.