Weekly Update: the Last Hurrah and the End of Med School

• Current Scholastic Pursuits
• Last Thurs was our last lecture and this coming Wed I write the licensing exam... it's absolutely surreal. Three years ago, I could never have imagined this day but here it is on the horizon and I'm in my final preparations for meeting it head on.
• I will be the last of my friends to write the exam - most wrote this past Fri and Scarlet writes tomorrow. I wanted the extra time to study but really, I just needed the extra time to adjust.
• As much as I'm looking forward to a break, the chasm of 6 weeks between me and residency yawns like an idle lion. Unscheduled days, no set plans, no schedule. It's going to be hard to handle. I actually miss clerkship already. I'm not very good at not doing much.
• That said, though, Penguin has promised to keep me busy with crafty projects and going to the gym to get in the best possible shape for Algonquin. I've also promised myself that I'm going to get a good start on mastering the harmonica by taking some lessons while I'm in the North land with him. I'm sure I'll find a way to fill the time... my biggest concern is that I fill it well. I'm not going to get a vacation like this again for the next 5 years minimum.

• Recipe I've Been Drooling Over
• Right, so I haven't cooked anything in more than 2 weeks. Reheated soup, yes. Grilled cheese, yes (that doesn't count as cooking in my books). But, there's plenty to look forward to once the exam is done...

• Favourite Thing on Etsy this Week
• This bookmobile may provide inspiration for a crafty project in my future... :)
• I'm really looking forward to getting my hands all gluey and paint-flecked again.

• What I'm Reading Right Now
• In a totally random act of lost self control, I devoured 4 (FOUR!) non-medical related books in the last week. I don't know what came over me but the only explanation I can offer is that I needed something to occupy my thoughts before bed other than calculating anion gaps and urine chloride levels.
• The books were old favourites: the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce. If you didn't already know that I'm a sucker for good kid-lit, then I guess the cat's out of the bag.

• TED Talk I Watched This Week
• Sadly, no TED talks... just podmedics casts. Soon, though... soon.

• Song of the Week
• On Friday night, I got a call from Scarlet around 8pm. 
• Scarlet: "We're going for ice cream, we'll pick you up on the way."
• Saroja: "Thanks, but I think I'm ok. Also, haven't eaten dinner yet."
• Scarlet: "You're coming." Her tone brooked no arguments.
• True to her word, Scarlet and Constellation picked me up 5 min later and we had our first Avondale ice cream of the year. It was a good break and I was once again hugely grateful for the balance and calm that Scarlet exerts on my life. I don't know what I'm gonna do when we live in difference provinces... 
• Anyway, on the way home, Scarlet- knowing that Stars are one of my favourite bands- asked if I'd seen their new music video.
• Scarlet: "It's crazy!"
• Saroja: "Crazy awesome or just plain crazy?"
• Scarlet: "Plain crazy. There's a naked girl, she grows a tail..."
• Saroja: "I can't wait to post this on the blog!!"
• So here you go, folks... the uncensored, plain crazy Stars video. I think it goes without saying that if you're opposed to nudity or people growing tails, you probably should skip it. That said, I think they did it well. It reminds me of all those art history lectures I took during undergrad.

Stars - Changes (Uncensored) from Stars on Vimeo.

• Thing I'm Most Grateful for This Week
• I'm grateful for my supportive family and friends for keeping me sane and balanced... and putting up with all my stressed out, late night, gnashing of teeth, can't eat/can't sleep rants while I prep for this silly test.

• Thing I'm Most Looking Forward to This Week
• Uhh, finishing medical school!!!!!

• Bunny Photo of the Week
• Jazz bunny had a rough week. On Wed, I took her into the vet suspecting some dental problems. I was right. She had severe malocclusion and went in for surgery the next morning to have all her teeth trimmed back. Poor Jazz and poorer ($) me! Now, she's on eye drops three times a day and nightly oral antibiotics. Fortunately, she's looking a lot better (which unfortunately means that she's none too cooperative with her medication regime). But, it's good to see her wolfing down her greens again.
• Anyway, the vet was really great. They took a picture of her post-op and texted it to me on my phone so that I wouldn't worry about her while I was stuck at school in lecture. Here she is looking as cute as ever despite being totally scared out of her wits.