Author: Amanda Xi

The calm before the pre-storm [i.e. orientation]

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

It’s good to be back and enjoying fresh yogurt parfaits in the morning!

Although we “officially” start school tomorrow [woah, what?! WHAT WILL I WEAR?!], I’m calling this week the pre-storm for various reasons:
  1. We aren’t actually doing much… work
  2. There’s a lot of free food involved
  3. There are a lot of social events
  4. We can’t actually be expected to bury our noses in our huge textbooks until we’ve officially been cloaked in our mini-white-coats
I’m sure once the week of August 15 rolls around, I’ll be wondering why I was excited for this whole study-every-waking-moment thing. Or, I’ll be in love [sorry Mike!] and rant about it in tiny little posts here!
By the way, SDN reports that there have been interview invites [oh, and the OUWB interview tracker has confirmed such reports] — I am so excited to meet the interviewees! If you have an interview and want to hang out with me in real-life, let me know!
Now for digging through my closet for that perfect first-day-of-school outfit…

Clean, clean, clean

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

Mmm I’ve recently become obsessed with Smart Water… so tasty! [YES, I assure you I can taste water!]

After a solid hour of breathing bathroom cleaning chemical fumes [a robust combination of Scrubbing Bubbles, bleach and 409 — don’t judge my chemical choices!], I decided that it was time for a Smart Water and blog update break. Whew, who knew that I could accumulate so much mildew gunk in my year of living in this apartment?! 
It looks like I’m mostly done with the cleaning portion of my visit — these old apartment units really need some better air filtration systems… I’ve probably cleaned off at least a pound of dust from random surfaces that I never used while I was inhabiting the space. Plus, my air filter needed to be cleaned at least 3 times to get all of the dust out!
While I cannot say that I’ll miss this particular unit [so much more cramped and old smelling than my previous unit in the same complex], I definitely made some great memories in here. 
Uh oh, my air conditioner is making weird noises… better go tend to that and move on to Phase 2 of cleaning my apartment…
[More on OUWB later today or tomorrow!]

Getting things done

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

My new OU ID card! [I am a bit embarrassed at how my photo looks so I cut that out…]

The fact that I’m starting school on Monday is slowly starting to set in — I know it’ll feel surreal until the moment that orientation activities begin, but I finally feel more ready to take this new challenge on. 
On the tasks front, so far I have only gotten my immunization form and accompanying documents done, but now that I have my coffee, I feel slightly more ready to slowly chip away at all the other things piled up on my to-do list.
I just finished up Dr. Michelle Au‘s book, This Won’t Hurt a Bit (and Other White Lies) while I was flying back from L.A. yesterday. I absolutely loved the book and recommend it for anyone entering medicine, especially women who are looking “to have it all.” While I recognized a lot of the book from reading her blog [I have almost read it completely from the first entry to the most recent — I think I have the entries from 2009-2011 to read], I still enjoyed reading her words. One of the things I love the most about Dr. Au is her humor and very down-to-earth way of writing. I truly look up to her and aspire to be as successful as she is.
We’re supposed to get one more OUWB Admitted Student Update soon — I’ll be sure to post an update when it reaches my inbox.
Time to stop procrastinating…

Preparing for the start of a new chapter

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

Did you know these diagonal crossings existed? Well they do in L.A. and they’re awesome!

Aside from mentally preparing myself for the start of a new school, I am swamped with several tasks in order to move forward with this new chapter of my life. Such things include:
  • actually completing my move out of Ann Arbor [kind of scary with a potential serial rapist on the loose]
  • tying up loose ends with the Engineering Club [this is so overdue…]
  • preparing my SWE Annual Conference presentation [also so overdue…]
  • finishing my lab data analysis and presentation [only slightly overdue…]
  • settling in at my new place [much of my life is still in plastic garbage bags thrown in various rooms]
  • various OUWB things including, but not limited to: immunization form, online orientation, anatomy primer… etc [the forms never seem to end!]
I’m hoping that by listing these things on a public space, it will motivate me to kick it in high-gear and get everything done before Monday. Obviously there are certain things that have more stringent deadlines than others and I’ll have to prioritize, but it’d be amazing to be able to cross each of these things off my to do list.
Help motivate me to finish these tasks!

Roadtrip update: from Duarte, CA

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

We had a fireplace in our room at the Colony Palms Hotel.

It’s sad that I have a fear of fire because just looking at a fireplace really has a calming effect on me. There was this cute little fireplace in our room as well as a cozy sitting area near a fireplace to dry off from the pool — both of which were really relaxing to sit in front of. Mmm, I’m already missing my resort time!
Currently I’m sitting in Mike’s new apartment in Duarte, California [the city is about 15 minutes from Pasadena]. Sadly, this is my last full day here [CA weather has not disappointed and neither has spending endless hours with Mike] so we’ve planned an adventure out to see the blocky Hollywood letters [I’m a tourist… what can I say?!] then to relax and walk around in Beverly Hills. I’ll be back to visit Mike during the Labor Day weekend, so hopefully I’ll get to slowly chip away at seeing various sites in L.A. during my future visits [and maybe even spotting my favorite reality TV star, Lauren Conrad].
In the meantime, I feel like there’s a huge dark cloud of tasks that I need to complete before starting orientation on Monday [I seriously cannot believe that I’m only 5 days away from being a real medical student!]. Unfortunately, my vaccination forms are taking longer than they should to complete and I’ve been neglecting the various tasks that I had planned to do during trip downtime [finishing my lab data analysis, making a lab presentation, looking into the Anatomy primer, doing the online orientation, filling out various other forms… the list goes on!]. Hopefully when I return tomorrow, I’ll be ridiculously efficient with my time and get a ton of things done.
Anyway, time to get moving — Mike’s making us a tasty breakfast of french toast and eggs… mmm I’m excited.

Double header: road trip and OUWB admitted student updates

Amanda Xi

Today’s [awesome] inane images of the day:

Isn’t the Grand Canyon lovely?

This has to be the best photo of Mike and I…almost ever.

The rain was kind of scary when it passed over us.

The view at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

Trip Update
We have had quite an adventure these past two days — after Flagstaff, we decided to visit the Hoover Dam, then take a ride down the Las Vegas Boulevard (also known as “The Strip”). Unfortunately, we got caught in the I-15 traffic between Vegas and L.A. and ended up sitting in traffic for over 2 hours! No fun.

This morning we went to a cute place for brunch called the Escena Lounge and Grill — we shared a tasty breakfast burrito and double cinnamon french toast. There was also an awesome deal on the Yelp iPhone app where if you write a review, you can get a free glass of the house wine. Turns out that their wine is really strong.

Afterwards, we went to the Desert Hills Outlets then the tram up the mountain. There was a good evening-hours deal that included the tram ride up and a very large dinner alongside a beautiful view.

Right now we are enjoying a pleasant stay at the Colony Palms Hotel.

OUWB Admitted Student Update
I was extremely excited to receive this update since it was packed with great updates including:

  • Big sib/little sib program: apparently OUWB set up a program where we can be paired up with a current Beaumont resident to get all of our burning questions answered. I am super excited especially since there were a bunch of questions about preferences for the type of resident I wished to be paired up with.
  • Anatomy primer: unlike many of my peers, I never took a formal Anatomy course, so Dr. Bee’s awesome primer will most definitely come in handy! I’m kind of excited to cram in some studying before we start orientation.
  • Improv comedy night: they set up an improv comedy night for us to enjoy on the first evening of orientation.
  • Online orientation: apparently we need to be oriented online too…
This update was by far the most interesting one.
I really cannot believe that I’m starting my medical journey in just under a week from this moment. It really feels rather surreal and fantasy-esque. I really hope I’m prepared to take on a new level of retaining information!
Until next time… adios!

Roadtrip update: from Flagstaff, AZ

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

Mike and I decided to go for something not in the “fast food” category and settled on this cute place called Criollo Latin Kitchen — it was very tasty!
 
I’m going to save the OUWB Admitted Student Update post for later tonight when we get to Palm Springs — look out for it!
In my lifetime I have traveled to Chicago, New York City, Boston, middle-of-nowhere Massachusetts [read: Great Barrington], Costa Rica [for a wedding when I was pretty young], and China. While I went to Milwaukee for the MCW interview, I didn’t get a chance to explore the city, so I’m not counting that. Anyway, the point of this is that I am by no means the most well-traveled person, so this trip is really exciting to me.

Read more →

Roadtrip update: from Tulsa, OK

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

That’s a pink elephant… on the side of the road in Southern Illinois. Teehee.
After at least 15 hours in the car and 5 states later [2 of which, I’ve never been in until today!], I am exhausted. Thus, this update will be slightly lame.
The good news is that once we finally get to Palm Springs, I’ll have some time to provide a real update for everyone about my trip and the most recent OUWB Admitted Student Update [it was a jam packed one… with really exciting stuff!].
Time to pass out here in Tulsa… 

Quick update: handwriting

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

A card I received within a care package a couple of years ago from one of my dearest friends.

One thing that never fails to take my breath away is beautiful handwriting. As I was moving into my new place, I stumbled upon this gem from a couple of years ago and it reminded me of how much I love admiring elegant handwritten notes.
Thanks again [insert friend’s name] and Happy [early] Birthday!