Deadlines

I've been meaning to update for the past week or so. It's been an excessively busy week . . . and a lot of it has been stress regarding the upcoming exam. There's just too much to know!! Even though I've been studying for two weeks, I feel like I barely know the material any better, which makes the whole process all the more exhausting.

I'm actually losing my mind a little . . . I'll forget where I put something, less than ten seconds after I set it down. It's like being drunk, without the sloppy carefree joy and senselessly heightened self-esteem. I feel like I have stress-induced hypoglycemia. If I don't eat every few hours, I get nauseous and light-headed. The feeling gets progressively worse until it's pretty much debilitating, even after I eat something. My answer? Eat. Simple enough.

Excited to see the family over Thanksgiving, though I think I might be a little ambitious to take on a twelve-hour drive after the effect this exam is having on me. (On the other hand, maybe I'll be on a high-energy kick once it's over with.) I'm especially thrilled to see Mahlon & Layla; I don't like that they're growing without me!! (How dare they!)

Must remember to get an oil change tomorrow . . .

In other events-- learned how to feel a liver this week. (It's not easy.) I met up with my preceptor and reviewed a video-taped history-taking session, which wasn't quite as embarrassing as I figured. Thursday night I volunteered at a clinic through TempleCARES at a local women's shelter. I got to practice talking to patients, and I got some exposure to almost disturbingly real scenarios. I enjoyed it though, and it was well worth the two hours of study time I sacrificed. There were a lot of kids running around the shelter, most of whom wanted attention from us. I helped one little girl listen to her heart with my stethoscope.

Getting late. Need sleep for energy tomorrow.