Treading Water

I feel like I am treading water. It reminds me of the quote from Van Wilder: "Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere." I try not to worry, and I'm not overwhelmed by my classes, I'm only taking physics and organic chemistry and the accompanying labs, but I can't wait to move on to the next step - which at this point would be studying for the MCAT. It still feels at times like I'm making very little progress in my goal of being a physician, but I realize it's a marathon, and not a sprint, so I am in it for the long haul, and I've run three marathons... so I feel like I'm capable of staying on track towards my goal.

I will probably start studying for the MCAT this spring and try to take it in May. I still have not decided if I want to apply for the entering class in 2011 or entering in 2012. It may be a better idea for me to wait a year to apply, that way I can work and try to save a little money during the application cycle. I realize I may end up having to reapply, and if I don't get accepted anywhere, I definitely will try to strengthen my application and reapply, but I think waiting a year, having more experience and a better application is better than blowing a lot of money on an unsuccessful application cycle.

My classes are going well. However, I cannot believe the class averages and curves that will be used for them. The class average on the last lecture exam in organic was 9/21 questions correct. Nine. The first exam's average was 12/21. Luckily I have been well above average both times, but still... is the class really that hard? Do my fellow classmates not understand the material, which would indicate either poor attendance, poor teaching, or lack of effort, or some combination of the three? Physics isn't much better... the averages on the exams have been in the low to mid-60's: 62 for the first exam and 66 for the second exam. If that gets normalized to a 75, which is going to be a C, as the professor said, then I should be in A territory since I was in the mid-upper 80s on both exams. That's the thing too about being a post-bac, whether you are traditional or non-traditional: getting As is expected and it's what you have to do if you want to give yourself the best chances of getting in somewhere.

What else is new. I got the Motorola Droid. It's my first smartphone. Before that I had a Motorola MotoRIZR z6tv. So far, I love my Droid. Why didn't I get a smartphone sooner? I find myself less tethered to the computer checking my e-mail when it gets pushed to my phone, which means I'm wasting less time on the internet and generally being more productive™. Yay!