Look, this blog isn't about politics. It's about science. Any soundbite by any candidate that so blatantly trivializes a key part of scientific research deserves attention by the scientific community.

BTW: if you want to be involved in science and politics,
http://sefora.org/

2nd year represented in 1 image

I took a quick break from studying to take and stitch together this shoddy panorama of our study carrel. The desks here mostly belong to MSTPs, some of whom use this space as mere storage and others who use it for daily studying. Note the piles of study materials and beverage containers. We have 2 minifridges stocked with food, juices, and beer, about a dozen different dry teas, a microwave, water boiler, rice cooker, food cabinets, etc. It's pretty much a home away from home, and many of us spend 12+ hours a day in this little room.

(We got really unlucky in the lottery for carrel space. Most carrels are much larger and have windows. We live in a closet. Although this sucks during sunny days, it does help you forget that it's 11 PM and you are still studying. A mixed blessing, for sure.)

Back to pathology...

CPR block'd!

This blog has been on my mind more than the [lack of] updates suggest. A few reasons:

I keep thinking “I should really do an entry about 2^nd year” and the madness that is CPR block

I think I want to change the kind of content that is here (more about this below)

I notice that we (or, since I am the only one that really writes here, I) get more traffic these days.

Why haven’t I updated? Mostly because I am a 2^nd year med student and my life has little time for blog updates. Sorry, that’s how it goes in CPR block. After this exam block, I will see if I can bang out an entry or two about 2^nd year. Until then, I have some thoughts about content that I would like to spew forth to see if any readers will react. Positive or negative comments are welcome.

About what am I writing? Well, I read many other med/MSTP blogs. One blog in particular irks me. Now, maybe it’s because I have a personal bias against the school/author(s) for admittedly shallow reasons… or maybe it’s because the content sucks and it comes across as pretentious, boasting, and other adjectives that convey the same point. I dunno.

At any rate, I don’t want to write about my MSTP life like the other blogger(s) go(es) on about this other school’s program(s)*. I realize that some of my previous entries, especially those written when I was still in awe that I actually made it this far, sound almost exactly like this other school’s blogger(s). This irritates me.

So, readers (that I know are out there!), what do you want me to cover here? I can bitch about the daily strife of the MSTP life, I can wax philosophical about the state of science and medicine today, or I can just answer questions about the school and programs. My goal is to be as palatable and useful as possible without having to censor myself, sound like a PR firm, or end up reading like that other blog. If you don’t give input, I will just write whatever I feel like writing. This blog might thus end up as something like a verbal colostomy bag. That’s something nobody wants.

OK, readers, what would you like this blog to become?

*To avoid digging myself into a hole, I have to be annoyingly cryptic about my trivial dislike for this other party. To the other bloggers out there that I know read this at every update- I read lots of blogs so the chances that I am bashing you are pretty slim. Most of you write well and provide a great service to those interested in your institutions. Even if I am referring to your school, my opinion means nothing; what do I know, anyway?