Today was amazing. Biochemistry was straight forward. I like it when that happens. CTO was ok - I was getting lost in the layers of the mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa and serosa (aka the adventitia when it is just connective tissue without the simple squamous epithelium/visceral peritoneum). Then we had a core lunch with an internalist physician. I couldn't sit seriously with my neighbor whilst eating pizza. Sometimes it's fun to just be immature and giggly. During CTO lab, I was interested in finding goblet cells, but the more obscure Paneth cells escaped me. I sat in the library with Kirsten, Chris and Jocelyn before going to Ben's talk. He stood in front of us and talked about his survival of testicular cancer two years ago. It was incredible to see such an eloquent and brave 25 year old medical student. I met up with my anatomy group afterward and discussed the cases on the third floor of Dana. I went to the Physicians for Human Rights dinner where I chatted with really amazing and inspiring physicians who have traveled the world and established clinics and studies that are making a difference. The dinner itself was incredible - hummus and pita, sweet potato fries, roasted vegetables, vegetable chili and apple pie a la mode. So good. Oh, I cannot even begin to describe the corn bread... so good. I went to the gym and tried working off everything I inhaled, I don't think it worked.
Call me sentimental, but after Ben's talk and after the dinner - I am reminded there is so much more than medical school. There is a life to live. So like the BBC's 50 places, there was a 50 things to do before you die on MSNBC's Today Show from 2005:
Have you ever thought what it would be like to jump out of a plane, scale a famous peak, or finally say thank you to someone who really deserves to hear it? What are we waiting for? Starting in May, NBC’s 'Today' show is taking our viewers on a unique adventure to experience the top 50 things everyone should get to do before they die. Here's the list:
- Watch whales migrate
- Go white water rafting
- See wild game on an African safari
- Find a long-lost friend
- Learn to dance (Monday night swing dance classes!)
- Fly a plane
- Drive a NASCAR race car
- Appear on Broadway (I don't have any desire, so I'll count graduating in Radio City)
- Dive the Great Barrier Reef
- Skydive
- Golf on a world famous course
- Travel the Nile in Egypt
- Be serenaded by a Venetian gondolier
- Swim with the dolphins
- Play with an orchestra
- Paint the Big Apple red
- Float in a hot air balloon
- Sip a mint julep at the Kentucky Derby
- Visit the Oval Office
- Trace your roots
- Helicopter over a Hawaiian volcano
- Ride a mule down the Grand Canyon
- Stroll along the Great Wall of China
- Cruise in a Ferrari
- See the Taj Mahal at sunrise
- Walk the Inca trail at Macchu Picchu
- Ride a Harley down an open road
- Feed sharks
- Scale a famous peak
- Explore a Rain Forest
- Learn to be a cowboy
- Play ball in a Major League park (I'm going to count graduating in one instead)
- Prepare the world's finest meal (2009-10 weekly potlucks)
- Be an extra in a movie
- Gaze upon a magnificent waterfall
- Horseback ride along a beach
- Conquer a fear
- Ride a steamboat down the Mississippi
- Dive in a submarine
- Taste the finest wine
- Run a marathon
- Write a song or poem for someone you love
- Volunteer overseas
- Visit a nudist colony
- Explore the Alaskan wilderness
- Hover in a blimp
- Eat a cheeseburger in paradise (to me, that's Shake Shack in Madison Square Park)
- Run with the bulls in Pamplona
- Say a special thank you
- Experience weightlessness
"And when the milk truck brought the day's dishes, too--the sound, that glassy clatter and bang, being so like the sound of the maids in the closed kitchen, doing whatever they did to the dishes."
1 comment:
I love this post.
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