GPCR, NF-KB, PLC, PKA, I-KB, cAMP, Bal-1, Cdc-25, Apf-1, Bad, Bax....

Well hello!

First, I need to apologize: I have not written in a while. Writing a blog only takes an hour, and I've definitely had an hour of free time since August 22 that would have better spent writing. This won't happen again, I promise!

Since my last post quite a bit has happened. Briefly, here is a list of what has happened:

• My close friend Daniel Erick's wedding!
• Michigan vs. ND game with my older brother, Steve. It was the best football game I've ever attended. (Or am
  likely to attend.)
• Getting lost while going to a canoe trip, which actually ended up being a marvelous time.
• Michigan vs. EMU. A football game that wasn't too terribly interesting.
• Staying up far too late with my friend Yashar playing video games.
• Having some of the MSTPs (Md/PhD candidates) over for dinner: crockpot chili was a grand success!!!
• Playing soccer with other medical students on lazy Sunday afternoons

Now, finally, to the main subject: Cells and Tissues. Here at Michigan, the curriculum is divided up into sequences. The subject of this one is how do things really, really, work inside the cell. It's a fascinating subject: tiny molecules, proteins, work with little chemicals in the most specific and highly regulated ways, to make your body work. You've got to sort the right proteins to the right place (which is not a small task, believe me), with the correct orientation, at the right amount of time, in response to the correct stimulus, and they need to be broken down so that their effects do not continue for too long.

In summary: what goes on in all of our little cells, all the time, is something that is so incredibly complex and wonderful that I can't even begin to describe or fathom it all.

But, what this means practically for students, is lots of acronyms. Right now an ocean of acronyms is floating around in my head and I need to be able to tell what they're doing in response to what, how these proteins are turned on/off, and a number of other details that at times all tend to get all jumbled together. Here is a picture of what this means for me studying: I make mental maps.

I've got pages and pages of these maps, and most of them make sense. Yet after the sequence I know that I will forget the majority of what I've learned. Oh well. Such is the nature of school.

On an aside, I'm very happy. I love school and I love learning and I love my classmates and I love Ann Arbor and I love life. Things are going well!

Two thoughts

Well hello!

Amid the hustle and bustle of studying, lectures, and required events, the little things to make life run still must happen. Laundry needs to be done; food needs to be bought. I’ve been doing all of my grocery shopping at Meijer, my mainstay from my time at Hope. At Hope everything was so convenient. At every block there wasn’t a stoplight; pedestrians didn’t haphazardly decide to walk out into the middle of the street; hills didn’t make biking to another place an intense workout. (This isn’t to say that I don’t like Ann Arbor – I love it – it just takes more time, effort, and frustration to get anywhere. Everything, regardless of distance, is twenty minutes away.)

During my first few weeks here I was glued to my GPS; I would ride my bike, holding onto the handlebars with one hand and in the other hold up my phone, receiving directions to wherever I was going. I’ve been weaning myself off of the directions: I can proudly say that I navigated to Meijer without any electronic assistance. (Side note: I need to make only two turns to get to Meijer. Yes, I am directionally challenged.)

During my drive, not using my GPS, riding with the windows down, listening to John Mayer, I thought to myself: “This feels normal.” It was the first time in the first three weeks that I felt like I was going about a normal rhythm of life, not embarking on a quest with an unsure ending. It hit me: I am going to be in Ann Arbor for the next four years; I am here for the long haul.

Yesterday I went to play soccer with the other medical students. After the rainstorm hit, the sky cleared up and the afternoon was an absolute peach. 75 degrees and blue skies. It was a great time – two hours of running around and chasing a ball is strangely therapeutic. We played at Mitchell fields, which is located right next to the helipad for the hospital. During the two hour period during which we were playing soccer helicopters landed at least 10-15 times.

Myself and many of my classmates continued to run around, chasing the ball, while this occurred, not stopping to think about the reality of what was happening: someone needed help so desperately that they had to be flown to the University Hospital. The situation was almost ironic; we continued to play soccer while someone was nearly dying. Leisure and death, side by side.

As I was faced with this juxtaposition, I had another big thought: all of the people playing soccer will be saving lives someday. All of the people in our class are going to become a doctor, and we are going to be the people waiting for the helicopter to arrive, rather than the people playing soccer next to the helipad.

On an aside, I’m going to a Demolition Derby on Tuesday – it’s going to be a great time!

And so it begins...maybe

Well hello!

First quiz: donezo!

Yes, after two weeks of class, I had my first quiz. No, it was not terrible, but all the same, it felt good to get it under my belt. Right now we're covering things that I've already learned about for the most part (with the exception of pathology), so I'm not being washed over by waves of new information. Yes, there is a different spin on most of the material that has been presented, but it's no surprise. Transcriptional regulation. Basic statistics. DNA. Translation.

Additionally, we don't have any labs, which will come soon enough.

In summary, medical school has started...maybe. When I'm dissecting cadavers and learning physical assessment skills, the maybe will became a "most definitely". Until that time I'm going to relish Patients and Populations.

On an aside, there was a birthday party this past weekend. Streamers, anyone?

Orientation!

Well hello!

The past two weeks have been a blur. 169 new classmates. A number of new professors. Navigating through a new city. The past two weeks have also been two of the most exciting weeks of my life.

There are a number of things that need to be taken of during orientation. Class introductions. Curriculum. Honor code. Team building. Computer policies. Three days of all of this. At the end of it all I was ready to be done.

Today was the first day of class. Three lectures: medical genetics, introduction to pathology, and principles of uncertainty in medicine. Interesting, but nothing to call home about. What made the day was the first patient presentation.

For patient presentations, the entire class actually dresses the part of a medical student: church clothes and white coats. A woman came in and talked about her experiences having a child, a child who happened to have Down's Syndrome. Hearing, and gaining even an understanding about, her experiences and how doctors have walked alongside her and her son, from the initial knowledge of the son's disease, to the multiple heart surgeries, to the countless other trips to the hospital for other "small" incidents, to their life today, was truly moving. It was wonderful, at the conclusion of a long time sitting through rather dry orientation sessions, to be reminded of the true reason that I'm entering medicine: to be a doctor, along with everything it entails, for patients.

On an aside, here's a picture from my first day of school:

T-minus 7 days!

Well hello!

The deep breath (summer) before the plunge (medical school) is nearly over! Exactly one week from this time I'll be moving into my new apartment in Ann Arbor! All of the furniture is bought; all that remains is to pick up the U-haul trailer and start lugging couches, beds, mattresses, and chairs up three flights of stairs.

The deep breath truly has been a deep breath. I've been intentional about taking this summer easy: taking a roadtrip, going to the beach, spending time with grandparents, and reading books for run. Over the next few years my time for all of these things is going to be significantly limited, if the rumors I've heard about medical school are true.

The time for rest is nearly over and the time for work is beginning. Thank goodness - I can only take so much rest.