A Couple of Days in the Life of a Pre-Med

Proof that you can work hard and have fun at the same time. (a.k.a. a busy Thursday leading up to a busier than usual Friday)
 
Thursday
9:30 a.m.: I roll over, get out of bed, and turn the alarm clock on snooze (only twice, but in ten minute increments).

9:50 a.m: I finally climb out of bed, eat a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, get dressed, grab my o-chem homework and make sure I have everything I need to study for endocrinology in my backpack. It’s going to be a long day.

10:14 a.m: I realize I’m running late and sprint a block to catch the bus to campus. I make it just in time, which is perfect because my homework is due at 10:30 a.m. and there’s no way I would have made it in time walking!

10:26 a.m: I get off the bus and walk up three flights of stairs to turn in my homework, then head back down to my o-chem lecture hall.

10:30 a.m: Class starts.

10:34 a.m: A group of prospies comes in and throws off my professor. They leave in a few minutes and as they head out, he asks, “Was I too boring?”

11:45 a.m: Class gets out a bit early (yay!) and I head over to Stuart for lunch. I’m not very hungry so I have a bit of potatoes. Before I go to my next class, I stop by the café again to grab a small soy mocha and a Thai peanut noodle salad.

1:30 p.m.: Medical Ethics. Definitely high on the list of my favorite class this quarter. I try to make note cards for my endo exam the next day, but I fail miserably and end up taking meticulous notes on the lecture and getting involved in the discussion despite my best attempts to have a quiet day in the back.

2:50 p.m: Medical Ethics is a three-hour class, so we get a short break about halfway through. I talk to the professor about the chances of me being able to squeeze in a HIPS minor before I graduate next spring and the possibility of doing an independent study research project. (The only way you can write a BA is an honors thesis, and I’m a few GPA points shy of qualifying.) She says she’ll sponsor me. I’m really excited.

4:20 p.m: Class ends. I have an hour to kill before my endo review session, so I go to the post office to stick my lease for next year in the mail. Then I head over to Hutch to chat with my boyfriend for a little bit.

5:20 p.m: I see my friend Joann in C-Shop and we head over to endo review. There’s some yummy free food in the lobby of the BSLC and I grab some, only to find out that the sandwich I grabbed has blue cheese on it. I’m allergic to it so I give it to Joann.

7:30 p.m.: Review ends and I make plans with three friends to meet in the library after grabbing a quick dinner.

7:50 p.m.: I stop by Hutch again and grab a few slices of pizza. I’ve been trying to avoid it, but some days, you just have to give in. Then I head over to the Reg. Fourth floor, baby!

8:00 p.m.: I settle in, and then I start to procrastinate. Typical. I eventually get around to working efficiently.

10:00 p.m: The boyfriend joins us to work on his homework.

12:45 a.m: My endo friends head home for the night. Me, I’m just getting started really, so Jimmy (the boyfriend) and I stick around until we get kicked off the fourth floor around 1:20 a.m. We head down to the A-Level where we study until about 2:30 a.m.

2:30 a.m: We give Safe Ride a call (The shuttles stop running at 2.) and head home. I plan on doing some more studying, but instead crawl into bed.
 
Friday (post-sleeping)
9:30 a.m: I climb out of bed, get dressed, throw back another bowl of Fruity Pebbles and run for the bus again.

10:15 a.m: Having made the bus, I settle into a cozy chair on the fourth floor of the Reg again and do some last minute studying/refreshing for my endo exam.

12:30 p.m.: Test time! I flip to the back and start there. The first problem asks about a pheochromocytoma, which I can’t remember anything about to save my life.

1:30 p.m.: Done with my test. I head over to Argo Tea in the DCAM (part of the UChicago hospitals) to grab a quick lunch, and then I go upstairs to get my weekly allergy shot that protects me from being allergic to the world.

2:30 p.m.: Shot is done and I’m sitting in the waiting room for my mandatory half-hour. I talk to a nice older woman, who’s doing the same thing, about her allergies.  

3:00 p.m.: Exhausted, I walk over to my old dorm, Breckinridge, to pick up tickets to the 8:00 p.m. showing of Porgy and Bess. I’m really excited about it! Then I start walking home.

3:15 p.m.: I collapse on my bed thinking I’m going to nap, but I don’t.

5:30 p.m.: After I’ve wasted time I shouldn’t have been wasting, Jimmy comes over to visit and we go to dinner at Calypso, which is closing in early June. I’m pretty bummed out about it because I like that place. Sigh.

7:15 p.m.: After a yummy dinner, we head over to the Court Theatre for Porgy and Bess. It’s starting to get rainy-gross, so we drive.

10:30 p.m.: The show ends. It is amazing. There is an post-show discussion.

11:15 p.m.: We pick up my friend Erica and stop by my apartment. Erica and I try to have a girls’ night every once in a while, so I run in, change, and come back out. Jimmy very nicely drives us to around 51stand Kimbark, where we hop out and walk over to the BJ/MacPierce Scav success party.

1:45 a.m.: After toasting to Bernie, a very sweet member of this year’s Scav team (and also a list item), we head home for the night. I hop in my jammies and collapse into bed. It is a pretty good week overall.