Despite being a bit worried about what I'd be doing on my second time interning at the Same Day Surgery center, today went pretty well!

I was unable to sleep properly again. I woke up at 2 AM, just like last time! I hope I get used to the new Wednesday schedule I have to do. I get up at about 5 and bike about 20 minutes to hop on a bus that drives about 30 minutes to get to the Medical Center in the next city over. I then walk and cross a few streets to get to the surgery center. Last time, I was able to take a bus straight to that building, but I didn't see it this time.

Whoops, back up! I keep talking about "last time". Last week, I tried to retire to bed at 9 PM so I could get up at 5, but I ended up awaking at 2 AM (or was it 12 AM?) in the morning. I could still hear my housemates being.. awake. I tried to go back to sleep again, but I couldn't. I ended up getting out of bed at around 5 AM and got ready. I put all my stuff together and started my early, early morning bike ride. As I crossed the first streetlight, I checked my pockets and noticed my volunteer badge was missing! That badge is VITAL if I am to ride the bus-- it costs money otherwise. So I turn around and start searching the ground during this dark morning. Thankfully, I found it, not too far from where I had stopped, too! My first day as an intern was.. As every first day at something completely new, a bit difficult! I didn't know how to put scrubs on, and everyone was a bit too busy to show me what I was supposed to do so I ended up following the supervisor around. I helped clean out the rooms when a surgery procedure finished, and I think that's pretty much my main job to do. I got quite nervous thinking if all my other shifts would be similar, because I was told I would develop my own routine that worked when I asked if I would be told what to do. @_@

Circling back, today's shift was pretty nice! Maybe it's because I got to sleep a little longer, or maybe it's 'cause I kind of have a better idea of what I'm supposed to do. I kind of.. just noticed when a room was done and went straight to the mop and hand cloth to wipe down the room. They told me a lot of people were out sick that day, and even my supervisor wasn't doing too well in health. I was just basically elated to know I was doing my job right. "Thank you, Bianca" seriously made me beam. Something that I understand to be hard is doing something for the first time on one's own without someone there to tell you if you're doing it right or not. I guess I even got the new intern treatment! XD While mopping, I asked if I was to get the area around the surgical instruments, because I didn't want to mess anything up! My supervisor said I had to lift up the telescope and get under it. I started reaching for the small thing, but he said that it was this other big thing. Realizing the joke, I exclaimed, "No way!" I guess it was funny 'cause he blamed me for making him cough. Probably from laughing. (X

I was pretty much hanging around to do those kind of duties when... I was asked if I wanted to sit on a procedure!! I was so surprised, because I didn't think they'd let me so soon. I felt incredibly privileged, even though they said I'd get to see more. It was... seriously, very wonderful of them to allow me to sit there and watch a team of surgeons work on a patient's shoulder. The most wonderful thing was that they'd sometimes sit next to me and explain what was being done, or what I was looking at, since shoulder anatomy is quite confusing. I was so.. I don't know how to explain it! I'm just a lowly intern and they're taking the time to explain things to me..! Q_Q

As you can guess, I was incredibly exhausted after my shift! I still had class and discussion, and even after that I attended a workshop to learn how to get letters of recommendation for graduate/medical school. I've been attending every workshop under the sun that I can fit into my schedule. I seriously don't understand how things work in the academic world after undergrad, and I'm the first one in my family to have such higher learning that I haven't really had a kind of mentor to tell me what's up. ^^a So yep, I'm juggling in sessions of things like that alongside study, volunteering, and.. other things I should take care of that I'm not. There's a lot on my plate and my major regret is that I wish I understood what I had to do sooner! It's only because I understand now that everything is coming at me now!

I wanted to draw a bit now, but I don't know if that's the best decision, hahah. XD

Man, burgers are my favorite food but I don't want anymore. Sometimes I just don't have enough time between classes for a real meal time so I just buy like whatever burger $1 can get me. I just don't want to eat anymore for the time being, but it's still my favorite food. Just the thought of them is nice.

But yeah I got another when I hung out with my friend for a bit yesterday. He was buying some gyro and because he was going to eat, I didn't want him to feel all awkward by being the only one eating so I went and bought a burger. He said I should try the gyro but I said no thanks, it's too expensive! I'm not about to pay $6 to eat when I didn't want much.

Later that night I went to a transfer student pizza mixer! I went to one last year for the free pizza, and I did the same yesterday! I probably met like, 8-10 people over the course of 3 hours or so. I was hanging out at this table with 2 other girls and a guy, and some hours in, this guy comes over with a paper slip with a few survey questions and starts talking to the guy at our table. Everyone at my table already filled it out and turned it in (It's an entry for a raffle), so when I saw that I said, "Oh, we can sign it for you--"

"No. No. Girls are invisible to me right now."

Wow, uh. Way to approach people. He was talking to the guy at our table for a bit, and after he left, the guy just set the paper aside. I don't think he wanted to fill it out after that kind of treatment. Or maybe he didn't want more competition for the raffle.

I stayed until the end again. I didn't think I would hang around that long after the people I managed to get acquainted with left, but I saw a few girls I hung out with at the exact same event last year! One was helping out with the event, and another brought her housemate along with her. It was interesting to talk about school and all, because we were first year transfers last year. We were all uncertain about everything. I know for sure that this time I spoke with total confidence about what I planned to do. Last year I kept talking about how hopeless it was for me, with such a low GPA. The girl who brought her housemate was telling me how they became best friends within a year. I remembered her telling me the year before how they never spoke, despite living under the same roof!

When I got back at 9:30 PM, I just drew a bit then went to bed.
Miyasako from the JPN manzai duo, Ameagari Kesshitai! I actually don't know much about them, and I can easily say the same about other comedians, too. Anything I know comes from the shows I watch where they appear. I kind of like Miyasako quite a bit, though. He was funny in the dance-off vs. Gaki no Tsukai (which doesn't appear to be on Youtube anymore..) and I like him in Lincoln and Ameagari's show, Ame-talk. I was watching this episode of Lincoln two days ago and I just found it HILARIOUS when he had to say "I'm sorry that I'm arrogant despite being an idiot." I liked that he stammered when saying "Baka," because I figure that must be hard for him to admit, being a narcissist and all. =P

That said, I like Hotohara a lot, too. So I can definitely say I like Ameagari as a whole!

Rozan's Ujihara! He had a bad first impression for me when I saw him on DERO going up against Tackey&Tsubasa and Kanjani8's Subaru and Shingo. I thought he was obnoxious-- and didn't realize he was a comedian. I saw him again when I watched Ame-talk about celebrities who can't draw. It was hilarious, as I'm used to seeing Johnny's who can't draw, but it's pretty funny to see others who can't, either. But yeah, a comedian with a law degree and high IQ. I like that. And his sleepy looking eyes. I realize I should have given him more wrinkles, but I totally couldn't get it to work. ^^a

Todaaay I just went to class and office hours. That was like 5 hours of straight classes and not eating anything! It started to rain, too. I hope it lets up by Thursday because I don't want to have to drive the tractor in rain. I'd rather have the class canceled in that case!

I'll try to get some reading done before I retire, hopefully, early. My internship starts tomorrow. I'm really nervous but I hope I make it there on time and things turn out swell. I hope they like me and that I don't get hungry while on my shift!

I hate it when I spill a cup of water. It's such a waste! I let it sit, too, to let nature take its course in letting it evaporate. XD

I left for my first class of the day 10 minutes earlier than I normally would to buy a few scantrons from the bookstore. An email I received yesterday from the professor of the class said that we would have a quiz on the first day of class. No way! I got to class on time, though. The class, called Food, Folklore, and Health, seems pretty fun! We learn about things like how shellfish shouldn't be consumed in any month without the letter 'R' in it (e.g. August) and how honey is dangerous as a sweetener in baby formula. There was quite a bit of attendance checking procedures, though. We were to fill out a questionnaire and sign the back of the quiz when we turned it in to secure our spot in the class. Anyone who didn't wasn't going to be considered as registered! I knew some frazzled students, if they're anything like me, would forget to bring a scantron, so sure enough, I handed out some of my extras. I quite like the professor for this class. She has a really gentle air about her and she seems to love the subject.

After that was my Population and Ecology class. When Professor Gaylord introduced his name, I immediately wondered if other students might be having the same wonderment as I did. He is a very serious-looking man by nature. He does not hesitate in making full use of his teaching hour. I really liked how prompt he was, and his handwriting on the chalkboard. In fact, I was admiring how neat his letters were and how he didn't flinch even as the chalk broke several times while he wrote. I also quite like his.. I don't know if I can call it a sense of humor because he didn't really crack jokes, but the things he laughed at, I thought it was very characteristic of him. I was also incredibly inspired when he told us that he and Professor Williams both drive 2 hours both ways to go to the university's marine biology lab, saying, "I'm not telling you this so you can weep for us, but we both really love teaching." It was at that moment I couldn't help but think that these are some wonderful people who love their job before me. I hope I can work hard in this class!

I got back to my apartment after both classes and spent another half hour reading my "Getting into Medical School" book I borrowed from the library. There's still things I'm not quite sure how to handle, but it has been very useful in informing me on what I to do. I definitely know the "Don'ts," but it's always useful to get the extremely helpful tips.

Around 2:30 PM I went and met up with the guy I was going to carpool with some others to go to an internship orientation in a city about 20 minutes away. It was kind of funny because... Well, we got there okay! It was a really long orientation and we got back okay. I'm extremely bummed out that I don't get a yellow polo volunteer shirt because I'm assigned to the surgical department in my internship! I get a loaned scrub. )=

I'm pretty nervous for my internship, which starts next week. There's a lot of precautions to take, like always washing hands and changing gloves so as to not spread germs to different patients and protecting the patients' privacy by never commenting on their concerns. I also hope the people I'll be working for like me! I just really want to be able to do the job right! I'm really hoping though, that.. I'll like working at the clinic. I'll find out soon enough!

Even though I know I'm supposed to take things one at a time I keep getting so worried and bogged down by what I have to do! There's too much studying and work to be done within the next too weeks and I don't want to deal with it. I've been working hard since last week, too.

I mean, I guess I deserve it! But there's no time to think about that now.

In any case, I'm pretty lucky with unexpected.. opportunities, I guess you could say. This isn't the first time, but today, I went to see a pre-med adviser to ask questions about.. Well, the path of pre-med! She was able to address quite a few of the concerns I had. I also wasn't planning on asking about it, but at the end the adviser asked if I did any internships or volunteering yet. I told her I didn't, because I planned to do that in my year off, but she suggested looking at clinical volunteering internships at the ICC. There's only a 4 hour requirement for every week. Because that sounded doable, I asked her what that was about, and she told me I could go check it out upstairs where someone can help me. Sign-ups, she said, started either today or tomorrow.

So, of course, I head upstairs, find the right place to ask and get a little demonstration. The girl tells me I can sign up right then and there if I wanted to, so I did. It turns out my pass time just started, too, so she went ahead and told me what steps I'm supposed to do and all that. Apparently I have until Saturday to pick, but the sooner the better because slots fill up fast. It works like a lottery or something like that. I asked if I could do the signing up at my apartment, since I wanted to check my schedule for next quarter before picking an internship. She also told me which ones had a bus line that went there that I could take for FREE.

All in all, I got to learn about this ICC and lottery thing I've been hearing about from some other students but didn't understand. We'll see how it goes. I hope I don't forget about the orientation dates! I also have to figure out how to get to where I gotta go by bus-- I like free transportation. I'll ask around and see if some other students can help me out, because the only bus lines I see cost money!

This is all future next quarter stuff, though. Now that that's out of the way, I have to go back to doing some school work that needs attention right now. In all honesty I just want to do nothing and complain!

Well, it's been about 4 hours since my emotions and contemplating thoughts have pretty much subsided. I wanted to be able to write about it but because of class and whatnot in between, so of course by now I forgot a lot of the things I'd like to have write about. For now, I'll just try to make a pithy post. (As I started writing, I realized it wasn't!)

( Again, it's about school )

Oh man, I had an easy day class-wise today with only an NPB lab and a cancelled discussion section, but when once evening hit, I got a little spazztic!

I don't want to get too detailed, but I just wanted to express relief by saying how things will be okay. I'm rescheduling a course to HOPEFULLY match a registered test date better at a location most ideal for me. This means I won't be able to go home over the weekend starting March, and though that's not too much of a huge sacrifice, I'm still bummed because the trade off is that my weekdays are a lot freer, and I'm ending up with a bit too much free time. I shouldn't say that because that time should be spent studying, of course!

I can be happy if that goes as I hope, though, especially since I was freaking out over the past hour trying to find a way to make ends meet with an impossible schedule. I'm crossing my fingers that even though my last plan didn't work out too well, this new plan will.

I'm going to go ahead and remind myself to check the available testing dates a little later. January 25th sounds like a good day to check, as that's the first one on the drop down list. I'd imagine would get eliminated as the date gets near, opening up the available test dates in June. (Right now, the drop list goes as far down to May 24th). It's also the day Tsubasa's D&R 2010 DVD releases, yeah? I hope I remember!

My friend, Dex, caught me this morning to tell me she was watching a magic show on TV and she saw Tackey. I was in total disbelief (Well, I believed her, but huh? Tackey on some show that I don't ever remember being mentioned by anyone else in the community?) until she went and recorded the clip to show me!

Gosh, I was so amused. To think she got to see Tackey on her TV on an ENGLISH PROGRAM. NICE. We both tried to Google the clip to see what was up with that, but that didn't work out. I managed to catch some info about this clip from this blog, but that's about as much as I know. Even though it's old news by now, it's still nice to see!

In any case, Dex has given me permission to share this clip from TV's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks that aired in the UK. Please enjoy. ^^

Not only am I retaking a class (to boost up my 2.3 GPA), but while trying to petition a degree from the community college I attended, I realized that a class I took there counts for "half" the class I’m taking at university.

I don’t know if that means I need to take that class in full at my university, because I can’t imagine petitioning for "half a class" and getting it. I guess I COULD take the other "half" of the class at the community college I attended, but I don’t have time for that! It makes more sense to take the class in full at uni!

Oh, the class is an important lower division that needs to be fulfilled, which is why I’m concerned about having already taken upper divisions that required that course. My university, for the sake of holding students responsible for their path, does not place restrictions on those who enroll in the more advanced classes that have prerequisites. If someone never takes the pre-reqs, it comes back to get them the day they plan to graduate!

I’ll talk to my counselor about this, along with this other question I have, but I’m preparing myself for this possible reality.

I sooo glum about this right now, but maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. It could be a chance to boost my GPA. It could also be a filler class for when I need a few more units to hit the minimum requirement for a quarter and I don't know what to take. Who knows?

I thought it was about time to set up a feedback page for myself. ^^; I've been buying online quite a few times now, so I'm no stranger to this kind of business, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to have a few good comments to my name. ^^

I'm only a buyer at this moment, so... Yeah! Please put any feedback here. (=