Can you survive Battleground God without making any logical contradictions?
Here’s what I got:
Congratulations!
You have been awarded the TPM service medal! This is our third highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.
The fact that you progressed through this activity without suffering many hits and biting no bullets suggests that whilst there are inconsistencies in your beliefs about God, on the whole they are well thought-out.
The direct hits you suffered occurred because some of your answers implied logical contradictions. At the bottom of this page, we have reproduced the analyses of your direct hits. You would have bitten bullets had you responded in ways that required that you held views that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. However, this did not occur, and consequently, you qualify for our third highest award. Well done!
I won’t tell you what I got hits for, but I will say that I have some disagreements with the way they evaluate this test.
So I was at the library, minding my own business, when an impossibly cute library worker comes by to reshelve. Anyway, I tried not to stare, because he doesn’t need to be sexually harassed in the workplace, okay?
Later on I went to use the computer, but as I was leaving, I passed the same fine piece of ass human being with thoughts and feelings in the stairwell. And I looked up toward heaven like Al Bundy and said, “Why me??”
And that’s when I had a paradigm shift.
Because as we all know, the world is going to end soon. It doesn’t matter if it’s December 21, 2012 or whenever we run out of oil, global warming passes its tipping point, or someone decides to nuke someone else. The point is, anything I am trying to do now — from scoring with cute boys to entering a hot residency program — will become utterly insignificant in comparison.
I’ll be 28, just started working for real at some hospital (or medical group). Perhaps I wake up and decide to start dating. Or I’ll still be mad at the world for impossibly cute guys. Then I’ll be walking to my car and a giant block of ice will fall in Antarctica and the Pacific Ocean will come rushing up and engulf everybody.
Despite the hype and all the sales going on tomorrow, this is a friendly reminder that the day after Thanksgiving is also Buy Nothing Day, the day where we all celebrate the fact that we don’t have to give in to consumerism and waste.
Did you know that in Japan, vending machines carry soft drinks in large and small sizes, for the same price? And people buy the smaller cans if they don’t think they can finish the large, because it would be wasteful.
Isn’t that awesome??
* Hmm, I could go for a Calpis Water or a C.C. Lemon right now.
It’s Thanksgiving again, and before I head home I wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and hope you have a great time with your families and loved ones.
I’m thankful for:
Being a medical student/future physician. It may be rough at times, but I have never for a day regretted it.
Being able to wear size 32 jeans. I don’t know if I should thank the gym or vanity sizing by clothing manufacturers, but either way, it makes me feel like a million bucks.
My cute baby niece.
The increasing social inclusion of LGBTs, compared to just 10 years ago. There’s still room to grow, but the progress is amazing.
Family. As crazy as they all are, I’m glad for the time we have with each other.
Lastly I want to thank all of the people who read and post comments on this blog. I can get so self-conscious when blogging (it’s kind of silly but it just happens), and to hear you guys say funny or nice things makes me feel a lot better.
I saw today’s matinee show of “Anything Goes” at UCI’s Barclay Theater. It was hilarious, and so much fun I wanted to see it again tonight (but it’s too late now). The singing, the dancing, the jokes, the set and costumes, the music — I couldn’t stop smiling for most of the numbers. My only complaint was that the matinee audience didn’t really get into it as much as I wish they did.
Here’s Patti Lupone performing the title song:
I wish there were a better video of “Blow Gabriel Blow.” It was a showstopper today. Or, it would have been if the audience had remembered to replace their pacemaker batteries.
This wonderful lady sitting next to me looked like Barbara Streisand (I’m really earning my gay points today), and we were both raving to each other about how great the show was. She had moved here from the East Coast, and did some theater before, and she was saying how much she missed doing shows, but she’s too busy with work.
And there was a third guy who was also by himself, looked like a student, and he moved to my row during intermission. I would have included him in our conversation, but he was reading a book. And when the second act started, he KEPT READING HIS BOOK — and then a little bit later he left before the finale. So I don’t know what his deal was.
For the longest time I would walk past certain areas of campus and think, “What is that awful smell? It smells just like semen, or maybe bleach.” I assumed that it was related to the construction that was usually going on nearby — perhaps they use some sort of solvent that gives off this smell. I mentioned this to some friends today, and they said, “Oh, no, that’s just the cum trees.”
Ruh?
Apparently there are various trees that smell like man-juice and are called “cum trees.” These include the ginkgo biloba (yes I had to look up the spelling), and the hawthorn.
I don’t want to jinx myself, but I feel like I’ve gotten into a good groove with all of the stuff I’m working on. In addition to classes, which can get tedious at times, I’m also coordinating events for an LGBT group, and also doing some research.
I think it’s all the positive reinforcement I’m getting. I’m working with some great people who really make a point to thank me or express appreciation for what I’m doing. That makes a huge difference. And it even makes studying seem more worthwhile.
Also, classes are slowing down a little (the calm before the storm, I suppose) — so I’m even thinking about taking a break this week to go see the on-campus musical. Y’all should know I have a chronic infection of the musical theater bug.
Last year it was “Sunday in the Park with George,” which was AMAZING. We have one of the top drama departments in the country, and it shows. This year, “Anything Goes”! I already know the title song (”Times have changed, though we’ve often rewound the clock…”), so it would be a crime if I missed it.
The Boards. A.k.a. the United States Medical Licensing Exam, Step 1. The test that will determine your entire future as a physician (by determining what residencies you get in to).
7 hours. 45 minutes of break time TOTAL (lunch and bathroom breaks, which you must allocate yourself). No retests unless you fail.
Anyway, things have started to heat up in preparation for Boards — we’re starting to get presentations from various prep courses, hearing about the exam format and studying strategies. And I’ve started browsing web sites for study tips. The result is that I feel like crap when I read what other people write on the forums and blogs (such as, “I just want people to know not *everyone* studies for 12 hours a day! I average 8-10 hours a day.”).
But this crap feeling, I’m going to get used to it. Because that’s the life of a medical student.
Anyway, I took the advice of one of our speakers and wrote my target score on a sheet of paper, and put it up in my room. Looking at average scores for neurology (one of the specialties I’m considering most strongly), I’m shooting for a 240 (a little over one standard deviation above the mean).
Me: Oh no, no … we mustn’t …
Pumpkin pie: Oh, but we must! You cannot deny zeese feelings between us.
Me: But my waistline, he will find out!
Pumpkin pie: I do not care about your waistline!! I WILL HAVE YOU!
Me: Ohh!~
