Stritch School of Medicine

The Stritch School of Medicine of Loyola University Chicago wants me to interview at their school!! Yay!! This has become my top choice school and I am falling in love with it all over again as I read up on their materials before my interview, which will be 1/6- yes, the day after my interview at Rush. I am beyond excited that I am getting to interview there relatively early in the interview season. Well, it's right in the middle of the interview season but I sure am glad I'm not interviewing in April. Anyway, please pray for me on 1/5 and 1/6 but especially 1/6!

End of the year already??

Hey everyone!
Happy birthday to me! I have a feeling that the 24th year of my life is gonna be a great one :)

So here are updates on my life. On the medical school side, I am SUPER excited about my upcoming interview at Rush Medical College on 1/5/11. It'll be my second interview in IL and I didn't like the first one (Midwestern) so hopefully I will like this one. If I like it at least as much as I like Des Moines University (and I get accepted), we're going to be in a bit of a pickle. I've never visited Rush so I don't really know what to expect. I have a bunch of friends who go there but haven't really talked to them about specifics about curriculum, facilities or anything (maybe I should do that...). I am still waiting to hear about my Loyola interview (fyi: I'm guaranteed an interview there from the link between it and my masters program) and I KNOW I like Loyola a lot so again, if I get into Loyola too, I will have a very blessed but difficult decision to make.

As for my personal life, I am doing okay. I have dealt with the fact that Phil may move on before I move on to another relationship. We are still talking and are friendly with each other and that's all I can ask for, right? I am learning a lot about myself throughout this whole process and I like what I'm seeing. I have surprised myself with the amount of surrender I have shown with the plans that God has been revealing in my life and the lives of those around me. It's funny that now when I meet/see guy friends, my inner self assesses whether or not this person could be a potential future boyfriend. Oy. I wish I could shut off that part of my brain and let God just control it all but alas, I am always thinking ahead and getting ahead of myself.

Has anyone been watching The Sing-Off?? If you didn't know already, I love a capella music so this show is a dream come true. Not to mention that it's so hot when a guy can sing and a lot of the male leads have been very good looking. I decided that I need a man who sings to come into my life and sweep me off my feet (hey, a girl can dream, right?).

Happy Advent to everyone and I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and  a blessed new year!

notable rejection

Today, I checked my application status for UIC's med school and saw the status which means I got rejected. Sigh. There are ups and downs to this rejection. First, I don't really have a desire to go to Peoria anymore anyways so I'm not TOO terribly disappointed. Second, now I won't have a tough decision to make had I gotten into the Peoria campus. I don't have to go through the inner debate about whether or not I had wanted to go to the Peoria campus for other reasons than the fact that Phil is there. Besides, I've visited the Chicago, Champaign and Peoria campus for UIC and they are all crappy compared to Des Moines University, which is my #1 out of the schools I've been accepted to so far. But keep your fingers cross and say a prayer for me so that I'll hear from Loyola soon.

enlightened?

Hey gang,

I wanted to share with you some thoughts that I came upon (only with the grace of God) while I was in Champaign a couple of weeks ago. The gospel was the one where the peeps ask Jesus who is the woman's husband in heaven if she's had seven husbands. This made me recall a time when, I don't know what we were talking about but, I mentioned something about me and Phil being married in heaven and he replied, I don't think people are married in heaven. I never gave it much thought at that point except for thinking, oh yeah, you're right. But this gospel, in combination with one of the three homilies I heard, reminded me that in heaven, you are in perfect union with God which is better than anything you can get out of marriage- that in fact, marriage is a vehicle to get you to the point where in heaven, you CAN be in perfect union with God. Another thing that I thought about is that whenever I thought about wedding plans, I thought about the details about the ceremony and the reception but never focused on the fact that I'd be receiving a SACRAMENT. Wow, kind of missed that boat. This progression of thoughts made me think that maybe I wasn't, and maybe still am not, ready for marriage. It seems as though I wanted to get married because it was part of my plan. I mean, I still believe that I am CALLED to marriage- just not yet. I've got lots of growing to do in the meantime, that's for sure. So consider me enlightened...or not...but I love this whole learn-new-things-about-myself phase of life I'm going through.

Singing it out

As many of you know, music is a huge part of my life. I really like finding and listening to songs with lyrics that express how I'm feeling at the moment. In addition to listening to songs, I love singing the songs with lyrics that resonate with my mood, that have put into words the thoughts I couldn't organize. Sometimes, belting a song at the top of my lungs just lifts the weight off my shoulders and gives me a freeing feeling. With all that being said, I recorded a handful of praise and worship songs yesterday with Matt Brenner at St. John's. This was therapeutic for me for several reasons: I was in my favorite chapel, I got to sing till I almost had no voice (after having sang at vigil choir, reunion, noon choir and 5pm choir), the songs had lyrics that are close to my heart right now, and now I have recordings of those songs (which I haven't managed to find anywhere else). Among the songs that were recorded was the NFK91 blessing song. I was on music team for that retreat and helped write that song and I swear, it's as if my past self was writing these lyrics for my present self:

When we need forgiveness, we fall on our knees

We trust in your love and your mercy

When we’re lost and alone, we fall on our knees

We pray for your guidance and help

We fall on our knees in humble adoration

We praise you for the wonder of the cross

Though our minds may not comprehend your will

We have faith to follow in your path

May God take our suffering and all of our prayer

And send down his blessings upon you

That you might know His ways and be filled with His grace

Be strengthened to glorify His name

Isn't it amazing how God intertwines our life stories like this? Anyway, I am listing the songs we recorded below and if you would like a copy for your own listening pleasure (pleasure is loosely used here- they aren't the most polished of recordings), feel free to either leave a comment here saying which ones you want or you can email me your selection.

I offer my life

I give you my heart

Job's song

Lord I want to know you more

Hungry

Jesus, all for Jesus

In your hands

Jesus lover of my soul

the parentals

Today I finally let my parents talk to me about my break up. Up to this point, I didn't want them to say anything about it and I just wanted to tell them what I wanted to tell them. Over dinner, my parents gave me the typical words of wisdom that everyone else has been giving me over the past 9 days but it felt different coming from my parents. I'm glad to have their support through this time and that they aren't mad at Phil for breaking my heart, even though I think they too were hoping he was going to be their son-in-law. I am well on my way to emotional recovery: eating normal sized meals, sleeping through the night among other things. Thank you everyone for your continued prayers, I can feel the effect of each one.

The book of Job

G'morning!

When I woke up this morning, I had the sudden urge to read the entire book of Job. I have never read more than a verse here and there from this book but I thought that, seeing as I'm in the situation that I'm in, Job might have some consolation for me. I found some verses where Job speaks on how he feels and it's like he's speaking on my behalf. Then I found some verses that are spoken by Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar that also felt like they were giving me advice directly for my specific situation. I am loving how the bible is so timeless. Anyway, the way I'm going to post about it is I'll write the laments of Job and then the advice he is given. The difference between me and Job is though that I'm not ANGRY at God like he is, nor do I want to die (no need for depression/suicide interventions, people). Also, even though I'm not going to be quoting any of the Lord's speech section, I love that God is like (and I paraphrase) "Can you do this? I can. So stop saying you know more than me". Loves it. Okay, so here we go:

"For sighing comes more readily to me than food, and my groans well forth like water. For what I fear overtakes me, and what I shrink from comes upon me. I have no peace nor ease; I have no rest, for trouble comes" Job 3:24-26

"What strength have I that I should endure, and what is my limit that I should be patient?" Job 6:11

"If I say: I will forget my complaining, I will lay aside my sadness and be of good cheer, then I am in dread of all my pains; I know that you will not hold me innocent." Job 9:27-28

"Be silent, let me alone! that I may speak and give vent to my feelings." Job 13:13

"My days are passed away, my plans are at an end, the cherished purposes of my heart." Job 17:11

"Yet when I looked for good, then evil came; when I expected light, then came darkness. My soul ebbs away from me; days of affliction have overtaken me. My frame takes no rest by night; my inward parts seethe and will not be stilled." Job 22:21-25

And now the advice of his friends:

"Happy is the man whom God reproves! The Almighty's chastening do not reject. For he wounds, but he binds up; he smites but his hands give healing. Out of six troubles he will deliver you, and at the seventh no evil shall touch you." Job 5:17-19

"Behold, God will not cast away the upright; neither will he take the hand of the wicked. Once more will he fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with rejoicing" Job 8:20-21

"If you set your heart aright and stretch out your hands toward him, if you remove all iniquity from your conduct, and let not injustice dwell in your tent, surely then you may lift up your face in innocence; you may stand firm and unafraid. For then you shall forget your misery, or recall it like waters that have ebbed away. Then your life shall be brighter than the noonday; its gloom shall become as the morning, and you shall be secure, because there is hope; you shall look round you and lie down in safety, and you shall take your rest with none to disturb." Job 11:13-19

"Come to terms with him to be at peace. In this shall good come to you: Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; if you put iniquity far from your tent, and treat raw gold like dust, and the fine gold of Ophir as pebbles from the brook, then the Almighty himself shall be your gold and your sparkling silver" Job 22:21-25

And at the very end of the book, it says "Thus the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones." Job 42:12. I think that last sentence was really all I needed to hear. It also helps to know that obviously this pain is not suffered by me alone (which, deep down, I knew already but it's nice knowing that someone in the bible felt the same toil that made his insides feel like they got scrambled by an egg beater).

All in all, I'm glad that this situation has gotten me to read the bible more. I've probably read more of the bible in the past week than I have in the past year or two. Sad, I know. Onward, ho!

New beginnings

Hello blog,

As I was reflecting on this life-changing weekend (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you can refer to my facebook page), I came across and re-read my "about me" section on this blog. Originally, when I wrote "It seems as the world is going to put up a fight and try to thwart me in my efforts [to become a Catholic doctor, wife and mom]", I was only referring to the doctor part. Well here I am officially thwarted in what I thought was my path to becoming a wife and mom. Funny how when you think that things are going so perfectly, they are still capable of crumbling beneath you. With that said, I am not mad or bitter at anyone or anything. I trust in God's will and I trust that the person who made this decision does not take deciphering His will lightly and therefore I trust the decision.

So now that I've gotten into 5 med schools and am well on my way to fulfilling my vocation as a doctor, I guess this blog can also document the second leg of my journey to fulfill my vocation as a wife and mom. It's very strange, this emptiness, this void I feel inside. It's not that I'm lonely but I feel like I had a grand plan written up on a white board and someone just erased them all. I suppose the saying is true, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans". I am really good at making Him laugh, let me tell ya. It's a humbling experience for sure because I thought I had things figured out but God just needed to remind me that we're sort of playing by his rules here. We are not playing "I win" (see Big Daddy).

There are two things that I am using as reflections to help me through this rough patch. One is the lyrics to the song He Will Carry You where it says "There is no storm so dark, God cannot calm it; There is no sorrow so deep, He cannot soothe it. If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders, I know my brother that He will carry you". The other is Matthew 26:39 "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will". I know that in my sadness, He will be there to get me through it. And as much as I want him to take this pain (cup) away, I want His will to be done. I think for now, I'm proud of how far I've come in the past 4 days. I am looking forward to see how this will change me as a person for the better.

a wealth of good news

Okay, med school powers that be- this is getting a little ridiculous. AcceptanceS from KCUMB and Creighton within 3 days of each other AND another interview invitation (Oakland University) on the same day as the Creighton acceptance. It feels so good that after having such an unsuccessful application cycle last time around to finally get positive results! Sure, I've gotten my share of rejections but they came after my first two acceptances. I decided to TURN DOWN the Oakland University interview after coming to the conclusion that I should, from this point on, only interview at schools that I would prefer over my current #1: Des Moines University. Which means I will likely only interview at IL schools, if they'll invite me. Le sigh. Only if I'd start getting attention from those schools, I'd be in heaven.

A wonderful problem to have

Hello blogosphere.

Last week, I was accepted to my third osteopathic medical school- Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, IL. First of all, YAY! I'm super pumped to have an acceptance in IL (recap: my other two acceptances are in Erie, PA and Des Moines, IA) but here is the issue at hand: med schools require a deposit to hold your seat in the class by a certain date (12/14 for DMU and Midwestern) but I don't know if I want to spend 1500 and hold seats at both schools. If I decide that I REALLY want to do osteopathic medicine, the school I like best is DMU. However, if I decide that regardless of DO or MD that I'd rather stay in IL, I want to hold my spot at Midwestern in case I don't get into any other IL school. So do I pay DMU and not Midwestern in hopes that I either decide that I want to go to my preferred DO school or get into another school in IL that I like better than Midwestern? Or do I pay Midwestern and not DMU and just go to any school that will keep me in IL? Things to consider: DMU is 4 hours from Peoria while Midwestern is 3- not that much of a difference. Midwestern is not as technologically well-equipped as DMU. Cost of living is higher for Midwestern. DMU's cost of attendance is $10,000 less per year than Midwestern (wow, that's a lot- it's the first time I really compared it). As much as I don't want to admit it, since DMU is further away, I think out of the two schools I should choose DMU. Sigh. Being an adult blows. Prayers would be greatly appreciated- especially for clarity in decision-making and peace of mind once I've made the decision. Thanks, readers!

DMU acceptance!

Hey everyone!

As the obvious title states, I got an acceptance letter from Des Moines University yesterday! It's so exciting that now I have more than one acceptance. Des Moines is only 4 hours from Peoria and 5.5 hours from Chicago so we're getting a little warmer to where I want to be :) Currently, I'm in Omaha, NE at a student host's house and I just finished my interview at Creighton University. It's my first interview at an MD school which is exciting. Nothing was really different from the DO schools except the fact that they didn't have an OMM lab to show me. Now I'm going to have to be more selective about which interviews I accept. I don't think I will go to any more DO interviews since I have the acceptance at DMU and I'm interviewing at CCOM on 9/21. I DID get an interview for KCUMB for 10/5 which I will be going to right after the Bender-Raiche wedding. a whopping 5 interview invitations (6 including my guaranteed Loyola interview which I have yet to receive) after getting ZERO interviews the first time I applied- wow. I feel so blessed that I found the MAMS program with its excellent advising and great curriculum to help me strengthen my application. Anyway, I shall keep you posted with any new MD interviews I get. Tune in next time!

Paging Dr. Rena...

In case you haven't heard/read from one of the many forms of social media that I use....I got my first med school acceptance! Whoo hoo! It is from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), the one where I interviewed on 8/13. Now, I might not end up going there if I get into a school closer to home but it's nice knowing that I do not have to come up with a back up plan. Plus, now when people ask me what I'm doing next year, I can say "I'm going to med school" without adding "...if they take me". I have a future, people! Thanks for your prayers and support :)

Med school interviews plus a traveling day from hell

Hello few but faithful readers!

It is about that time again- time to update you with what little excitement is encapsuled in my life. After having ZERO interviews the last time I applied to medical school, I am so very fortunate enough to already have THREE interview invitations from medical schools. They are from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM for short), Des Moines University (DMU) and Creighton University. I had my LECOM interview on 8/13 (see below for detailed adventures), DMU is on 9/2 and Creighton is on 9/11. For those of you who are not familiar with the process of applying to medical school, here is the process:

1. Submit primary application in June

2. Submit secondary applications in July/August

3. If invited, attend interview between October and March

4. Wait (im)patiently for the schools to tell you the result of your interview

With that considered, all three of the interview invitations I have received are super early, which is a good thing. That means that out of all the applications they have gotten so far, I am one of the people they want to meet and talk to first. It also means that almost all (if not all) the spots that they need to fill are still available. YAY for interviews, especially early ones!

***If you don't care to read about my travel adventures that, at one point, involved vomiting, feel free to skip 4 or 5 paragraphs.***

So let me tell you about the (mis)adventure that was my trip to Erie, PA for my first interview. I was scheduled for a 9:30am flight out of O'Hare to Cleveland to transfer to Erie, arriving about 1:30pm. The plane for my first flight had mechanical issues and our flight was delayed until further notice (read: cancelled) and they were going to try to find us other flights to our final destinations. I wasn't panicking yet since I had planned on getting there early in the afternoon on the day before my interview so as long as I knew I could be in Erie by...oh, 10pm, I'd be okay. Soon, the guy working our gate called me over and said he found a flight for me but I'd have to fly to Philadelphia and transfer to Erie from there. The flight to Philly was to depart at 11:50am and was in a different terminal so I started over there. At this point in the day (about 9:00am), let's note that I have been awake since 6:00am CST and arrived at the airport at 7:15am.

That's the first part of the journey. The second part starts on a seemingly uneventful (read: good) flight to Philly when 30 minutes from our destination, the captain informs us that we have been put into a holding pattern due to storms near Philadephia. So here we are, circling the friendly skies. Half an hour later, they say that we are cleared from the holding pattern and we would be landing soon, but not before we have some turbulence going through what is left of the storm. This would be a good time to note that when I was waiting for my flight to Philly, there was a lovely breakfast shop across the way and I had eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast. Aaaand cue turbulence. And nausea. Luckily, the lady who I ended up sitting next to was a frequent flyer (side note: it's funny that I'm using that phrase "frequent flyer" literally when in the hospital, we use it to describe people who are in and out of the hospital a lot) and had things like tissues, wet naps and gum in her purse. When we finally landed, the slamming of the breaks was the last straw on my stack of nausea straws and I made use of air sickness bags for the first time. Thank you, Andi- wherever you are, for the wet naps and gum. I immediately felt better so I was okay with having had a slightly unpleasant vomiting experience. End of part two.

Part three starts with us arriving at the gate at 3:30pm EST and knowing that my connecting flight was scheduled to take off at 3:35pm. I rushed to find the nearest arrivals/departures board and breathed a (short) sigh of relief when I saw that my connecting flight was delayed, probably for the same reasons my arrival was delayed. I say it was a short sigh of relief because I still had to run down half a terminal and catch a shuttle bus to a different terminal to catch my connection. Note to self- next time, wear running-friendly shoes. I made it onto a jam-packed shuttle and of course my gate is at the furthest possible point in this new terminal. I get there and no one has boarded yet. PHEW. At about 4:15pm, we start boarding this tiny propeller plane (which my stomach is shaking angry fists at, concerned about another potentially turbulent ride). About a minute into our taxiing, the captain tells us that there will be a delay of about half an hour because there are a lot of planes in front of us waiting to depart as well. Great. Fifteen minutes into our thirty minute delay, he tells us that it will actually be about an hour delay. Fabulous. Toward the end of the hour, he tells us that our turn to depart is coming up but it will be another twenty minutes or so. sigh. At this point, we are two hours behind schedule from our original 3:35pm departure. FINALLY, after an otherwise uneventful flight, we arrive in Erie at 7:30pm- SIX HOURS after I was originally supposed to have arrived. I could have driven the 8 hours and arrived earlier.

Oh yes, there is a part four. After my long 14 hour traveling day, I hopped on the hotel shuttle with two of my interview-mates who I made friends with while waiting for the shuttle (they were Asian so I figured they were there for med school interviews- and I was right). They were both staying at Days Inn and I was staying at Comfort Inn. Or so I thought. When I got to Comfort Inn and gave them my name, they said they didn't have a reservation for me. Uh oh. So I gave them my confirmation number and they say that their hotel's confirmation number starts with a 4 and mine started with a 9 so it must not be for this hotel. SOOOooo then I vaguely remembered from back when I made the hotel reservations that I was debating between staying at Comfort Inn and Days Inn because they were the same price. What must have happened is I probably had both hotel names on my word document and then deleted the wrong one after I made my reservations. So they called Days Inn for me and sure enough, there was my reservation. At this point, the shuttle was long gone but one of the two people working at the desk at Comfort Inn was so graciously willing to drive my mixed up self to Days Inn in his own vehicle. I finally got to my hotel, checked in, and then found my interview-mates and told them what happened (which I followed with, "Don't judge me, I'm usually not this dumb!").

Maybe not a part five but an epilogue- we went to dinner after getting settled in the hotel. There was a little bar/restaurant on the other side of the parking lot of our hotel called Doc Holiday's. It was so weird being in a bar with smoke after all the smoke-free bars in Chicago and Champaign. Note- cigarette smoke gives me headaches/nausea. I knew my stomach wouldn't be able to handle a lot of food so I just ordered soup. When our food finally came (the service was terrible), the leftover nausea from my plane ride, intensified by the cigarette smoke, prevented me from taking more than one bite of the soup. Sad day. Luckily, the other two were famished and inhaled their food so we left soon thereafter.

Why do I feel like I just wrote a novel? Anyway, the actual interview went fairly well. It started off with an information session (during which I may or may not have snorted at a stupid question some undergrad-gunner-kissass asked) and then a group interview with 7 applicants and 2 interviewers. They asked us to "tell them about ourselves" and then asked one individual question each and then we had 3 group discussion questions. I couldn't really tell what they thought of me but I don't think I bombed it so that's good. After the interviews, we had a financial aid info session and then a tour of the school and the wellness center, followed by lunch. I got back to my hotel after lunch and my good friend Tom Swanson had planned on visiting me from Cleveland on my trip, since it was only about an hour and a half away. He got there about the same time I got back to my hotel and we went on to explore the great town of Erie, PA. First, we drove out toward the lake onto the peninsula and wandered on some of the piers and beaches. Lake Erie is not as awesome as Lake Michigan, but I may be biased. After our scenic drive, we went to a little gelato shop called Dolce and had a little snackaroo. After that, we thought we could go to the zoo, which we saw on the way to the lake. When we arrived at the zoo gates, we learned that it would be closing just 10 minutes after our arrival so we didn't end up going there. Instead, we went to watch Scott Pilgrim vs. The World which I LOVED. After the movie, we were going to go to my friend's friend's gastropub downtown called Jekyll and Hyde's for dinner and drinks but the food inspector hadn't come yet so they couldn't serve food. We grabbed some greasy burgers from a place down the street (not good enough to even remember the name of the joint) and then went back to J&H for beer. I had the Lancaster Strawberry Wheat and Tom had the Southern Tier Hop Sun- both very tasty and summery. The strawberry flavor was not overpowering and was just the perfect hint of the scent and aftertaste.

My flight home was just as uneventful as my flight there was eventful, which I was grateful for. If you actually read that whole thing without falling asleep halfway through it, kudos. If not, that's okay too. Hopefully, this made up for my lack of regular blogging. Have a good 4-months-till-I-turn-24-day!

Wisdom of Servant of God, Fulton J. Sheen

Hello faithful readers! I have returned for another blog post.

First off, work and med school apps are going great. In fact, I have my FIRST EVER med school interview on 8/13 at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, PA. Please, please please pray for me on that day. The interview goes from 8-1. As for work, I am now officially done with orientation which means I get my own patients assigned to me. It has been a great and humbling experience so far. A few notable thoughts about work: I wipe a lot of poopy butts, many of my patients have been Catholic, my coworkers are so very helpful, and I love my flexible schedule.

Now, time to get to the meat of the blog. I have recently started reading Three to Get Married by Fulton J. Sheen. I figured I need to get back into spiritual reading so I ordered a bunch of Sheen books and this one was the first one I picked up. And boy, is it interesting so far. I'm only on page 37 but I've learned more from those 37 pages than all my years in CCD (which isn't saying much these days). I want to share a quote with you because it particularly stuck out to me:

"[A woman] is much more a creature of time than man, and her security becomes less and less through the years. She is always much more concerned about her age than a man and thinks more of marriage in terms of time. A man is afraid of dying before he has lived, but a woman is basically afraid of dying before she has begotten life. A woman wants the fulfillment of life more than a man. It is less the experience of life that she craves than the prolongation of life."

Honestly, I'm surprised that Sheen is not writing about my life directly. If you know me at all, you know that I've been talking about when I'm going to get married for a while now and here goes Sheen, telling me why it makes sense that I have this strange urge to want to know when I'm going to get married. And lately, every time I see a baby/toddler/child, my heart has desperately cried out I want a baby! I want a baby! So there we have it, people. I'm not crazy. Thank you, FJS.

a job, a job!

Hello loyal readers!

I have come to the blogosphere to inform you that I have a JOB! Praise the Lord. I was lucky enough to have three different job interviews: as a medical assistant/receptionist, patient care technician and research assistant. I have been offered the patient care technician position and I will be starting orientation on June 7th. I will be in the medicine unit at Highland Park Hospital doing CNA work taking vitals, helping with procedures, getting EKGs, helping with toileting and bathing. it's a 36 hr/week position meaning I'm considered full time but my benefits are multiplied by .9 (ie 9 vacation days instead of 10). I know a lot of my friends are still jobless and searching furiously so I am definitely grateful for this position. Highland Park Hospital is just a quick 20-25 minute drive from my house and the commute takes me further from the city which means the traffic won't be as bad. This will definitely be one of those "it is what you make of it" types of experiences so I'm hoping to make a lot of it.

In related news, my med school application is pretty much done and waiting to be submitted on the first possible day of submission- June 1st. I would LOVE for you all to pray for me as I apply to med schools again. It is such a drawn out, tiring, and expensive process and I'm sure I will be drained once I'm finally done being buried in secondary applications. Second time's a charm, right? One nice thing is that I got a high enough GPA in my masters program that I will definitely be receiving an interview invitation from Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine. I absolutely love that school and would be ecstatic to go there and having an interview guaranteed definitely gets my foot in the door.

I hope all of you are doing well in your various endeavors! I will try to catch up with you all in person, now that I'm done with school for a while.

job interview

hey all,

just a quick entry- i'm going to a job interview to work as a medical receptionist/assistant at a doctor's office in downtown chicagoo. It's at noon- please pray for me!

Weddings weddings everywhere...

No, I'm not talking about my own wedding.

Here I am, blogging instead of studying. Typical. I've got my biochem test coming up on Thursday but all I want to do is watch ER and think about all the weddings I'll be going to this year. I've got Jenny and Will's on 5/22, Kristin and Tom's 5/29, Julie and Ray's 7/30, Andy and Erin's 10/2...and who knows how many more people will get engaged soon. Today is Kristin's bridal shower- perfect weather for it too. Now what am I going to wear...

Anyway, for anyone who is curious, school is going well. In fact, I thought this semester was going to be harder than last semester but I seem to be doing better. Maybe the classes are more interesting, or my study habits have finally settled in. Either way, I'm glad that my grades are good because that means I can get a guaranteed interview at Stritch, Loyola's med school.

Over spring break, I took tours of the Urbana and Peoria med school campuses and I have to say I was NOT impressed. If it weren't for the fact that taking that route will let me get married sooner, I would probably not consider it at all. I mean, I'd have to get IN first anyway. Stritch's med school building on the other hand...gorgeous. The building is about 10 years old but it looks brand new and I really like the layout of the whole place. Plus, it's connected to the hospital which is also very nice from what I've seen the two times I shadowed there.

I've been working on getting my med school application ready for this time around and I have a really good feeling about it. I think being in MAMS at Loyola with a smaller student body helps because then the advisors actually get to know you unlike at U of I where I saw two different pre-med advisors and one of them was completely useless while the other one was minimally helpful. My personal statement/essay is completely different than when I first applied and I like this version a lot better. I've signed up to re-take the MCAT in June and I've been slowly studying for it over the course of the semester. Compared to how I study now in general, I feel like I might as well have not studied the last time I took the MCAT. If I studied in undergrad the way I do for MAMS, I wouldn't NEED MAMS because I probably could have pulled off a 4.0 and gotten a better score on my MCAT. But who wants to study in undergrad when you can have fun, right? Anyway, pray for me/wish me luck with this round of applications. I REALLY don't want to have to go through this again.

So I've been looking for jobs for the upcoming year. Since I have my nurse assistant certification, I've been applying to those jobs at hospitals all around the Chicagoland area. I think with these positions, they are looking to hire people to start working right away and it may be too early to be getting calls to start working in late May/early June. Hopefully I can get a job close by at a big hospital with lots of patient contact. Maybe I'll even work at Loyola and get my foot in the door...or at least be AT the door. If worst comes to worst, I will apply to be a CNA at nursing homes but that will be at a last resort.

Okay, I should probably study for reals. Who still reads this anyway??

2010...what??

Hey folks who read my blog!

I apparently failed at keeping this thing updated. I would like to think that it was because I was so furiously studying over the last semester that I didn't have time when in actuality, I just found other (more riveting) things to do in the little free time I had.

First semester in MAMS went really well. I ended up with a GPA that I'm satisfied with and developed great friendships with the people in my program. I also got a chance to explore the night life in Chicago a little which has been a lot of fun.

Classes this semester (biochem, neurobio, developmental bio, a&p) are looking like they're going to be harder than last semester to balance. Biochem is taught by a professor who is notorious for his difficult tests. We had our first test this past Thursday and I think it's safe to say that every single person felt like the test ravaged our souls. However, we ate away our misery at a great burger place called Kuma's corner immediately thereafter :)

This upcoming Sunday is Phillip and my 4 year anniversary. Wow. Where has the time gone? I can still remember the days when I first hung out with him, barely knowing anything about him and now I can practically read his mind and predict his every move. It's great knowing that I have a wonderful boyfriend who is so supportive of my endeavor to reach my dream career and is so patient while I figure out where I am going to be for the next 4 or 5 years of my life.

As many of you St. John's alumni can attest, spiritual life after graduation can become so dry. Mine has been no exception. I found a church that I really like going to for mass because I like the music selection but I don't really have a parish that I can call my own (my home parish from when I was younger hasn't been too fruitful for me). I decided I am going to try to get more involved with the Archdiocese of Chicago's young adult ministry programs and hopefully figure something out from there- it'll be a nice goal over Lent.

Speaking of Lent, that really snuck up on me. I have mixed feelings about what I want to do on Ash Wednesday. On one hand, I really like Ash Wednesday mass and all the readings that go along with it. On the other hand, it really irks me (but it shouldn't) to see the "Cafeteria Catholics" come to Ash Wednesday mass (even though it's not a holy day of obligation) so they can have an outwardly sign of their Catholicism. I realized that I should love those people anyway and commend them for even making the effort to go but I wish there was some way to really reach those people who sort of want to claim their faith but don't really know how. I guess that's what this whole Welcome Home Catholics program is about. I wonder how that's going...

I also realized I want to find a good confessor up here. I feel like I was really comfortable going to confession at St. John's but here, I'd rather find a priest that I don't know at all. I suppose that can also go on my list of goals for Lent.

Well, this has been a lovely way to procrastinate but embryonic development of frogs, fish, chicks and mice is beckoning. I hope this was an interesting read and that you all had a great Valentine's Day weekend. St. Valentine, patron of love, young people and happy marriages, pray for us!