Tri-2, Wk3 Days 74 & 75

doing double session boot camps now - my days start at 4 a.m. - leaving home at 4:30 - boot camp from 5:30 to 6:30 - shower at school - classes start at 7:20 a.m. - classes ended today at 3:40 p.m. - physio tutoring started at 3:45 p.m. and ended at 4:45 - ready & studied neuro for an hour after that then hit my 2nd boot camp from 6 - 7 p.m. - got home a little after 8 p.m. - soooo ready for sleep - probably will be joining professional fraternity at school - part of the pledging process involves studying every day from 3 - 5 p.m. and I didn't want to drive home during rush hour so I signed up for more boot camp and will simply add the 6-7 p.m. after my studies.  This will go on until August 21st.  

I have a TON of reading to do - more biochem DVDs to make - must sleep now - back up in 6 hours :D

Tri-2, Wk2 Days 71, 72 & 73

This closes out week 2 and what a week!  I did make it to my 5:30 to 6:30 a.m. boot camp everyday this week!  :)

I guess it was important enough to me to be getting up by 4 a.m. everyday so I could get to school by 5:30 a.m.  I am going to skip the Monday boot camp since we don't have school and I don't want to drive 2 hours to workout for an hour.  I do want to maintain a stable sleeping schedule and still get up early tomorrow so I'm still in the groove when school and the bootcamp start up again on Tuesday.

I think I got a 4 out of 5 on today's biochem quiz.  What's really amazing is that the one I missed happened to be one of the exact same questions that was on a quiz from a previous trimester and since I recognized the question I quickly put down the answer without really reading or thinking about the question.  All the questions that were different I got right ...I'll have to slow down next time :)

I bought a model of a human skull from the bookstore on Wednesday (finally had time to take it out of the box tonight)  I think it was a good deal.  I had an outrageous fine from the library last semester for being late so I'm thinking $30 for a skull I get to keep is a very good investment.  Besides, I really like that kind of stuff :)

Neuroanatomy Lab is an absolute blast.  I don't have to sit in a chair and there is lots of interaction.  The teacher, Guy, is fantastic.  

I think I might buy a laminated poster from the bookstore which list all the harmful effects of smoking and put it on the door leading into my home from the garage.  I think that's probably the place where I would see it the most.  Of course ...the only reason I am in the garage is becuase I quit smoking in my house before the first Trimester started so my clothes wouldn't stink.

We have a few test next week - Neuroanatomy and Gross Anatomy for sure (that's why I got the skull) that might be it.  We sent over the TCA or Kreb's Citric Acid cycle today which I thought was pretty exciting because I've heard about it for so long and I've seen the confusing circle of chemical reactions before but never really understood any of it.  Last weekend my studying was very productive so I'm expecting the same or better this weekend.  My weak point in studying was after I got home from school.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays are pretty long days at school and I only have about 2-3 hours after getting home before I need to get to bed but I know I can do better on Monday and Thursday.  Maybe I'll draw out the TCA cycle on my white boards before going to bed.  

I'm making a special stand alone DVD from today's biochem class.  Which reminds me, I need to stop by Creve Coure camera this weekend and see if they have a taller tripod for my little Flip video recorder.  I need the camera to see over the girls heads that sit in front of me :)

I moved the camera around a lot today because I didn't want to miss one drop of the TCA cycle.  Currently the DVD for todays class is 24% done so, it should be ready for me by the time I wake up tomorrow (assuming I dont' stay up too late)

Well, I think I'm going to move some clothes from the washer to dryer, draw out that TAC cycle then read some physio.  For some reason I was thinking of re-reading a book called the Go-Go Years which deals with the stock market during the 60s.  I've been thinking of starting an investment club at Logan every since the girl I sit next to asked me about starting up a Roth IRA ...I kind of get excited about weird stuff like that :) 

(an hour later ...)  OK, I was just going to find a picture for today's blog ...then I watched some YouTube videos on the TCA cycle and now it looks like I've designed a t-shirt and have it posted for sale on the internet ...no kidding - here's the link http://www.zazzle.com/tca_cycle_ivegotkrebs_tshirt-235909759621718295 I guess I'll post a picture of the new shirt I created :)  suppose I should order one for myself.  btw - if anyone orders a shirt, I'll make a whopping $2.70!  (that's the lowest royalty level I could set)

Tri-2, Wk2, Days 69 & 70 - Mon & Tue, May 18 & 19

Busy, busy, busy - really busy - yet, I've got to up my efforts and keep time wasting to a bare minimum.  I was thinking of just going through my notes and recapping my days with these blogs to help gain maximum benefit from the time I spend blogging.

For today - 

Neuroanatomy I - 2 hours - 

HECK! - I just realized my notebook is sitting under my cadaver - on the bottom part of the dissecting table.  Well ...so much for any specific recap - 

We're still hitting the basics in neuro and will be getting to the specific cranial nerves and pathways in about a week

Biochemistry II - 1 hour - 

Here we're delving a little deeper into the 10 (or 11) step pathway of glycolysis.  ...learning the details between conversions from fructose-1,6-phosphate to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate and other exciting reactions - I really need to learn that stuff - we've got a quiz this Friday!

Physiology - 1 hour

still basic preliminary stuff here - I'll tell you what was amazing to me ...realizing the membrane of a cell wall is a fluid structure!  it's not like our skin or anything else I ever imagined it to be.  the membrane is a bi-lipid layer - basically two layers of fat cells but those fat cells are free to move around.  quite fascinating.

The way to think of the membrane is like a sea of lipid (fat) cells with iceburgs of protein floating around.  There is about one protein structure for every 50 molecules of fat.  The protein acts as gatekeepers to the cell, only allowing certain things inside our cells.

Memorial Service - 

Physiology was cut a little short so we could attend a very nice memorial service for the families of people who donated their bodies for medical study.  It was a shirt & tie event complete with speakers and a bag pipe player.  At the end students handed out carnations to the family members in attendence.  It was a very classy operation.  

Neuroanatomy Lab - 1 hour

This class was FASCINATING!  OMG - not only were we playing around with actual human spinal cords, at the end of class we looked at cross sections of the spinal cord and the LARGEST part of the spinal cord is no bigger than the width of two standard size pencil erasers - absolutely fascinating!

We're spending a full two semesters to learn all the details of that little thing which scarcely is 1/2" wide at it's widest point.  But, many of the things we are learning are down at the level of the individual nerves that traverse the spinal cord so we are at a cellular level.  

Gross Anatomy II  Prosection - 1 hour

This was another fun class.  This is where we sit in an auditorium with television monitors all around and a camera zoomed in on whatever the teacher is dissecting.  He first shows us on a cadaver referred to as the "prosection" body so we have an idea of what we'll be doing on our own cadavers.  We're working in the neck region ...and there are a lot of regions in the neck. 

Gross Anatomy II Lab - 2 hours

We're working on the anterior triangle of the neck.  It's not a very large region but our Neuroanatomy teacher told us she came up with around 48 different structures in that area ....yikes!

It takes some time to build up a tolerance to the cadavers and this was the time we removed the covering of the head which made it very difficult for one of the ladies in our dissection group.  I took it upon myself to clean the face of our cadaver up the best I could figuring if it was a member of my family then I would want to show similar respect.  I was thinking this person is only going to have a face for another two weeks before it's completely cut off so it should at least be as nice as possible.  

I don't know.  It's a very somber and serious matter.  I'm just doing the best I can with it and learning all I can from the experience.  We owe that to the donors and their families.  

This cadaver I'm working on now has an orange bucket beneth it (next to my notebook) which means anything that gets cut out goes in that bucket so when we are done the entire body and remains get cremated and returned to the family.

It was a long day - the ceremony took the place of our lunch so it was a 9 hour non-stop day.

Tri-2, Wk1, Day 68 (Friday, May 15)

It's been an exceptionally productive weekend.  I'm using an alarm clock and studying each class in blocks of an hour.  

I've got 27 books on a bookshelf in front of my computer here that are all being used for my Tri-2 classes and I think I'll be adding to that by one book tomorrow.  

One of the physiology books I have is a 10th edition and the recommended one is the 13th edition but, I can't get any online access to the extra resources that come with the book since the registration code was already used.  The book runs $192 but the code for the old book runs $45 which brings my cost down to the $150 range for the newer edition since that book will have come with an online registration code.  

I guess the two books I'll end up with for that class will run around $400 total but, I'll be using them for three semesters.  I also bought the updated edition for Neuroanatomy and it's proven to be more useful than the older edition ...mainly because the teacher sites specific pages from the book and now I can see what she's referring to.  

I managed to get three new white boards up on my wall in front of my desk.  Those have proved helpful to me in the past.  

I've mainly just got to get to bed now.  The summer bootcamp I signed up for starts tomorrow and I'll need to get up around 4 a.m. every school day now for the next 4 week!   ....YowzA!

Tri-2, Wk1, Days 66 & 67 (Wed & Thur)

I've got more to write than I have time for but wanted to keep the post semi-current - have to study - we only have one two hour class tomorrow so that will be a very welcome extra bit of time to get in some major studying!  :)

Tri-2, Wk 1, Day 65 - HOLY SH**!

From single accellerated science classes in ASP to a couple big dogs like Gross Anatomy and Biochem in Tri 1 to 5 Mammoth Science classes in Tri-2, along with 4 labs and 3 more classes to keep us busy.

Physiology is a three semester course and the final exams are the most cummulative I've ever seen.  The Final exam in Physio III is totally comprehensive and over everything learned in Physio I, Physio II and Physio III.  The teacher pointed out this is no different than the National Boards which cover everything anyway.  If one does not pass the physio section of National Boards then the odds are pretty good that you aren't going to become a doctor.  The failure rate on 2nd retakes is 80% and statistically, the failure rates on 3rd retakes is currently sitting at 100%.

I've got a LOT of work to do.

Last Day of Break - Tri 2 Starts Tomorrow -

Tomorrow's entry will be Tri-2, Wk 1, Day 65.

I'm anxious as all get out ...whatever that expression means.  I just want to do very well this trimester.  I do hope my parents will be helping me from the start and that I maintain or even improve upon the study habits I was able to develop from midterms on in Tri-1.  In my mind, all their help tends to offset the two hours of driving I have to commute each day for school.  I've played a game of Civilization each day during break and named the cities I've built in that name the different cranial nerves we will be studying in Neuroanatomy.  This I have down - to wit;

1. I Olfactory - Sensory
2. II Optic - Sensory
3. III Oculomotor - Motor
4. IV Trochlear - Motor
5. V Trigeminal - Both
6. VI Abducens - Motor
7. VII Facial - Both
8. VIII Vestibulocochlear or Auditory - Sensory
9. IX Glossopharangeal - Both
10. X Vagus - Both
11. XI Spinal Accessory - Motor
12. XII Hypoglossal - Motor

I'm thinking these are the nerves my dentist friend, or any dentist for that matter, would be experts in due to the nature of their work.  I also have the cranial nerve flashcards ready to go.  Around the brain we have a PAD - or Pia, Arachnoid and Dura matter and the cranial nerves live in the piamatter.  I'm not sure how we extract a human brain while keeping all those nerves in tact but I'm sure I'll learn.  

On my phone - speed dial #2 is set to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or, as my brother pointed out last night ALS ...it didn't occur to me to use the more familiar acronym.  Even more familiar would be the term Lou Gehrig's disease.  This is a neurodegenerative disease which pertains to the spinal cord and is one of the diseases I ran across in my book, Neuroanatomy Made Rediculously Simply.  Pernicious Anemia was another disease I ran across and I think I just like the word "pernicious" so that disease stuck in my head.  

I've been changing the numbers on my phone to different neuroanatomy type terms to help increase my exposure to those terms.  Grandma (# 5 on speed dial) is now 5Trigeminal.  I also think Trigeminal + Oculomotor now equals Vestibulocochlear.  

I've greatly changed around my home and cleared out 5 bookshelves from my 2nd bedroom in anticipation of a possible roommate starting in July.  I also cleared out 3 tall bookshelves from my garage to make room for two more whiteboards and moved another bookshelf from my living room to make room for a couch that was in the 2nd bedroom.  

I'll have 8 classes and 4 labs in Tri-2.  The five big science classes are

1. Gross Anatomy II - This is a 6 hour class and I'd really like to get an A in that class.
2. Neuroanatomy - 5 hour class - again, I'd like to Ace this class, this is probably the most intimidating class I have which is why I've done some prep for it.  
3. Biochemistry II - I think I may have had the ability to get an A out of this class in Tri-1 but kind of blew it off to study other classes I was struggling with more.  An A could be pretty tough depending on if the teacher uses the same Bell curve for grading but I could still be pretty proud of a B.
4. Physiology I - this is new to me and along with Biochemistry this is another teacher that supposedly co-teaches at a nearby med school.  Since I don't know any better, I'd like to get an A in this class also.  :)
5. Microbiology I - This class is with Dr. Vinod.  He's actually an amazing fellow and incredibly smart but the teaching format is a little difficult to learn from via class alone.  I'll need to do a lot of reading for this class and should be able to pull out no less than a B

For the most part, my grades are time dependant meaning if I have enough time, I can get a good enough grade.  I guess this is why I hate losing 2 hours a day to driving because often you only have from one day to the next to get stuff learned and I know I could be looking at something productive in those two hours.  I need to get over that and accept my situation.  Maybe I'll look at an audio recorder for some of my classes to be able to at least hear my teachers in the car while I'm driving.  

I'm looking at three days going from 7:20 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. (Tue, Wed & Thur).  Monday I'll get out at 2:40 and Friday goes until noon.  

I'm not exactly sure which books I still need.  I have quite a few already for most of my classes.  Those books are a heavy investment.  Professional Development this semester is only a 1 hour class pertaining to personal finance which I should like.  The book for that class is around $120 which is cheaper than many but a lot for a one hour class.  

I've been giving up and letting go of a lot of things that don't directly pertain to school.  I noticed a renewal notice for a website I used to maintain called DollarWiseDecisions.com

I'm rather passionate about finance and investing but I think I'll be letting it go.  The cost is only $20 or $30 per year but I can't really devote the time for that site.  I've unsubscribed to a great many mailings that I get to help unclutter my gmail inbox.  

Of course, these actions are in line with the blindness thought experiment I did in days gone by in which I concluded that a viable reason many people don't achieve all they could is not because they lack talent but rather because they have too much talent and are not focused enough in any one endeavor.  Naturally, since the genesis of those thoughts came from me, then I would be the person I'm most accurately talking about but I also believe this could be the case for many people since I tend to see great potential in the masses of humanity. 

I didn't exercise much during my break.  The 5 day per week, 4 week bootcamp I signed up for starts in exactly one week - that should be a hoot but, I haven't done well enough on my own so I should benefit greatly from an extra hour per day of exercise.  I'm hoping this boot camp will help reengender exercise into my life.  About a week after school my blood pressure did come back down to more normal levels with systolic readings of 111 and 113 on two different occassions.  I'm reminded of a friend from savvis (previous job) who had bypass surgery and then took to walking every day around our parking lot during lunch.   I also watched a heart transplant surgery on the internet a few nights ago so my awareness is increasing as far as heart health is concerned.  I've still got some youth left in me but it's not going to last forever and really must take positive action concerning my overall state of health to stave off any serious complications in the future. 

Better finish getting ready for the new Trimester - Wish me luck!