I've been sort of weblog MIA lately - oops. I've been pretty busy since I started in the other lab in the Dental School this past Monday. From now on, I'll be splitting my time between that lab and the Cancer Center every day. Because I'm learning a lot of techniques and assays that I will eventually have to incorporate into my own research over there, my days seem so much busier now. By the time I get to the Cancer Center in the afternoons, I do my work and it's suddenly time to go, which is certainly a welcome change. Also, although I'm still super confused at this point (secondary anti-MAPkinase antibody...raised in a goat? *scratches head with knuckles*), I'm learning a lot of valuable things at the other lab. In other good news, I have reason to believe that my hours might get switched to an earlier and more reasonable schedule - getting out at 6 might be in the near future, so cross your fingers for me!

I guess not much else is new. I've moved on to the "going through the notecards" part of my DAT studying which is so much better than notetaking. Sweet. Now all I have to do is memorize two full notecard boxes worth of information. Riiiiiggghhht. At least I have a renewed sense of motivation: 1.) because my test is 17 days away and 2.) because I talked for a long time with Brad, a PhD candidate and DDS from D-School lab, about dentistry, my interest in the field, and the entire process of applying. He said (and I quote) "...really, Sonya, you chose the best profession to pursue. It's truly amazing. I realize I'm partial, but it is the most challenging, satisfying, and rewarding career anyone could ever have." Whew. That's nice to hear :)

Have a great evening, my friends.

xoxox

So I think I'm on the verge of losing it. I've suddenly realized that I can't possibly learn everything I need to learn before I take my test on July 17th no matter how hard I study. Right now, I'm feeling so defeated that I've lost all desire to give it my best shot. The DAT just seems like a huge, black hole into which I'm investing a lot of time and energy (neither amounts of which ever seem like enough) but will ultimately be disappointed with the results nonetheless.

I apologize - I'm not trying to throw myself a pity party and less than 3 weeks before my test is no time to give up. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that I *gave up* a few months ago and am now just trying to spare myself the disappointment of not getting in by knowing that I didn't try my hardest. Seem backward and shockingly unlike me? It is.

I hope I can shake it soon. I'm feeling very depressed right now.

It is your responsibility as an American citizen to go see Fahrenheit 9/11. Go. Right now. Why are you still reading this?

Yeah...that last post about being "85% headache free" last night? Four words: eye of the storm. My migraine totally raged last night after I thought the worst of it was over and I had to forego studying to try and sleep it off. Unfortunately, I couldn't fall asleep *because* of the throbbing in my head so I stayed up late and woke up too early. Oy. At least it didn't stick around for today.

The plan for this weekend is to get my eyes checked bright and early tomorrow morning, go to my cousin's graduation party in Troy, then study all weekend long...with the small exception of a matinee showing of Fahrenheit 9/11 on Sunday. Sounds like a blast, right? Only 3 more weekends of non-freedom.

Okey dokey. That's it for now. Enjoy the weekend.

xoxox

p.s.~ I've always been a trailblazer, but for my sister to start a weblog somewhat in my footsteps (although she is markedly funnier than me) is truly an accomplishment. You can check her out here.

I totally forgot about this quality exchange from a few days ago:

Me: Yeah, you guys have a lot of cleaning to do before you move out of this place.
Josh: I guess so. Maybe we should wipe the dust and dirt off of the floor. Wait, do people even do that?
Me: Yes. It's called sweeping.

A migraine was starting about an hour ago. Luckily, my good friend Excedrin Migraine and I made a pre-emptive strike and now I'm about 85% headache free!

Now...it's time for a random, stream-of-consciousness post! Drumroll please...

I've always found something very charming about Thursdays - one day left in the week that barely counts, Thirsty Thursday, Friend Marathon, $1 Long Islands at Scorekeepers, Must See TV, and plenty more. What a great day.

What's the best workout song ever, you ask? Well, I'd have to say "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. It's been my #1 cardio song since frosh year and sometimes I take a few extra laps just to finish it out. Educate yourself in the school of classic rock and listen to it right now.

Did I mention that Carolyn will be returning to the States from South Africa next week? Yay! I've neither seen her nor heard her voice in 5 months...it'll be so nice to have her back. (I swear I am the only one who uses the neither,nor construction. Not unlikely.) Hopefully we can start planning our roadtrip to the Big Apple to visit the Shadster. On second thought, maybe we'll just fly :)

I'm making a conscious effort to smile at everyone I see these days. I like when I get smiled at, so I figure I should do the same. As a direct result, the guys working the desk at the CCRB wave and say good morning specifically to me everyday and the mailman I see walking to the bus stop every day (see post from June 17th) talks to me :D

I'm hoping to go see Fahrenheit 9/11 at some point this weekend, even though I've banned myself from fun in any form until after July 17th. However, I'm willing to turn the other cheek on this one because I consider it my duty as an eligible voter to be informed. And I really don't like Bush. And I love movie theater popcorn.

Okay, enough procrastination. By the way, the word procrastination comes from the Latin words pro and cras meaning "for" and "tomorrow" respectively. See...Latin isn't a dead language!

xoxox

Happy Hump Day! Now it's just smooth sailing on into the end of the week :)

One major thing happened today: I started the application process for our apartment and have an appointment to sign the lease next Monday. Yay! Julia and I decided on a great 2 bedroom apartment on Fuller near the hospital as our A-squared abode for the coming school year. It's very spacious, reasonably priced, and conveniently located for both of us, so I'm definitely excited. I'm also breathing a huge sigh of relief for getting that out of the way and being able to free up some time in the mornings to study. Here's my new address, effective September 1, 2004:

1028 Fuller, #202
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Send me mail this fall - better yet, swing by for a visit! :)

Have a wonderful evening. Au revoir.

xoxox

Crap. I woke up this morning thinking it was Wednesday. Alas, it's only Tuesday...but at least it's the *end* of Tuesday.

Nothing is really new. I looked at another apartment this morning but the rooms were thisbig and the price was way too much. I'll be happy (and better rested!) when this whole apartment hunting business is over - here's hoping my name is on a lease by the end of the week.

I can't believe we're only a little over a week away from JULY! For some reason, I've always thought of the Fourth of July as being over halfway through summer and get sad once it comes and goes since it somehow translates to me as an indication of cold days to come. That makes no sense whatsoever because it simply means there are 2 full months of summer left and furthermore, nice weather usually lasts right up until my birthday at the end of September. Hooray! I guess the glass is half full! You'd better believe that I'll be hitting the beach hardcore after the DAT :)

Finally, my new lab coat came in yesterday. Even though no one in my lab wears a lab coat and some of the meatheads made fun of me for getting one, I'm working with blood, tumors, and bleach...I don't want that stuff on my clothes! Eww. Anyways, it's specially ordered and everything so it's Sonya-sized. Too bad they couldn't embroider my name in pink. *sigh* Perhaps putting it on and standing in front of the mirror for a while imagining that I'm a successful dentist will keep me motivated to study for my test. 25 days and counting...

Have a good night, mis amores.

xoxox

So a lot has been going on lately and I'm generally pooped. I've been working out and viewing apartments every morning, then packing lunch and heading to work, then studying all night after work. Sheesh - I'm feeling very tired. I just have to push it these next 4 weeks or so and then I'll get a breather.

Friday night after work we headed over the Arbor Brewing Company for a bon voyage party for John, my sister's boyfriend. He's spending the summer studying in China, will return in late August for about 3 weeks and will then go back to China for the school year. Yikes! John and my sister have spent less than a third of their relationship in the same city, let alone the same country! I hope they get a chance to travel together when they're both abroad :) After dinner, I literally just crashed at 11:30 pm...I must have been really tired. I woke up *super* early Saturday morning and really whipped through my errands-to-run list, which felt good. I picked up my contacts, bought our Father's Day gift, I checked out 2 apartments, and much more. I studied in the afternoon and since my sister was still in town, she took Josh and I out to dinner at a fantastic local Thai restaurant. Yay for Tofu Pad Thai! I studied the rest of the night even though I really wanted to head out to the Aut Bar with my sister and her friends. *sniff, sniff* Yesterday was Father's Day and b/c T and I were here, my parents drove up from GR with my dog Raja in tow to spend the day with us. We had lunch at Zingerman's (and sat outside in the sun - it was a beautiful day!) and then walked around the Farmer's Market for a bit. My parents got tired so we headed back to my apartment and conducted the "business" portion of our fun day together (which basically means my dad gave me some money) and then my family continued to make fun of my passport picture. Grrrr. My mom took a nap and my sister, dad and I went to go see The Terminal, which was cute. Overall, it was nice to see my family and my mom cooked A LOT of food to help me out a little including homemade brownies, banana bread, and tons of Indian food. Yay!

On a completely unrelated note, I think Julia and I might be close to signing an apartment...if everything works out, we'll be living on Fuller down by the hospital in a very nice 2 bedroom, so cross your fingers for us!

Also, here are those blasted pictures from Rick's about a week ago that I've been too lazy/busy to post:


Ewww, Sheila's a weirdo


AJ and I at Rick's


Me and a normal Sheila

Also, because Sheila and I liteally have opposite schedules (she works 8am-1pm and studies all night, I work 12pm-8pm and study all night), we've been leaving fun notes to each other on the dry erase board as our only means of communication. Lately, she's tried to leave me a joke or a riddle so I can respond. The other day, Sheila wrote:

Sonya-
If a dog barks, a cat meows, a cow moos, and a snake hisses, what does a monkey do?

Now, I must have spent a good hour over the course of the day trying to figure that one out and the only lame answer I could come up with was monkey around. I responded with this and said that I didn't think it was right, but asked what the real answer was. This was Sheila's response:



I fell over laughing when I came home that night. Oh, my crazy friends :)

Have a good week.

xoxox

First things first:

Go Pistons!

Wow - I am damn proud of my guys. What a tremendous and unexpected win. Well...not unexpected on my behalf, of course...I've been saying Pistons all the way this whole season; but for all you non-believers out there...Bad is back! Not only am I elated that we are the 2004 NBA Champs, but now I can actually get some work done without having to pry my eyes off of the TV every other night. Don't get me wrong - I would have loved to seen a game 7 in this series, but a part of me is happy that it's over in 5 :)

Other than that, no big news. I'm frantically trying to find a place to live with Julia (AJ's best friend) who will be coming to U of M's School of Public Health this fall. I'm running around viewing apartments in the morning, making a mad dash to work, working until 8, then studying. Yikes! Luckily, my adorable parents have sensed my stress as being off-the-charts and have offered to come up and "help do some of the legwork" (direct quote) meaning they'll look around at apartments for me and "compile the information and put it in a spreadsheet" (another direct quote). They've even offered to do my laundry for me this weekend. So cute. At least I can relax a little knowing that help, whether it be washing my clothes or just being supportive, is always there :)

Quick other good news and then I have to run to my sushi date: I *finally* got my pink mini iPod! Yay! I've been waiting 6 weeks (to the day!) and it's been well worth it. Now I can take my entire music collection with me on the bus, to the gym, anywhere! I love you, pink mini iPod! :)

Finally, on a Pistons-related note, here's a cute exchange I had yesterday:

Me (to mailman wearing a Pistons t-shirt): Hey, go Pistons!
Mailman: Mmmm, you got it, Mama!

Have a great night!

xoxox

My pants are getting too tight. I have to be more disciplined with my running :(

I haven't felt much like posting lately. Perhaps that's because writing about my daily activities forces me to acknowledge how monotonous my life is right now - run, work, study. Run, work, study. (although sometimes I leave out the *run* part). I'll be glad once the DAT is over and my "free" time is actually free time.

Aaaanyways...this weekend I tried to balance my studying with a little bit of play so that I'm not completely burnt out by the time my test rolls around on July 17th. Friday night we all went out to Rick's to mourn AJ's moving out of the apartment/celebrate a great year together. I haven't been out out in a while and we all had a good time. Even though there were probably less than 20 people when we got to the bar around 11:30, it definitely picked up by the end of the night. I'll post some pics later tonight.

Saturday before studying Josh and I stuffed ourselves at the lunch buffet at Madras Masala. Mmmmm. I have been wanting Indian food every day lately. (Yay! My mom is sending some food up for me this week!) After a BIG lunch, I just studied all day. Late Saturday night Josh and I watched Seven on TV with Sheila. I love that movie but I'm not even going to pretend like it doesn't give me nightmares :-/

Finally, all I did yesterday was study. I got a good chunk of Orgo done and allowed myself to watch the fourth quarter of the Pistons game because I studied for most of the first 3. I can't believe we're one game short of the championship. Sweet. Go Pistons.

Not much else is new. Like I mentioned earlier, I changed my DAT date from 7/12 (Monday) to 7/17 (Saturday) so that I won't have to take a day off of work and also so that I can celebrate after my exam... *wink* Also, I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure out my living situation for next year (read: two months from now...yikes!), so drop me a line if you're interested in being my roomie in A-squared. *sigh* I've got a lot of loose ends stressing me out right now - it will sure be nice to tie most of them up in the next month or so.

Have a nice evening :)

xoxox

And I thought my job was bad:









My sister sent these pics to me today in an email entitled "Who's complaining?" Maybe I should be thanking my lucky stars! :)

Today was a beautiful, sunny (and hot!) day. Welcome summer! I ran errands this morning, literally ran, and then went to work. Now I'm studying and it's halftime of Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Just thought I'd say hi and share these funny pictures. Have a good night and have a great *Hump Day* tomorrow.

xoxox

Another super frustrating day at work. It's too complicated to explain, but suffice it to say I constantly feel insulted and disrespected. *sigh*

Big wheel keeps on turning.

It's pretty difficult for me to be impartial, but let me just note that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was fantastic! I *loved* it. I've heard a lot of criticism that the movie leaves out too many important parts of the book and that its tone isn't as candy-coated as the first two, but I personally find these factors to be strengths. As the stories get longer and more complex, the director has to make some tough decisions about what to omit and I think Cuaron did a great job of that. Furthermore, the darker setting and tone of the movie seemed appropriate as Harry grows into his character and foreshadows the pretty scary and heavy themes to come in the next movie. Finally, the actual cinematography was very well done in my opinion and helped this movie to stand on its own as a film and not just the "movie version" of Harry Potter. Okay, I'm done :)

Anyhow, I really enjoyed the movie and am very excited to see what they do with the Goblet of Fire movie, since it is my favorite book so far. Besides Harry, I haven't done too much else this weekend. I studied all day yesterday and that's the plan for today too...well...until the Piston's game at 8:30, that is. C'mon, it's the Finals! I'm waiting right now for Kaplan to open so that I can go take some more practice tests and then it's the end of Biology and the start of Orgo tonight. Yuck! But despite studying, it's been nice to just have a low-key weekend. I'm starting in a different lab tomorrow at the Dental School for work and will now begin splitting my time between there and the Cancer Center each day, so cross your fingers for me that it goes well. I think I'll be running some pretty involved tests and it will be interesting to learn how to do them. All in all, this is great experience for me and will definitely be a strong conversation topic if I get to interviews for D-school. Alright, I guess that's about it. I'll leave quoting an exchange I had this morning with my dad regarding my passport (and horrendous picture) that came in the mail. My family is so merciless:

Dad: Sonya, either the FBI is looking for you or your passport came in the mail. Do you want me to open it just to make sure everything is okay?
Me: Okay, sure. You might want to shield your eyes, though; my picture is really bad.
*pause*
Dad: Well, everything looks okay...but the FBI should arrest you just for this picture.
Me: Dad!
Dad: Oh, and here's your birth certificate, but it looks like there's a mistake...
Me: What?
Dad: Well...mother is Gouri Palit, that's right. But father...I'm going to have to scratch that out. I don't want to take responsibility for that picture.
Me: Dad! That is so mean!

Howdy. Things have been pretty rocky lately at work so I've been feeling kind of down. Luckily, I have a great support system consisting of my parents, my roommates, my sister, and Josh to offer me a listening ear and sage words of advice. It helps to know that someone is on my side :)

My parents came through Ann Arbor last night to do a little car switch and took Josh and I out to dinner at Madras Masala. I'm really glad I got a chance to see them - Josh and I both had bad days at work and my parents helped to listen and make me laugh a little bit, not to mention we had some fantastic South Indian food and I even had left overs for lunch today. Sweet! Also, tomorrow's the big day...Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! I can't wait. I was tempted to catch the midnight show tonight, but Josh has to work at 8 tomorrow morning and I don't want to have to be squashed between a bunch of scaredy-cat rugrats up waaaay past their bedtimes. I think we'll go out for a later show tomorrow night after I get out of work and probably after a late dinner - I'm thinking something around 10-ish. I'm geeked! (I guess in more ways than one).

I don't have much else to say besides the fact that I'm having so much trouble *still* getting into this schedule. I want to wake up around 7:45 so I can go work out in the mornings, it's just that I can't seem to get to bed before 1 am no matter how hard I try! As lame as it is, I have to shoot for bedtime around 11:30 or 12 because when I go to bed any later, it's so hard to get up. Yikes! I wish I was back in college where some days were sleep-in days, some classes were sleep-in classes, and the work week ended on Friday. *sigh* Have a good evening.

xoxox

Here are some pics from Michelle and Jason's wedding this past Saturday. Although nothing turned out well from the ceremony, a few turned out from the reception. Congratulations Steffenhagans! :)


Christin and I


The new Steffenhagans and friends: (L to R) Christin, Jason, Michelle, Adrienne, Sara, Me


Reception dinner: (back L to R) Adrienne, Christin, Bob (front L to R): Josh, Me, Elizabeth, Rod


Heading out for a night on the town


Another very-much-in-love-couple...Josh and Me! <3

Yay for cute pictures. ALSO...a HUGE congratulations goes out to my big sis Tanya for being awarded a Fulbright Grant! This means that out of *thousands* (and I mean thousands) of applicants, my sister has received a fully-funded US government grant to implement her self-designed program of study and social service for a calendar year in the country of her choosing, which is naturally Bangladesh since she recently spent so much time there and loved it. This is an incredible life opportunity for my sister and obviously speaks to her amazing qualifications and potential in her field. Although she'll be gone for a year and I'll miss her like crazy, I'll definitely go for a visit and couldn't be more happy for and proud of my sister. Congratulations, Tanya!

Now I must hit the hay so that I can actually get up early tomorrow morning and work out. Adieu!

xoxox

p.s.~ Pistons + Game 6 win over Indiana = Finals, baby! I love this game.

Well...I'm back from my whirlwind trip to Minnesota and boy are my arms tired! Since I left early Saturday and came back relatively early Sunday, it was a pretty exhausting trip but it was well worth it to see the enormous smile on Michelle's face as she walked down the aisle. I don't think I've ever seen a happier bride! The ceremony was so nice and the reception was very sweet; both Jason and Michelle seemed overjoyed to be married and *so* in love. Congratulations to them! I hope they're getting some sunny honeymoon weather down in Cozumel :) (let me pause here to shed a tear of envy!)

Since the wedding and reception were both pretty early in the day, we ended up just going back to the hotel, lounging around for a bit and watching a lame movie on HBO, and then going out to a local sports bar for dinner. Unsurprisingly, the place was a zoo since game 5 of the T-wolves/Lakers series was on and it sure seems like everyone in Minnesota is a basketball fan. We had a fun time and I tried my first ever Bloody Mary; since I love tomato juice and have always wanted to try one, I figured why not?. However, I think the bartender overseasoned it because I definitely needed it topped off with a little extra tomato juice. Yuck. Even though I think my bad Bloody Mary was an exception and not the rule, I don't think I'll be trying another one anytime soon. After dinner, we headed out for "uptown" Minneapolis, which seems to be a pretty cool city from what I saw. Luckily, Rod's girlfriend Elizabeth is from the area so she lead us around. We ended up at a really cool bar called Tonic - now, I'm not used to going to non-college bars that are actually decorated with more than old beer banners and sports paraphernalia, so I was majorly impressed. At Tonic, we ordered some fun and *strong* cocktails, and then called it a night around 1:30. The next day was just an early morning and my flight home. My sis picked me up from the airport and we went out to Big Ten Burrito. After a nap and the Pistons game (win #3!), I played Scattergories with AJ, David, Sheila, Francine, and Jesse for a while, then hit the hay.

Yesterday was pretty ordinary with studying at Amer's on Church St. However, you can't beat 4 day work weeks...especially those that culminate in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! Yipee! :D Well...I'll post a few pics from the wedding later tonight after studying and the Pistons game. Cross your fingers for my boys to take the Eastern Conference title against the Pacers. Oh yeah.

xoxox