Gree Algea

Since I have to retake all of the sciences I took in undergrad (and then some) with labs, I'm taking Bio I this semester (among an assortment of other classes).

I live in the South, and am taking my post-bacc classes at a 4 year university.

The T.A. who "teaches" my Bio I lab section is a grad student (common). He bears a startling resemblance to Kenneth the Page from 30 Rock (uncommon). He also speaks with an indecipherable southern accent, and his presentation style ranges from low muttering to drawling monotone (I sincerely hope this is uncommon). We are too dumb to know how to use the microscopes, and they're "real too 'spensive" to be wasted on any undergraduate learning. Or maybe just for an introductory science class, because in my Micro class my lab professor seems to think we should be using the microscopes during every lab period (sounds about right). Hence, practical learning occurs.

My Bio Lab T.A. spends most of our lab period "lecturing", and then spends the majority of the rest of the period talking to the hot girls in my class who wouldn't give this guy the time of day in any real life setting. He also seems to take some sort of perverse pleasure in being viewed as a hard ass, even though I don't think anybody thinks for a minute that he's a real hard ass. Every once in awhile he'll have a shitfit about someone bringing a bag of Doritos into the lab or wearing open-toed shoes in the lab because it's a huge safety violation (remember: we aren't even allowed to use the microscopes in this lab section, so there isn't much use of dangerous chemicals and/or instruments, since we aren't allowed to actually DO anything). In the midst of such a shitfit he will generally kick all of the offenders out of the class in a huff. I've had professors in law school and in undergrad who I was actually scared of. Students at any age can easily tell who the real badasses are. This guy has probably never gotten laid and you know he plays World of Warcraft 8 hours a day without stopping to pee or eat. Nobody is afraid of him.

He seems apathetic at best about teaching this lab class. I myself choose not to believe that a 4 year university could turn out a T.A. who thinks "Green Algae" is spelled the way it is spelled in my blog title today. Yet, when we were reviewing for next week's lab practical, that is exactly what appeared on the blackboard. "Gree Algea".

Is this the best the South can do?? Seriously.

Twisted Logic

To kick off my med school pre-reqs, I took Physics I with Lab this summer. The Lab (which was about 4 hours long a day) was taught by a fetus who had many more tattoos and piercings than I care to recount.

Now, I graduated from my undergrad college with a very good GPA. I never took Physics, because...who the hell takes Physics unless it's mandatory? I was not going to be an engineer, and I was not going to major in Physics. Being honest, the only reason I took this class was to get the pre-req out of the way and to prep for the MCAT.

I took this class and discovered...that yeah, I hate Physics. And have no natural talent or ability for it.

So, I met with the T.A. (who began our first class with "I am NOT a T.A. I have a master's degree in blahblahblah Physics specialty. You can call me Mr. X or Professor X, but do not dare call me by my first name. I am not your friend, or your buddy."

OK, dude. Maybe people wouldn't think you of you as their crony if you didn't have 8000 piercings in your face and ears.

I ended up meeting with him one day when I was making up a lab, and he told me he was 26. He also told me that when he was in college he wanted to go to law school. So I asked how he ended up majoring in Physics and going to grad school in Physics instead. And he said, without a hint of irony and with the confidence and smugness that only a person in their mid-20s can muster, that Physics was the ONLY remaining area of study that required logic to understand. He said, "Everything else is just memorization." Really, dude? REALLY?? You KNOW I'm a lawyer, right? And forget law, what about philosophy? Chemistry? Any of the other sciences?

I think my mouth might have fallen open a little at the arrogance of this comment. I'm all for believing in what you do, but really? This is the same guy that told us on the first day of class that he had measured his mass in Duncan Hines cupcakes. "For fun".

Enough said.

The First Cut Is the Deepest

So...this blog is going to mark the journey of a "nontraditional" (in many senses of the word) pre-med student on my journey to med school. I've been out of "school" in the traditional sense for close to 15 years, and started taking pre-med classes this summer. Hoping to take the MCAT in April to make next June's application cycle.

It's been interesting being in a classroom with students who could theoretically be my children (if I were a teen parent). At least two of my classes now are being taught by professors that I know for a fact are younger than me.

I'm not worried about the med school/residency journey itself. The nice thing about being my age is that I already know it's about the journey, not the destination. I'm not looking to speed through med school to get to the goal. The journey through med school IS the goal. So hopefully I will bring a different perspective to the usual med school blog.

I'm also a practicing lawyer. I guess that's semi-interesting.

I'm thinking about combining my law background with my medical future and getting a joint degree in medicine and bioethics. There aren't many programs that offer joint degrees in medicine and bioethics, but I'm checking them all out now with an eye towards July.

I promise my future posts won't be this boring.

Snakes On A Cane