The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Anyone who has had even the shortest conversation with me in the last month and a half knows that my life has been dominated by studying for the MCAT. First of all, I apologize for sounding like a half-crazed person who must obsessively mention the word MCAT every two minutes. But it really has been all I have to talk about. Well, I promise this will be one of the last times!
All that time payed off this Saturday when I took the real thing. In a small testing center in a strip mall in San Antonio, I tried to remember everything I crammed into my brain in the last 50 days. I definitely do no think I got anything near a perfect score, especially since that's impossible, but it wasn't a total disaster. There wasn't anything that caused me to have a break down, although there were a few that I had to guess completely.
The strangest thing about it is that as soon as I walked out of there, I couldn't remember anything I had just read. Maybe it's a defense mechanism and I'm repressing a horrible experience, but I really think not. I really believe that I got +/- 1 point from my last practice test score (it was a 36, it's my blog, I can brag if I want to!)
But I am really trying to push that confidence away because academics has given me my fair share of disappointments. I still remember the pain when I found out I did not get into Northwestern. I hadn't even considered the possibility, and I was devastated. It didn't help that I had a calculus test the next day. So I am trying to apply the lessons I learned to the MCAT. I am conditioning myself for anything above 30, with that score I can still get into Texas medical schools.
But I can't help dreaming about upper-tier schools like Emory and Columbia. The most exciting thing is that with an actual score, the idea of medical school is becoming a reality! I am so excited for future, and can't wait to see where this path will take me. But first, I must be ready for whatever score comes on March 1st.

Books of 2010

Every year I like to keep a list of all the books I've read, and try to beat my all time high of 30. Alas this year I fell short, only 22, but I blame the college for that.

My favorite book of the year by far was The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry. I picked it up after reading a staff review at Book People. Set in a city where it is always raining, the main character works as a clerk for a "private eye" corporation. When a detective goes missing, he begins to ask questions about how his company actually does business, and enters world of mystery controlled by alarm clocks and explored in dreams. Part noir, part magical realism, this book is a more poetic, less bombastic cousin to the movie Inception. As I'm writing this, I want to read the book again! Seriously, it's that good.



Another one of my favorites of the year is an older one that I just got around to reading. I first heard of author Mary Roach on the Daily Show, where she was promoting her newest book Packing for Mars. When in Barnes and Noble's, I saw another one of her books out in the Halloween display. Stiff is a science non fiction book about the unknown lives of cadavers. And you wouldn't believe it, but it is HILARIOUS! Roach has such a conversational tone, you feel like are on this adventure with her to ask all the questions no one else will: What actually happens when you donate your body to science? Has anyone tried to make a real-life Frankenstein? Has it worked? You learn so many new things and she's just so funny! She's written 3 or 4 other books (I already have two others) and I can't wait to read them all.

Some other favorites were A Million Little Pieces, Let the Right One In, and The Girl Who Played With Fire.