My first 2 months of medical school have gone surprisingly well. Even though it's every bit as hard as I thought it would be, I've managed to keep my grades up and still spend at least an adequate amount of time with Derek and Bindi. I'm trying not to get too involved in unnecessary things, but there are a lot of things that I have developed a strong interest in. Health policy, for example, is something I've been interested in for years, but here I can actually become a member of the AMA and help pass legislation. Student-run clinics is another thing - they throw us into the clinical scene without much experience. They have us seeing our own patients, performing exams, making diagnoses, etc. before we learn the material in school (don't worry, there's a preceptor at each clinic who is an experienced doctor and makes sure we're not doing anything wrong). There's church and there's extracurriculars (like ultimate frisbee fridays) and it all adds up to a pretty hectic lifestyle. But it's a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and I love the people I work with, and Derek makes everything better by being a perfect stay at home spouse. In fact, we went to Ashland, OR for my surprise birthday trip over labor day weekend. It was my first time to OR and I loved it. We did a speed boat excursion on the Rogue River, went to the Shakespeare Festival and saw Twelfth Night and went caving at Lava Beds National Monument. Bindi went to the cabin with the rest of the family for labor day, but we had a good time without her. Unfortunately we forgot to bring our camera, so I'll just have to include some photos I find on the internet. That's about it for now.
