Medical Students at Work

My alternate project

I'm going to start a television company.

We offer custom made televisions that conform to your house.  We start with a free consult.  We'll go to your house and survey your living room and make measurements.  We'll take color palettes and analyze the sound and visual dynamics of the room you wish the TV to be in.  We will then custom create a TV that meets your dimensions, style, and color.

The name of this company?  Indivisual.

Blood type

The universal donor is blood type O.  Those with blood type O can donate blood to anybody, but they can only receive from O. The universal acceptor is AB.  AB blood can only be given to AB, but they can receive from any type.

Most people are aware of this, but did you know that O is also the most common blood type (47%), while AB is very rare (3%)?

This surprised me.  Ever since Dr. Jack Shephard searched desperately to find a blood donor for Boone Carlyle, I assumed O was the rarest blood type because of its selfless nature.  That which is valuable should also be rare, no?  At least, that's what I learned, growing up in this society, where companies destroy diamonds in the interest of prices.

I would love to be able to see the world in a perspective where the common was also the best.  I think medicine is one of those rare fields where that is the case.  Non remarkable, negative, and insignificant: outside the examination room, we strive to rise above these levels, but in this business, these are the words you want to hear.

I'm glad I made the right career choice!

Predispositions

I'm not sure why, but I have this subtle but significant dislike of people who carry certain traits.  This can build up to the point that I sometimes go out of my way to either avoid or aggravate them, the latter usually leading to dysfunctional behavior.  I recognize that this feeling is irrational because these physical attributes shouldn't be an indicator about the character of a person.  But, as I've found out, they most often are.

To those that are privileged, spoiled, rich, excessively beautiful: I am not interested in helping you. You have access to a whole population of chumps who are eager to wait on you, hand and foot.  Leave me out of that group, thank you very much.

A wry plan

I have a bottle of Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider in the refrigerator right now.  I bought it, planning to open it on a special occasion, when I had something to celebrate.  It's been three weeks and I can't find a reason to open it.

The way it looks now, I doubt I'll use it after these exams.

Study Music

I've listened to every genre while studying.  From light instrumental (soundtracks), to electronica (Kaskade), to techno (Sasha), to post rock (Explosions).  But at this time of my life, when studying is the most important, I've come full circle.

Classical music.  Right now, Dance of the Blessed Spirtis (from 'Orpheus and Eurydice') is playing in the background, and I suddenly recognize the middle portion (which I only knew as Melodie) as an excerpt that I played in countless competitions and scholarships.  To this day, it is still a piece that I play after a long day, when I need to clear my mind and refresh my body.

Thank you to everyone involved in my musical career.  Although I've moved on, those memories will never leave me.  The experiences gained from those competitions are an extra detail that I find creeping into my present work.  I understand why I'm so comfortable under pressure, why I feel the rush of excitement when all eyes are on me.  I can see why I am searching for perfection, but happily accepting to never find it.