Well, the biggest test of my life is only 6 days away and I have to say, I am staying pretty (shockingly) calm. I haven't seen very much sunlight since I returned from San Francisco last week, however, as I have been hiding out in the library. KW once told me that I looked like an ewok and now I feel like one...a library ewok to be more precise. One thing I can say for all this studying, my brain feels sharper than ever. I helped M with a crossword puzzle last night and the answers were coming to me faster than ever before and I can do math in my head in a cinch.

Outside of being a library loser/ewok: I had a fabulous trip to San Francisco last week. There is nothing better than hanging out (i.e eating and drinking too much, and watching too many movies) with your sister in such an awesome city. We even scoped out sites for her wedding. Exciting! Here is a picture of the gorgeous beach that is just 10 minutes from their apartment!

Writing a thesis

So, it turns out that writing a thesis is not a piece of cake. I naively thought that a few days of writing would result in a lovely little thesis, but hahaha...the joke was on me! My desk right now is scattered with hundreds of pages of fly and parkinson's disease literature that I have read or need to read, and four huge books filled with everything from fixative recipes to neuroanatomy of cholaminergic cell bodies to the history of parkinson's disease. It is sort of exciting to be mired in all of this crazy shit, but at the same time, not so fun. Here is a list of the most important things you need by your side when trying to write a thesis:

1. A good dictionary and thesaurus
2. Plenty of diet coke, preferably in an iv (or if its the morning, freshly ground coffee)
3. A nice selection of Swedish, Swiss, and organic chocolate
4. No-bake cookies (a chocolately oatmeal confection)
5. A bottle of ibuprofen
6. A pillow for taking 5 minute cat naps
7. An awesome Pandora radio station (this is the best invention since the iPod)
8. A healthy stack of trashy gossip magazines (my personal favorite is US Weekly) to prevent the mind from becoming too serious
9. A nice dosage of anti-anxiety medication to take the edge off of genetic perfectionism
10. Ten limber fingers

Bundle of Nerves

You know you are nervous for the MCAT when the sight of an expiration date on a milk carton sends you into a panic attack. Yes, this happened to me at the grocery store yesterday. The milk carton's AUG 6 sent me into a fit of hysteria because that is the day after the most (okay not the most, but one of the most) important days of my life. I think all standardized tests are diabolical and especially the MCAT. Do none of the hundred or so tests I took in college even matter? Aaargh...I just have to call on Jesus now folks. Whew.

Back to Blonde

(Yes, I am this vain). So for the past 22 of my 23 years I have been blonde. One day my hair just decided it would be fun to turn me into a dishwater blonde...not so cool! I thought the sun this summer would help, but my hair was only becoming browner. So, I took matters into my own hands and dyed my hair back to blonde. It turned out a little strawberry blonde, but at least it is lighter. Like I said, I know I am vain to worry about my hair color, but now I feel more like myself and that is a good thing!