Timing is Everything

Whoops...I guess it's been awhile since I've last updated. Interview season is now done, and revisit weekends are underway. Fortunately, the University of Pittsburgh was kind enough to fly me out to Pittsburgh and revisit the school, graduate program and meet fellow MSTP acceptees. I was still blown away by the phenomenal organization and integration of the program and the prestige of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. I think out of all of my acceptances, UPitt would definitely give me the best medical school education, and has the best resources to help me find a laboratory I would be interested in and complete my PhD in my goal of 3 years. Unfortunately, it just so happens Pittsburgh is not in California. And in my visit to Pittsburgh, I noticed a couple inconveniences that I took for granted while living on the West Coast (or at least Pacific Standard Time).

The first and probably most important one is (I'm sure you've guessed it), the weather. While it was sunny in Pittsburgh the days that I was there (thank goodness), it was still about 40 degrees during the day, and 35 during the night. In San Diego that weekend, it was 78 degrees during the day, and 58 at night. So as I was looking outside out my hotel room and saw the sun shining down, I got excited. Then I glanced over at the gas station where a sign posted the temperature of the weather outside, and groaned as I saw 37*F. I mean it's nothing that a jacket and pants couldn't fix, but I guess I had a misconception that sun = shorts/t-shirt/dresses. And when we went out to a faculty's house in the night, this other girl from Los Angeles and I ran from the house towards the heated bus for warmth. Apparently, we were the only ones who felt this way, as others mentioned how it was such a nice, hot(!?) night. And apparently, it has been a very mild winter over there, meaning they expect the next winter to be rough...just my luck.

The second inconvenience is the time difference. It definitely makes things difficult being in a long distance relationship where your significant other is 3 hours behind you, and calling each other when one person is free does not automatically mean the other is also free. However, while that is inconvenient, I was more surprised when, come 4:00pm, NO NBA GAMES WERE ON. It's like I didn't know what to do with my life during that time (Obviously, in medical school, I should be studying, but still...its the PRINCIPLE!) It's very convenient, that on workdays, come 4:00pm, at lease some NBA games are on that may catch my attention as the end of the work day comes. In Pittsburgh (or Cleveland) I would have to wait until 7:00pm for games to even start! And who really watches the beginning of games (I guess people on the East Coast?) But most of the relevant games I would want to watch start at 7:00 pm PST...or 10:00 pm on the East Coast, meaning I will have to stay up well past midnight to find out if the Golden State Warriors managed to get a W. Argh. It would seem like I am more upset about the time zone difference as it relates to NBA games rather than staying in touch with my West Coast friends. But I think it's more that I expected the difficulty in maintaining relationships due to a time zone difference while I was completely blind-sighted when I realized I would have to stay up until 1:00 am to watch SportsCenter highlights. I don't know how sports fans on the East Coast do it...

Anyway, now that it's (almost) April, I'm starting to wrap up my life in San Diego to get ready for a new one in ________ (most likely Pittsburgh, but still waiting to hear about financial aid from other schools). Last Monday was my last day at the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic. I felt that my experience there solidified my desire to become a doctor and felt like I was actually making a difference in people's lives. For any UCSD pre-med, I highly recommend volunteering at the Free Clinic. From the patients, to the doctors, students, and my fellow PAP (Patient Assistance Program) crew, I always looked forward to the next clinic. I definitely hope to continue what I've learned there and care for underserved and uninsured patients wherever I end up. My last day was bittersweet, sad that I was leaving, but knowing that my spot would go to some other pre-med pre-health or pre-pharm student who have similar aspirations of helping those who need it. Also, it helps when you work with awesome PAP volunteers who bring you food like 85 *C taro bread and egg tart, homemade brownies, Sprinkles cupcakes, candy, japanese crackers, etc. I definitely hope the best for them and look forward to working as colleagues in the future, whether they go into pharmacy, social service, legal, medicine, whatever.