On Coping with Rejection

Rejection is never a pleasant feeling. Whether it be from that guy or girl you like, that group you thought were your friends, a job, or a school, rejection, especially a lot of it, inevitably makes you reevaluate yourself, and begrudgingly... your worth. Am I not worth that guy or girl? Is there something about me that that group of people doesn't like? Was all my hard work not enough for that school? 

Rejection is also frustrating. Its validity can be so ambiguous. Am I being rejected for a legitimate reason? Or is it just a byproduct of something else? Someone's ego? The economy? You may have a few black and white instances of rejection. If you get rejected from every job at a certain pay grade, with the reason "needs more expertise", perhaps it is a valid assessment of a current needed area of improvement, and you work to improve. If you get rejected from most jobs you applied to, in a post 2009 sub-prime mortgage Great Recession job market, perhaps the rejections are more a byproduct of the economy. But the in between situations are much more common, much more tenuous in explanation, and leave us wanting of reason. 

Absence Does Make the Heart Grow Fonder...Of Green Onion Pancakes

Those well versed in Medical School lore are probably aware of the sacredness of the summer between M1 and M2 year. It is dubbed, somewhat ominously, "The Last Summer You Will Ever Have..."(dum Dum DUM!) by many of those who have walked this path. Given that, many people use this time to either relax, travel, research, or do all three (plus boards studying ...for - you know - those ambitious types...)

This is a farm we ate breakfast and lunch at on our way to and back from Cotopaxi, Ecuador.

So this past month I had the free time and the privilege to explore/experience the wonderful cultures of Ecuador and Peru.  Both countries warrant full blog posts to themselves, so I wont go into extensive detail here. What I will say is that the food in both countries is cheap, fresh, and delicious. My group would frequent a lunch joint which would serve a 3 course lunch for $3.75! This would include fresh squeezed juice, a small appetizer, soup, a main dish, and a desert. Muy delicioso!

The standard fair at an Ecuadorian restaurant is churrasco served over rice with fries or beans, plantains, and aji. I unfortunately did not take a single picture of this standard meal, which I consumed multiple times... In reparation for this somewhat tragic mishap, here is a photo of a fluffy dog, people watching out of a second story balcony in Cuzco, Peru.

  

 Professor Puppison Phd explains , "Dislodging the supporting beams serves as a portal through which my body can fit. This is necessary to achieve full  180 degree people watching capacity...My next paper will be a cost analysis of 360 degree balcony people watching." Or he's just hangin' his paws out there...:)

Long story short, as the days of my 4 week trip drew on, while I was still enjoying fresh ceviche et al, I was starting to miss the foods of my home. And the first thing which popped into my mind, and not coincidentally, the first thing I cooked, were these green onion pancakes! These are oh-so-simple, yet oh-so-good, fried, crispy on the outside, doughy on the inside, flaky treats. Below is a step-by-step recipe adapted from a spattering of sources.

Medical School Applications: Why do you want to become a doctor?

Why do you want become a doctor?

As spring is rolling around, many of you out there are probably asking this very question, as it is the question you have to answer on your medical school application. If you haven’t started to think about it, and you’re applying to medical school this year, get your rump working! The earlier you apply, the better. (As I write this, I can feel 100s of college advisors saying the exact same thing. I know it might seem like overkill to say it again, but it’s so true to the application process, it might as well be a truism. Apply early!)

A California Spring last year.

The process of applying to medical school makes you jump through so many hoops, I feel like it has dichotomized the average applicant into two groups. Firstly, those whom unquestionably know they want to become a doctor, who have been fixated on the idea since infancy, and who never deeply question the decision, no matter how large the barrier to entry. The second group, one which I think the majority of applicants fall into, is one which involves very deep seeded questioning.  Each barrier to entry, whether it be a sustained high GPA, the Mcat, or the high cost, has you analyzing the opportunity cost, and other possibilities.

Question: I am starting Medical School next year, will I have time for anything?

This was the question I was asking myself last year at about this time. It’s hard NOT to think about, given the gargantuan pile of stories from SDN, friends, and family alike (some whom haven’t even gone to medical school). I asked one of my medical school friends this question last year who said he didn’t even have time to watch 1 hour of television during the week. During our white coat ceremony, our school dean was warning our parents that we won’t call them for months on end because we’ll be too busy.

No time to watch Modern Family? No time to call my family? Was this hyperbole or honest advice from veterans of the field? Either way, I was bracing myself for the worst…a deep spiraling hole of oblivion, piles and piles of information creating a “blood brain barrier” of sorts to the outside world. No news, popular culture, or extraneous relationships (is there such a thing?) will get through the astrocyte like piles of paper.

To be honest, there are definitely weeks like the above mentioned. Namely, the week before an exam (every 3 weeks at my school). During these weeks I sometimes feel like I don’t even have time to eat. I’ll shovel some cereal, or mac and cheese in my mouth just for the purpose of eating, but I’ll be studying at the same time. Get a call from a friend, ignore button. Season Finale of Sherlock, who cares?

But, don’t worry audience, this is at one end of the spectrum. In medical school you’ll definitely have time for hobbies, family, and the like.  I’m writing this blog after all.You’ll have a lot less time than you’re used to, so you’ll probably have to give your time management skills a revamp makeover. From my personal experience, it’s hard to be fully caught up on all the information, so you’ll always feel behind regardless of the many hours you study every day. But once you get used to feeling behind, the neurotic need to study all the time to catch up lessens (a bit), and you’ll make time to have a balanced life. 

For example, this weekend I made time to go to the beach. It was a quick half hour trip, but it was therapeutic, energizing, and still 35 degrees Fahrenheit outside, so a short trip was the preferred modus aperandi anyway. The time spent on this outing, meant I was still behind in lecture, but it was worth it.

Yes, there is some unmelted snow by the water. The juxtaposition of 
ice and beach really threw me for a loop for a bit, being from California. 

I also made time to trace this picture for a friend’s birthday card. This took about 2 hours, so I added another 1.5 lecture reviews to my backlog.

I know, it’s a horrifying looking drawing. Am I trying to scare my friend before his next exam? Maybe a little, but just kidding. It’s from a show called Attack on Titan. Its a very good anime, with a very interesting political socioeconomic premise. I highly recommend it if you can handle a bit of gore. Speaking of which, I do have time to watch shows on occasion, but keep in mind I am writing this on a post exam week. Perhaps during an exam week I would detail a completely different situation, which I presume was the reason for my friend’s answer last year.  

So a brief summation of my answer: Yes! You will have time to do other things because you will make the time, by using your time management skills and by compromising with your more neurotic tendencies.  

Wake Me Up! – With some Breakfast Soft Tacos?

Most days in medical school, I don’t have time for elaborate breakfasts and usually opt for something fast. I’ll eat some cereal with milk, oatmeal, an apple, or a fun sized chocolate bar or two. The chocolate grab and go happens a little more often than I would like to admit. This past week was no exception. My boyfriend’s mother sent us a wonderful package of Saint Patrick’s Day treats, including but not limited to some very tasty individually wrapped chocolates from a specialty shop. Amongst the green wrapping paper, laying at the bottom of the box, so happened to be some instant oatmeal . So what did I eat before my 8AM FOUR hour exam ensued? Well, to put it frankly and in scientific terms, my dopamine mesolimbic pathway took over. I grabbed a few of those beautifully wrapped jewels of joy, bypassed the oatmeal, and went out the door to take my test.

I know, I know, not one of my best moments in life. But before anyone starts judging me, other things went into my choice calculation other than my addictive attraction to chocolate. I was running late, and oatmeal microwaving just seemed too time consuming. Additionally, grab and go apples were out of the question, because they have actually been banned in the test taking room… That’s right. The crisp crunch of the apple is too cacophonous for the average concentrating med school test taker, so they have been banned.

I wasn’t the only one who used the banning of the apples as an excuse for junking it out. My testing neighbor had a donut and a baggy full to the brim of sour punch straws. When I gave his breakfast selection a sideways glance, he shrugged “Hey, they banned my apples.”

I hear yuh brother, they banned my apples too…  

Anyhow, on weekends I like to make up for these breakfast shortcomings when I have the time. One such brunch option is the Breakfast Soft Taco (or burrito if you can manage to wrap those darned things). The combination of savory from the potatoes, tart/sweet from the tomatoes, and creaminess of the avocado really does the trick. It is a meal jam packed with nutrients, in case you also suffer from the nutrient deficits of banned apple, chocolate addiction choices.

Ingredients (Serving for 2)

1. Flour Tortillas
2. 3 Eggs
3. 1 Avocado – diced (inch squared)
4. 1 Russet Potato
5. 1 cup fresh Tomatoes – diced (cm- inch squared)
6. ¼ Red onion diced (mm-cm squared)
7. ½ cup fresh Cilantro – stems removed and julienned
8. ½ tsp Rosemary
9. ½ tsp Thyme
10. Vegetable oil
11. Black beans (Optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Peal the skin off of the potato, and dice into bite sized pieces (1/2 inch squared).
3. Add 2 tablespoon oil, salt, pepper, ½ tsp Rosemary, and ½ tsp Thyme to the cut potatoes, and mix. Put the potatoes in the oven and bake until browned. (you can add some julienned red onion and garlic into this mix too)
4. While potatoes are baking, scramble eggs. To do this, whip the three eggs, add some salt and pepper. Put some oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Wait until the oil has a liquid consistency, then pour in the eggs. Cook until the eggs are no longer runny.
5. Next, mix the diced tomatoes, cilantro, and red onion.  I like to add about ½ tsp of sugar, and half a limes worth of juice to the mixture. It helps enhance the flavor, but these aren’t necessary
6. Once all these components are in order, you are ready to assemble! In a pan, over medium heat, heat up your flour tortillas until warm and pliable. Add in whatever combination of ingredients you desire.
7. Eat and enjoy!

Basil Sprigs a Springin'

It is, the first week of spring quarter. The expansive blue skies look over melting heaps of snow, refrozen puddles, and peeking through dirt patches. The extremes of Chicagoland weather, while terrifying at first (40 tornados in 1 day!), truly bring out the subtle and varied beauties of nature.

I have a fresh bundle of Thai Basil smuggled over from sunny California, Japanese eggplant, and a couple of free hours on hand. What should I do? Well, cook some tasty eggplant of course! Below is a slightly tweaked recipe from Tyler Florence. I’ve been making it since my Junior year of undergrad. The combination of sweet, salty, and spicy keeps me coming back. It is a …with tea, tested and approved recipe!

Adapted from Tyler Florences' Szechwan Eggplant

3 Japanese eggplants cut in ½-1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons Vegetable oil (for frying the eggplant)
1 inch peeled an minced ginger
3 peeled and minced garlic cloves
Red pepper flakes to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar

½ cup of water or more

2 green onions, sliced in ½-1 inch segments
½ cup Thai holy basil leaves lightly chopped (very important!)

Salt and pepper

1. Pour the oil into a large pan, and fry the eggplant on medium high heat (in batches if needed). I do this until there are some brownish caramelization marks on each side.

2. Sprinkle eggplant with salt and pepper.

3. Remove the eggplant.

4. Add more oil if needed. Fry the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes for a couple of minutes on medium heat. You should smell some tasty aromas.

5. Add back in the eggplant.

6. Add in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and a half cup of water. Cook until the sauce is absorbed. Add more water if you want the eggplant to be softer. I like mine very soft, and almost falling apart, so I usually add about 2 cups of water in smaller batches.

7. A couple minutes before you take it off the stove, toss in the green onions and Thai basil. Continue cooking until you see the leaves wilt and look kind of like cooked spinach.