i am weak

By unfortunate circumstances over which I have no control, I think I suffer from mild thrombocytopenia.

thrombocytopenia (n.) - 1) a condition in which platelet count is reduced, associated with bleeding and bruising easily; 2) being a wuss.

As in, after only a couple of dives during volleyball yesterday, I now have a 2-inch-diameter bruise on the inside of my left knee, as well as various blood blisters on my arm. I used to get bruised badly ALL THE TIME during soccer, but I never thought anything of it because we played a pretty violent version of soccer; the kicks to my shins were hard and frequent enough to warrant the extensive bruising.

This, however, makes me a pansy. I am so not amused.

grossness

A little lifelong habit I have, sparked by my intense violin years, is picking away absentmindedly at the tough callouses on my fingertips. For the first time since my childhood, I am no longer practicing violin for hours on end, and thus I no longer have the tough callouses.

I have, however, retained the habit of absentmindedly picking. It happens most often when my mind is occupied but my hands are not. For example, ALL THE TIME while studying or in class, which together comprise my entire med school existence.

Sometimes I even pick until my callousless (and thus defenseless) fingertips bleed. And only then do I notice what I'm doing... as I proceed to BLEED EVERYWHERE. I know, I'm gross. I'm sorry. Maybe by admitting my grossness to the world, I will shame myself into stopping.

But most likely not.

it's complicated

I like how facebook.com has the option "It's Complicated" under Relationship Status. Methinks it is highly underused and underrated.

In related news, facebook.com is also the only means by which I have seen pictures of my little brother in a while. In the time I was away at college and now med school, he's gotten all big and grown-up and stuff. It's scary how much he looks like the young, 70s version of my dad.

And now for some indispensable words of wisdom for the day: try not to get pulled over for speeding. Especially in a school zone. Especially 17 mph over the limit. Especially 5 min before school zone effective hours end. Today I skipped class to spend the better part of my afternoon waiting in line at municipal court. While downtown, I also deposited every last cent of change I own in the parking meter and a homeless guy's cup. You know, as if the couple hundred bucks in fines and court fees weren't enough. On the plus side, I saw a couple of cool-looking restaurants while driving around downtown Dallas and didn't even get lost.

There's an upside to everything.

post-exam bliss

I seem to have established a pattern of doing fun/interesting things only on weekends after a huge block of exams. This happens, oh, once every month or two. It's actually a little bit sad, but there are enough other people doing the same thing that sometimes you forget it's so weird.

Anyway, after definitely-not-enough-sleep all week, the Friday festivities began with an impromptu dinner party for five. Jessica had a seafood marinara recipe she wanted to try, so we went buck-wild at the grocery store and turned it into a three-course meal. Jessica, main course. Jo, filler courses. I really think it would have been fun to go to culinary school. On the menu:

Spinach salad with Bosc pear, walnuts, Gorgonzola, and vinaigrette dressing
Farfalle pasta with shrimp and scallop marinara sauce, with bell peppers and onions
Freshly-baked vanilla cheesecake with lemon zest

It only now occurred to me that we should have taken pictures of the food. Oh well. It was by far the best meal I had had all week... but then again I'd been eating fast food all week while attempting to study continuously.

Friday continued with debauchery and embarrassment at a karaoke bar, along with the rest of our esteemed classmates. I had enough Long Island iced tea in me to get up and sing Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer." Not gonna lie, I miss Quad and DJ Bob, cheesy as it is. Saturday brought video games and outlet shopping, and then Shelley called later that night to say she was in town to drag my butt out for more revelry and merrymaking. Off we went to Fox and Hound, where I tasted my first Snakebite - Guinness and Ace - which I will definitely be ordering more often in the future. Sunday: Super Bowl and Grey's Anatomy all day long. Monday: quickly proceed to fall asleep in every class.

I promise, fewer of these itemized "this was my weekend" posts in the future, but this is the most eventful my life has been in a while.