Workout

I have sort of finished my P90X workout.  I did 10 weeks and there are 13, but the last week is just recovery.  The reason I didn't finish is because I stumbled upon this gem. I have lost some inches and gained a bunch of strength doing the P90X workouts, and I really love them, but I am ready to try something new.  The workouts on the BodyRock site are usually short, not more than 30 min, but very intense and are full body.  I did my first one last night and it about killed me, plus I am a little sore today.  I love how they vary the workouts and even though they reuse some of the exercises, each workout is different so it is hard to get bored.  I also love how you keep track of your reps and time and then can either post them on the site or just keep them to yourself so you can come back and try to beat it the next time.  She uses some equipment, but does show you how to do each exercise without - and trust me, the exercise is just as hard.  I am challenging myself to get in better shape and start eating healthier.  The site even has some healthy eating tips and yummy recipes.  I took some before pictures last night, and after 60 days I will take some semi-after pictures, and I say "semi" because I am not planning on stopping the workouts then.  I just want to see my progress at that point.  :o)  Who knows, maybe you will even see my before and after pics on their site!

Letters of Recommendation

I have a few friends that are panicking over their letter of recommendations for medical school and thought this might be a good topic to blog about.  LOR's are very tricky, because you are asking someone else to write about their opinions of you, and you are at their mercy on when they actually sit down and write the letter.  I have heard so many horror stories (and know two people at the moment) from students that submitted their applications, have them verified and are ready to apply to schools, but are still waiting for their lor's to come in, so I thought I would just put some tips and pointers out there.  I am also including a helpful link to some questions/answers here.  It will probably be more helpful to you than my little ol post.  :o)

I also want to say that I am a non-traditional applicant, so keep that in mind.

First things first - start getting to know your professors early.  This will make things easier when you ask them for letters.  Go to their office hours and take the time to let them know you are serious about the class and your grade.  This is how I was able to get to know my professors.  I didn't have a lot of time, so I made sure I let them know that I took time out of my work schedule to see them, and they were able to see I meant business. Another great way is to ask to review your exams if they don't give them back to you.  My biology professors kept all of our exams so in order to review them, I had to make an appointment.

Letters - Every medical school has their own requirements for lor's, but they all require a certain number from science professors and non-science professors.  Some schools have pre-med committees and require a letter from your committee as well.  If you do research, which a lot of schools like, then a letter from your PI is also recommended.  Because I am a non-trad student, I asked my employer for a lor, which is great because they know how I am as an employee versus a student.  Physician letters are also very helpful, so if you shadow or volunteer, take the time to really get to know the physician and let them know who you are and why you want to be a doctor. They will have some good weight, especially if what they say corresponds with your professors and other letter writers evaluations of you.  The whole point behind a letter is to sounds good, but everyone knows that - so adcoms also like to see similarities between letters to really get an idea of who you are and what others think of you.  A bad letter can hurt you, so if you don't think someone is going to write you a strong letter, don't ask. 

Timing - This is very important.  You don't want to ask too early, but you don't want to wait around either.  Part of this depends on how well you know your writers and how busy they are.  I asked my letter writers in January/February.  Yes, this is a little early, but I gave them a deadline of around March/April.  This gave them time to procrastinate and me enough time to bug them before my application was sent in. I was lucky and most of my professors were very understanding and very supportive of me applying and they sent in their letters on time, as was my employer.  I had to keep poking and prodding the physician, but he got it in on time and apologized every time I reminded him.  :o)  I know he was busy and letter writing wasn't his strong suite, but I asked him early knowing that it might take him awhile to get them sent in. Another reason why being too early isn't a big deal, is because you will have to get new letters if you reapply anyway.  As long as your letter is under a year old, you should be fine.  You don't have to have letters in order to submit your application, and I think this is where a lot of students get tripped up.  The schools have their own deadlines for letters, and if a school's deadline is October, then asking in June would seem to be like a fine idea.


There are some questions regarding how to submit the letters, which the site I linked should answer very nicely.  I am lucky and my premed adviser collected them and sent them in for me because KU doesn't use any of the letter services, such as interfolio.  

I'm definitely not an expert and I'm sure there area lot of different opinions, but I am only trying to offer some tips and suggestions.  My experiences are very unique because my state school is very in-state oriented and looks at the whole applicant package, and not just the numbers (not all schools are numbers heavy, but how else do you weed out thousands of applicants?). A lot of my advise and knowledge comes from outside sources and I only want to share the wealth. 

Way too long

I'm sorry for my lack of posting lately.  Ever since I have graduated and started reapplying, I have been crazy busy with every day life stuff and most of it isn't very post worthy.  There are a couple of posts that I need to write though, some med school stuff and some personal stuff.  Things that I keep saying I'm going to write about and never do.  :o)

I don't know a lot about different medical schools, only because I am applying to one school, but the process is the same for everyone.  I have been around long enough to know what is good for your application and have some good resources which I want to post links to.  If anyone has any specific questions, I will be happy to answer or direct you to an answer, but for now, please know I will get a post up very soon!

The most exciting thing going on in my life at the moment, is we bought a new stove!  I know you are thinking, "really? this is exciting?" but it is!  The old stove we had came with the rental.  That should explain it all right there.  It is an electric stove/oven and it still works, but it is pretty old; it would heat up the whole house when I turned it on, the top would get hot to the touch (I am talking about the top of the stove, not the burners, duh!)  and there was no handle to open the door with.  I had to grab each side of the door to open it.  I am still amazed that I didn't burn my fingers opening the darn thing. The new has a ceramic top, a hidden baking element and most importantly - it has a handle!  So, now you know why I am so excited.   :o)

My life is so simple.  ha ha ha

Wedding gift

Here is a picture of the afghan I made my sister and her husband. Like an idiot I forgot to take a finished picture. D'oh! So I thought I'd use the one she sent me. The pattern is a rectangle and it's so fast and easy to do! I love this pattern.

The Waiting

Well, my file is complete at KU, meaning they have received my application, my secondary application and my letters of recommendation, and now I wait until October/November when they start conducting interviews.  Blah! 

This summer has been going by way too fast!  I haven't done much but I'm still busy - and I don't understand that.  :o)  I have been working out pretty religiously for the past three weeks and am already seeing a difference, which only motivates me to do more.  I am just about finished with my last afghan for Brad's family and will probably start on my side next.  I have a few small things I want to do in between though. 

Work has been going well since all the changes, it's still a little weird, but good.  In a couple months Brad's friend is going to be visiting from Montana for a week and my sister and her family are going to come down for a weekend to go to the fair, so we will have a full house!  I'm pretty excited to see everyone though.  It should be a good time.  I am hoping to have a ceiling fan installed in the living room before then to help keep that room cooler.  With the temperatures being in the 100's this summer it gets quite warm in there, especially when the tv is on.

So yeah, this is my exciting life as of right now!  ha ha ha.  KU started their classes this week and two of my friends are a part of it.  I am so happy and excited for them.  It's nice to know that if I need help next year I will have someone to go to that I actually know.  Plus they are super smart so that's a plus for me.  ;o)

Follow me!

I had a reader ask me about e-mail updates when I post, which got me to look at my design.  I have now added a new link so you can get an e-mail update when I post!  Hopefully it works!  :o)

Secondary

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted anything and I apologize, but things have been pretty crazy lately. 

First, I mentioned in my last post that I received my secondary application already. Well I spent most of the last two weeks filling out the essay questions and I was able to submit it on Friday.  Yay!  I'm glad to have that done and out of the way, but now comes the waiting.  Interviews don't start until October, so I have a lot of sitting around to do.  :o) Some schools have already started interviewing!  In a way it would be nice to have the option to apply to a dozen different schools to increase my chances at getting into medical school, but the downside is the cost and I really really like KU.  I have a better feeling about it this year than I did last year, and I really hope that this feeling knows what it is talking about!

Second, my new boss started at work last week. I am the assistant to four development directors (fund raisers) and we did a little switching around of personnel - I lost one director and gained another.  Since I gained one new director, and one "new" director, I have been busy organizing myself and trying to figure out what they need from me and what projects I need to finish that the other assistant started.  It's been keeping me pretty busy at work, but I feel so discombobulated! (what a fun word!)  My new boss is great and I think she will fit in with the group just fine, and the reassigned boss is one that I was assistant to when I first started here, so I know her and have worked with her before, which makes things easier. 

Third, I have started working out again.  Yay! Boo? I have been doing the P90X program, which is awesome, but boy does it kick your butt!  I have been pretty good about doing it everyday too, with the exception of Sunday.  Brad and I went over to his ex's house to finish installing a sliding glass door and it took aaall day long to do.  So Sunday ended up being my break day and I started up again last night. 

Saturday night Brad and I went out to celebrate our anniversary, which was really last month but we never had a chance to go out. We went to Jillian's Italian Cuisine restaurant and it was delicious!  I had the fettuccine alfredo with chicken (my absolute favorite dish!) and Brad had a steak. We also found out they serve wood-fired pizza so I have a feeling we may go back and try that out.  It was really nice to get all dressed up and have a date night with my honey.  It was a very nice time.