50 turns of the page

Ever since the grad school cut the funding for coffee and cookies at the weekly "Research in Progress" seminars, I have had significant trouble staying focused. It was no different today. I actually listened and absorbed during the first talk - looking for natural compounds that would kill Tuberculosis - the diabetes talk afterwords could not hold my attention (a whole lot depends on the speaker's style, way more than the actual topic of the presentation!!).

I took out my Moleskin 2009 calendar, which contains my life, pretty much. Not only is it crucial for me to keep track of all the things I have planned (I am not an electronic scheduler type of gal) but it's also great to look back in the little black book from time to time and see what I have been up to in the past few weeks/months.

Since I had 20 minutes to kill, I went all the way back to January 1st. Things that now seem like they had happened ages ago were written clearly right there on the pages for the month of January. I have to say, that was one of the more exciting months of my life, up to date. 5 states in 4 and a half weeks, 3 fencing tournaments refereed, 1 marathon completed, one day playing in the sand on the sunny beaches of Florida, the next day being stuck in a snow storm in New York. Many miles - either way you look at it - many colorful drinks and sleepless nights, extreme ups and downs, huh, I was living!

I just went back through some old posts, and found this - as an answer for what my plans for the year were - from January 2nd of this year: "I want to experience more of life, fully, this year." No regrets on that: I didn't hold back much.

After January, things have calmed down significantly and the months just kept passing rather quietly - 50 turns of the page. Right now, I feel like I am in a very good place. I have clear goals (the major one being med school, intermediate ones such as publishing a paper and the MCAT) accompanied by a nearly clear plan - planning to work details out as I go - and lots of supportive people around me. Now I just have to find a way to do what I need to do, in the little time I have, without losing my mind and some friends along the way.

I was thinking today, as I walked through the hospital, that the best feeling is when you can imagine your life as a movie or a TV show and at any given moment, you cannot wait to see what will happen in the next episode. Right now I am so excited to find out what will happen in "my next episode"!