If you saw random pharmacy students loitering around inner sunset, that was probably because everyone got out of the last final of our first quarter this afternoon. Like a group of lost cattle, we collectively were in a state of shock from not having another textbook to study. During finals week, we were in a limbo state between going out to long, drawn-out large group lunches at a new Thai, Chinese, or Indian restaurant and frantically cramming as much information as humanly possible into our heads into the wee hours of the night. So in between fresh naan and Burmese sambusas, we had to work desperately to figure out how to apply hours and hours of lecture to a 3 hour test. I'm not sure if I can define this behavior as balancing work and play or a morbidly zombie-like bipolar way of existence.
I think during the first quarter I personally was trying to do everything I could in terms of attending classes, socializing with an entirely new group of people, maintaining my relationship with my parents, seeing the city, getting involved in leadership positions, absorbing the broader perspective of where the profession of pharmacy was going and where the system would allow me to start experiencing it (as in internships). It reminded me of the anxiety that I felt in my first quarter of college, except more intense because you realize this is actually your profession and your profession is you. A lot of my classmates from Southern California are homesick, a common symptom of your first quarter attending school so far away from your familiar surroundings. A common complaint is that they can't stand the chill of the city, miss their late night mexican joints, the freedom of having a car and finding parking, and the distance between them and their signifigant others/ families. But at the same time, the Thai, Korean, Chinese, and Sushi restaurants are pretty good quality for what you spend. There's always public transportation everywhere you go so you don't need to deal with paying for gas or taking care of your car. And well, it's cold, but you deal with it? lol.
A large number of people are heading to Anaheim during Dec. 3rd-7th for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Conference, an entire 4 days of conferences about policies pertinent of pharmacy students and pharmacists. The appeal is that UCSF reimburses them for the registration fees. Most of the people going are So-Cal natives and want to do a little partying, networking, and get involved in policymaking.
The weekend we get back, we are going on a class ski trip to Lake Tahoe. We are getting a cabin that will house about 25 people maximum. I'm certainly excited since this is the first time I will be skiing in like 10 years.
As for myself, I plan to stay in the city and start interning at a retail pharmacy. That does not mean that I will not have the opportunity to go out and enjoy some eclectic holiday shopping that Union Square is known for, watch some of those new movies of actual substance that come out around Christmas, and maybe make a trip to somewhere like Vegas for New Year's. I figure most things that I want to do, I can probably do in the Bay Area.
I think during the first quarter I personally was trying to do everything I could in terms of attending classes, socializing with an entirely new group of people, maintaining my relationship with my parents, seeing the city, getting involved in leadership positions, absorbing the broader perspective of where the profession of pharmacy was going and where the system would allow me to start experiencing it (as in internships). It reminded me of the anxiety that I felt in my first quarter of college, except more intense because you realize this is actually your profession and your profession is you. A lot of my classmates from Southern California are homesick, a common symptom of your first quarter attending school so far away from your familiar surroundings. A common complaint is that they can't stand the chill of the city, miss their late night mexican joints, the freedom of having a car and finding parking, and the distance between them and their signifigant others/ families. But at the same time, the Thai, Korean, Chinese, and Sushi restaurants are pretty good quality for what you spend. There's always public transportation everywhere you go so you don't need to deal with paying for gas or taking care of your car. And well, it's cold, but you deal with it? lol.
What is nice about being a pharmacy student is having an entire month off as opposed to the medical students whom only have two weeks of winter vacation.
So what are the pharmacy students going to do with a month off from school?A large number of people are heading to Anaheim during Dec. 3rd-7th for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Conference, an entire 4 days of conferences about policies pertinent of pharmacy students and pharmacists. The appeal is that UCSF reimburses them for the registration fees. Most of the people going are So-Cal natives and want to do a little partying, networking, and get involved in policymaking.
The weekend we get back, we are going on a class ski trip to Lake Tahoe. We are getting a cabin that will house about 25 people maximum. I'm certainly excited since this is the first time I will be skiing in like 10 years.
As for myself, I plan to stay in the city and start interning at a retail pharmacy. That does not mean that I will not have the opportunity to go out and enjoy some eclectic holiday shopping that Union Square is known for, watch some of those new movies of actual substance that come out around Christmas, and maybe make a trip to somewhere like Vegas for New Year's. I figure most things that I want to do, I can probably do in the Bay Area.
1 comment:
hey "lux", so you're gonna be here in the bay area then?
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