Everyone once in a while someone will email me asking about my study habits and how I changed them in order to get better grades in school. To be honest, it wasn't the study habits themselves that changed, but how I go about the whole process.
I'm an atypical student in many ways. For one, I hate academic planners. Never used them, never will. Everything goes into my BlackBerry. Important dates, tasks to do, reminders, it's all there. It's always with me, much to the dismay of the wife, so it works out well for me.
And I like having a textbook. Usually about a week or two before a test I'll start studying for it. Using my notes and the book, I start at wherever we began and work my way forward. The first pass I make notes on what I'm stuggling on, and I keep repeating this process.
I have a tendency to become overconfident in my studying though. I often have to remind myself to cover material that I don't think is terribly hard because those are the questions that'll kill me.
In Orgo, for example, I could nail a 11-step synthesis problem, but lose 20 points on naming. Weird and frustrating.
I'm also a huge fan of notecards. I have killed so many trees in the past six years, its amazing. You can tell when I'm studying because I will always have a pack of notecards with me so I can randomly study throughout a day.
Namely I do repeition so that I end up visually memorizing pages as weird as it sounds. I also take a lot of breaks because my mind will start to get worn out after a certain amount of time, and then what's the point of studying?
That's my method, although I'm sure that won't work for everyone. Hopefully it'll answers some of the questions I've been getting.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Introducing Lipitor HD
It seems almost as if you can get anything in 'HD' today. Oh no, HD is not just for televisions anymore. There are HD Sunglasses, HD paint and I even saw a sticker on a mirror claiming it was HD quality.
Naturally, it would make sense for the Big Pharma to jump in on this. And why not? They pray on the lack of knowledge the public has on drugs, they might as well kick it up a notch.
I'm sure it would go something like this:
NEW YORK CITY, NY - Today Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler announced their newest product to be offered to consumers, Lipitor HD.
"Everyone knows that Liptior will soon be going off patten. As a company that has been unable to produce an innovative drug in many years, it is imperative that we find some way to continue making money while doing as little work as possible," Kindler began.
"One of the most popular terms signifying quality and wealth is the phrase 'High-Definition' or simply 'HD'. We decided that we needed to be the first company to produce a HD drug, and thus Lipitor HD was born."
Pfizer explains that it will explain to consumers that Lipitor HD is Lipitor but at a much higher resolution. This makes it more effective because a higher resolution automatically means it works better.
"Then we decided to market it in a 10,000 µg, 20,000 µg, 40,000 µg and 80,000 µg because bigger numbers mean that Lipitor HD is more powerful than non-HD Lipitor."
It is expected that Pfizer will price Lipitor HD at a 50% markup from the current price of Lipitor.
"The increase in price is representitive of the fact that we will continue to make sure the public believes our product is vastly superior to any generic counterpart. Our motto at Pfizer is 'Money First, Brain Washing Second and Skirting Government Regulations Third."
Lipitor HD is expected to hit pharmacies nationwide in Q3 2011.
Note: Lipitor HD is a fictional product, but don't put it past Pfizer to actually attempt something like this.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
No hablo español
The city I'm living in now is... different that where I had been. It is much more diverse than what I accustomed to. Perhaps the most odd thing is that it does not swing in one direction, it's pretty even desperation of cultures.
After being here for three weeks though, I have come to a decision. It is something I knew I would have to do at some point given my profession, but it was something I thought I could put off for a while.
It's time to learn Spanish.
I'll be the first to admit that languages are not my strong suit. I struggled a ton with it in high school, although I will say my study habits have vastly improved.
It just seems like one of those things that not only will be immensely helpful during the work day, but will be helpful for patients. I do not expect to be able to speak it fluently, but would like to able converse on the most basic of levels.
Naturally I do not have enough on my plate as it is, but I figure I can take my time at it. I just need to find the motivation to actually start it and keep up with it.
I guess I know what I'm doing until school starts now...
After being here for three weeks though, I have come to a decision. It is something I knew I would have to do at some point given my profession, but it was something I thought I could put off for a while.
It's time to learn Spanish.
I'll be the first to admit that languages are not my strong suit. I struggled a ton with it in high school, although I will say my study habits have vastly improved.
It just seems like one of those things that not only will be immensely helpful during the work day, but will be helpful for patients. I do not expect to be able to speak it fluently, but would like to able converse on the most basic of levels.
Naturally I do not have enough on my plate as it is, but I figure I can take my time at it. I just need to find the motivation to actually start it and keep up with it.
I guess I know what I'm doing until school starts now...
Friday, July 23, 2010
Whatever Happened to Good Writing
Naturally this is a ponderous question coming from a blog... yet it's something I find myself wondering these past few days.
As I've alluded to several times, I do a bit of writing elsewhere on a semi-regular basis. This has truly become something I enjoy doing, especially when the topic greatly interests me. It's even more interesting considering I've only had two true writing classes in the last ten years of my schooling.
One of the things that I have noticed of late is that I don't write like the typical person today. Granted, this place does not see much of my formal writing as a lot of the time the posts here are quick thoughts on a particular topic.
What further drove this point home is that in the past week I have been reading several older articles (I'm talking 40+ years ago) partially for curiosity and partially for something I may write. During these readings I was taken aback by the differences between what the author wrote then and what an author would write today.
Once upon a time, the written word was elegant, almost beautiful at times. For some articles, namely sporting events which is where my focus has been on, the writing gives that specific event a sense of grandeur not found today.
There is a pacing to the writing, a rise and swell if you will, that allows the reader to become emotionally involved in the piece.
Now go look at a recent article online or in your paper. Be it a headline story, a sports story, and entertainment story or what have you. Notice any of the points I just mentioned?
Writing today is very stale and, for lack of a better word, boring. It doesn't fire you up, it just presents cold, hard facts. Even 'opinion' pieces are often devoid of any real written beauty.
It's sad.
When I write I generally attempt to make each piece it's own artwork. Never do I simply spit out a collection of words and colloquialisms in the articles I write. One of the reasons I admire Drug Monkey is that, when he chooses, he can be one helluva Wordsworth, something you do not often seen in a blogging format.
Granted I'm sure a lot of this can be attributed to the rise of the internet and the 'satisfaction now generation', but that doesn't explain why it's lacking in the majority of published works. Perhaps some do not like to read articles like that anymore, maybe they no longer wish to be emotionally vested in something they are reading.
And maybe that's the most sad part of this whole situation. The fact that the allurement that was once the written word has been stripped to nothing more than the text on the back of a shampoo bottle.
Then again, I could simply be off the mark and it could be I that is the one who is unusual.
Wouldn't be the first time.
As I've alluded to several times, I do a bit of writing elsewhere on a semi-regular basis. This has truly become something I enjoy doing, especially when the topic greatly interests me. It's even more interesting considering I've only had two true writing classes in the last ten years of my schooling.
One of the things that I have noticed of late is that I don't write like the typical person today. Granted, this place does not see much of my formal writing as a lot of the time the posts here are quick thoughts on a particular topic.
What further drove this point home is that in the past week I have been reading several older articles (I'm talking 40+ years ago) partially for curiosity and partially for something I may write. During these readings I was taken aback by the differences between what the author wrote then and what an author would write today.
Once upon a time, the written word was elegant, almost beautiful at times. For some articles, namely sporting events which is where my focus has been on, the writing gives that specific event a sense of grandeur not found today.
There is a pacing to the writing, a rise and swell if you will, that allows the reader to become emotionally involved in the piece.
Now go look at a recent article online or in your paper. Be it a headline story, a sports story, and entertainment story or what have you. Notice any of the points I just mentioned?
Writing today is very stale and, for lack of a better word, boring. It doesn't fire you up, it just presents cold, hard facts. Even 'opinion' pieces are often devoid of any real written beauty.
It's sad.
When I write I generally attempt to make each piece it's own artwork. Never do I simply spit out a collection of words and colloquialisms in the articles I write. One of the reasons I admire Drug Monkey is that, when he chooses, he can be one helluva Wordsworth, something you do not often seen in a blogging format.
Granted I'm sure a lot of this can be attributed to the rise of the internet and the 'satisfaction now generation', but that doesn't explain why it's lacking in the majority of published works. Perhaps some do not like to read articles like that anymore, maybe they no longer wish to be emotionally vested in something they are reading.
And maybe that's the most sad part of this whole situation. The fact that the allurement that was once the written word has been stripped to nothing more than the text on the back of a shampoo bottle.
Then again, I could simply be off the mark and it could be I that is the one who is unusual.
Wouldn't be the first time.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Top Chef
One of the must-watch shows the wife and I have on a regular basis is the show Top Chef on Bravo. I personally love cooking shows in general and for some reason this one completely enthralls me.
Part of it is because it seems realistic. I am not a fan of reality television because, and don't ask how, I can tell when it's not real. There's something about a situation or the way that person acts or talks that resonance with me as fake. Maybe it's a talent, maybe it's weird, but it's why I typically do not enjoy those shows.
Top Chef has been different... until this season. Now nothing pisses me off more than when a show begins to lose their way. The wife was watching the show Ghost Whisperer a few years ago and I became interested in it. Eventually it lost it's way, jumped the shark if you will, and became a characterful of itself.
And it pissed me off.
The same thing is happening with my beloved Top Chef this season. If it doesn't seem contrived, the challenges themselves are ridiculous.
I can almost picture the big wigs in the head Bravo office going: "More Drama! More Suspense! More Challenging! More! MORE! MORE!!!"
It makes me sad and angry in a way. Why must they always fuck with the shows I like? Yet shows like 90210 or anything that's on MTV are continued to be aired.
Oh well, they better not mess with Castle this next season... heads may roll.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Help Save The Puppy
Not in a literal sense of course, but we are looking for some help with her.Her training has been going much better since we moved. Our last apartment was not very conducive to something like potty training, and generally it's been going much better. With one exception.
We can't get her to shit outside. She flat out won't do it.
It happened once since we've been here (going on two weeks now) and it's getting more than a little annoying. Peeing is not an issue for the most part, but number two just does not seem to cooperate.
After watching her quite closely, we have not developed the rhyme or reason as to when she is going to go. With as often as we do take her out, you'd think it would happen at least once, but to no avail.
So I ask you dog lovers out there, what on Earth can we do to fix this? With school coming, and a baby on the way, it's something I want to solve sooner rather than later.
Before we lose our sanity that is.
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