Suddenly it's Fall

How did that happen? I feel like 2nd year ended, I took the boards, went to Peru, then landed squarely in fall.

On Friday mornings, the students in their Inpatient Medicine clerkships have morning lectures/didactic sessions. I like them a lot, not just because they're informative, but because I get to see friends that I don't get to see very often. One of those is a Mr. MM, who was on GI Surgery (the most infamous and difficult surgery rotation to have the misfortune of being assigned) with me. We bonded fast back then, in June, and have maintained a playful banter since. We were talking about being somewhat burnt out, and MM said:

"5 more weeks and we're 1/2 done with Third Year", and gave me a high-five.

Being halfway through a year means that 6 months have gone by!!! Holy moly! I sat and did the math: 2 months in surgery, 1 month in hematology, 1 awesome month in pediatrics, and now I'm starting my 4th week at the VA! It's actually been 5 months since the boards and Peru! That's where the summer went! It was spent learning how to do a Whipple, sliding tubes down tracheas, learning about all sorts of blood disorders, cooing at adorable babies, and yelling into the impaired ears of crotchety old vets with sad, sad stories. Suddenly it's fall, and suddenly, I realize, I'm not such a bright-eyed, green little med student anymore. I've come leaps and bounds, large bounding strides! I sort of know what I'm doing!

And I'm also burnt out. Last night I laid down for a "little nap" at 8:45, woke up at 12:30 to brush my teeth, and woke up at 8:45 this morning. TWELVE FULL HOURS. It was gloriously awesome. And now: off to do the million things I put off for my one day-off a week!