So I had a presentation today… And I freak out, ok?! Public speaking? SCARY! T___T Thankfully, the professor wasn’t really criticizing our project, but just giving suggestions, so we’re on track

Friday I have a math test… Since when did I fear math? Since series and matrices are involved….

Next week will be complete hell. I have another presentation (which seems to be more intense), a 5-6 page paper, and a Biochemistry exam. Thankfully, I had my planner to tell me all that :P Each on its own are manageable (cept Biochem >.>), but combined into one action-packed week is going to make me sleep-deprived. But fortunately, with my handy-dandy planner, I’ll be stay on task and be productive!

So, the key to everything is…. productivity! Everything being school, work and life! Lol sounds like the philosophy of a workaholic, but productivity can ensure that I do well in school, but have fun.

I would describe myself as lazy (definitely), hedonistic, but ambitious for straight A’s. Sometimes I find myself in a pickle when I realized I spent my entire weekend wasting my time instead of keeping up with my work. I sometimes regret that waste my time on useless things, and that kinda takes the meaning out of all the fun things I do, so I decided productivity is my solution. I’ve been researching a little bit, just to get some time-saving/productivity techniques, and I consolidated what I’ve found in this post for me and everyone else that finds themselves gaming a little too often:

1. A planner (this is just common sense, and no, I didn’t research this lol) – Well, basically this is anyplace that you will consistently look (daily, not monthly). Somewhere like a computer, a book, a calendar, or your hand (if you’re really forgetful, have big hands and don’t wash them) would be good places, but basically a place where it’s consolidated and you can see all the to-dos and manage them. I used to do this thing where I would just write homeworks/exam dates on the top page of my notebook and then not open my notebook until the next class, completely forgetting about it until then and being utterly surprised… But not anymore! I bought this trendy planner, because if it’s cute, I’m into it.

2. Studying effectively – I actually did this all throughout sophomore and junior year, but seemed to have forgotten it when it came to Biochemistry. Piecing things together really is the best way for me (and I think it’s different from person to person) and way more interesting than rote memorization. I also learned in my Women in Science and Engineering class (a women studies class in disguise) that women learn better when they are given the application and implications of the subject to society (some BS about us wanting to help the world). Both happen to work for me. Connecting ideas while learning in class saves me LOTS of time outside class studying, and being able to find some real world implications seem to embed it in my mind even more.

3. Flow – Something I admit I’m not very familiar with, but it does make sense. And I like the example about Ray Bradbury too. Cutting off distractions is common sense, but stopping yourself from critiquing and hindering your progress is a bit new to me.

4. 5-minute mind hack – It’s number 2. Number 1, 3 and 4 are pretty obvious, and you might regret doing number 5 (my friend regrets giving me the task of reminding her she has the GREs soon. This friend also did not own a calendar up until yesterday and once thought a Thursday was a Friday, missing a day of class. Don’t ask.) But number 2, I didn’t realize could work. Just convince yourself that you will stop doing whatever you are SOOO unwilling to do after 5 minutes. Chances are, after these 5 minutes, you’re going to continue it. I have done this and it’s totally true. Just getting me to start something is very hard, but once I start and I’m in the middle of it, I’ll just finish.

5. Pens/Stationary – Ok, so I like things that are aesthetically pleasing to my eyes, I won’t deny that. So why don’t I take advantage of it? With classes that I have trouble in, I rewrite my notes (ok this takes a while, but sometimes worth it) using thin, colorful pens. That way, I have these beautiful and artistic notes to read! And even if I don’t read them again, I kinda memorized/connected ideas together when I had to extract the vital information that I wanted to copy. Personally, I like the Uni-Ball Signo pens (0.38mm is fine) that seems to be featured as number 1 (the 0.18mm ones) on this list! Also, even cute stationary just keeps me interested. And even though this may not work for you, you can find another way to keep yourself interested with your notes

So going back to the introduction, just getting myself to be productive when I need to be will definitely let me enjoy my free time. No more regrets and worries about schoolwork. It’s a shame that I compiled this list in my senior year, but I wish to apply these techniques when I enter medical school. And I hope everyone finds their perfect study habits and gets the A’s they deserve

I just don’t want to be that stupid person in class that makes everyone cringe when they say something so ridiculous

*head desk* sp3 hybridized oxygen is a carbonyl! *head desk*

I’m putting in an effort to be a good blogger, ok?! Lol actually, if you force yourself to blog, it kinda takes the fun out of it, no?

So tomorrow is my biochemistry test, but I seem to lack the momentum to be studying efficiently. This is actually my first test of the semester, so maybe I’m still in winter vacation mode, even though that was totally 4 weeks ago :O

Lol so yesterday, I was told that there was a past exam for biochemistry on the bulletin board in the basement of the Life Sciences building. Seeing as how I only had 1 past exam, I decided to check it out and brought my camera. Ends up it was only like the 4th midterm for Spring 2003, and I needed the 1st one. But I still took pictures anyways, although they’re kinda blurry so I need to retake them. But I also took pictures of the signs around them:

I just found it amusing that he had to put up these signs. I wonder if people really did try to mess with the lock o.o

Two posts in one week?! Have I gone insane? Nah, just trying to keep up with life/blog. And yes, I realize that my layout doesn’t work in IE and no, I don’t really care. Kidding, I tried googling it, and recoding it a bit, but it’s just that I still don’t get it. If anyone knows or has some advice, please help me

So Friday, I went to the mall and got this for $2 (clearance):

When I first saw my friend with it, I assumed it was a face mask… Then after I tried to put it on my face, I read the instructions and it says body (oops). But the mask get dripping into my face (cause I had to wet my face) and it has wasabi in it, so I’m sure you can imagine that for yourself. But I was just happy it was $2 though. And it it gets warm upon application, which was a little freaky. It tingled a little bit, so I assume it works and I’m sure they made sure it burned/tingled a bit just to trick consumers but meh I like it!

So I took the train home this morning (Sat morning) and I actually made it a productive trip. I read most of my novel for my Literature class instead of the typical staring outside the window for 4-5 hours deal that I usually do. Then when I got home, I just started eating whatever food I saw looked delicious. Yummy yummy Chinese New Year food!

So tomorrow I’m going back to school (too bad there’s school on President’s Day =/ ), but I got the return trip back to finish my novel haha Whoo productiveness

Lol not at all. Sometimes, I’m just too busy to type posts out, and end up typing up a very long one! Shame on me!

So big news, on Jan 22, I received an e-mail about getting a med school interview at SUNY Downstate scheduled for Feb 9 (yesterday). Whoo~

So details from yesterday:
I woke up at 5am and got ready, but little things went a little wrong. I walked into the shower in the wrong shoes (which is why I usually don’t shower in the morning) and I wasn’t sure if I took my medicine, which may sound weird but it was because I had the pill in my hand, thought I popped it into my mouth, then drank water. When I drank the water, I didn’t feel the pill go down my throat, so I thought it dropped and looked on the floor for it, but didn’t see it. I just assumed that I ate it =/ So I got to the train station at 7:30am and had time to get Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and a Boston Cream doughnut. While drinking the coffee, I accidentally spilled some on my coat and I forgot to bring some napkins, so I ended up wiping it up with my white scarf >.> But after that, no more bad things happened!

So I met my Aunt in the city and she traveled with me to Brooklyn using the 2 train and helped me explore the area around Downstate. At one point in walking around, I looked down and saw a razor blade lol. At 11:30am, I went to the Admissions Office and sat around with the other interviewees while waiting for the tour to start. They all seemed to be relaxed and I was relaxed too at that point of the day, the closer it was to my interview time (1:00pm), I felt more anxious. So we toured Downstate and it had amazing facilities. The anatomy labs were new and bright (apparently an attempt to make them less creepy) and I thought it was very awesome that each med student is assigned a study area to ensure that everyone has a place to study. They also had like cabinets and drawers for storage, which shows that the school definitely tries to make the students feel very comfortable. Overall, I liked the atmosphere and Manhattan is only 50min and $2.25 away And Chinatown should be even closer

Anyways, it was approaching 1pm, and went to go eat lunch, but I didn’t get to finish it >.> So anyways, my interview was in Kings County Hospital and I had to meet with the Assistant Dean of the Med School, which was pretty intimidating, but he was a really relaxed and cool guy. But I would say the interview didn’t go as well as I planned cause I got nervous and I felt I didn’t show all of my good qualities, so I think I have like a 20% chance of getting in…

After the interview, I went back to Penn Station because my friend came from campus to hang out in the city! Whoo~ but by the time I got back to the city (3:00pm) my feet were hurting very much. We went to K-town to see if we wanted to do something there, but then we ended up taking the subway to Chinatown to buy some cheap groceries and bakery goods. Then we went back to Midtown and ate at Shilla It was so yummy and it was the first time my friend had Korean food, so she was really glad she went. I had O Jing Uh Dup Bob just cause I love squid so much haha. It was really good, but it made me feel uncomfortable it was still sizzling when I was trying to eat it :O

Afterward, I tried to go shopping, but my feet hurt so much. I ended up sitting down a lot while my friend put her heavy bag (3 textbooks) down for me to watch. We went around Manhattan Mall, the GAP, and the Loft. After that, I had Red Mango, but I think I prefer Pink Berry. Then we took the first off-peak train back to Stony Brook. During the ride, it started snowing! Wheee~

So back at the dorm, I was so tired, I fell asleep on my friend’s spare bed and woke up to having no school cause of the blizzard! And even better news… No morning classes tomorrow, and I only have one class for the day, so I officially have no classes for the 3rd day in a row

Ok, I really start to blog like I used to, and keep up with everyone else’s blogs :O I just don’t have the spare time like I used to, but I will try my best Now I need to do all my work