Week tizennegy

That's Hungarian! Alright, this blog is going to have to be short. Last week was awesome! Only two days of class and then Thanksgiving! I hope everyone was able to eat until they vomited. The most American holiday of them all, stuffing your face and drinking beer! Well, it's keeping us in business, I believe that cholesterol medicine is the number one prescribed drug. So this last week we only had one test, and it was on Tuesday so it made the time off start a little later, of course. Anatomy is probably one of the trickiest subjects, not because the material is hard, but because the questions are worded so wonky that it throws you off. Oh and this time he put a question that said "Inhibition of a parasympathtic nerve would least disrupt... Urination, defecation, erection, ejaculation, or your honeymoon." The answer was ejaculation, but it really depends upon what you do for your honeymoon,not to mention lesbian couples. So a girl asked him whether it was a trick question and he said, "I would sure hate to be your husband." Classic. Anyways, I thought that was a gimmie question also, luckily I figured he probably wouldn't give us an easy question so I chose the correct answer. Anyways, I just thought you should see some of the questions we deal with.

Thanksgiving was a mess, we had to eat two dinners and I felt like dying after the first. I didn't even eat a plateful, but it's all such heavy food. It just sits like a rock in your stomach and no amount of peristalsis is moving that sucker. Another awesome thing about pharmacy school, you can't stop thinking about it. I felt guilty Wednesday and Thursday, because I didn't study. I can't even enjoy the little time I do have off. Oh well, three weeks of tests and then I am officially a P1.5! Then it's only three and a half more years until I become a real person! No more tests, no more studying, actually enjoyment of life! I cannot wait! But I am getting way ahead of myself thinking about that.

Anyways, I gotta get started on studying for the five tests next week. I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and are ready for finals to be done and Christmas to arrive! And speaking of Christmas, we already put up our tree! I have to say, it looks good. Marie finally talked me in to getting a real one and it looks loads better than the Charlie Brown tree we had before.

Marie is the mastermind behind decorating. Please ignore the thermostat.

If you want to hear more about Christmas and other holiday stuff, my wife's blog is going to get very festive soon! Here is the link. I hope no one got pepper sprayed yesterday, Black Friday, and I'll talk to ya'll again next week! Signing out after another crazy week in the PharmD life!

Week tredecim

Another week closer to getting my life back! Too bad these next couple of weeks are going to blow harder than Monica Lewensky! We have a test before Thanksgiving, four tests the week after, and then we start finals. Two weeks of don't sleep, don't eat, don't blog, just study! Five comprehensive finals in a semester that felt like a years worth of coverage of material. It's going to be rough to say the least. I love pharmacy, but pharmacy school..... We don't get along so well. So once again, for those pre-pharmacy people, know what you are getting into and make sure that you are going to be able to handle the material and the course load. Also, enjoy your life now, cause you won't have too much of one once you start. That being said, pharmacy school is a great place to make friends and you have the support of everyone around you, from P3s to the deans, they would all do anything for you. I honestly have not met one upperclassmen or professor that won't talk to you about school, work, or anything in between. They will help you with stuff you don't understand, or just tell you, I know it's hard, but you'll make it through. It's very refreshing from undergrad, where you were competing with everyone around you, and most professors really didn't care.

I still cannot wait to graduate though! I want to be able to sleep, watch TV, kill zombies, eat a real dinner, go for a drive, not feel guilty every second that I am not studying, spend time with my wife, and just enjoy my life. I know it'll be worth it, and if the semesters keep going as fast as this one, it'll be here before I know it. It's nice to be able to vent on this blog though, so vent I shall. I probably should have started an anonymous blog, so I could say whatever I want, but for the most part I get it all out. If you want to read a more down and dirty blog of what retail pharmacy can be like, click here. It's not always as bad as he says it is, but there are some bad times, especially when you work in a bad area. If you have never worked retail, and you think it might be something you pursue, I would 100% suggest reading his blog, and work in a retail pharmacy as an intern or tech for a little bit too.

Just got off work and now it is time to study, so I am gonna wrap it up now. Wish me luck and I wish all of my fellow PharmD students luck for these next four crazy weeks! Like I mentioned above, I probably won't be able to do to in depth of a blog until after the semester is over. I am glad to have made it another week in the PharmD life! May the force be with you.

week dymbedhjete

I want to apologize for the delay in posting this blog, as you will see, I took the weekend off and that included from blogging.I promise not to let it happen again! So this week we had an exam in Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, always a fun class. The lecturer is awesome, but the material is sub-par to say the least. So we learned about the Serine proteases and crammed our heads full of vitamins. Oh and GLYCOLYSIS and Krebs cycle or Citric Acid Cycle, I call it The CAC, pronounced cack. It was a demon to say the least. All of you pre-pharmacy studs reading this, be sure and learn it now and save yourself some time. Other than that, and changing up professors again, it went pretty smoothly last week. Speaking of changing professors, I get the concept, each teaches what they are best at, and it hasn't been too bad so far. However, it is kind of annoying to finally get used to one's teaching style and then have it all shifted on you. Some is for the better and some for the worse, but you think the one thing they could keep stable for you in the crazy life that is PharmD would be the profs. Nah! That'd be too easy! I guess the biggest change from undergrad to PharmD is the craziness of it all, I feel like I am perched on the edge of a great abyss and it'll only take one more little thing to push me over. I know I am not the only one to feel this way, but I guess it is for the best. Pharmacy is almost never structured and every day is a new day. So it is best we be prepared for the craziness that is being a pharmacist. One of our labs is finally done! Woot! And we had our last Introduction to Pharmaceutical Care, or whatever that class is called. To say the least, it feels like the end is near and it's nice to have a little more taken off our plates before the three weeks of hell that follow Thanksgiving.

In other news, as I said above, I took the weekend off and we went to the Renaissance Festival (RF) in Plantersville, aka BFE, and Wurstfest in my hometown of New Braunfels. Both of which were way fun and a nice relief from the usual study filled weekend. Though I did feel guilty every once in awhile, I think I needed the respite. Otherwise I might have fallen off the edge of slightly insane to bonkers.

The RF, acronyms all day baby, was quite enjoyable, especially since I got to wear a kilt all day and have a healthy breeze. It's a little uncomfortably sitting down, but other than that is was fine. We walked and looked at all the crazy shit and watched a whip cracker, who was cracking jokes as much as his whips. (BA-ZING) They had many weapons and I totally wanted to get a sword, mace, and battle ax, but it just wasn't in the cards. They also had some sweet hats with big plumes on them, but the $80 price tag put a damper on me being a pimp with that hat also. Whenever I graduate, I am gonna buy one of them hats fo sho! We had great fun and met a wizard!

This dude was a baller to say the least.

Here we awesome folks be, my sleeves were very puffy, and would have been perfect for stashing a wand. EXPECTO PATRONUS!

The Wurstfest was also a great time, and we had lots of beer! It's a little bit pricey, what isn't these days, but since it was the last day we got in for free! Plus we woke up late, had breakfast, then went back to sleep. It was a much needed break from living life in the fastline that we have been doing. We ended up running into my mom and my little brother and had a great time with them. Got to dance to the Chicken Dance and some polka. Oh and did I mention they had beer, lots of beer! Potato pancakes, that we waited in line for 45 minutes for, but were amazing, and brautwurst in a stick. Marie dressed up but wasn't able to make me a costume, so I procured a hat and we made plans for me to be rocking the lederhosen next year.

Marie's awesome costume, and my hat.

A.J. doesn't mess around when it comes to the Longhorns. Check out that serious face!

Alright my blogger friends, I need to start studying! I have a whole weekend to make up for and a test the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to own and not get owned by. I hope you enjoyed this week, remember to give an animal some love, the good kind only! Pervs. Just glad to have survived another week in The PharmD life. Pray I make it through finals!

Week Zwolf

Sorry for the delay, I am just now getting the chance to sit down and blog. It's been a pretty action packed weekend, between working and partying I haven't gotten too much done. So last week blew big dragon ballz. To start off the fabulous 3 test, 3 quiz week, my body decided to pull a fast one on me and get sick. So I started the "hell" week feeling like crap, and didn't start to feel better until yesterday. So I took a whole bunch of knowledge assessments with a head full of more boogers than knowledge. Hopefully I didn't fail any. I think it's crazy how much my perception has changed since undergrad. I honestly considered B's as a failing grade in undergrad. Now I just want to pass. My brain is sore from all the exercise it's getting and I have no time to rest it. Even if I don't have a test to study for I still think about tests coming up. It makes me want to vomit. But enough of the biotching, I have made it through another week in the PharmD life and I haven't failed out yet, so there is still hope.

I got to relieve some of my stress by going to a Sysco roll out party for the new warehouse they're opening. Open bar and getting to hang out with my wife and the in-laws. It was perfect! Then we went to Perry's Steakhouse, good food, ridiculous prices. I had a $40 steak, thankfully Sysco picked up the tab. Then we ended up on 6th street and things got crazy. Marie's dad's friend from work was plastered and buying us drinks and being all crazy. We quickly vacated or else we knew we'd be puking in the bushes. The hotel room was amazing, it had two TVs and a living room with a couch and table! The place was bigger than our apartment! It was a wonderful little mini vacation. Marie and I got to spend some time together without pharmacy notes. I wish it wasn't over already. Now back to the grindstone.

I found out how much of a nerd I am and how much pharmacy school is drifting in to my normal life. As I am laying in bed last night, about to pass out, I start hoping that I have enough Alcohol and Aldehyde Dehydrogenase enzymes to be able to convert the ethanol to the less harmful acetyl form. How nerdy/lame is that? And then I start pondering whether water is used in the reaction which is why people become so dehydrated when drinking heavily. And then I passed out. Only a pharmacy school kid would be wondering about their converting rate while still drunk. I cannot escape it! Luckily my rate is good and I had no hangover to accompany me to work today. I think that extra hour of sleep really helped out.

Alright, that's all folks! I need to start studying for my Bio-chem test on Wednesday. I hope you enjoyed my 12th week of Pharmacy school craziness. Hopefully I won't be crazy when I get out of here. See you next week in the PharmD life, if I make it that long......

week одиннадцать

First of all, those are some weird letters huh? I did copy and paste them and as part of the interactive blog you can copy/paste into Google to find the language. Secondly, this blog is going to have to be short this week, somebody hates us PharmD kidz and decided next week would be perfect for three tests and three quizzes. Oh well, story of our lives. Just got through a rough Anatomy exam and came home last night and prepared to start studying for pchem. Unfortunately, the Rangers game and huge glass of boxed wine got in the way. Instead I spent a little time hanging out with my wife. It was well needed! I feel bad for her all the time, I have to spend all my life wrapped in school that I think she is getting the short end of the stick. We just keep telling ourselves it'll be worth it. Marie had a similar blog just yesterday about how crudy our lives are right now. It could be worse though and that thought is what keeps us trucking on.

For all those thinking about Pharmacy school, and I know I have said this before, be prepared for a rough 4 years. It's no walk in the park and for the most part it isn't very fun. There are some people who hang out and have fun over the weekends, so if you are smart enough to not need to study everyday, then you can still have fun every couple of weeks. Just don't take this life choice lightly and DON'T put things off. Get stuff done whenever you can, there is a lot of busy work, and you will be less stressed and have more time for you or your mate or your family or your dog/cat/bird/snake/scorpion/rat/hamster/ect. or your television or your Facebook account.

So to recap, this week sucked a little, next week will suck a lot and I have now made it through ELEVEN weeks in the PharmD life. Only eight more in this semester and 84 more total. I'll keep taking them on one by one and hopefully I'll come out a Doctor of Pharmacy. Thanks for reading and since this is a kinda lame and sad post, I'll leave you with an awesome pic.

That is Sophie helping Marie cheat at Scrabble. What a fatty!

Week Zehn

This week in the PharmD life we were in the eye of the storm. We finished a week of three brutal tests and then, nothing. Now we begin the onslaught of tests again. We have the second Anatomy test and it is going to be hard. It is over the nervous systems and that happens to be our professor's specialty, so he likes to make it very in-depth. However, I have faith that all of us can make it through. Everyone above us, save a few poor souls, made it. So why not us? There was a silly research paper due on Thursday that some people put off and they ended up pulling all nighters to finish it in time. That sucks! I think I would probably die if I tried to stay up all night. My hat's off to you, and I hope you get to catch up on sleep this weekend. Who am I kidding? We are all going to be studying this weekend. Gotta learn the material! Because it is vitally important to know what wouldn't work anymore if I got shot on the left, lower side of my spine. That way I know how much I need to cry while bleeding on the ground.

In other news, Marie and I have been very bad and watching MOVIES! I flipping love movies and that is one of the main things I have had to give up while in pharmacy school. So it has been very relaxing to get to sit on the couch next to my wife and enjoy an escape from the real world. We have been on a Halloween theme and watched Hocus Pocus, which is a very good movie and reminds you of all the ugly crap the 90's had to offer, Sleepy Hollow, Johnny Depp is such a good actor, Beetlejuice, a classic for certain, Casper, not gonna lie, this was Marie's pick, and the only actual scary movie.......The Shinning! Jack Nicholson can play one creepy MoFo. Those freaking eyebrows! I swear he doesn't have control over them and they are trying to be an actor also. The score in The Shinning is amazing and, in this day and age, the only thing that really makes that movie scary. I cannot wait until I graduate and we are able to watch movies whenever we want! And maybe even go out on a date and see one! How awesome such simple little things sound when your life consists of nothing but tests.

October is already almost over and next comes November and then it's December! (A sneak preview of Rachel Black's next song) Which means that we are almost done! One more full month and three little weeks between us and freedom! Freedom for a month at least. Then it all begins again. But I think it'll get better as we move on, or we'll just think it's getting better. All that matters is that I am one week closer to getting that beautiful piece of paper that says Dr. Brendon Hogan is a bad mutha! Oh and then I have to take an exam to get my license. Hopefully that'll be a cake walk after all we'll have been through. Enjoy your next week my spooky friends and I will talk to you again next week! Piece out from this worn out student in the PharmD life.

Week Huit

That's French. I looked it up online. I figure I'll use a different language for the number every week. That way we can all learn something!

Alright, so yesterday night was the end of the most hellacious week to date in this man's pharmacy school career, but I know it can only get worse! I am thankful to have made it through three action packed exams and a quiz that I would call a test in undergrad, just shorter. Maybe that is the definition of quiz? Oh well, the point of the story is, that every type of examination that you undergo in pharmacy school is hardcore, and needs to be treated as such. It's like a lion, treat it with respect and caution, or you'll get eaten!

The Pharmaceutical Biochemistry exam started the week off with a bang, Monday night at 7pm. It actually wasn't too bad in my opinion, I am very glad I learned the Amino acids! Why does my computer not know how to spell amino? Anyways, so if you are planning on going to pharmacy school, learn the amino acids! I have already had two exams that cover them and honestly, they're essential to life, so know them! Then we had a day off, HAHA! as if there are such things as days off in pharmacy school, from tests and we all studied our brains out for the coming Biopharmaceutics exam on Wednesday morning. It came, and went, nothing spectacular. Just a lot of memorization. Then Thursday night showed up. Medicinal Chemistry Lecture and Lab tests, at the same time! They give you two tests and say have at it. Vomit! And don't think that the lab is lab so it's easy, nope, the lab was the harder of the two. So we'll see how that week turned out. Hopefully I'll check blackboard on Monday and find three nice and crisp A's! Even if they are 90's I'll take it!

Needless to say, everything else in my life had to take the back burner. I shoved my brain so full of knowledge that it literally ached every single day. I never thought that I would have a study induced headache. I guess the longer you live the more experiences you get exposed too. Just remember that pharmacy school is a huge undertaking, so know that this is what you want to do, and make sure you're okay with not getting to do much else besides study. Now a lot of people do have fun on the weekends, so if you can get away without working, I would suggest it. Or work like once a month.

We finally have a free week, besides those stupid lab quizzes, this week. It is our last free time before the real fun begins. We have tests every week leading up until finals, and then we have more tests! And a Saturday one to boot. But at least we will be done earlier by taking one on Saturday.

Enjoy your weekend and get some rest, but don't fall behind! For all the pre-pharmacy students. Enjoy your life while you still can! Or alienate all your friends and family now. It'll make it easier when you start school! Remember to have your pets spayed or neutered, and stop by The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and buy a ribbon for the Austin Humane Society. Not only will you get a discount all month, but you are helping the animals! And as a reminder for why you need to help the animals, I will sign off with this beautiful picture of a true study breaker.