Today is one of those days that I consider to be perfect, weather-wise: gloomy and pouring down rain. Most people don't enjoy the rain, and I admit that when I have to get up and slog through it to get to class, I don't much enjoy it either. But there's something about rain (especially in the morning/all day and on a weekend) that makes me feel cozy and productive. Double-bonus for today: it's the first week of NFL football, and there is nothing better than curling up on the couch watching football all day while the rain patters on your skylight.

I've been checking my planner daily like I said I would, and I'm actually feeling some semblence of routine starting to descend. The Lab Animal Club is starting to come together nicely: we got good survey responses on which topics would interest people most, a handful of people have already responded to the monthly contest and I'm going to meet with our club advisor on Monday morning to go over the semester and see what we can get done. Once everything starts to settle with LAC, I'll feel even less stressed about the semester as a whole.

If I look at the semester, though, it's really surgery that worries me. I've said it before (though I try not to say it to my surgery professors!): I have no interest in surgery. I recognize its importance as well as the skill and knowledge necessary, but I just don't find surgery to be particularly interesting. I guess the fact that so much of it seems to be relatively routine - spay, neuter, mass removal, fix broken things - makes me think I'd get bored with it. But the fact that I have to remember where everything is, what to cut (or what not to cut!), and doing it all in as atraumatically as possible (and finishing up with some excellent sutures) scares me. I think the best thing I can do is prepare as much as possible - know my anatomy, have my sutures down pat and fake some confidence. Essentially: control what I can to the best of my ability.

Anyway, I was not nearly as productive as I should have been yesterday, so I'm off to clean up the house a bit and probably work in some more studying (blech). Happy NFL Week 1!