I had a vision for my Block 4 life that has not come to pass. I wanted to exercise regularly; this week all I've managed is 30 minutes at the gym and a 30-minute jog. I meant to do six hours of solid studying every single day; I've managed to do five hours per day since Tuesday, and Monday I only did 2-1/2. I was going to read every day for pleasure; I think I've cracked a non-school book only twice all week. I wanted to get honors in this block; unfortunately, I only scored four points above the average on the midterm. I got a 90%. We've had three quizzes. My scores were 90%, 90%, and 90%. Consistency is no consolation, though.

I'm in the library. I came to the computer lab to amuse myself, but the internet can be so depressing when you're trying to procrastinate. It's just not as mindlessly entertaining as bad television. With TV you can just let the programming do the work for you. With the internet it's constant clicking and searching and reading. And I always find myself reading about minor celebrities and minor political figures. Which gets awfully depressing.

Oooh, I see a chance for a segue! I saw a major political figure this week!! Check it out:



A girl in my class (who's also a passionate Hillary supporter) asked if I wanted to go see Clinton speak at our school's undergraduate campus. We got a few other people together and ran into a couple more at the rally. It was so great to see her in the flesh. We were in a basketball stadium that probably held a couple thousand people. Because we were opposite the wall of press people (cameras, lights, etc.) and Hillary was on a small stage midcourt, her back was to us most of the time. When she mentioned her plans to make college more affordable, though, she spoke directly to us. Every time she turned around the boys in front of me would wave, which was cute. Did they expect her to wave back? She covered all her major points (Iraq, healthcare, the economy) and held off on attacking Barack. Probably because she was in front of a young, mostly black audience. Or maybe (hopefully) she's realizing that some of those attacks are bad news.

We had another inspiring woman speak at school this week. Dr. Rebekah Gee. She is an ob/gyn doc with an incredible background in political activism. As a resident she started getting involved in state-level politics, helping to craft legislation affecting women's health (speicifically, ensuring that women who had been raped could receive adequate treatment in Boston's Catholic hospitals). Who has time to write legislation during residency?!? A couple years ago she and a two of her colleagues forced Wal-Mart to start carrying Plan B (the morning after pill). They went to a Wal-Mart pharmacy in Massachusetts and tried to get a prescription filled. When Wal-Mart refused (the chain had a national policy against the drug based in religious reasoning), they sued under a state law that requires pharmacists to provide medications that are needed by the community. She was amazing. She talked a lot about how it's our obligation as advocates for our patients to get involved in public policy. She's writing health policy for the Obama campaign, but that's okay. I forgive her.

I just googled her and realized she graduated Columbia two years before me. Uhm... wow. Okay, then. Now I really respect her!