It seems I need closure...about PA School

[editor's note: So originally, this was supposed to be an update on how my break is going...but then it got ugly towards the end. I had originally titled this "Vacationing in Massachusetts" then saw that it was something else...]

It's snowing outside. It's supposed to be a pretty bad storm lasting until tomorrow. So I'm stuck in the house. Parents would never allow me to leave when the roads are the way they are. I guess I wouldn't want to. I guess it's the fact that I'm not allowed is what I have the issue with. However, I'm happy with having an excuse for not being able to go out. Since I got here, on Tuesday, every one's been asking me to hang out. And everyone who knows me, knows that on my break I like to just lay around and have me time. A lot of me time. At least when I first get here, geez. Then when I'm bored with that, I'm ready to go out as many times as people would like me to.

But now I finally get to do most of the things I wanted to do on break. I have a post it note on my desktop with a list of things I wanted to do once the semester was over. I have 3 post its actually, all with lists of things. Such as Christmas movies I want to watch, Theatre movies I want to go see, music I want to download, and books I want to read.

End of Death Semester:
1. MALL/Stores
2. Check out neighborhood Christmas lights
3. dust+clean furniture
5. READ :)
6. Greys Anatomy
7. House
8. Catch up on DVR
9. Morning Star

Yes, I'm a dork. I've completed some things on the list, that's why the numbering is off. But anyways, some things I cannot do because I'm not in my super cool apt. I can't dust+clean furniture, can't catch up on DVR...and that's about it. But anyways, I get to read (I've been reading like 3 books at the same time all semester and am antsy to finally finish at least one geez), journal, watch Grey's and House :)) I luvs it.

I've been pretty good at reading and answering emails first thing in the day so I can just get it out of the way. Even though the semester is over, they still have us doing crap over break. You see, our PA program is obsessed with community service. It prides itself in that it requires its students to complete 40 hours of community service by the time they graduate. I have about 20 hours down and while I am all for serving the community, I am so angry with our program because I believe they're doing it for the wrong reasons. Our program director thinks she's super woman and is now the President of the AAPA (American Association of Physician Assistants) and she purposefully puts a ton on her place because she feels she is more efficient this way and feels better about herself. That's all great and fine until the programs and people you are responsible to start suffering because you're NOT super woman and can't do it all. She is married and has two kids. She travels pretty much every other weekend if not every weekend, and doesn't go home until midnight or one o'clock sometimes and when she does go home she's still reading and sending out emails until 3am! Her fellow colleagues at the program have complained about how they're picking up her slack and the students she has in her sections never get their work back on time and so do not receive as much feedback as the other professors give their students. I happened to be in her class this semester and I never got any of my work back in time. I would do my write ups before I got the previous one done so if I did something wrong on the first one, I had no idea, I just wrote the next one the same way AND GOT POINTS TAKEN OFF FOR A MISTAKE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF I HAD GOTTEN THE FIRST WRITE UP BACK IN THE FIRST PLACE. Yes, I'm a little bitter. Just a tad. Anyways, all this to say, she expects us to live our lives the same way. We're in class 12 hours a day, AND have to study for at least 2 exams a week. We already don't have enough time to study for those exams because we're in class all day. And now she wants us to do community service DURING the week, and on all of Saturday. Then we have this Cow Chip fair thing on April 4th that we were supposed to start setting up for during the 2 weeks of finals. [!!!!!] Well screw her, I am the head of the forms committee and I didn't do anything but study during finals week. And believe me, there were other stupid busy work stuff we had to do during all the business of exams. It just doesn't stop. And it's supposed to be one of the best programs in the country but it comes off as unorganized and selfish on their part only worrying about their own schedules because they all still practice a few times a week [they're all PA's]. So we were supposed to start 3 weeks ago, and continue working on it during break and so I've been doing that. Emailing my committee, emailing with the president of the class and treasurer because we need checks blah blah And it's annoying and it's messy and I just want NO RESPONSIBILITIES. What's also funny is that I didn't even volunteer for this position! They picked me to volunteer. Isn't that funny?? They volunteered FOR me. Bastards. See, that's not community service. That's a "we have a number of events we've signed up for every year because we need to meet the quota to be known as a community minded PA program and you have to volunteer for them or we'll look like a-holes". Aside from this Cow Chip Crap er crap, I've enjoyed being a part of what I've done. I've read to little kids at waiting rooms, I've drawn blood/translated during KEEPS (I don't even know what that stands for but it's with the National Kidney Foundation, they're screenings/fairs for kidney disease) which are 8 hour gigs, I've handed out clothes and food in the commons of New Haven and at a men's shelter, I've done more NKF stuff at the NBC Health fair in Hartford, I made a PowerPoint and gave a presentation at a nursing home health fair on fall prevention, and I've even volunteered to set up and be on a panel for one of the interviewing dates for the incoming class (which we didn't get community service hours for because it is program related!).

*sigh*

That felt good. That might have been boring so I forgive you if you skipped over it. I would have too.

So aside from being frustrated with all of the class time and exam scheduling, we have outside stuff like that to worry about. OH, and they're always asking for money! For charity events, and for other committees our class apparently has to be a part of (I'm not sure, I checked out once I heard the words "you owe..". I love giving money. I honest to God do. Even when I have none. But I am so pissed at them...I mean, I would have been fine with giving money now, but if they would have just TOLD US at the beginning instead of springing all of this on us out of nowhere. I DIDN'T FACTOR THIS INTO MY LOAN MONEY, I'm sorry! Geez, I'm already broke as it is, where in the world am I going to get money to give to this charity event I'm not even invited to - oh yeah because I have class and am a poor graduate student! So they know not to invite us, why are you asking us for money?!

Sorry, didn't expect to go off again. I think that's it though. Yes.

*sigh* Maybe I should just end it here, sheesh, guess I really needed to get that out.