The last few months have been a blur of wonderful activity. Busyness is good, and I'm definitely more productive when my schedule is full. I've delayed M2 year, so I am actually focusing on math classes that are prerequisites for the PhD I will do in biostats. It turns out that most people going into that program over at the School of Public Health are either coming in with a relevant masters or were math majors during college, so I have a bit of catching up to do. The course I'm taking now is through UM's math department, so it's interesting spending time down on Central Campus for the first time. I like the bustle of activity on the quad and having small sections where everyone attends class, but being mixed in with undergrads can be funny at times. On the first day of class, the guy sitting next to me said, "Oh, you're in med school? You must be old." So that happened.

I'm still on the medical campus often, though, to study and review medical material and to spend time in the hospital. It's been quite exciting to shadow in some of the clinics I'm most interested in and find that -- even now, after finishing just M1 year -- I can follow most of their discussions of diagnosis and prognosis. In some of the outpatient settings, I've gotten to start going in to take histories and do the physical exam on my own; it's satisfying to start feeling so comfortable with patients.

And, finally, we've had some lovely autumn days and seasonal activities. A couple weeks ago, I went with a group of friends to pick apples and pumpkins (and, yes, to go for a hayride).