Summer Goals for Med Surg

I just started my Medical Surgical Nursing class today. Unlike the 3 previous classes I've had, this one will last 7 weeks and will be very, very content-dense. The basic schedule is class 2 days a week (9-5 or so) and 24 hours of clinical. I got assigned 12-hour shifts, so it might be more intense but I'm sure I will learn a lot.

This class will definitely require more study time, but I am continuing to focus my summer goals on my personal life. The times that school has become miserable for me have been when my personal life is overtaken by classwork and stress. Right now, I am focusing on eating well, working on my novel, and practicing my drawing.



Lately, I have been sidetracked by the many quick service eateries in my neighborhood. For the sake of my budget, I realized I have to get back to making my own food more consistently. At the very least, I am trying to stock up on frozen burritos or vegetarian Asian dishes for the nights I have no energy to cook or a lot of reading/homework.

For dinner I had a cheese and guacamole quesadilla, something I had a lot of at Brandeis at Usdan's Mexican food station. Since I had control of the amount of cheese and guac, I used around 1-2 ounces of cheese and two spoonfuls of guac. The guac from Whole Foods was a little tangier than the kind at Usdan, and considerably fresher, which made for a yummy, quick supper. (I make quesadillas in the microwave).

The novel, which I haven't posted about in a while, has gotten to 78,000 words. (In a typical book, each page is 250 words, so this is a lot). I sent a draft (at 72K words) to another writer and to a cousin for feedback. At this point, I have a good idea of how I want to finish the book, and have some preliminary ideas for a second volume/sequel which begins 1.5 years after the book ends.

Last weekend, my parents brought over my drawing supplies (among several other things), so I bought some new art markers at the Blick art store a few blocks away and am sketching again. From 6th grade to 12th grade, I used to carry a sketchbook and pencils at all times, and probably drew 5-10 sketches per day. After starting college, I lost the habit and it has been hard to pick up again. Drawing pictures of the book characters has been a good inspiration, as are the thousands of stock photos online (for poses/face references). I hope to post some sketches soon.