Where am I and where have I been?

I've been immersed within the PA program at Wayne State. I quit my job in March so I could focus more on school and have a little more time to do things I like to do outside of school and work...like play guitar and read....ride my bike....hail satan, you know....the usual. I use goodreads to update the books that I finish (which this year is embarrassingly low, maybe 2 or 3 books so far). Outside of school, I'm reading bits and pieces of various non-fiction works and am also about halfway done with the Dispossessed by LeGuin. Enjoying that book so far. The anarchist in me will never really die. These are beliefs/feelings are implanted within my very nature.

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13270476-mars-weston

Most of my reading is studying, which will become even more prevalent next year when I'll be in rotations and taking periodical quizzes and exams. I should stop referring to clinical year as next year. It's coming up in 3 months. I'm a bit nervous about it, as I feel completely unprepared for it. Most of the classes I've had thus far could have been better handled to help prepare students. As I've said, I felt like a number of the courses didn't do too much in terms of preparation for the professional year. We'll see when I actually begin though. Ah well. I guess I kind of expected to get most of the learning done in the second year anyway. Maybe I just need to have more confidence in myself. After all, I was selected to represent the program at the annual AAPA conference (in NY this year). Doc said I had the highest grade in his courses by a remarkable amount. He also says I'm great at giving presentations. I feel humbled by his confidence in me, no doubt about that. I just wish I had that confidence in myself that he seems to have. What a great man- supporting and knowledgeable to say the very least. I can't wait until the day comes when I don't feel slightly guilty for not studying when I know I could be. I guess I should get back to it.

Currently (and always) reading:

A Canticle for Leibowitz

“....Nature imposes nothing on you that Nature doesn't prepare you to bear.”

“Soon the sun will set- is that prophecy? No, it's merely an assertion of faith in the consistency of events.”

A very interesting read. There were times when I thought it was simply okay, but upon reflection after finishing the book I can say that it is very good and memorable book. For me, this book worked in really subtle ways. It's not exactly what I was expecting it to be. The book deals with a serious subject (especially considering the time in which it was published, 1959)- life that follows centuries after nuclear devastation. While this book is regarded as a classic of science-fiction, I think it extends beyond that. This should really be a classic of American literature. Supremely crafted and written in a manner that is intriguing and, at times, cryptic. 

It picks up 6 centuries after nuclear war. In that time, there was a great backlash on the science and technology that created these weapons. People blamed science for the destruction and death throughout the land. They burned any book they could find, killed scientists, doctors, or any educated person. This was the time known as "The Simplification". Those who opposed these "Simpletons" worked to smuggle books through the American southwest to be transcribed and kept for future generations. Many of these people were caught and killed. One of these people is the man named Leibowitz who started an order in this tradition. The book is essentially divided into 3 parts:

FIAT HOMO: This is an age of little technology. In the 26th century (6 centuries after nuclear devastation), a young novice named Francis encounters a wanderer in the desert who essentially shows him the entrance to an ancient nuclear fallout shelter. In the shelter he discovers artifacts from 6 centuries earlier, including a letter (...shopping list) written by Leibowitz, the founder of his order. This causes a great uproar, as people are unsure whether Leibowitz was really the author.

FIAT LUX: For me, this was the hardest part of the book to read. It got a little dense at times and was told in a more didactic manner. 6 centuries after the previous story, this part serves as sort of a renaissance. In this age, a monk has just re-discovered how to produce electricity to emit light from an arc-lamp. More work is done to analyze the memorabilia and fragments of texts that could lead to advancements in science.

FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA: Easily the best part of the book for me (with the first part coming in a near 2nd place) Now in the year 3781, technology has soared past its current state. Humans are on their way to colonizing other parts of the solar system and science has grown to be an impressive force. So impressive that (inevitably) nuclear destruction once again threatens the existence of man. Nuclear explosions occur and there is talk about retaliation. The church orders a star-ship with several clergy, artifacts, and memorabilia to evacuate the earth before total destruction occurs.

Obviously, much more happens within the text that I won't write about. There are discussions of morality, religion, technology, and even suicide. The last subject is especially intriguing to me given the fact that later in his life, Miller became a recluse and took his own life in 1996. Even with the dense subject manner, this book tends to be very funny in unexpected places. It is one that makes you think after you are done reading it.