Back in Buffalo

Spring break is over, and it's back to work in earnest. There are only sixteen class days remaining in the program, although the field internship and clinicals will ramp up to fill the void. All that's left before the start of clinical break is to wrap up Medical Emergencies I, take our Advanced Cardiac Life Support exams and then pass Exit Megacodes. This is no small task, but the light at the end of the tunnel is slowly coming into view.

On the chess side of things, I have only been able to play in one tournament in 2010. I'm planning my "grand comeback" for the Mayor's Cup, a six-round, FIDE-rated event held the first weekend in June. This tournament is the crown jewel of the Buffalo chess calendar, and I expect it to draw an extremely competitive field. The paramedic program's clinical break begins two weeks prior to the event; hopefully this will give me some time to spend studying and preparing for the tournament.

As many exciting things as are on the horizon here, I'm nostalgic for spring break already. Not only was the pace of living more agreeable (I have seventy to eighty hour weeks here at least for the next month, possibly longer), but I got to see Ellen on a daily basis. That is without a doubt what I miss most; phone calls and Skype just aren't the same.

In other news, the "I can't believe they got a grant to study that" files have yielded another gem. Evidently, your marriage can impact your health, either positively or negatively. Where would we be without these studies?