Just for today: Toyota > Subaru.
A period of my life of many firsts. Today was my first med school exam. I was up at 5:30, the coffee pot was going and I even made some breakfast (other than instant oatmeal) and I was feeling good about things. I figured I was gonna get to school early and get settled in and make sure the test taking software was working properly on my laptop, so I head out the door a little earlier than normal. Key inserted in ignition, key turned, and . . . something, but not everything you need for the engine to start. The battery was fine, the starter was trying it's best, but there was no fuel to burn in the internal chamber of the engine. Never before in 4 and a half years has the trusty Subaru not started when asked. Not even once. And today is the day its gonna pull this!? Thankfully my wife was still at home and her Camry didn't let me down, so I made it just fine to school, but still, not a good way to start the process of getting in the right mind-set.
I took the test and I am, as of right now, strategizing for better study techniques and methods. I haven't got the results from the test but there were at least half-a-dozen questions (out of 80) that I really didn't have much of a clue as to what the answer was. That is unacceptable. Thankfully, it is only 10% of our semester's grade, so even if I did poorly, I'll still be able to receive a good grade. If anything, and I think this is how the process is set up, the test provides a good diagnostic of how we are preparing and studying. I'm curious as to how other people felt about the test, because I left for home after the test to try and figure out the Subaru issue.
After checking the fuse for the fuel pump, I had this sinking feeling that it was probably the fuel pump itself, which on this Outback model is in the actual fuel tank. Urgh. Thankfully we have AAA, but the hassle to get the car towed and find a mechanic in a new area who is trustworthy was something I wasn't (and still am not) looking forward to. I thought I'd try one last thing, really the only thing I could think of doing, which was taking the fuel filter off and trying to see if fuel was even getting to that point in the fuel line. Sure enough, I pop off the intake line and fuel squirts all over me and into the engine compartment. I take off the out line and fuel spills all over the place. Hmmm. This isn't good, I think to myself. Did the engine somehow seize? So I put it all back together and, for turds and snickers, I try and start it up again. Of course, it fires right up like nothing ever happened. All I can think of is some little demon farted in the fuel line to place an air bubble in there to block the fuel's arrival into the engine. I must be destined for great things, since I have to overcome all these secondary issues just to take a darned test!
I am really looking forward to a long run after class today to sweat all this stress out. I couldn't run for the last few days, as I had such a bad blister (most of the pad of my right big toe was torn from the toe -- ouch) from playing in last's week basketball tournament. That really is the nice thing about jogging, it is like a sweaty form or meditation.
In separate news, our dog, who is an Akita is solidly into her "molting" process. Our hardwood floors are barely visible through the thick layer of dog hair. It is everywhere. Too bad there isn't much nutritional value in dog fur, as I'm sure I'm eating a few barrels of it per day. I'm curious where her coat-blowing cycle will configure to her new climate. In Colorado, she was subjected to seasons very much like her ancestral homeland, the foothills of Mt. Fuji in Japan. Here in the San Francisco area, not so much. We'll see. I'm seriously thinking about making her swim in a huge vat of Nair to just get this process over with.
I've been saving a bottle of wine for the after test destress, and I'm very much looking forward to sinking into my couch tonight with a glass of vino.
Germy.
I took the test and I am, as of right now, strategizing for better study techniques and methods. I haven't got the results from the test but there were at least half-a-dozen questions (out of 80) that I really didn't have much of a clue as to what the answer was. That is unacceptable. Thankfully, it is only 10% of our semester's grade, so even if I did poorly, I'll still be able to receive a good grade. If anything, and I think this is how the process is set up, the test provides a good diagnostic of how we are preparing and studying. I'm curious as to how other people felt about the test, because I left for home after the test to try and figure out the Subaru issue.
After checking the fuse for the fuel pump, I had this sinking feeling that it was probably the fuel pump itself, which on this Outback model is in the actual fuel tank. Urgh. Thankfully we have AAA, but the hassle to get the car towed and find a mechanic in a new area who is trustworthy was something I wasn't (and still am not) looking forward to. I thought I'd try one last thing, really the only thing I could think of doing, which was taking the fuel filter off and trying to see if fuel was even getting to that point in the fuel line. Sure enough, I pop off the intake line and fuel squirts all over me and into the engine compartment. I take off the out line and fuel spills all over the place. Hmmm. This isn't good, I think to myself. Did the engine somehow seize? So I put it all back together and, for turds and snickers, I try and start it up again. Of course, it fires right up like nothing ever happened. All I can think of is some little demon farted in the fuel line to place an air bubble in there to block the fuel's arrival into the engine. I must be destined for great things, since I have to overcome all these secondary issues just to take a darned test!
I am really looking forward to a long run after class today to sweat all this stress out. I couldn't run for the last few days, as I had such a bad blister (most of the pad of my right big toe was torn from the toe -- ouch) from playing in last's week basketball tournament. That really is the nice thing about jogging, it is like a sweaty form or meditation.
In separate news, our dog, who is an Akita is solidly into her "molting" process. Our hardwood floors are barely visible through the thick layer of dog hair. It is everywhere. Too bad there isn't much nutritional value in dog fur, as I'm sure I'm eating a few barrels of it per day. I'm curious where her coat-blowing cycle will configure to her new climate. In Colorado, she was subjected to seasons very much like her ancestral homeland, the foothills of Mt. Fuji in Japan. Here in the San Francisco area, not so much. We'll see. I'm seriously thinking about making her swim in a huge vat of Nair to just get this process over with.
I've been saving a bottle of wine for the after test destress, and I'm very much looking forward to sinking into my couch tonight with a glass of vino.
Germy.
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