Oh boy.

So school has definitely kept me more than busy lately. Ugh. The frustrating part of it is that I really can't learn things well when I'm there for 14 hours a day, always exhausted, always getting yelled at for the dumbest things imaginable (though if I was a surgeon working these hours, I would also be constantly yelling at people for really dumb things probably). I did actually fire back a bit which was exciting since I am very much one to just suck it up and take it. 

Anyways, last week I saw Severe Clear and You, the Living as well as a short comedy mini festival thing. Severe Clear consisted of a Marine from NJ home movies on his experience in Iraq. Parts of it were disgustingly fucked up, like his confession that he really really likes killing people, but I did learn a tiny bit on the mindset and all that. And I was also surprised in the amount of effort they took to not kill Iraqi civilians. After it all he discussed how he doesn't think they should have gone in, but he also stated that he did because he just didn't question it. And if he were to do it again, he would still not question it. How in the world can you not question something that will result in you killing people? I don't know, I actually am not 100% anti-war, but fuck, it's going to be a complete last resort and I would HAVE to know that its a complete last resort and all the details of that if I were gonna go in. I didn't stay for the Q&A because I felt bad that I already financially supported such a movie so I guess I just needed to get out of there. 

You, the Living was this very trippy choppy subtle comedy-ish film. The lighting in it was amazing, throughout the movie it just looked like a combination of 5am and a 1970s basement. Just very foggy, almost. The MoMA will actually be screening a documentary on the making of it so hopefully I'll be around for that. Content-wise it was linear and had a plot and all but it was still essentially a bunch of 10 minute scenes stringed together. And then didn't really end. I am weird, but I much much much rather have a movie not end for some reason. There was some musical-ness going on as well as a lot of the characters talking to the camera and a ton of dream scenes. Totally different. I loved it!

The comedy fest was okay, not as good as it generally is. Nothing really stood out. They have this contest where you put your name in a hat and the winner teams up with a filmmaker and the two of you make a movie where you're the main character. Only about 20 people go for it and I keep not winning :(

This weekend I hung out with people but it was a bit harder because my mind has just been in a haze (& way tired!). I have nothing to talk about. I guess the thing about being in the hospital and just seeing really fucked up things constantly (ie everyone is dying) is that it consumes you a bit and there is just nothing to say in everyday conversation, really. I mean, I struggle with that enough as is but its far worse now. The good news is that I can still communicate with med students pretty well so I guess I'm not totally going crazy. Maybe.

Way weird that no one knows about this and thus no one is reading this... but, it is out there.

I just finished reading Beautiful Boy by David Sheff. It's a memoir about dealing with his sons addiction to meth. Its very well written and the first memoir I've read in awhile. Extremely compelling. His son wrote his account of his addiction although I don't know if I'm ready for that just yet. 

I got done with my psych ER elective and thus it is time for 8 weeks of surgery. I am dreading it by a lot which may not be a great attitude to go into it with. I just hope that I luck out and the residents I work with are nice, because under that situation I tend to work hard and be okay with things. 

On Friday in the ER were a lot of people my age or so. I was talking to this one guy and it came up that he almost wishes that he joined a gang, to fit in. It was just such an honest thing to say and it conveyed a deeper message than that and it's remarkable how in a certain setting, you can have these raw conversations with people that you've known for literally 3 minutes. And, mostly, I guess I've been going through the white-girl version of that lately.

I'm on my two week elective which is ER Psychiatry in Newark. Way intense! It is definitely what I should and will be doing with my life (maybe not ER in newark though...). It's definitely very emotionally draining for me, much muchhh more than I anticipated actually, but I suppose I'll take that to be a good sign. One thing I'm not actually burnt out on! 

I have been laying low on the art and movies front, though I did see Somers' Town last night. It was a tale of two outcasted 16 year old boys in England, one who ran away from his home and one who just moved from Poland after his parents got divorced. The english one is pretty badass while mr. poland boy is just a solid good kid so that struggle emerges. It felt very effortlessly done, which I absolutely love in movies. Like not a strict beginning, middle, end, and not throwing things in there to deliberately make it sad or funny or whatnot, though it did end rather neatly. Also, the struggles with their friendships reminded me of struggles I've had with friends, where you both just want very different things from each other yet you have to make it work. It was very subtly done. It was also mostly done in black and white, with a tiny bit of footage in scratchy color, adding to the quaint feeling. 

http://www.filmforum.org/films/somers.html

I also saw Bruno, which I guess got a lot of flack from the gay community and I understand and respect why (and parts of it were definitely iffy in terms of that), however I thought it was more witty and hilarious and helpful to the gay community. My hope is that post-Borat, it will reach a wider audience than it normally would have and just that will be helpful. That and I just absolutely love really smart and innovative people and I am just impressed from that point of view. 

I watched about a minute of the fireworks, got bored, and went inside. And also, fireworks and particularly the 4th tend to make me a bit nostalgic and thus I get grumpy. 

We have to do these awful patient logs for each time you go near a patient. I brilliantly saved a month's worth up and it is awful going through them. On the plus side, I procrastinated this by cleaning a lot and the apartment is looking spiffy! I also went to ikea today and rearranged and finally put up this print I bought a few months ago. It's by a new artist by the name of Jason Gluskin and I have 1/10 of it so it looks impressive even though I think I only spent $35 on it. It's small though, 10"X10". 

I also put up two of my sketches from Drink N Draw. It's pretty self-explanatory, but essentially for $10 they have a model and PBR and you go to town. It's on wednesday nights (and in Brooklyn) so I haven't gone in awhile though, sadly. 

I had a really nice last few days. I am the type of person to sulk and sulk, but when things are going well, I am so incredibly thankful for every tiny moment of it. On friday I went to the newly opened beer garden with my roommate and school friends and friends of school friends and then went back to a friends apartment for hookah. And a cigarette. I rarely smoke (5 cigs a year?), but when I do, I absolutely love and savor it. I am glad they live so closeby! 

Yesterday I went shopping and bought the best dress ever amongst other things and then went out for Joanna's birthday. The fellas were being nice to me, which is always a nice surprise. I have near zero confidence so it always majorly throws me off when they are actually sincere. We napped at Joanna's for a little and then got back to jersey city as the sun was rising, which I love. 

A blog?!

Oh goodness.
I had the usual "wow, I should blog" epiphany in Seattle, as I was staring at super good art that I would soon forget as always. I thought it would maybe make sense to stop being lazy and write things down and research the artists/filmmakers/etc a bit, since some of it is incredible yet escapes me as fast as it grabs me. Like whatever the hell I was looking at in seattle. That and school has its teensy tiny funny good moments nowadays.

So, here we are!

The latest blownup moment was this 10 hour film workshop I partook in today and yesterday. It was a very basic "here is how a movie is made, oh and you can do this if you put enough energy into it" thing. We shot and edited a little 1 minute or so long scene and it looks GOOD. Mostly because I had a minimal role in it (it was more him showing than us doing). It'll be online in a few days. I learned so so much!

Frownland, aka the best and worst movie ever in one, is getting screened again in August at the MoMA. It is physically painful to watch, but I love that film like I would love a person. Which essentially is me saying that the character development is unbelievable. This is going to be a shitty way of describing it, but it is about Keith, a depressed "loser" who you just feel so sorry for yet are repulsed by. So its 100 minutes of you battling yourself essentially. There is a lot of him interacting with other characters, etc, as well. I blocked out the last half hour or so and thus don't have a full grasp of how it ended so I am glad that it's playing again.
http://www.frownlandinc.com/keith.html is a good clip of him.

For school, I have OB/GYN outpatient surgery & clinic next week. I'm just happy because the hours are more reasonable and it'll be interesting and new and I'll be with a fellow med student for it. They keep teaming me up by myself :(