i will be the eccentric old lady.

I'm on a path of self-enrichment and improvement. To the untrained eye, it may seem slightly silly and and somewhat cheesy. The trained eye, however, will recognize that it's actually very silly and significantly cheesy.

With my med school interviews winding down, I found myself with more free time than normal. I love meeting new people and trying new things. However, much of this remains simply a rhetorical goal and I often end up lounging in front of the television when I could be doing more productive things. Slightly shy of the new year, I've decided to implement some early resolutions.

1) I started taking beginner Salsa classes. My instructor is the finest human being on the planet. And he can shake his booty like it's his job. Oh, wait. I guess it is his job. Yesterday I got to class early and he used me as a guinea pig for a routine he was inventing. It was a very advanced routine. Given that I can barely get the basic step down, I just let myself be spun and dipped and flipped like a Raggedy Ann doll. The $15 for the class was worth it for that little experience alone.

FYI: Guys, if you are having trouble getting the attention of the ladies, learn how to salsa. It's so damn sexy, and so few guys can do it.

2) I've joined a book club. Yes, a book club. With real people. Not like the Scholastic Book Club from back in the day in elementary school. Remember that? Every month we'd get a paper catalogue of the new Scholastic books, and you would fill in an order form and have your parents write you a check? And then you'd cut out the little order slip and give it to your teacher? The day the books arrived in school was so exciting! Uh-oh. Do other people remember this or am I giving too much of a glimpse into my lame childhood? Still, I loved that Scholastic thing. I grin like a kid high on Fun Dip when I think of it.

But the book club. It's awesome. A friend of a friend started it, and I went. I met some amazing women and had a really meaningful and intellectual discussion with them. We have another book club tonight! We read Shopgirl by Steve Martin. It's a novella - a trifle of a book, purposely chosen for its length given our pre-holiday hectic schedules. It was quite good, I recommend it for anyone looking for a quick and fun read.

3) Last but not least. I may start taking Tae Kwon Do lessons. Yes, I'm serious. No, for real. Stop laughing! I went for an intro lesson last week at a studio near my house (which I found through Google. I HEART GOOGLE.) Kicking is a great way to exercise I think. And Tae Kwon Do is all about the kicks. My instructor was this awesome woman who was really energetic. At some point she told me to kick her though, and I couldn't. I mean, she didn't do anything to me. Why should I kick her? There's gotta be an easier way to get to know each other. So I invited her to the book club, of course! (I keed, but maybe I should...)

Yes, so who knows how long these newfound interests will last ... but as of right now they are fun. These next few months are for me - it's the last time I will have the freedom to try such activities, because once medical school starts my only high kicks will be made out of sheer frustration from being in the library for too long.

*~*~

Total aside: If you haven't seen the Curry-N-Rice video yet, here's a link to it. I promise, it's hilarious.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4532245984549289375