Melbourne, Australia
Originally uploaded by semperjeffrei.

These past few days I have been in Melbourne, Australia. My sister and I are here with my Uncle, Aunt, and cousin. We are on a trip that begins here in Australia and will take us to Indonesia before concluding in Thailand. This is a photo from downtown (or as the Aussies call it: the Central Business District).

As far as medical school goes, not too much is going on. The beginning is just around the corner though. I just completed my background check last week and I still need to order my white coat for the ceremony that will be held on August 4.

The White Coat Ceremony is a program in which someone will put on a white coat in a symbolic gesture of one’s entrance into the medical community. The feeling I get from reading some messages from current med students is that it is a useless ceremony that signifies nothing and only really means anything to parents, spouses, and significant others. So much for my excitement…

Another thing that I have to do is sort out my financial aid. I just got an email from Loma Linda University that said that I had an incomplete financial aid file. Last week I sent in what I thought was the last remaining document, the Master Promissory Note (which I am able to borrow against throughout the four years of medical school). Well this week, Loma Linda’s website still says that I need to turn it in. This whole process is quite frustrating. Thus far, I would say that Loma Linda needs to update its web services website. Not user-friendly enough.