Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten...everything I'll never need to know, I learned this week.

I really do enjoy learning, and I realize that this is probably a good thing as I have chosen a profession that, perhaps more than any other, will require me to be a lifelong learner. However, I discovered this past week or so that some things I enjoy learning will offer me absolutely no benefit in my career or otherwise. For example, in micro rounds this week and last, I learned that pseudomonas aeruginosa smells like grapes or corn tortillas depending on the person who is smelling (I smelled grapes, and I always thought that was typical, but two people smelled corn tortillas). And eikenella smells like bleach, very strongly. When is that ever going to benefit me?

There are things I have learned this month that will help me: itraconazole needs an acidic environment to be absorbed orally and is thus recommended to be taken with a cola; CMV pneumonia is common in transplant patients while CMV retinitis is very common in AIDS patients; haemophilus species are the only gram positive coccobacilli; tigecycline covers pretty much everything except pseudomonas and proteus...wow, my life sounds incredibly dull when you put it on paper. Aren't all of you glad that you don't have my daily routine?

I also learned that I like Chuck, the TV show, not the name. I mean the name is okay too, I don't think I know anyone named Chuck. I learned that ham stays good for a really long time. I learned that you don't turn around when you are almost home. No matter what. And I learned that sometimes at the end of the day, if all you're able to be certain about is that being Catholic is exactly what God is calling you to, even if you have no idea what else your vocation entails, it's okay to have that be enough.

After reading Susan's amazing blog about the way life changes for you when you are in love (and sometimes changes even when you aren't), I was hoping to be able to write something truly inspired and witty. But when you spend your day talking about bacteria and yeasts and moulds (don't ask why they spell it like that), it's really hard to come up with something that would just knock your socks off. That's alright. That's why nobody is paying me to be a writer. Actually, nobody is paying me anything right now. Maybe one of these times I'll write a blog about all my potential future blog topics to give me ideas when the creative juice is all dried up. Stuff like my top ten favorite movie lines. Or which song I wish was written about me. Or why I think God uses my enjoyment of food to help me build relationships. You just wait. That life-changing blog is out there somewhere, just waiting to be written. Until then, I'll stick to writing about the telltale odors of microbiology.