Yesterday afternoon I hung out with a friend from high school in the late afternoon/early evening. While I was walking to meet her, I ran into a classmate who asked where I was going.*
"Oh! I'm going to meet a friend from high school who I haven't seen in a while."
Then noticing the look of disdain I added piously, "Of course I will be working ALL WEEKEND, since I really should be doing work now. Haha."
And then, since the disapproving look did not go away, "Of course I really shouldn't be taking any time off AT ALL, since I am SO SWAMPED."
There.
God, why can't I just learn to say something like, "I'm headed to a meeting right now. Can't talk -- I'm so swamped -- I've been working 24 hours a day for the past 2 months!"
I really need to learn to be a better liar.
*I just thought I should clarify that my interpretation of her look could TOTALLY have been projection on my part (i.e. I was feeling guilty about not working and was ascribing my own feelings of disapproval to her....). Even though I do COMPLETELY agree that all work no play would make OMDG a dull girl!!
10 Pearls of Wisdom:
I don't understand why she would look at you disapprovingly.
Is it because it is socially unacceptable to talk about other friends?
Or does this classmate judging you based on how much work you are doing?
B
You shouldn't feel the need to lie, and he/she shouldn't really be so disapproving. We medics work so hard all the time that we're entitled to a little time off. Without it we'd all go crazy and the patients will be the ones to suffer. As they say, "everything in moderation" :D
Hope you had a good time with your friend :)
Why lie? What does it matter what this person thinks of you? After all, you are the one who succeeds or fails by your hard work or lack.
Besides, sometimes a break can be the absolutely best thing for your work. When you come back refreshed and renewed, you can jump back in with more vigor.
I've worked before in a culture that didn't appreciate any activity that wasn't work related. It wasn't healthy.
Does your classmate's opinion hold any weight in your education? If not, I would say you should be giving THEM the look of disdain for not taking the time to cherish their friends and family.
Like they say, not many people on their deathbed look back with regret wishing that they had studied harder and worked more :)
omdg- in medicine the issue is care. care is very hard work. but if the emphasis is on work, care may be diminished
Completely off-topic: you may enjoy the following xtranormal creation - Biostatistics vs. Lab Research. Brilliant, just brilliant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbODigCZqL8
Recently I've actually found myself seriously down playing, even lying a little, about studying more than my classmates.
Our program is very relaxed and self-directed and I've just managed to get in a little more book time than some others. See, there I go again, down playing. Sheesh.
Bottom line - You just can't win.
Ninja -- I used to do that too when I was doing the med school part.
You're a much better person than I am - I would have said something along the lines of "yeah it's really good to have friends.... k bye!"
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