New gig, old school!

So I've decided on a research group and it looks like cancer along with other GI diseases are now my primary research focus. I'll also be working at a major medical center with a medical school affiliation, so that means that it's probably a good idea that I never officially left my previous program (and for those who haven't been able to keep up with all the different educational paths I was considering, on paper, I'm technically still a graduate student in Biomedical Informatics at my current university.) And if I'm really being honest, the reason I never resigned from my current school is because I just didn't "feel" compelled to do that for some strange reason as in I didn't want to burn that bridge until I was certain I didn't need to get back across it. Plus, I've attended more than 10 educational institutions for every city I've ever lived in (plus a few more LOL), so I recognized that when you have doubts about your next move, staying put is usually not a bad idea. I also finally had to face the fact that being teed off at one PI at my school isn't really enough reason to leave the department/school. But this new gig also means that my research focus doesn't involve my old PI's research area, so I don't need him (anymore) to complete my goals. And that's the more important issue, I don't need his salty arse and he can't block my path either!! And THAT was my biggest concern when I was focused in his main area.

Movin' on, I'm thinking about taking online courses in sociology and psychology in preparation for the MCAT starting this summer. Maybe I'll take one in the Summer and one in the Fall. I'm also supposed to be taking a course in my program (and given the overlap with the concentrations I was considering, the specific course hasn't changed), but I'm just not sure yet. This Spring semester was ROUGH for a number of reasons, and I could really use a little bit of time off from the rat race. Plus, I'll want to hit the ground running on my new gig and that's going to include some looonnnggg hours this summer. The there's that surgery I need to get a consult about too but that will only slow me down, the beauty of doing a data oriented graduate program AND new gig, is that I can work on it from anywhere at anytime!!!