Sleep, sleep and more sleep! I'm so happy I can sleep in during winter break... though my idea of sleeping in is waking up at 9 AM. It's been one full week of break and I've already been back and forth from San Diego to Orange County twice! The drive past the San Onofre plants to Camp Pendleton is quite a drag and my eyes become blazing red afterwards but it's nice to be back in a place I associate with "home." My new location in San Diego is pretty great since it's close to everything you can think of: malls, restaurants, freeways... but it just doesn't feel the same (nothing compares to the malls in Orange County)! I also live in the mountains so driving up and down all the hills means lots of changes in altitude therefore, lots of ear popping! It's definitely a change of perspective since I used to be so close to the ocean. I plan on going back a few more times to finish off the last leg of my research at UCI and to do more damage to my bank account!

This is a typical casual outfit I wear to long days at school or during exams. I got this shearling lined parka/utility jacket from Zara quite some time ago but it was never cold enough in Orange County. I can definitely see myself wearing this on repeat in San Diego though... especially in my freezing cold classroom... Anyways, I saw these Timberland boots and I immediately fell in love - I linked the exact same style below (some colors are on sale under $100!). Even though they're 3" in height, they're beyond comfortable! I was able to walk up and down the crazy hills at UCSD without any trouble or pain! Style AND comfort? Yes, please! 

Anyways, grades finally came out and I'm so glad I passed with honors! For those of you not familiar with the grading system at UCSD's Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, all of our classes are graded as Honors, Pass or No Pass (H,P and NP, respectively). I'm so thankful I survived my first quarter in Pharmacy School. It was definitely no walk in the park. My first quarter consisted of 5 classes: Law and Ethics, Pharmacy Practice, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry (Advanced OChem) and BioStatistics. Of those, I found Pharm Chem and Bio Stats to be my easier classes because I could visually see things meaning I could see electron movement and numbers. I ended up studying the least for these classes due to time restraints. The more demanding and aggressive class, to me, was Pharmacy Practice. I came into Pharmacy School without ANY experience in the actual field so I found myself spending a great deal of time trying to memorize brand names vs. generic names, dosing, ADE's, contraindications, etc. Even though I was able to get into all the Pharmacy schools I applied to without prior experience, I would definitely recommend all applicants to at least shadow a pharmacist if becoming a pharm tech is not a feasible option. Exposure to community pharmacy prior to admission into a pharmacy school not only helps you become acquainted with drug names, but you also learn a great deal about laws and regulations as well as "dangerous drugs." Even though you may not be interested in pursuing a career as a community pharmacist, like myself, dipping your toe into that line of work will be beneficial. I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I'm not sure if incorporating outfits into my pharmacy related posts is a good idea but hey, you get two for one and who doesn't like a deal. Until next time!