USMLE: In Class

As our Kaplan course draws to a close (to which I simultaneously think "YES! I can't take it anymore" and "NO! That means my exam is just around the corner and I'm screwed), I'd like to reflect on some of my favorite things that happen in class.

By far the best/most entertaining thing that happens in class is when someone's book falls off of the mini fold-out desks we write on. This usually happens about once an hour. Honestly, it's been happening all year, and it is still funny. At this point, I'm so tired in class that I actually laugh out loud when it happens. It's particularly funny when a friend does it. I can barely contain myself when A does it.

Also funny is when someone drops anything - a waterbottle, pens/highlighters, a whole notebook/stack of books (this is the motherload). Last year, I used to love it when people (mostly A) would knock over their water bottles and it would clang and disrupt class (and I'm sure many of us remember when C spilled an entire water bottle that caused a total commotion as water spread across the entire floor of Tamkin).

Less funny is when R spills his coffee all over me and claims, "What did you do?!"

After 2 years of sitting in lecture with the same people, you begin to notice different mannerisms. One classmate has a very heavy step as he/she walks down the awkwardly spaced steps of Nelson. Another person wears a charm that tinkles (heehee, I just wrote "tinkles"...I'm 10 years old) as she walks in. It took me a little while to distinguish this sound from the jingle of R's dog collar (because, yes, sometimes people bring dogs to class). Some people arrive almost exactly 8 minutes late every day and then sit in the front row. Other people chatter annoyingly throughout class (okay, that's me and A... sorry guys! But it's all relevant!! (no, it's not.)).

Hmm... what else? Oh, I love it when cell phones ring. Mostly because it's always kind of a mystery as to how those people even got reception in the first place (it turns out Nelson is like the one place where AT&T actually works). The BEST was when R's phone started playing the Sexy Sax Man Video at the loudest possible volume imaginable (I didn't even know that iPhones could even play at such a loud volume... it was amazing... and he was sitting right next to me when it happened).

Am I missing anything? Feel free to add your favorites in the comments.