Christmas is coming
We have our tree up and decorated and my husband has pulled out his impressive collection of Christmas carol CDs. So the holiday season is well upon us, irrespective of the fact that we have not yet started the gift hunting or made a card list. As with most things in my life, this is waiting for the completion of our present course and the latest round of exams.

I am having mixed feelings about this holiday. I am very much looking forward to the break. It will be the only one we have until X-mas 2008 and (so far) our social schedule is under control. There will, or course, be the frantic effort to catch up with friends and all the chores we have been all but ignoring but I should still have a little extra time.

So what is the problem? right?

Extra time is a med student's (at least this med student's) greatest enemy. As soon as there is a space in my schedule I think of all sorts of things to fill it with, re-over-commit myself and end up feeling like a failure when I can't get everything crossed off my to-do list. So far, in my 5 days free I have already scheduled 2 days of shadowing, promised to start cleaning out the basement and resolved to get ahead on a research project; this on top of Christmas catchup and chores I mentioned above. I will also, inevitably, spend a morning or two sleeping in, because I have earned it gosh darn it!

So I am setting myself up for regret. My Christmas hang over probably won't have anything to do with eggnog, too many trips to the goodies table or my VISA bill, but instead will live on as a list of unachieved goals that will hang around for a couple months until I finally give up.