I need something to do.

As I mentioned in my last post, Interview Season is Over, many of us med school applicants are now in the Great Waiting Period, otherwise known as application purgatory. (This is different than Secondary Hell, yet precedes Acceptance Heaven; we like biblical analogies in premed, since we will soon become evolutionists worshiping at the throne of evidence-based medicine.)

With our interview cycle completed, regardless of whether or not we now hold acceptances, we sit on our hands and wait for decisions to come in.

In my case, I’ve already heard from most of the rolling schools on my list; the majority will wait to decide my fate until early March.

With a profound lack of things to worry about, I’m a little lost. I have no bag to pack, no suit to dry clean, no plane to catch, no application to review. When my workday ends, I have unexpected hours to myself.

Back when I spent summers working at sleepaway camp, I used to dedicate my free time to learning a new obscure skill. I literally whittled away hours with a block of wood and a Swiss Army knife. A British counselor studying journalism showed me teeline shorthand. I taught myself how to pick locks.

Once again, I find myself with a lot of spare time. In search of a skill, I’ve compiled a short list of possibles:

• Getting a skydiving license: Awesome because it’s one small step toward becoming a wingsuit pilot. nixed because it’s winter and because it costs $3,500
• Getting a pilot’s license: Awesome because YOU CAN EXPERIENCE THE MIRACLE OF FLIGHT. nixed because I don’t have $10,000 under my pillow
• Rebuilding an engine: Awesome because I don’t know anything about engines besides they make cars go and stuff. nixed to avoid getting murdered by female roommates
• Learning to shave with a straight razor: Awesome because The Most Interesting Man In The World probably knows how to do this. Also James Bond. nixed as I would get bored in 2 days
  

One of my roommates suggested I take up swimming. She’s so helpful.

Any ideas?