Despite a very annoying power outage about 2 minutes before the ending, I finally finished Assassin's Creed II last night. The in-game clock put my time in at around 22 hours, and one of the chapter-ending achievements finally pushed my gamerscore over the 30,000 mark. I really liked the first one, but this game is easily one of my favorite of this console generation.It's the first game I've played enough to warrant installing to my 360 hard drive.

I only have two minor complaints. First, a few niggling control issues never really cause too much trouble, except in hectic race-against-the-clock scenarios where Ezio jumps in a completely different direction than the one you intended. I'm also in the vast minority of people who prefer the pacing of the original game. My favorite aspect of Assassin's Creed is the DaVinci Code-esque conspiracy. I wish there would have been more time spent outside of the Animus and more emphasis put on the background information provided in each of the glyphs. (For those who are interested, GameFAQs user IrvineTomoe has posted an excellent analysis of what each glyph means.)

Also, as a little teaser for anyone still working through the narrative, the ending has one of the funniest lines I've heard from a video game in a long time. On the Giant Bombcast, Jeff Gerstmann said something about the ending revealing a huge hint as to where the next Assassin's Creed would take place. If anyone knows what that hint is, please PM me because I must have missed it.

I still have a few minor achievements to nab, but I can't wait for the recently announced DLC packs. In the meantime, I'm working on reviews for the new Scene It? games, so look out for those if you're interested.

Yesterday, I scheduled the first step of my medical licensing board exams for May 28. 2010. That was the first available date that was close enough to where I live. No big deal, except that I'm getting married 2 days later and I start my third year rotations, two hours away, the following week. I think we'll have time for a honeymoon somewhere in there. I just can't figure out if I'm an idiot for scheduling one of the biggest EXAMS of my life 2 days before the biggest DAY of my life, or if I'm a genius because when Emily is freaking out over minor details I can say, "Sorry honey, I have to study!"

May 14 - last day of 2nd year classes
May 28 - NBOME Step 1 Exam
May 29 - rehearsal dinner
May 30 - wedding
June 2 - birthday!
June 7 - first day of 3rd year rotations
Insanity throughout

On the brighter side, I'm starting to lean more toward specializing in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. My dad is a hematologist/oncologist for mostly geriatric patients, and he thinks I'm insane for wanting to do what he does in pediatrics. I might be. We'll see.

At various points in your medical education, you reach a point where you have to ask yourself whether or not all your effort has been or will be worth it. Most of the time, you tell yourself that everything you've done up until this point has been a step in the right direction that will ultimately get you to your career in medicine. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to keep your head above water and reassure yourself of what you know to be true.

You're away from family and friends, and you spend any time you have outside of the classroom inside of a library. There will be some exams where, regardless of how hard you study or how much you think you know, you'll do poorly. It's discouraging, because you begin to feel like nothing you do to prepare has any effect on the outcome. You begin to resent the professors for writing ridiculous questions, your classmates for somehow outperforming you, or your friends outside of medical school who are busy starting their own families instead of wasting four more years and another $150,000-$200,000 after college.

I have plenty of things to look forward to at the end of my second year. I'm getting married in May, and I start clinical rotations in June. I'll actually be getting hands-on experience with real patients instead of pretending to treat actors with fake medical problems. I'll be leaving Pennsylvania and moving in with my wife to a brand new house.

But when you're stuck inside every weekend preparing for a 2-3 hour exam every Monday morning, it's difficult to think that far ahead. You start getting run down, tired of treading water and going through the motions. I know that it will be worth it in a few years when I'm starting a family and doing what I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember. It's just that right now, all I can remember is that I should be studying instead of typing this.

Originally posted on Doctor Fishypants.