[insert CAO pun here]

First of all, I’m delighted to see the title “mad CAO disease.” I thought I was the only person to ever call it “the cow form”! 😀

Anyway, the CAO has shaped out into some form I’m pretty happy with, even though it’s nothing like I’d have envisaged it being last year, which would be “med in Trinity number 1, every other med below, and then pharmacy”. But I’ve gotten over my Dublin-obsession, I do love Dublin, but I’d be making life MUCH easier for myself by either going to Cork or Galway, both of which are very nice too I’ve learned. They’re both close to home and accommodation is considerably cheaper, meaning I hopefully won’t have to live on starvation rations for 2 weeks to afford a night out next year (much)!

So what happened to pharmacy as a second choice? Between my careers teacher telling me it’s actually a pretty tedious ole career, well-paid yes, but tedious. Also, there’s reckoning the pay-scales are due to decrease. I don’t know if that’s a load of BS or not but it’s not my only reason for not putting pharmacy down, I’ve found courses that look kinda better to put down.

Needless to say, 2010 was a year of change, with the only thing staying constant my ambition to study medicine. Anyway, enough rambling, here’s the form at the moment:

1. Medicine (NUIG)

2. Med (UCC)

3. Med (TCD)

4. Med (UCD)

5. Med (RCSI)

6. Radiation Therapy (TCD)

7. Pharmacuetical and Industrial Chemistry (UL – thinking of swapping this with number 8)

8. Physics with medical physics (NUIG – and perhaps this will be swapped to number 7)

9. Medicinal Chemistry (TCD)

I think it’s gonna stay that way until the change of mind date!

On the Leaving Cert front it’s all going graaaaaaand, can’t complain. Got my Christmas tests back, happy with them, except English was a disaster (as I’d expected). On the HPAT front it’s all not quite as rosy. I haven’t touched the thing since late December/early January. It’s incredibly time-consuming and section 3 actually makes me lose to will to live a little. Pick the middle of the sequence…ARGHHHH! I just hope I’ll do good on the day, but my MedEntry practice tests are NOT at all consistent. The HPAT is now my biggest hurdle to getting medicine. It’s all down to how sharp I am on the 26th of February…and I imagine I won’t be exactly well-rested with nerves the night before. But sure, I’ll be graaaaaaaaaaaaand!

Onwards and upwards!