Sunday, December 21, 2003

it's been awhile

i apologize for the long wait, and i can't say that it's worth it, for a post. my reasons are varied and totally up to par. first, i came down with the flu, or so i think. i thought it was everything from the common cold (i don't get sick often and had no idea what it felt like) to pneumonia to mono. i quickly ruled out the third choice as i haven't been kissing anyone lately so there was no chance that i was lucky enough to get the kissing disease. but, hey, because i was sick, i was unable to study for finals and ironically, my hypochondriac self and looking up all the signs and symptoms of mono helped me on my hematology exam (because i subsequently missed the lecture on mono because i was at home dying slowly in my bed).

oh, and my second excuse is that i had finals. yeah, even in medical school we have that dreaded week of back to back exams. and seriously, i didn't study more than 6 hours for each of my exams, as i was either too dizzy to even stand or just bored out of my mind. let's hope that i pass. that's all that i can hope for.

but i do have a story. i don't know how to feel about it or what i should have done during the "ordeal," but it was fascinating enough that i feel other people would be interested in hearing it. so, i was on the train on friday afternoon, coming home from a shopping celebration with friends after we finished our last exam. i see this good looking construction worker get on the train, but i'm more fascinated in making up this life for him than in his looks (i have had this weird fascination with people's lives, as in what they do and what they're thinking, lately). it just so happens that he gets off at the same stop as me. as i was passing him on the escalator, i hear "wah ai nee" and realize it's him. for those who aren't chinese, which does include myself, that means hello. a white construction worker saying hello to me in chinese. i had no idea how i should respond. should i have said i wasn't chinese? should i have said that i speak english perfectly well? should i have said that saying hello to me in chinese, even if i was chinese or spoke it, wasn't the greatest way to get a date? oh, but here's the cincher. he's not the first guy to do this to me on the train. a middle-aged white guy said it to me as i was exiting the train one day. again, i said nothing. but does the T (what the subway system in boston is called) have posters around saying, "say(insert hello in preferred language) to (insert said language's ethnic community) girls and you're guaranteed a date. it's hot."

but that's my story. i have plenty more later. for another day. good night and let me just say it's wonderful to be back in san francisco.

Friday, December 12, 2003

it's cold

or it may be the flu. or it may be pneumonia. or it may be bronchitis. yes, i'm sick. and right before finals, so i'm literally screwed. i slept through two reviews today and have no idea how i'm going to study when it hurts for me to read anything or even think.

you would think that someone who is in medical school would know what they have, when it comes to something so trivial as this. however, i do not know anything. i don't even know cpr. i've never taken a first aid class. yet, how am i to tell if i have the flu, cold, pneumonia, bronchitis, or numerous other things that can make me cough through the night, my body ache, and my head throb. argh.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

everything's brown!

so, after the snow settles, people start stepping in it, and it gets brown and mucky. quite disappointing if you ask me, but i'm sure you're not asking me.

finals are coming up and i'm freaking out. i need to pass all my classes (duh!), but i want to honor one of them. we'll see if i can do it. we'll see how much sleep i'm willing to sacrifice to do it. i haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately, and i think that it shows. what i want for christmas: sleep.

for my public health program, we had a holiday gathering today and collected toys from people. it was nice, as we got lots of toys and people mingled. being public health is fun because you're with a lot of like-minded people who want to make a good difference in this world. you'd be surprised at how many people in med school don't... well, to be more correct, who aren't interested in the larger aspects of healthcare and disparities and such. and you'd also be surprised at how many republicans there are in this place! i mean, if you're a republican at 21, i don't want to even see what will happen in another 21 years.

well, enough about that. off to watch tv and try and accomplish some work (though you'd think that's impossible, i beg to differ).

Sunday, December 7, 2003

everything's white!

ok, so there's snow everywhere here, as i'm sure you have all heard. but i think it's wonderful! i'm such a californian in snow. i love it. i suggested "trouncing" around in it to some friends and the other californian in the group just shot me a look saying more than just "you're crazier than a can ful of lima beans in the middle of antarctica."

but really, it's beautiful. i walked home the first night that is snowed around midnight and it was beautiful. the snow was pure white and no one had gone and gotten it all a muddy brown, which it is now. i wish i had my camera with me because it was pure magic. seriously. now i don't know if i'll be saying this a few years down the line, but it was wonderful for the weekend.

it's stopped snowing, so no worries about wind or snow, but it's still freezing cold. but i think i'm adjusting well. i still don't feel like i need to stay inside at all. in fact, i haven't. i went out to lunch today, am at the library, blah blah.

but that's enough. i've gone on too long about it. though i love the snow, i don't think that i'll be too sad when i'm in california for the break. though, i'd like to say that it would be wonderful to have a white christmas.

Wednesday, December 3, 2003

ah, nice butt!

i went to the nutcracker today and i have to say, some of those dancers had the most awesome bodies i have seen in quite awhile. granted, the only bodies i see are medical students in winter coats (and even then, i can't say that they're hot). but gosh, there was a dancer who had a butt that looked like it was made out of rocks. it was cut so much i thought that i could make a plaster cast of it and keep it for anatomy to learn all the butt muscles.

sorry, had to rant about nice bodies. talking about bodies, i feel like mine is falling apart. 5 hours of sleep too many nights in a row is bad. well, until i realize that this is my life for the next 40 years.

oh, and kerry, my friend from california here at tufts, made an astute observation as we were walking to get dinner. "god, even mud can freeze. it's damn cold in boston."

Tuesday, December 2, 2003

is this white stuff legal?

so, i walk out my door this morning and i see white powder on the ground. i, the californian, get so confused and nearly ask the girl i hosted last night (she's interviewing at tufts for med school) what it was. then, i realize, "my god! it's snow! how unusual." today was the first time that it snowed and actually stayed on the ground. actually, it stayed on the ground all day and was still there as i walked home today.

about the cold that comes with the snow. i thought that my pants were going to shatter and the hairs on my legs (sorry, haven't shaved in awhile) were as prickly as a porcupine's needles. oh, and my ears were definitely going to snap off. and i only walk three blocks in the cold. it's crazy.

this is what they call a happy birthday?! if so, then i don't want any part of it. argh. ok, gotta do some work before headed out tonight into the cold to sing some karaoke with some drunken friends and strangers.

Sunday, November 30, 2003

i'm famous!

ok, sorry, had to post again. i haven't done an ounce of work since my last posting.

but i was looking up my name on google. everyone does it, but i admit that i do it. and guess what i found out?! that i'm actually semi-published. granted, no one got my permission, but hey, i feel famous!

i wrote a paper with a classmate in my california politics class at uc berkeley about female legislative behavior in the california legislature. we got a 99 on it, so i was rather impressed. little did i know that the institute for governmental studies decided to put our results in their magazine and then the PAWCF decided to publish it in their newsletter! who knew?! i was rather proud of the work and considered continuing it for fun (yes, i'm a nerd), but i never knew it was even that good. funny thing is that the PAWCF cited it as though it was a real, published study that was done by professionals. i don't know why i'm so excited about this.

try it, google yourself. what do you find? also, you can sign up for google alert, which will email you every time someone googles you and what link they click on. i know, it's like stalking yourself, but it's quite interesting.

ok, back to work. on page 4. out of 8-10...

new look

well, not a totally new look, but i added books i'm reading to the sidebar, in case anyone's interested. they're not all too interesting and rather nerdy books if you ask me. another book that i'd like to get on that list is stiff. it came out last year and its subtitle is something like "the lives of dead people." it's basically a book about what happens to us, physically, after we die. i'm fascinated just by the topic itself. i'm looking forward to anatomy next semester, if it's not wildly apparent already.

so, thanksgiving was fun... sorta. laid back. went to a family friend's home for dinner with a classmate and spent the rest of the weekend wasting time and trying to spend as little time working on a paper as possible. i was hoping to have it done by now, but i'm hopeless. utterly hopeless.

who read this blog? i'm just interested. i know that some of my friends read it, but who? email me or leave a comment, just so i know. i don't even know why anyone would read this blog. it's so out there. it's really about nothing and everything at the same time. it's about politics, my lack of social skills, random stuff. it's a tiny peek into my mind. when i say tiny, i mean tiny because for the past few weeks, i've been jumbling up my words so badly when i'm speaking because my mind speeds by at a million miles a minute. for instance, i used the word "hurted" the other day. what has come over me?! ok, now i'm rambling again. back to my feeble attempts at writing a paper.

Wednesday, November 26, 2003

i'm confused

can someone please tell me why the u.s. government held a member of the military in jail for 3 months on charges of adultery and pornography possession? i'm rather confused. maybe i'm missing the whole story? someone, please shine a light on my confusion.

if it's just those charges, then we have a problem. there's some mention of espionage and something-or-other, but anyone know details?

oh, and the damn medicare bill passed yesterday, with 11 democrats crossing. damn them. i'm moving to canada. no, that's too hard. i'll just have to change the system myself.

Saturday, November 22, 2003

we have the axe!

dude, i love berkeley. i love the fans, i love the game, and best of all, i love winning!!!

so i went to a bar today in boston where the cal and stanfurd alumni clubs were holding a game viewing party. after paying my dues, i sat down and expected a nice little rivalry. we'll just say that the stanfurd fans are definitely bad fans. they don't cheer loudly, they don't know what's going on in the game, and seem rather uninterested. when they got a turnover (one of many to come), they didn't cheer loudly. i heard one girl scream, "go stanfurd!" what a disappointment. add to that the few stanfurd people in my class didn't even bother coming. whatever.

oh, so we won!!! i love this game. i lost a little bit of my voice screaming and yelling and singing songs, but i love it. i love the game. i love being around stanfurd people. oh, and i saw someone that i knew from high school who's at mit now! small world, i swear.

but that's it for now. i have to go to bed and sometime this weekend, i still start studying for hematology!

oh, one bad thing: no cute guys today. none. now that's a disappointment!

Friday, November 21, 2003

BIG GAME!

tomorrow (or more correctly, today) is the big game! for those of you who did not go to uc berkeley, that means that it's time for cal to kick some stanfurd butt! i miss being in berkeley for this weekend, and it's so exciting and seeing everyone wear blue and gold everywhere. i never knew that i could like two colors so much until i went to cal.

lots of the students here at the med school went to private schools or schools that had no huge sports teams or any outlet for school spirit and unity. now, don't get me wrong: i'm no cheerleader and by no means am i the obnoxious person who screams at the top of their lungs while you stand right in front of them. i'm just a proud alumnus. and i've been telling my classmates who never got to gather around for a college sports game that it's something to witness.

good things about tomorrow:
cal students outnumber stanfurd students
get to meet other alumni
we're going to kick butt

bad things about tomorrow:
we have to pay $20 to watch it on a TV (stupid satellite fee)
there's a slight chance that cal's going to totally screw up and lose the game (but i'm truly an optimist!)

ok, that's enough. bed time. oh, i got three tests back today, all at once. passed all my exams and for the first time, got higher than the average on biochem! yipee! jump for joy!

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

getting older, faster

is it possible to get older, faster? i feel like that's what i've done in the past month or so. i was talking to someone today and they made me realize that matrix has only been out for two weeks. how weird is that? i thought it came out a month ago, at least. i feel like what i've done in the past week alone could fill two weeks.

on monday night, i felt like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. yeah, i still had a nutrition assignment to do and yeah, still had lots of reading to do, but after taking the final... it felt good. so today, i just cleaned my whole room. it took me the whole night, which is rather surprising because it's about the size of a closet, and considering that i don't actually have a closet, it might as well be. but i can't complain for the price that i'm paying ($435! it's cheaper than sharing a room in berkeley).

so, while cleaning, i organized all the clothes, which in the past week i just threw all over my room. i realized that with my purchase of not one, but TWO, scarves today that i needed a drawer designated for winter wear. in it, i have scarves, gloves, and hats. yeah, i know that i have way too many, even for someone who lives in siberia, but you have to have different scarves for all occasions. i mean, god forbid that you are caught with the same scarf on for two consecutive days! that's almost like changing back into your old socks after you work out and take a shower at the gym. ok, maybe not, but you get the idea.

now, going back to nutrition. it's rather fascinating. not because i find it warrants a totally free-standing class, but because nutrition in general is interesting. i tend to think that i eat well, and my nutrition journal reflects that. i'm deficient in the normal vitamins that females are deficient in (calcium, iron, etc.). however, i'm consuming almost two times the recommended amount of salt. i know that i like my food salty, but i never knew that i used that much. but it's also funny in that i'm uninterested in lowering it because high salt intake has shown no adverse effects on an otherwise healthy individual. if i had high blood pressure (hypertension, in medical-speak. don't worry, that's about all i know in medical-speak), then i'd worry. however, last time i had my blood pressure checked, it was 90/60. yeah, crazy low.

armed with all this new knowledge, my roommates feel as though i'm an "expert." one of them asked me about some supplement that i always hear advertised on the radio. when i told her that there are no real scientific studies done on supplements usually, she had no idea! and this is someone who takes all this weird bacterial stuff in a foil pouch in our fridge and claims that eggs and sausage is good for you in the morning. not that i don't eat eggs and sausage, but i don't claim it's good for me. i claim that i'm eating in moderation, which is different.

oh well, i feel like this was a lecture of some sort. of what sort, i have no idea. it's too late and i need to get my laundry from my gangster-claimed basement. not kidding you. if i showed it to you, you'd freak and tell me to move out of my apt. so i will spare you the graphics and just tell you it's bad.

oh, i just found out that lots more people read this than i thought, including people i don't actually know! hahaha, i feel all warm and fuzzy inside now. leave comments people! i swear, i won't bite! well, maybe nibble, but no bites, i swear.

Saturday, November 15, 2003

"mingling"

i really have to learn how to do that. so, i went out tonight to a friend's party for some of his roommates' birthdays at a bar. it was fun and there were some nice looking guys, but i just don't know how to mingle. how do you do it? i think of how to do it and i think that's what's wrong.

and why don't guys approach me in bars? i don't think i'm intimidating. some of my friends and i were speculating it's because we aren't girly enough. we don't twirl our hair, smack our gym, giggle, or do any of that crap. is that why? i mean, i could play along, but what is it really worth?

and how come med school is just time to figure out who you're going to milk to pay off all your loans? i feel like every time i go out, we're man-hunting. this was never the way it was in undergrad. what's changed? we got older? we feel more maturer? i sincerely doubt the latter, but who knows. maybe finding a secure relationship is part of feeling mature.

either way, it's very surprising how many people are engaged/married/having kids. one of my classmates' wife just had a baby. several are married. several are engaged. it's scary. i never thought that it would be like this, but that's just my naivete showing.

ah wells. i have to go to bed before i realize that it's cold in there and no one else is joining me.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

weird weather

i don't understand the weather here. i think i'm going crazy (this isn't the only reason why i'm going crazy, but it definitely contributes to it).

here's an excerpt from my daily email from weather.com:
Saturday: Abundant sunshine. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the upper 20s.

so i read the first sentence and get so encouraged! then i read the rest and i get glum. dude, how can they do that to me!?

oh, and earlier this week, it said this:
A chilly start across the Northeast
Mon., Nov. 10, 2003 6:33 A.M.
Matt Newman, Meteorologist; The Weather Channel
Northeast
Clear skies and light winds (courtesy of high pressure) have combined to
result in a chilly morning across the region. In some cases, the cold has set
new record lows for today's date. The same high pressure responsible for the
cold will also result in plenty of sunshine across the region throughout the
day. The sun should help to warm the air this afternoon, although expect
today's highs to run a few degrees below seasonal averages for this time of
the year. Afternoon temperatures will range from the low 40s across Northern
New England to the low 50s across the mid-Atlantic. Enjoy today's sunshine
because wet weather is due to arrive by Tuesday across much of the region.

i don't know how i'm going to survive. i mean, the weather doesn't feel that bad, but if they keep on breaking it to me like that, i'm going to feel terrible for the rest of my time here. when it first started getting cold, i was seriously wondering in my head why i even wanted to leave california and why i chose boston of all cities (though my other choices - new york and connecticut - aren't much better weather-wise).

but good news is that i think i'm adjusting quickly. i was walking home with just a light sweater today around 11:30 and i felt fine. weird. but when the wind kicks up, it's wicked cold (like that, "wicked"?).

ok, gotta go to bed now. have a test tomorrow. will barely pass, but then again, P=MD. aren't you encouraged that tomorrow's doctors are looking to only get 70% correct?

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

veteran's day

i just realized that today is veterans day. what a suitable thing to write about (war) on veterans day. i do thank all the veterans who have fought for this country and thanksful for those who are still protecting us. i do not blame them for all the conflicts, political wrangling, and such that happens.

it's a sad world where bush, however much he calls forth reserves and military personnel for obscene amounts of time, decides to not give them fair compensation for it. why doesn't he put his fiscal responsibility principle to work when it comes to compensating those who deserve it.

ok, i better go now. and my comments thingy hasn't been working lately, and i apologize for that. i don't know how to fix it, otherwise i would say that i would.

what has this world come to?

so, i read cnn.com something like ten million times a day, to see what's up. there's never enough news to keep my satisfied, but i'm fascinated by the fact that violent, offensive actions against the united states have escalated since we "declared and end to conflict." how can it be an end to conflict when people are still hungry, people are still armed, and people are still angry? in an article on cnn.com, it describes how a military person (i don't know his exact title) said it's one of the deadliest months since conflict ended. there's something seriously wrong in this situation. does no one else see it? how come i don't see any commentary on it? this may be because i'm isolated from the rest of the world and don't have access to a paper everyday (though i'm seriously debating getting the NY Times delivered - it's surprisingly cheaper than the Boston Globe).

on a similar, somewhat unrelated note, i'm listening to justin timberlake and black eye peas "where is the love". it's an awesome song. i think that people need to listen to it. it's pop, and i admit, i feel guilty for downloading so much justin timberlake, but i love this song. "people killing people dying children hurting hear them crying. practice what you preach don't you turn the other cheek.... where is the love?" now, i'm not trying to get some deep philosophical meaning out of a pop song, but i mean, i wish that the public would question what war and conflict means in this new world of ours. at the same time that we're getting overloaded with information about jessica lynch, no one is paying attention to what's still happening in the place that she left.

oh well. i don't know what i'm trying to say. random stuff, all i can say. my mind's shot after looking at biochemistry for the past three days.

Saturday, November 8, 2003

so, i don't have anything too interesting to say other than that it's freezing here. literally. high today: 40. farenheit. i'm not having fun. well, i'm also not out very much, considering that i have three tests coming up.

what's up with everyone else? i just read cnn.com and there was just a bombing in saudi arabia. just thinking about how humans are capable of so many good things, that you have to wonder why drives someone to put so much effort to cause so much pain. i think that we forget that in politics. politics is about power, but it's about other people as well. too bad bush seems to forget that.

speaking of bush, he passed the ridiculous partial birth abortion ban. not only is the name deceiving, but his efforts are so misguided. it falls into line with his other stupid policy decisions, like the Mexico City Plan, his "wonderful" contribution to fight international AIDS, and his attempt at "smart logging." sorry, he may be a great texan, a great person, but he is very misguided about the world. or maybe i am. either way, i think that he's wrong and i'm right.

also, i was surprised to hear that Howard Dean, who earlier this week said something very stupid about the Confederate flag, is waiving public funding for his campaign. how is he going to raise money? he's a people's candidate, not a republican. i'm looking forward to this. turns out that kerry and wesley were also thinking of waiving public campaign funds (which come with limitations on how you can spend it). though i think it's nice and all, let's face the truth: democrats aren't as rich as republicans and though i'd hate to admit it, money does win out most of the time.

oh well, enough politics for now. back to biochemistry. anyone know why we care about fatty acid synthesis? what does succinate dehydrogenase do again? what's a cell?! i'm screwed.

Saturday, November 1, 2003

so, i went to a residency forum today at Harvard Medical School. first, HMS is an awesome campus. everything's grand looking and all marble. tufts looks like a pile of crap compared to it. ah, but i still love my school.

so, to relay the real story. i was asking a residency program director about health policy opportunities in the residency programs at his hospital and in internal medicine / primary care residencies in general. he said not to worry about this unless "you plan on becoming head of the WHO and getting rid of worldwide malaria." i didn't say anything to him then, but i immediately thought, "well, yes, i do plan on becoming head of the WHO and getting rid of worldwide malaria." though i admit that i am wildly optimistic (my favorite phrase to describe myself right now), i will not say i'm naive...just because i say that i will do all this stuff doesn't mean that i will do it. it merely means that i have the possibility of doing it. i mean, when i heard that the head of the WHO was stepping down and they were looking for a new director, i looked at the biography of the outgoing director and wondered how i'm doing in comparison to her. is that weird? i've also done the same for surgeon generals, heads of state public health departments, people in the news, kofi annan, etc. i say that i know i'm a true nerd when kofi annan is my hero.

but the residency program director's comment reflects a certain societal expectation that as you grow older, your expectations of the world and of yourself become more "realistic." i guess no one in those high positions starts out thinking that they will be where they are X number of years down the line, but i mean, there's gotta be some thought of a possibility in their head. i'm just accepting the idea of that possibility. will i be disappointed if i don't save the world? no, because i know that i will have tried as hard as i could to become whatever i want to become and in that path, i have changed the world. even making a mark in the world, whether it's developing some trivial piece of policy or helping someone overcome childhood cancer is worth the ride. the "unrealistic expectation" of becoming an answer on jeopardy (one of my goals in life) by becoming some grand figure is helpful to me because i know that even if i don't become that person, that i will have enjoyed the journey and that i have tried my hardest to get there.

maybe this attitude comes from the fact that my parents made the "american dream" a realization by owning their own business and becoming part of the middle class. maybe it came from the fact that i believe there's still room for change in this world. but mostly, i think it's from a deep-seeded feeling that everyone is doing something for a purpose. i never felt like i was going into medicine because i wanted to make lots of money and earn a lot of prestige. i went into it because i knew that's what i enjoyed and that was one way in which i could make a real difference. my purpose is to serve others, as a physician and as a person. though that's hard to keep track of while i'm writing papers and studying biochem, it's still in the back of my head when i ask myself "why?"

Wednesday, October 29, 2003

god, why can't i be motivated to work? this is impossible.

i tried to go see toni morrison tonight at fanueil hall (how in the world do you spell it?!). yeah, but got there on time and successfully did not get in because it was too crowded. ah wells, travelled all that way for nothing. but then i did accomplish something tonight. i made two batches of lemon bars. i ate one and i'm done. i've decided to bring them to a class and then i decided to make enough for everyone, well almost everyone.

sorry, random post. i'm watching will & grace on tv right now. i love this show, it's awesome.

quick question: does anyone read this? what would you like to see on it? i'm trying to get my hands on a digital camera so you guys can see the wonderful fall colors here. also, so you can see how silly and wonderful my friends are here.

also, does anyone (hint, hint - Tim) know how to make it so i have a photo gallery?

come on people, feedback here!

Sunday, October 26, 2003

ah! now med school is catching up to me. i hate studying. maybe i should have realized this before i decided to go back to school. oh well.

i was reading some newspaper articles that my dad had sent to me after Arnold was elected governor and it's rather interesting. I won't dwell on it too much, but I was fascinated in that the Democrats managed to lose their base voters (Latinos, women, and union households) to Arnold. However much I'd like to criticize Arnold or the voters, I think that part of the blame goes to the Democrats themselves for losing touch with a use-to-be solid base of voters among those populations. It's sad.

And isn't it a sad, sad world when Scary Movie 3 breaks box office records?

And the Marlins win the world series! How wonderful is it when the underdogs win something so grand? Though I don't even know where in Florida they play (from Orlando to Miami to South Beach), it's ok... all I know is that it's great when the team with money loses. Will this finally make Yankee fans quiet? I doubt it, but it's nice that the Red Sox fans aren't too loud anymore since they lost. It's like a different world here.

On another note, I was doing laundry today and managed to sort of run into a wall, while carrying my laundry basket in front of me, effectively getting it rammed into my stomach. Yeah, genius at work.

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

"She's terrific," Schwarzenegger said on his way into a meeting in the state Capitol. "She's the best."
- Arnold - commenting on his new chief of staff (source: SF Chronicle)

Could he be any more enthused about his new staff? Gosh, does he have any words in his vocabulary larger than 3 syllables, other than his last name, which no one can spell or pronounce anyways? ok, so maybe I'm not giving him as much of a chance as I could be, or as I said I would, but give me a break. When you introduce your first staff appointment, you say they're wonderful, play up their wonderful features, and how they will compensate for your lack of vocabulary. Though I do give him some leeway, as SF Chronicle may have only taken a little piece of his speech and printed it as his first quote.

oh, it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow morning. We'll see if it materializes, and how it goes. I'm not excited. I checked the temperature in SF - it's only 70! whatever.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

gosh, can i ever get any work done? internet at home is a mixed blessing. get me away from this thing!

what should i be for halloween? i was thinking a pregnant housewife, just to throw everyone off.

any other suggestions?

Sunday, October 19, 2003

so, nothing too big is going on right now. i'm just rather tired and sick of reading over biochemistry, so i'm taking a break.

while eating lunch today, i was watching the new whoopi goldberg show (i taped all of thursday night on nbc, hoping to get a new er, but it was a rerun). let me tell you, this show sucks. i'm not even very picky about tv, as i can get addicted to anything, including the OC, but whoopi just sucked. it was uninteresting, the characters are not believable in the least, and all the jokes are cheap shots about race, gender, or politics. i didn't even smile when watching it. it's rather disappointing.

oh, i also forgot to relay a story about my experiences with dell technical support. so, when i bought a new laptop, i was all excited, but also paranoid about it getting stolen or broken. so, to thwart some thieves, i put in a security screw to keep my cd/dvd drive in. well, when i tried to take it out to put in my floppy disk drive, it wouldn't come out. the screw was dseriously stuck. i tried everything, but what happened was the cap in the drive that the screw screws into came off and wouldn't let go of the screw. if you can picture that, read on. so, then i called dell tech support, expecting wonderful dell tech support. well, my first tech support guy was a piece of sh*t. sorry, it made me angry. when i told him that i couldn't get the screw out, he told me "are you sure you know how to unscrew it?" yes, of course i do. i have put together several dressers and a desk in my time and i hope that i know how to use a screwdriver. then, after i said that i knew how to use a screwdriver, he continued to say, "why don't you get your brother or your boyfriend to unscrew it for you?" what a bastard. right then i was flaming. i don't get very angry often, or even at all, but that comment just made me go over the edge. i then berated him and told him that i do not need a man to unscrew something for me and i do not need some idiot tech support guy to tell me to find one. then, he said that dell can't do anything about it because it's not their fault (though it is because it's faulty manufacturing that made the cap come off to begin with). then, i just hung up.

however, that didn't solve my problem. so, i called back after half an hour (the amount of time it took for me to calm down) and a lady helped me. she promptly said that a technician would call me within 48 hours and i should get it fixed, no charge. then, i filed a formal complaint against the guy who had "helped" me in my first call. dude, if i paid this much to have a computer with the support that comes with it, i better get good support.

so, overall, dell tech support is nice and good, if you get a good person. otherwise, you're screwed. the technician did call, though it was a week later, and it was promptly fixed, new cd/dvd drive and all. but yeah, my experience with a chauvinistic bastard. don't you just love them?

ah, enough angry tirade. the cubs lost right after i said they were up. i really should stop watching baseball as every team that i root for ends up losing. and the red sox losing to the yankees in game 7 was enough to keep red sox nation quiet. it's amazing. no baseball talk!!!

but my choice for the pennant: marlins. yeah, they have a smaller payroll and are playing the most popular team in baseball, but hey, the yankees aren't unbeatable. but i promise to not watch or follow a single game in hopes that will not give them bad luck.

i think that's it for now. back to biochemistry and cell, tissue, and organ biology (yeah, TWO tests tomorrow morning). feel the excitement of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid! it's happening right there, in your liver right now. why don't you give it a nice pat (it's in the right ab region) as a thanks. now doesn't that feel good?

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

so margaret left this morning. i'm sad. we had so much fun this weekend. for recapping purposes:
* we went to legal seafoods, a big seafood restaurant here in boston, and managed to get a free meal. when i opened my roll, there was something green and mushy inside. i picked it out and margaret and i started to pick with it. the waiter saw this whole event and came over, asking if anything was wrong with the roll. i told him and then he took it away. when he came back, the manager came with him, apologizing for it and our food was on the house. pretty awesome. however, i'm hoping that the green thing was a bean, otherwise, it coulda been something much worse. ah wells. i did eat the rest of the roll.
* i took margaret to see the arnold arboretum . it was a beautiful place, if it weren't for the fact that it was raining like crazy. in the end, we spent about an hour there, not seeing much as we were covered by our umbrellas. then, instead of going into downtown, we decided to bake an apple pie instead. yeah, we're smart. turns out the next day was beautiful.
* went to this wonderful dive bar called wally's in downtown where my roommate is a bartender. it's so cool. it's TINY (smaller than my apartment, and trust me, that's small) but wonderfully cool because there aren't any white guys there. oh, and live jazz every night. awesome stuff.
* duck tour! it was so much fun, and you're even allowed to quack in public. and i never thought people would quack back, but they do. i tell you, boston is one odd town. i found out lots of cool stuff, but totally forgot everything as that's how my crazy mind works.

ah, we did lots of other stuff. margaret freaked a second year medical student at a club (which she called 'an intellectual meet market'). we went apple picking at honey pot hill farms. i wrote a public health paper (sorry, not fun, but significant part of the weekend).

but alas, all fun has to end sometime and she left me this morning. i'm sad. it was wonderful having her here and i'm hoping she had fun. we had quite a whirlwind weekend as i don't think we sat down at all without doing something or planning to do something.

and this is an open invitation for all the other people out there who want to visit boston! come on out! i can take you places! especially if you don't come when i have tests!!!

but yeah. oh, cubs are up. and red sox lost. life can't be that bad.

Tuesday, October 7, 2003

sorry, i just had to write.

so, schwarzenegger wins the election. god, could it get any worse?

like what margaret said earlier today when she told me to check the exit polls: it's a learning experience. ironically, that's what we said when bush was elected president. and trust me, i'd rather be learning from someone else.

though it will be interesting to see if schwarzenegger does make a difference in california. i doubt that he will. however, if california does greatly improve beyond what's expected in the next three years, i will give the man credit. but as of now, he has to work his way up to get my respect as a politician. don't get my wrong, i respect the guy as a hard-working person. however, becoming the governor of the largest state in the nation without any major political experience will be quite a task. i don't doubt his abilities to be likable and charismatic, but i do doubt his political abilities to make positive change. plus, if he touches any issue anywhere near first amendment rights, that's it, i'm declaring conflict (since, in America, we no longer declare war as that means you have to go through that pesky thing called Congress).

so what happens now? i'll register in massachusetts. i'll vote in massachusetts. and darn it, i will make this state lean true left, instead of this "east coast liberal" stuff they throw at me.

sorry, i'm still in shock and my brain's dead. plus, i should be writing a paper critique for epidemiology on exercise and heart attacks. loads of fun.


oh, i'm a cubs fan as of now. anything but the red sox or yankees.

Monday, October 6, 2003

so the a's lost... i'm sad. now i have to write two papers. i'm even sadder. this sucks.

i watched the last inning, which is a curse upon the a's, i swear. any game i watch, the a's lose. it's a rather sad thing. it's all my fault. but i can't say i didn't expect it, given their record the last three years, losing in game 5. but this time it's especially depressing because i'd like the boston red sox baseball fanatics to calm down a bit. they are crazy here! everything is red sox. i even see old asian men wearing red sox hats... it's rather odd.

so, now it's the red sox against the yankees. i don't know who to root for. the yankees have beat the a's too often in post season and the red sox, well, they're too well-liked for me to like them. they wouldn't appreciate it. i think i'll root for the cubs. i'm glad they won. i mean, they have somewhat of a chance if they beat the team with the best regular season record.

gosh, what am i doing spouting off baseball stats like i know what i'm talking about? i really don't. i just do it to impress guys. yeah, whatever. if i wanted to impress the guys here, i'd say i was a red sox fan, but that's going too far. i've been going to games since the days of canseco, henderson, steinbach, etc. so i can't betray them now.

well, that's it for now. i really should start writing my paper on the public health care system in the 1930's. gosh, was there a system? everyone was poor. even now when we're rich we don't spend on healthcare (blame Bush). ah wells, not another tirade is what you're thinking.

good bye for now!

Thursday, October 2, 2003

So, I took my first final today. It just seems wrong to have a final a month into class and just two weeks after your midterm. But I guess me thinking it's wrong won't change anything. Ah wells.

so, CNN reports that there's no "smoking gun" to prove that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Is that really a surprise to anyone? I guess it's a little bit of a surprise. Though I am a little bit of a pacifist and would like to think that people don't lie, we are talking politics here and anything's possible (even my dad, a registered Republican, saying he's voting for the Green party candidate in the recall). But then , on the other hand, we lie too. I'm sure that there may have been some evidence of WMD, but I doubt that it was non-refutable, concrete evidence. Plus, I have moral issues against pre-emptive strikes. Why don't we go out and burn our neighbor's house down because we think ten years down the line he might want to do the same to us? Ok, weird situation, but you get my point (or if not, then ignore the previous few sentences of babble).

I watched President Bush's speech at the signing of the first appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Gosh, can we get more kiss-ass with the military? Can we get more paranoid about all the dangerous people "out there"? What about the dangerous people in our country you're letting roam free with automatic rifles used for "hunting"? Ha, gosh, political tirade in the happening. I actually didn't listen to much of the substance of his speech, or any of his speeches for that matter. I just can't bring myself not to hate him if I listen to what he's actually saying. I just pretend that I'm listening to people think that I'm a fair observer, but to tell you the truth, I'm not. However, I'd have to say that I still stick to what I said when he was first elected: "Bush being president will be interesting to watch as a political scientist, though I think I will disagree with nearly everything he says or does."

Meanwhile, the A's squeezed by with a win against the Red Sox last night. I missed the game, and as Eric pointed out, it was too late for me to be watching anyways (though I was up til 1, unfortunately). Here, I have to be a loyal, but reserved A's fan as it's a dangerous place for non-Red Sox fans, especially if the team you're rooting for is playing them for a title).

Greatest thing I saw yesterday: Boston Herald flier with "Kick A's" on the side of a newspaper stand. I stole it, but don't know what to do with it. Any ideas?

Monday, September 29, 2003

hello all. i'm tired. that's all i can say. hahaha. i'm still at the library, running on about 5 hours of sleep, and tired.

i worked out today and managed to get asked out by the trainer... that's the excitement for now. (he called, but wasn't very conversational... ah, so it goes)

sorry, my mind can't work in complete sentences. actually, more it can't work in sentences of more than ten words. oh, that was more than ten words. ha.

what's going on in the world? i recorded west wing and loved it. it actually made me sick to my stomach about military action - gosh, who knew that i was such a pacifist? the more people talk about war, the more i realize it. gosh, and right when i move to a place where "liberal" is "california conservative."

oh, some other things about boston:
* the put prices on everything here. like at the drug store, your shampoo has a price sticker on it. weird. i don't like to be reminded of how i overpaid for shampoo every morning.
* i hate revolving doors as they cause huge traffic jams and you're unsure whether you can enter the same compartment as a stranger.
* they still have a strange fascination with dunkin' donuts. i still don't get it.
* oh, all the beers here suck. ok, maybe not all (sam adams summer ale from tap being an exception), but they don't offer many good ones. sometimes i want to order a pyramid ale or an anchor steam, but am given a quizzical look in reply. gosh, everyone drinks bud light. even i know that's nothing more than water and bad yeast.

that's it for now. wow, more than i ever thought that i could handle. hope it's enough for you!

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

I passed my first exams!

Ok, that's it for now. Running off to the Y. Y-M-C-A! Hahha

Sunday, September 21, 2003

So, it's been one very very very long week. What's going on? I really can't tell you because it's been nothing too eventful. All I know is that I haven't been home and I haven't been studying all that much (which is becoming the story of my life, unfortunately). I'm at the library, supposed to be studying, but I'm signed onto AIM and wandering the internet aimlessly. Another study session becoming utterly useless. Argh. Sorry, today is a day of angst. I slept in til noon today, the latest I've slept in quite awhile.

The quote of last night: "I've had enough angst for one night." - me, while watching Def Poetry Jam

The quote of the day: "4 cents is a lot for Nike" -some Northeastern students, referring to how much Nike pays their workers in developing countries. This is the second time this week I have encountered a stupid group of NE students talking about sweatshops like they had never heard of the concept.

Ok, that's it for now. Sorry for the uncheerful post, but it's dark here and SAD's already kicking in. And since when did the Red Sox get ahead of Seattle???

Thursday, September 18, 2003

So, I had my first two exams today. Yeah, your first exam in medical school and they give you two in one day! What a treat! Ahh, but let me tell you, it feels good to be done with them both. Interestingly enough, I actually think that I did well in biochemistry...is that believable? Oh, but see, "doing good" means "passing" which means "65%". Ahh...gotta love it when you've reached a level of schooling where it doesn't really matter what you get as long as you get something. And then we had a molecular biology "quiz" that was worth 40% of our grade. Fun fun fun.

But big news here is hurricane Isabel. I've never been in the near vicinity of a hurricane. Some of you may laugh to think that I'm still a couple hundred miles from where it's supposed to hit land, but hey, it's closer than a couple thousand miles. So far, not even rain here, but I'm not complaining. Though I'd have to say it's been rather nice lately, but I wouldn't know for sure because I haven't seen daylight or felt the sun on me in about a week. Stupid studying.

So, with the exams behind us, some of my classmates and I were talking about Ben and Jen. Yes, I'm talking about Ben Affleck and J. Lo. Seriously, I don't think that they're really broken up, but that's because I'm still fascinated with the whole hooplah and want some more gossip (mainly because my own life is rather uninteresting). Also on the guilty pleasure thread is my obsession with "The O.C." It's behing touted as the new Beverly Hills 90210. So far, it's rather interesting with gunshots, affairs, financial breakdowns, divorces, and high school crushes. But in short, I'm fascinated and rather sad that I missed this weeks episode due to studying.

Sorry, this is a random posting. My mind is somewhere and I've given up the search for it. Hopefully it will come back to me soon (at least by Tuesday, when I have another exam, this time in Epidemiology).

Monday, September 15, 2003

Ok, so here's a story....yeah yeah it's only two minutes after my last posting, but rather interesting. The California Recall Election has been postponed, per decision of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (the wonderful wonderful institution that keeps this country sane every once in awhile).

My opinion on the election: I think it's awesome that we are able to recall an elected official, especially someone so important as the governor of California. On the other hand, I think that this recall is absurd and has transformed from being absurd to completely ridiculous. I mean, I was looking at the ballot that my dad mailed to me (yeah, yeah, I'm still registered in California, so I can vote in this stupid election. I promise I'll change before the presidential election), and it has a whole page of candidates. It took me to good read-throughs to find my candidate (if you must know, Cruz Bustamante, though I was VERY tempted to write in my own name). Do I think that this is a reason the recall process needs to be reformed? I don't know. I think that if we make it harder, it may restrict the possibility of a legitimate recall in the future. I just don't know if Davis is completely to blame in this and I think that most of the people who were for the recall when it was still in petition form had no idea of what it would entail.

And on the side note of Ahnold running. Like I said earlier this week to some other students (most of whom were from California, one of which proclaimed "I like Arnold"), "I dislike him as an actor and I dislike him more as a politician." I guess that's all I'll say on that. Yeah he's a moderate and the Republicans are damn desperate if they are trying to get a man who has admitted to using steroids and had "orgies" elected governor of California (the position that is considered a springboard for federal office).

Ok, maybe this posting wasn't too short, but I had to say something. I apologize in advance.
Ah, more regular posts! I'm trying to get into a rhythm here! Oh, talking about rhythms and patterns and such, I'm trying to get back into working out. I'll tell everyone out there that I didn't gain the "Freshman 15" but rather the "Graduating 15." Living at home = bad for your health in so many ways. First, you eat junk food. Secondly, you don't exercise. And third, it's bad for your mental health! So yeah, I go to the Chinatown YMCA, which is interesting. Actually, it helps me with my workout somewhat because some of the workout machines face the basketball courts so instead of counting down the minutes or miles, you're looking at the teenagers play basketball. It distracts me and therefore, I tend to feel better when I'm running or whatever. Who knew that I could feel good when I run, eh?

Other than that, no big details. We have two big tests on Thursday, so I'm studying for that. Woke up at 6:30 this morning and won't be home til midnight. That will probably be my schedule for the next few days, so I'm having fun fun fun! Ah, please someone figure out how to put comments on this darn thing, or even a hit count, if anyone is reading this at all (which I'm sincerely starting to think, though it's not totally unexpected because I didn't tell anyone that I had a web site).

So, this time, no weird Boston stories or anything. Another day.

Saturday, September 13, 2003

Ok, so I'll try and post more regularly, though I don't think anyone's reading this (I've only told a few people...but if you are reading it, send me an email so I know!). Also, no offers on someone volunteering to help me put a comments thing on here. Ah, I'll ask my brothers. They're useful for something every once in awhile.

Oh, I totally forgot to say in the last post that on Tuesday, I got phlebotomy training... which means that I drew blood! Ahhh, it was fun to draw blood, but definitely not to get it drawn. We practice on one another, which is scary enough, but when you have veins that are non-existent, it's even more painful. But one cool thing is that when I had blood drawn for real, yesterday for a stupid blood test, I knew that the doctor was doing something wrong. The doctor failed to wait until the alcohol dries before sticking me... which doesn't infect you or anything, but just stings like h*ll. Well, of course by the time that I noticed, it was already stinging. Ah, the pleasures of being a med student.

Hahha, now that I say that I'm going to post more regularly, I have two exams on Thursday. Fun fun fun. But I'm going out tonight, so I'm obviously not letting it bother me too much. Anyways, by that time, I should have internet at home (it's quite odd, not to have a chance to check your email at home, especially when ALL announcements for this school are sent via email). Who knows, now I'm rambling.

What did I do this morning, you may ask? I tried to study last night, which just failed utterly. So, I went to bed at midnight, woke up at 8 because I had a 9 am appt at the gym. Worked out, took a shower, and now I'm starving so that's how I'll end this post. Good day all.

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Ok, so it's been awhile since I've last updated. As expected, medical school is hectic, but not too crazy (though some would argue that my opinion on "crazy" doesn't matter much since I can be deemed so myself.

Ok, here's a rundown, and I'm sure to forget some stuff... though I swear that I had this wonderful list of things to write about. First and foremost, I don't understand the northeast's obsession with Dunkin' Donuts. God, they can't even spell their name correctly, let alone make donuts. Oh, and they're advertising "breakfast sandwiches," which I think are made out of donuts. How healthy is that for you? But they are cheap, only $1.99! Ok, now all this talk is pretty much invalid because I haven't even been to a Dunkin' Donuts yet, though they are on every corner and in every T stop, so I feel almost as though I have.

Another thing on food... groceries are very expensive here. I don't get it, well, actually I do, but still. I'm on a budget, doesn't anyone know this? Actually, the farmer's market is cheap and rather fun... and crazy too... some very rude farmers out there! But grocery stores are outrageous. Peaches for $2.00 a lb, and they're not even pretty or good! I guess I'm too spoiled from Berkeley Bowl that I can't go grocery shopping anymore.

Oh, food once more. The medical school is in Chinatown, which is awesome. It adds a funky flavor to everything and almost every joke cracked about the school is about it being so close to Chinatown. Seriously, it's not just "near" Chinatown, it's smack in the middle of it. The lightposts are mini-house like things. The telephone booth is like that too. The bank even says it's a bank in Chinese (or so I'm assuming, as I can't read or speak). All of the hospital signs are in English and Chinese. It's a rather interesting area, and I'm excited because when I go home, I get to get groceries there and then bring them home.

Hmm...other stuff. Sorry , right now my life revolves around food because I haven't really done much else. I haven't studied much, which isn't a good start to medical school. I haven't slept much, which isn't a good start to anything. I have gone out a lot though, so I'm getting plenty of fun time.

Well, that's it for now. If anyone wants to set up a way to post comments on this page for me, please feel free to email me and say so! I'm totally clueless and don't have time to do so myself. Or you can just email or call my lonely butt (especially around 10PM at night, EST, as that's usually when I'm walking home from the T).

Oh, the T = subway in Boston.

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Boston, here I am! Ahh... the humidity, the strange streets, and crooked sidewalks! Gotta love this city.

But really, I'm having an awesome time. It was a little anxiety-ridden the night before my first day, but I figured it was normal (though this did not comfort me much). Lately, I've been to two days of orientation, on my third, and have two more days after today. I've met some awesome people... and 4 (FOUR!!) people from Cal (all coincidentally graduated in 2001).

Oh, my place is NOT a dump, as many of my friends had warned me it would be. It is dirty, but nothing that a little elbow grease won't get rid of. Neighborhood's funky, like Berkeley a little bit, but more slumming than that (can you believe it??). But in general, awesome people.

Story: Boston has a bunch of alleyways and such... easy to get lost. So, as another first-year and I are headed to go to a bar last night, we look at the map and follow our instincts. Well, we were wrong and promptly told, when we asked for directions, that we are "definitely headed in the wrong direction." After asking for directions 3 times (a guy who worked at a shoe store, a businessman, and a police officer), at three different intersections, we safely made it to our destination. In all, took us about 20 minutes, when it was really only about 7 minutes, if you knew the way.

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Hey all! The night before my big move and I'm just putting the finishing touches on all my boxes. I'm excited! Let's just hope that my place isn't a total dump (though I could live with a slight dump). Let's hope that my classmates are somewhat normal, or try to be. Let's hope that Boston winters won't freeze me to death. And let's hope that I have fun! :)
To everyone out there who knows my contact info, it will stay pretty much the same as I'll have my cell phone. Emails will go out soon as to what my house phone and address will be, so stay in touch! More in a few days, when I get settled.... til then, I bid you all good night.

Saturday, August 16, 2003

HI! This is a new blog... I'm new to this, so forgive me if I know very little, or anything at all for that matter. What is this page? Mainly so my friends, and a few strangers, can view snippets of my life. I wouldn't say it's very interesting, but hey, it's my life and I love it!


Come again soon!