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Vegetable gardens for everyone!

So, as an extension of my herb garden, I have decided to try my hand at a vegetable garden.  No, I do not actually have any land.  But yes, I have a wonderful south-facing balcony.  Yesterday, after work, I ran to Osh before it closed and got the following: tomato, bush bean, and zucchini plant  I also got some compost, some soil addition, and a tomato cage.  All for $11 buckaroos. 

Now, I just have to get some soil to put into the giant container I got at Target and be on my way.  I'm afraid that my container may be too shallow, but we'll see if it works.  If not, not a big deal. 

On a related note, the First Family has also decided to grow a vegetable garden.  Albeit, they have 1,000 square feet to do so (compared to my 20 square foot balcony).  I will post pictures as soon as I get going.

Lacking leaders

I'm really sad that the Obama administration, although it is moving ahead with healthcare reform efforts, still hasn't not filled top posts in the Department of Health and Human Services, including a secretary.  Yeah yeah, there were issues of taxes and fame, but hey, we're four months after the election already.

On the other hand, I'm still available (hint, hint).

Eating at home, and on the cheap

With our not-so-robust economy and record high unemployment rates, there has been a lot of commentary on how to live on a limited budget.  Speaking from experience (this year being the first year I have ever made enough money to even file for taxes), it is possible (but of course not ideal).

While in college, I lived on $800 a month, to pay my rent (which was more than half that) and everything else except my tuition (thanks Mom and Dad!).  In medical school, I lived on around $13,000 a year (thanks, U.S. Government!) to pay for my rent (which, again, was more than half my monthly "income') and everything else. Even though my budget was limited (and admittedly, not as low as many other students), I managed to live in a major metropolitan area, go shopping on a (more than) regular basis, go out a few times a month, and eat good food. 

The way I was able to do the latter was because I cooked my own meals and shopped either at Berkeley Bowl (in college) or Asian markets (in medical school) - both of which provided fresh produce at great prices.  Because I saved money on eating out less, I was able to splurge a little on what I bought at the grocery store (splurges include being the second cheapest cheese or buying a fresh loaf of bread at the farmer's market).  In the end, I was able to pull together great meals (and dinner parties to boot) on a shoestring budget. 

Of course, one of the biggest hurdles that people identify as to why they don't cook at home is that they don't have time.  I argue that we always have time.  How much time do people spend sitting on the couch watching tv a night (some reports up to 3 hours a night)?  How much time do you spend on the internet, reading the New York Times front page 5 times over?  In the time that it takes for one rerun of Friends, I can put together tonight's dinner (or lunch - I had salmon with miso ginger sauce and rice) and marinate meat for tomorrow's meal (which will cook in another half hour tomorrow night). In the end, I eat cheap and healthy.  I admit, I still go out to eat with friends and such, but you won't catch me getting fast food (at least not more than a handful of times a year, mostly when I'm on a roadtrip).  Granted, it takes a lot of practice and planning, but my point is that it's not impossible. 

Maybe this recession will be good to people's psyche in a sense (the NY Times also has this great article on how recessions can affect a generation), if it encourages people to reflect upon their eating habits and revert back to homecooked, healthier meals. A reporter on CNN just did a report on how he lived on food stamps for a month and not until his last week did he realize that buying fresh vegetables and other ingredients and preparing meals at home would be infinitely cheaper than buying processed and prepared foods. 

I guess this is my little rant on how we all should look on our eating habits and how to improve upon them.  It will be better for our bodies, and our wallets, in the end. 

[Note that this does not mean that I am perfect by any means - I admit to having Lean Cuisines and canned soup in my cupboard.  It's all a matter of proportions, I guess.]

Ah, too bad

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has decided not to pursue the surgeon general post.  Ah, too bad.  We all know how I felt about it.

Hopes and fears

I watch the inauguration with grand hopes that this country will be greater than it has for the last 8 years. 

However, as I watch the President and the First Lady walk the parade route, I can't help but be scared for their safety.  Would I be as fearful were they not black?  Probably not.  Would I have reason to be as fearful?  Probably not.

Health reform - can it happen?

The New England Journal of Medicine (a favorite of mine, albeit biased because I did a rotation there in med school) just came out with an article putting it very succinctly and eloquently the reasons why health care reform has not been succesful and possible strategies to have it happen.  In summary, he points out the reasons why health care reform efforts have failed in the past - there are lots of parties who prefer the status quo, reform is difficult, bureaucracy always gets in the way, and reformers have yet to support a single approach. 

 

He quoted Machiavelli (whose political philosophy of realism differs from my own, but who has a lot to contribute to political thinking nonetheless) in summarizing, "There is nothing more difficult to manage, more dubious to accomplish, nor more doubtful of success . . . than to initiate a new order of things. The reformer has enemies in all those who profit from the old order and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit from the new order." 

 

I just found it a very nice article on why health care reform is so difficult, yet how it is not impossible.  

Paging Dr. CNN

So, the blogs are all abuzz about the rumor that Dr. Sanjay Gupta, of CNN medical correspondent fame, was approached to be the next Surgeon General.  What do I think about this?  I think that surely, we must have more qualified doctors than a talking head on tv.  Am I biased against doctors on TV?  Yeah because I don't think that you can ever be a good one (don't even get my started on the show, "The Doctors"... an Oprah spinoff which no one, including Ms. Winfrey herself, should ever watch). 

 

At one point, I wanted to be Surgeon General.  I think I might have even mentioned that on a medical school admission essay or two (or at least thought about putting that in).  I still think that it'd be pretty nice to be Surgeon General, but my sights are on other positions (HHS Secretary is a good start, then WHO director or UNAIDS director - hey, maybe even throw in a MacArthur genius grant somewhere in there).  However, I think that whoever holds that post should be someone more than a (non-)talking head.  They should be ready to elevate the position to something of stature, and elevate it beyond the public health ruins in which it currently finds itself - especially with a willing and ready president, as I hope Obama will be (my hope for his first act as President, as others before him - repeal the Mexico City Policy).

 

On the other hand, I find it encouraging that someone who is merely 39 may be Surgeon General.  That gives me a chance at doing before I'm 35.

 

Somewhere, someone is thinking...

to ban shoes from all press briefing rooms. 

And in that same room, someone is pulling their hair out.

A time for firsts

The first Vietnamese-American Congressperson was elected recently. How cool is that? Well, not too cool that it's taken this long, but pretty cool that this happened - and in the South.

This still leaves room for the First Vietnamese-American woman in the House of Representatives, or better yet, the First Vietnamese-American in the Senate. Let the plotting begin.

Bummer

If this is true, I'm totally bummed.  Leave it to me and get my hopes up that the Secretary of Health and Human Services have actual experience working in either health or human services (ahem, Howard Dean).

Disbelief

I just cannot believe that Barack Obama is the president-elect. I really cannot believe it. I'm in shock. Good shock, but shock nonetheless.

Go vote!

It's election day!! And I'm so nervous my TMJ is acting up.

Reality check

The New York Times just published an interesting article on the parallels between the last two seasons of The West Wing and the current presidential election. It's fascinating and makes me want to finish the last two seasons before the election (which I won't, of course... I'm only on the beginning of Season 6 right now).

We'll soon see how this story ends.

And now this...

I was talking to a friend the other day about the state of politics in this country nowadays. Of course, my knowledge is limited and a lot of what I say may be nothing at all. However, I'll tell it to you anyways.

I told her that I think politics has always been divisive, with Democrats on one side and Republicans on the other. Politicians have never really gotten along well if they're on opposite sides of the aisle, and sometimes don't get along well even if they are on the same side of the aisle. However, what I think has changed in recent years is that it's no longer the politicians who are divisive, but cities, neighborhoods, and even homes. My friend is voting for Obama but her husband is voting for McCain and she realizes that this is sometimes a point of contention in their house, as it is in many thousands of others across the nation. I don't know if the divisiveness will end with the election, instead, I think that it will just continue to grow until something changes. One side will always be unhappy and the other side will always gloat in their victory, at least until the newly-elected president makes a mistake, which is bound to happen.

This all came to me when I was reading this article, which was just so profoundly disturbing. They're calling Senator Obama personal names and insults, as though they were bullies on the playground pushing the new kid in school around. Worse yet, they're throwing thinly veiled threats at Obama. I give the McCain campaign credit for trying to subdue their crowds, but I can see how it's hard given the crowd mentality that can build up to seem like a witch hunt at times. It's just so unbelievable to me that the attacks on both sides are getting personal. Maybe McCain is to blame a little because he is running negative attack ads (though so is Obama), but I don't think the blame can be placed squarely on either of the campaigns. I don't think the blame can be placed on anyone, except maybe the obvious.

A nonsensical policy

When did family planning become a bad word? When I was little, we used to drive past this building with the words, "Planned Parenthood" on it. I didn't know what it was nor did I know the controversy surrounding such clinics. However, the words struck me. "How great is that? People can plan on when they want to become parents!" This was when I was in elementary school. Now that I am older, I still think the same. How great is is that people can control their own reproductive choices?

This post is about family planning. I had a friend call me the other day and we discussed family planning. She is pro-life, I think, and asked me, somewhat rhetorically, "Why wouldn't any pro-lifer support family planning?" She went on to argue (and I'm paraphrasing here) that anyone who is pro-life should be for any prevention in unwanted pregnancies, including comprehensive sex education and teaching and enabling people to use birth control. So, this in light of a recent op-ed in the New York Times highlighting President Bush's "pro-life" choice to cut off birth control funding to many international organizations, got me raging. Seriously, doesn't he get it? Not giving people condoms doesn't stop them from having sex. Giving them condoms simply gives them a way to protect themself from infection and unwanted pregnancy when they do have sex. I mean, if the President decided not to fund any programs that provided sex education or birth control in the United States, people would be outraged - wait, he already did and people are outraged. I guess we can give President Bush brownie points for being consistent.

Meanwhile, a "young woman lies in a hut, bleeding to death or swollen by infection, as untrained midwives offer her water or herbs. Her husband and children wait anxiously outside the hut, their faces frozen and perspiring as her groans weaken." [Quoted from Kristof, "Can This Be Pro-Life?"]

Candidates on the issues

I just stumbled upon this handy dandy "candidates by the issue" voter's guide on the New York Times web site.  It's short, sweet, and to the point.  Discovered just in time for the debate! 

Healthcare reform

The New England Journal of Medicine, for which I have a lot of respect after seeing how it works (I spent a month at their offices in medical school - one of the best months of medical school, ever), just published two "articles" written by Senator Obama and Senator McCain on how healthcare reform will look like under their administrations.  It's interesting to see the perspective in both.  For those of you interested in healthcare, as everyone should be, it's a good read. 

I will save my opinions for another day.  And, I can't seem to focus enough right now to really read the articles in-depth to be able to converse intelligently about them - just thought that I'd put the articles out there. 

Don't forget!

While I'm on the talk of politics and all that jazz, remember to register to vote(and re-register if you changed your address, name, or political party).  I'm assuming most people reading are in California, so that link, and this post, is specifically for California.

Commonly received excuses:

• I'm too busy to vote - yeah, so am I!  I work 80 hours a week and I have to study on top of all of that, while maintaining my sanity.  Don't tell me you're too busy.  And yeah, I still vote.  How do I do it?  Absentee, baby!  California lets you sign up for permanent absentee ballot.  It's the best thing in the world.  Just send off your vote and be done with it.  Easy as pie. 
  
• I don't care about any of the candidates - yeah, but you should.  It matters who is in political office as to what your taxes pay for, how much you pay in taxes, how good the public school your kids go to are, what your doctor can order for you, etc etc.  You should care and it is a privilege (and a right) to vote - take advantage of it.  And there's a lot more on the ballot than just candidates.  In California, there are propositions regarding animal rights, gay marriage, and alternative energy, among others.  Surely one of those must matter.  If nothing matters, who cares.  Send back an empty ballot.  Saying nothing says something.
  
• I don't know anything - read the silly one pager on all the propositions and candidates.  It's easy.  If I can manage to do it, you can.  It comes in your mailbox and is available online, conveniently enough.
  

Why am I so adamant that everyone vote?  Because voting for me is a privilege.  I wasn't granted the right to vote based on my birthplace.  My parents had to travel over an ocean and a mountain of paperwork to be able to obtain the right to vote, so I take it as my own responsibility to do so - and so should you. 

So, that's it.  Yeah, more than my two cents.  And no, I don't care who you vote for.  I'd rather someone vote for Michael Jackson than not vote at all. 

(Trying to get people who don't vote is kind of like getting smokers to quit - you never think you will change their habits, but you just have to keep on trying.  On that note, I just got notice that one of my patients that I counseled on smoking cessation last month actually quit the day after I saw him!  It can work!)

It's all about the economy, stupid!

A classic line during the 1992 election campaign and I think that it applies to this year's election as well.  Times like these make me wish that I actually paid attention in my economics class (which I took as a senior in high school at the local community college - I mean, who knew that it would be useful later?!).  I wish that I could make sense of the situation and figure out who to believe.  Will we fall into a huge recession (more so than we have already) if we don't rescue the big corporations who got us into this whole mess?  Or will bailing them out just cost the taxpayers billions of dollars while the big corporations get off scott-free?  Who knows. Maybe it's a mix of everything.  Just from listening to things, I get the sense of taht something needs to happen.  I think ideally, it would be that there is a bailout - maybe not $700 billion - but attached to it are conditions whereby the mortgage and investment firms have to reform their practices so that this doesn't happen again.  It's silly.  I mean, you'd think we learn from previous financial market meltdowns, such as when savings and loans went the way of the dinosaurs, but alas, politics has a short memory when it comes to lessons and a long one when it comes to scandals. 

In the end, I think taxpayers get screwed.  They have to bail these companies out while trying to eek through their daily lives with rising gas and cost of living prices.  In the end, we could have done a lot more with $700 billion.  We could have worked towards insuring the 46 million plus uninsured Americans.  We could have improved our failing public schools.  We could work towards cleaning up our parks and waterways.  There is so much more we could have done - but alas, those are apparently not as important as bailing out the companies who counted their coffers while the average American tried to stretch theirs.