Tall, Dork, and Handsome

I hate to admit it, but I really dig Ugly Betty's boyfriends of late (minus the touchy feely loser musician).  From nerdy Henry (who was on that WB show awhile back and still cute now) to magazine dork Matt.  Where can I find myself one of those?  I guess not sitting on my couch on a Saturday night.

Crushing

I was watching Ugly Betty today and was hit by a scene between Mark (the gay assistant) and Betty (the main character) that went something like this:

           Mark: Hey, what about that guy?  He's your type - he's tall, dork, and handsome. 

I thought it was brilliant and so succinctly describes my "type."  Hilarious.  Maybe the wine helped in my thinking it was hilarious, but I still think it's funny (and not a drop of wine in me).

To feed my belly and  my need to see a cute boy, I went to have Korean food today at this restaurant where the food is good, but the service is better.  And yes, one of the waiters is tall, dork, and handsome.

Lazy Saturday morning

It's so nice to have a day off, where I can have grand plans and then end up watching 3 hours of cooking shows on public television.  I mean, did I really?  Yes, I did. 

On that note, I have a love-hate relationship with public television.  The shows are great and it's so educational.  On the other hand, there are no commercials to allow me to stand up, pretend to be doing other things, and then sit back down - so I end up sitting here for 3 hours straight.  Ah. 

The big life

My dear brother, Andy, went out and bought me a 42" flat screen TV.  Yeah, 42".  It takes up almost my entire wall.  And I can view it from the other side of my apartment, on my bed.  It's kinda crazy, but cool at the same time.  Now does that mean that I have to cave in and subscribe to cable?  I mean, it does seem silly to watch antenna television on a 42" TV, no? 

Reality television

I'm watching the Friends episode where Phoebe gives birth to her brother's triplets (yeah, if you aren't familiar with the plot lines, it can sound incestuous, but it's not). They show the delivery room and it's really hilarious, especially given my new perspective after spending many days and nights in delivery rooms.

I guess it's about time I realize that not everything I see on TV is reality.

Keeping it real

I'm currently watching Grey's Anatomy and it's utterly ridiculous. Utterly. Well, maybe it's been ridiculous for awhile, but I haven't seen it in about a year. So far we have seen a trailer preview be a complete joke ("I'm carrying your child"), the nearly impossible (a resident falling on her back, then being stabbed by an icicle - oh, the drama!), and the main character pining away (whiny Meredith, wondering why, why, why).

Eep! How many more seasons can this ridiculosity continue? Why am I wasting 2 hours of a perfectly good evening watching it?!

At least I have a drink to help me through it.

Hole in my head

I just watched the new Fox series, "Hole in the Wall", which is a full on stealing of the concept from Japan's Human Tetris. Let's just say that it's just not as funny as the Japanese version, but then again, what is? And yes, I was procrastinating. It's really hard to study. Really, really hard.

I also procrastinated all weekend, when I went to the beach - not once, but twice! Who knew intern year would be so fabulously fun? I wish I brought my camera, but alas, I forgot. I apologize for not having more pictures up, but here is one (taken a sunny day in June where I got a sunburn in San Francisco - unheard of!).

Who ever knew

For the last few weeks, I have lived without TV and internet at home. Never before actually doing it did I think that I could do it. If you think about it, we have become so dependent on technology and stuff to distract us that it's hard to imagine life without some kind of noise or some kind of visual stimulation. However, now that I have lived without these distractions at home for awhile, I realize that my life at home has become much less hectic. Without something to distract me, I have been able to read more than I would (both for work and for pleasure), my place is not an utter mess, and I feel less stupid (yes, I do love TV, but yeah, it can make me feel stupid). All that said, I still have my radio (which is split between NPR and my iPod) and my West Wing DVDs. I will probably change my mind after my West Wing DVDs run out, though (I'm on Season 4, Episode 13 now).

This can also be held as an excuse for my not posting more often.

Bad TV

So, my mom is the master at finding the worst show on television and watching it. Right now, it's "Mobile Home Disaster" on the Country Music Television (CMT) channel. Yes, you heard right, "Mobile Home Disaster." Yes, on the country channel. And no, of course no stereotypes are being perpetuated.

Why am I watching it? Because I'm too lazy to move from my position on the couch. Maybe I deserve to be subject to this torture after all.

Cabin Fever

Today, I left the house for the first time in 48 hours. Yeah, 48 hours. I'm about to go stir crazy, much like in The Shining (except without the murderous rampage). I went to the clinic I used to work in and got a second opinion on my knee. Good news is that I get to keep my leg. Bad news is that I just have to take it easy, which is tough for a girl who cannot take it easy.

So, to bide my time, I'm honing my Wii skills, watching The West Wing and Big Love on DVD, and reading Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen. However, I have to slow my reading down, because English language books are a rare commodity in Vietnam and I only have this and two other books for the next 6 weeks (4 of which will be in India, where I expect I will be doing a lot of reading).

(Image source)

Nightlife

Last Friday night, a friend and I wanted to grab ice cream from a local ice cream stand. We set out around 9:30 and are disappointed to find it closed (at 9). We then decide to head to the supermarket to get some ice cream and waste some time. As we're joking and laughing in the ice cream aisle, a man comes over and informs us that the store closed 10 minutes ago (it was 10:10 at this time). So, we got kicked out of a grocery store (though they were kind enough to let us buy our ice cream).

What did we do for the rest of the night? Watch trashy Friday night TV, eating ice cream, and drinking wine.

C-SPAN

Somehow, I ended up watching about a half hour of C-SPAN yesterday. It was a live broadcast of the hearings in the Senate regarding the nuclear option. Now, as the former political science major that I am, I appreciate C-SPAN every now and then and yesterday was one of those times. I was listening to Senator Schumer from New York and Senator Boxer from California speak and throughout their speeches, they mentioned (countless times) "what the Founders intended" and "Constitutional debates" and such. Now, being ashamed as I am, I wish that I would have paid more attention in high school history because I only knew about half of what they were talking about. And even more so, I realized that I still had no idea what the nuclear option is and why it has such an odd name.

going to grandma's house

i went to visit my grandmother today. it's funny when someone says that they're going to visit grandma, you imagine one of several things. 1. their grandmother lives in some posh nursing home and is wheeled around by a nurse everyday, ala grosse pointe blank. 2. their grandmother lives in some nice little old mansion filled with antiques. 3. their grandmother lives in some nice little old house filled with antiques and the entire inventory of Country Clutter (a store that really does live up to its name) - from 1970.

well, my grandmother doesn't fit any of those styles, but then again, who in my family fits some stereotype? my grandmother lives in east oakland, in a tiny little apartment with my aunt and her husband plus my uncle (got it? three other people). she's the nicest person in the world but at the same time, i can tell she's a strong woman.

so i called her up this morning to tell her, in my rudimentary vietnamese, that i was coming. i didn't tell her to prepare anything or to do anything. i just called to make sure she would be home when i would be around. when i come in, she starts giving me wonderful food that i haven't had in awhile and then talks to me. i haven't ever really talked to her and it was wonderful. though i can't ask too many questions, i got to talk to her about my cousin who is getting married next year in Vietnam, my upcoming trip there, my schooling, the snow in boston, etc etc. it was nice.

as i was walking around the apartment, i realized little things. she still boils her water. though she doesn't live in the greatest neighborhood, there is no good reason for her not to drink water from the tap. however, she continues to boil it, as though it's going to give her dysentary, which it would if she were in Vietnam.

there is a washer in her apartment, but no dryer. just seems odd, to just say, "oh, you have a washer in the apartment" without the qualifying, "and dryer." luckily, we live in sunny california where the sun shines more often than not and they can dry their clothes outside.

also, she watches american tv, instead of silly vietnamese soap operas on videotapes, which is nice. she was watching the cooking channel, so i asked her (halfway knowing the answer) if she tries to make the stuff herself. she just tells me that it's entertainment and she just likes to look at the food. plus, she can't understand what they're saying or the ingredients, so she just watches. then she says that what the woman on tv is making looks good. i tell her it's a ham and cheese sandwich and it's rather easy, proceeding to tell her how to make it, knowing that she neither eats ham nor cheese.

it's stuff like this that makes me think of how much i love my family. though it was a random visit and we only talked about a little bit, it was nice just to see her. so, everyone out there should call their grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, father, mother, sister, brother, cousin, etc! get that nice warm feeling inside of you. who knows, you might be better off for it.

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?

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!

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).