Hello Seattle

I love Seattle! (and Owl City):



Can't wait to be home! 5 down, 1 more final to go!

Other songs that remind me of people:
* Daylight by Maroon 5 (WR)
* Crazy by Gnarl Barkley (OO)
* Photographs and Memories by Jason Reeves (LL)
* Across the Universe by Beetles (J)
* She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5
* New Soul by Yael Naim (MZ)
* Soul Sister by Train (MW)

Other songs I like:

• Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

Childbirth

"Dave Barry's account of childbirth. If you haven't read it, you should:
http://www.epilio.com/jokes.nsf/ed2ca744640a679c802560e6006f016b/63b3b52ed304255d8025600d004dbce1?OpenDocument

Here are two snippets that might give you a chuckle:

'Let's take a quick look at the history of baby-having. For thousands of years, only women had babies. Primitive women would go off into primitive huts and groan and wail and sweat while other women hovered around. The primitive men stayed outside doing manly things, such as lifting heavy objects and spitting.

When the baby was born, the women would clean it up as best they could and show it to the men who would spit appreciatively and head off to the forest to throw sharp sticks at small animals. If you had suggested to primitive men that they should actually watch women have babies, they would have laughed at you and probably tortured you for three or four days. They were real men.'
...
'Our childbirth-class instructor was very big on the uterus because that's where babies generally spend their time before birth. She also spent some time on the ovum, which is near the ovaries. What happens is that the ovum hangs around reading novels and eating chocolates until along comes this big crowd of spermatozoa, which are tiny, very stupid one-celled organisms. They're looking for the ovum, but most of them wouldn't know it if they fell over it. They swim around for days, trying to mate with the pancreas and whatever other organs they bump into. But eventually one stumbles into the ovum, and the happy couple parades down the fallopian tubes to the uterus. In the uterus, the Miracle of Life begins, unless you believe the Miracle of Life does not begin there, and if you think I'm going to get into that, you're crazy. Anyway, the ovum starts growing rapidly and dividing into lots of little specialized parts, not unlike the federal government. Within six weeks, it has developed all organs it needs to drool; by 10 weeks, it has the ability to cry in restaurants. In childbirth class, they showed us these pictures of a fetus developing inside a uterus. They didn't tell us how the pictures were taken, but I suspect it involved a great deal of drinking.' " -Courtesy of RA

MedBall & B-day Fun

MedBall is an excuse for all the med students (mostly first years) and faculty to dress up, eat yummy food, dance, and drink. Aside from an increase in debt, and deciding that I could cook better fish, it was gorgeous, there was a band that played swing-danceable music, and I had a great date :D. Yes...unbelievably, I did dance in public. haha. It was at the Hyatt Hotel so it was pretty fancy, and there were people in very extravagent clothing. Fun overload!

B-day Surprises:
Thanks MNZ and KP for the awesome personalized Starbucks gift card!!! I can't believe you guys put "Take it easy now, not too much..." on it!!! hahahaha... and yes, you guys are truly drop-dead-gorgeous!

Awww, AS and TL - what great friends! They organized a surprise b-day for me and made/decorated a cake in the shape of a baby with a big head (oh dear) with the help of other friends. Oh man, I had no idea it was coming to me. I just got back from practicing interviewing/examining standardized patients, and my neighbor came to me asking if I wanted to try some pasta that she made. Of course, regarding food, I had no choice, so I followed her. And in this dark room bursted forth at least a dozen people. Out of sheer fright/flight response, I screamed and ran away to the other side of my hall. I think I surprised everyone even more with my running. Ooops! Anyhow, the cake was delicious, and the company was charming! Another great end to a day!

Irritated: My Response to Stress

We were discussing the negative effects of stress in physio today.  During class, when I thought about how I respond, I thought of mainly two things: eating and playing tennis.  But then just today, I noticed my true response: AHHHH!!!!  ...and getting irritated.

I don't know ANYTHING about photo editing, but because I'm incapable of saying "no" to people, I managed to get myself the role of photo editor for the med school guidebook for next year's first years.  And because I'm not so great at adding in new things into my schedule, I've come to realize how much time this is taking and how much I still have to do.  Ack!!!  So much to do this weekend!  Aside from homework, I have to be the coordinator for the free clinic, and I also DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HECK I'M DOING!!!  Thus, THIS IS MAKING ME STRESSED!!!  Okay...I think I need to breathe!  But I can't because my hallway smells like smoke!!!

Anyhow, I've become irritated with the co-photo editor, and I've become irritated with this person who smokes on my floor. gah!!!  so irritating!!!  I'm usually not like this! I think I need to say a prayer or think about the real reason I'm here at med school.  Maybe I need to think about the big picture.  There really isn't anything for me to be angry with.  Some people are just mean and do stupid things, and I should get over it.  No, no, that's not the right way to think.  People probably have reasons for doing what they're doing even though I don't like what they're doing.  There are things I don't understand.  Ok...chill....

Beautiful Time-Lapse of Milky Way Over Hawaii

Well written: "In all the messiness of life's day-to-day, one tends to forget the majesty that is the universe on a grand scale. Let this stunning time-lapse of the Milky Way over Hawaii remind you of your insignificance."
http://tv.gawker.com/5485803/beautiful-time+lapse-of-the-milky-way-over-hawaii?skyline=true&s=i
It's amazing.

3 Beautiful Stories!

Thanks SW!  At first I thought, "holy cow! 15 minutes!" so I put off watching it until now...but I gotta say, it was definitely worth the 15 minutes.  What a great speech indeed: Steve Job 2005

Pocket Knife Adventure

I was so excited to travel to Boston this past weekend for PHR conference!  I had so much time to pack, but for some reason, I was COMPLETELY brainless this time.
1) I realized I didn't bring my boarding pass that I specifically used money to print out.
2) I realized I didn't bring my toiletries that included essentials like toothbrush, contact lenses, contact solution/case, etc.
Those two things were relatively ok to forget because I could still print out a boarding pass at the airport, and I could borrow/buy the rest of the stuff I forgot.

But then, I realized that I had forgotten to take out the pocket knife and lighter that I always carry around in my backpack.  Okay, it may seem very insignificant, but it was a very special knife with very special memories.  My dad bought it for me, and it has been with me to Sierra Leone and Nicaragua.  The first two things already got me really flustered, and by the time I found out about my knife, I was kind of in a disarray.  These were the options we came up with on the metro:

1) Find a post office and mail it back to WashU

2) Leave it in a locker pick it up later

3) Check my one and only bag

So we go to the airport and found that the post office was already closed; due to security reasons, airports no longer have lockers; and it takes $20 to check a bag (though the knife was originally $70, I got it for $10).  So what to do?!!!  I even considered randomly going to a random person heading out of the airport and asking if she'd take my knife and I'll get it from her after I get back to St. Louis.  I scratched that idea and my traveling buddy thought I was crazy.  I called my friends to ask for suggestions b/c by that time my brain was not working (I promise when I'm a doctor, it will always work).  They suggested coming to the airport to get it, but I felt bad and decided not to have them come get it.  

Instead, I wandered to an area with very few people, kept on talking on the phone, and just randomly stuck my knife and lighter in a potted plant and buried it in the dirt.  At first I thought I was clever, then I realized there were probably security cameras everywhere.  I got a little worried, and another friend that I called jokingly said the airport security people were probably tracking me down at that very moment.  So being the typical indecisive me, I decided to ask my friends to come and get the knife from the pot.  

I gave very specific instructions, and when I landed, found that they still couldn't find it.  She said she felt weird digging around in a pot with security next to her, which is totally understandable.  :(  Disappointing indeed!  Oh well, I figure I could get another knife elsewhere.  

On the way back, I decided to check out the pot just in case.  My friend said that I didn't really do anything illegal, and if anyone did see anything, they'd probably just think I was weird.  Anyhow, I went to the special pot, and lone and behold - it was there!  I had no idea where my friend was digging before, but there was my knife and lighter!  It was exactly where I had buried it, completely undisturbed.  :D  Great end to a flustering trip!

I Love My Bro!

I love my baby brother! (well...not really baby anymore, but still...)

The other kid is a family friend's son.

Cartoons from Lectures

Attention - I'm having an endocrinologist in tomorrow to look at you

My Type of T-shirt

I like: http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/i-hate-cilantro

Story of My Life

http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs44/f/2009/091/0/8/Daily_Life_by_Ennokni.jpg
Courtesy of AL

National Girlfriend and Sister's Week

I got the following from a friend:

I am only as strong as the coffee I drink, the hairspray I use and the friends I have.

To the cool women who have touched my life. Here's to you!

National Girlfriends Day 

If you get this twice you know you have more than one girlfriend.

Be Happy!

It is good to be a woman:

1. We got off the Titanic first.

2. We can scare male bosses with the mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.

3. Taxis stop for us.

4. We don't look like a frog in a blender when dancing.

5. No fashion faux pas we make, could ever rival the Speedo.

6. We don't have to pass gas to amuse ourselves.

7. If we forget to shave, no one has to know.

8. We can congratulate our teammate without ever touching her rear end.

9. We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our privates are still there.

10. We have the ability to dress ourselves.

11.  We can talk to the opposite sex without having to picture them naked.

12.  If we marry someone 20 years younger, we are aware that we will look like an idiot.

13. We will never regret piercing our ears.

14. There are times when chocolate really can solve all your problems.

15. We can make comments about how silly men are in their presence because they aren't listening anyway. 

Send  this to all the bright women you know and make their day!!!!!

Love ya! Mean it!

Gender Identity From a New Perspective

I was trying to turn on my computer, when I heard the lecturer start speaking.  I thought it sounded like another male lecturer we had earlier, but I look up and see this well-dressed brunette dressed in a skirt.  I turned to my neighbor and whispered, "This is going to be an interesting lecture."

Sure enough, the lecturer pointed to a picture of a young boy and said that was her picture when she was younger.  I guess it was kind of expected, since we were given lecture notes about gender identity.  I have never met anyone who was transsexual (at least, not that I know of), so it was still a very interesting lecture.  She talked about how she was confused and suppressed when she was a child.  How she went through a denial stage in medical school, got married, and managed to reach a stage of professional success, yet, she was still unhappy and unsatisfied.

Finally, despite having everything most people would consider satisfying, she felt "profoundly bothered...depress," uncomfortable as a male, and felt alone.  She experimented with cross-dressing and her spouse knew she had fantasies.  Finally she got help and came to terms with things.

She then went through the sex change process of hormonal, surgical and legal change.  Although it was a difficult time for her to change at that time period, she said she was lucky she had tenure and she was in a relatively understanding environment.  She continued to talk about how most people in her situation become socially marginalized and driven to crime, prostitution, drug abuse, and other health risks, which causes many people to identify transsexual people with those characteristics.  Yet, for her, the most painful part was what the process of transition did to the people who were closest to her such as her family.

This lecture definitely gave me mixed feelings.

So cute - Parisian Love!

This has got to be one of the best commercials ever!  It's so adorable...gives me the chills:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsSUqgkDwU

Noooooo....Fooooood!

I am broken hearted! I've been in denial for so long, but now the full truth has been shoved in my face:

20 Worst Restaurant Foods.  It includes salads and drinks too!  Recall that recommended DAILY calorie intake is 1500-2000.  Man, to think to the time when I frequently went to the Cheesecake Factory for b-day parties!