OMG! Tornado!!!
http://www.kmox.com/NEW-VIDEO--Tornado-touches-down/6881801
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Once Upon a Mattress
At the prime age of nine, YW had to make the most important decision of her life. Although she already had a well-paid job as the baby boy mouse in the Nutcracker, she risked it all to be a pro-tennis player. Like most decisions she make, it was the wrong one, and she has since then failed to win the U.S. Open. Reminiscent of being a ballerina and her good old days in elementary school as the pink fairy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, YW decided to take a break from chasing after fuzzy green balls and be a lady – a lady who screeches, spins in the wrong direction, and looks utterly confused...
...And that's how I landed the role of a random lady in Once Upon a Mattress. Yup - rehearsal every Saturday since the beginning of the school year, and 4-5 hr practices the week before the shows - and i don't even have a speaking role! (I "sing" and "dance" in the chorus.) Wow, now I have A LOT of appreciation for those in the arts. Man, people are so talented! Their voices that go so many notes higher than mine, and their priceless facial expressions! It was definitely a lot of fun!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Immunology Exam Fun (ya, i know, exam and fun in the same title O_o)
This was one of the exam questions (scroll down for funny responses):
7. If you could “redesign” one component of the immune system to make it more effective/efficient, which component would it be and why? (4 points)
The most common responses:
(1st number is # of students; 2nd is % of class)
improve IgE responses to eliminate allergy: 27, 22.0
make vdj recombination more efficient: 12, 9.8
simplify/alter complement: 12, 9.8
suppress autoimmunity somehow: 11, 8.9
improve response to HIV/viruses: 8, 6.5
speed up adaptive response: 5, 4.1
T cell selection/development: 5, 4.1
allow MHC to bind polysaccharides: 5, 4.1
be better able to clear immune complexes: 4, 3.3
change class switching: 4, 3.3
improve response to tumours: 4, 3.3
more redundancy in cytokine receptors: 3, 2.4
have a new type of T cell: 3, 2.4
enhance NK cells: 2, 1.6
remove barriers to immunopriv sites: 2, 1.6
no response! Loss of 4 points right there: 2, 1.6
_________________________________________________________
And some of my(TA's) favourite excerpts:
… What we need is better innate immunity based on better barriers - a more acidic mouth, maybe, or scales that mosquitoes and tsetse flies can't penetrate with their little teeth
… get rid of c2 and c4 for pete's sake!
… Ah, my world would be such a better place without my mast cells degranulating to dust, pollen,…
… And we all know that he who has the ATP makes the rules. I think that's a quote from Aladdin.
… Also harsher punishment for negative selection violators… and world peace.
… [in regards to complement] It would also make for happier medical students because they don't need to memorize as much
… Also, I would eliminate Factor H. Honestly, who invited that guy?
… Then, when [the NK cells] migrate to a site of inflammation, they'd be all like "ZOMG OM NOM" to more viral infected cells…"
… It wouldn't be easy, but sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.
… I would also give our CD8+ cells laser pistols and sunglasses [picture included, with a granzyme grenade]
… The thought of "design" and the immune system contradicts mountains of scientific evidence and vertebrate evolutionary history, but for four points I will "intelligently re-design" a component of a system that natural selection has been acting on for millions of years.
7. If you could “redesign” one component of the immune system to make it more effective/efficient, which component would it be and why? (4 points)
The most common responses:
(1st number is # of students; 2nd is % of class)
improve IgE responses to eliminate allergy: 27, 22.0
make vdj recombination more efficient: 12, 9.8
simplify/alter complement: 12, 9.8
suppress autoimmunity somehow: 11, 8.9
improve response to HIV/viruses: 8, 6.5
speed up adaptive response: 5, 4.1
T cell selection/development: 5, 4.1
allow MHC to bind polysaccharides: 5, 4.1
be better able to clear immune complexes: 4, 3.3
change class switching: 4, 3.3
improve response to tumours: 4, 3.3
more redundancy in cytokine receptors: 3, 2.4
have a new type of T cell: 3, 2.4
enhance NK cells: 2, 1.6
remove barriers to immunopriv sites: 2, 1.6
no response! Loss of 4 points right there: 2, 1.6
_________________________________________________________
And some of my(TA's) favourite excerpts:
… What we need is better innate immunity based on better barriers - a more acidic mouth, maybe, or scales that mosquitoes and tsetse flies can't penetrate with their little teeth
… get rid of c2 and c4 for pete's sake!
… Ah, my world would be such a better place without my mast cells degranulating to dust, pollen,…
… And we all know that he who has the ATP makes the rules. I think that's a quote from Aladdin.
… Also harsher punishment for negative selection violators… and world peace.
… [in regards to complement] It would also make for happier medical students because they don't need to memorize as much
… Also, I would eliminate Factor H. Honestly, who invited that guy?
… Then, when [the NK cells] migrate to a site of inflammation, they'd be all like "ZOMG OM NOM" to more viral infected cells…"
… It wouldn't be easy, but sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.
… I would also give our CD8+ cells laser pistols and sunglasses [picture included, with a granzyme grenade]
… The thought of "design" and the immune system contradicts mountains of scientific evidence and vertebrate evolutionary history, but for four points I will "intelligently re-design" a component of a system that natural selection has been acting on for millions of years.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
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:
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:
Sunday, March 21, 2010
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
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
Sunday, March 14, 2010
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!
Friday, March 5, 2010
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....
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....
Thursday, March 4, 2010
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.
http://tv.gawker.com/5485803/beautiful-time+lapse-of-the-milky-way-over-hawaii?skyline=true&s=i
It's amazing.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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
Monday, February 22, 2010
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.
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!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
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.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
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