taking a dip in the ocean 

Snorkeling area in Angthong National Park 

Emerald Lake in Angthong National Park 

i'm in bangkok! i'm at the airport, here on a two hour layover, good thing I found free internet. :P I got lost briefly in this vast airport where they believe that you should walk almost a mile in beteen terminals. but i'm glad i'm here thus far in one piece. It was raining about five minutes ago but then cleared up pretty quickly -it's definitely monsoon season, can feel it in the air. Hopefully the weather will hold up, and my shoes (they already gave me two blisters).

Going to meet the med school gang in Ko Samui - hopefully we'll all get there in one piece, esp one friend whose boards got cancelled on him the day of (and he had a nonrefundable flight to thailand the following day). i hope we all get there in one piece. I can't wait to get there! let my vacation begin~

hopefully you guys who are still studying for the boards or who just finished, BEST OF LUCK - trust your instincts, a lot of stuff you know already, and a lot of stuff came to me as I remembered some of the things they actually taught in class and hadn't studied recently. have faith in the human brain - it works a lot better than you think. ;) and those of you who just finished, live it up! enjoy your time before we all get back to work in a few weeks.

ack, real life in two weeks... i can't believe it. i feel like a native Korean now. :D almost. ooh we had a nice surprise this morning at the airport when I found out you need a visa after 30 days in Korea, and I was considered an "illegal alien". they even have a small room for us, the illegal alien. Thankfully, no one tried to make us offer any bribes and things were cleared up really quickly. I didn't get upgraded this time, j. :( was very disappointed. maybe on the way back. :D

have a great weekend, everyone! i'll check my email when i can - i'm going to a fairly remote area. pray for no tsunamis. :D

the boards were... horrible. seven hours of staring at an old computer screen with a really bad flicker was not fun. BUT IT'S OVER... i've been going out all day, every day since then - met up with g and j, showed them around seoul and even got to drink yogurt soju with them in shin chon for the first time (I've never been there at night, it was CRAZY), went shopping in dongdaemun and found true religion jeans, drank too much yogurt soju, and almost went clubbing. (long story)

met up with more med students today... had a really fun time. decided to stay home tonight to pack - thailand tomorrow!

how do you live in the moment if you have to prepare for tomorrow? or next wednesday, for that matter.

buckling... under... pressure... i think i need a lush bath.

an interesting article in which I generally agree with: talking about how the Republican party ends up alienating the "moderate Christians" and our role in politics.

"But for us [the moderate Christians], the only absolute standard of behavior is the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves....

When we see an opportunity to save our neighbors' lives through stem cell research, we believe that it is our duty to pursue that research, and to oppose legislation that would impede us from doing so.

...Following a Lord who reached out in compassion to all human beings, we oppose amending the Constitution in a way that would humiliate homosexuals.

For us, living the Love Commandment may be at odds with efforts to encapsulate Christianity in a political agenda. We strongly support the separation of church and state, both because that principle is essential to holding together a diverse country, and because the policies of the state always fall short of the demands of faith. Aware that even our most passionate ventures into politics are efforts to carry the treasure of religion in the earthen vessel of government, we proceed in a spirit of humility lacking in our conservative colleagues."

article here.

summer berry cream cake, anyone? 

my dad is telling everyone how the boards are a test to mainly weed out foreign med students - and he thinks I shouldn't study so hard. (He told me yesterday I should study four hours a day, MAX) Now all my cousins and relatives think that this test is really easy, thanks to my dad - yes, an easy eight hour exam. it's a medical licensing exam! So now I have not only my dad telling me not to study, but all my cousins who are telling me not to study as well, and for me to go play with them at Lotte World or water parks or go shopping. so evil!!!

test time is coming up! it seems so far away, which isn't healthy, I still think there's a lot of time. I can't wait until this is over. my original desired test date was on june 17, but the only time slot available was on the 22nd, so I just grabbed it. Man, if I had taken my test on the 17th (which is today) i would have died.

i wonder if i can nap during my breaks during my actual exam...

it's all about the WORDPLAY

jason mraz's new music video! hilarious~ surprising too.

i'm all path-ed out. gonna watch my daily episode of sex and the city starting in about 10 min.

dreaming, if i had a lot of money.

cancelled ice skating for the first time - my teacher said he'll give me a lesson after my test is over. he's so nice, last time he paid for my entrance fee and i didn't realize it til later. he gives off such a gruff persona, but a softie at heart.

i'm scared i'm going to regress in ice skating - i made so much progress. but like my mom said, it's better to forget a step in ice skating than to fail the boards. :P

we went and checked out the testing site today. very sterile, which i guess is a good thing. it's horrible but ppl treat you better if u speak english - i guess i'll have to fake it next week and pretend to only speak english. i looked at the testers scheduled for that day - 99% are taking the TOEFL, and about three or four ppl are taking some off test (PIC? or something like that). No USMLE step 1 test takers. :P hopefully it wasn't a stupid move to take it here in korea.

played tennis with my dad today. my mom's out of town for the next few days, so it's just the two of us. it was fun - I kicked his butt... by making him run around the court my horrible shots. ;) I haven't picked up a tennis racket in two years, and so I totally wore him out b/c he was running after the balls I hit (including one that went over the fence). haha he was exhausted after 30 minutes (so was I). I was improving tho. and then he bought me a banana split afterwards - that was the best part. ;) The last one I ate was probably bought my him, too, years ago.

studying = not productive = probably not surprising

Funny statements on commercial products:

Bag of Fritos:
"You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside"
(The shoplifter special)

Swanson frozen dinners:
"Serving suggestion: Defrost"
(just a suggestion)

Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom of box):
"Do not turn upside down."
(Too late)

Children's Cough Medicine:
"Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this
medication"
(Good idea for most kids)

Sears hairdryer:
"Do not use while sleeping"
(Okay)

Christmas lights:
"For indoor or outdoor use only."
(What's left?)

Japanese food processor:
"Not to be used for the other use."
(I gotta admit, I'm curious)

Sainsbury's peanuts:
"Warning: contains nuts."

American Airlines packet of nuts:
"Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts."
(Step 3: Fly Delta)

Child's Superman costume:
"Wearing of the garment does not enable you to fly."
(Lawyers wrote that one)

Outside the Forbidden City

Outside the Forbidden City
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

in the morning glow.

doing everything to procrastinate studying. looked briefly thru my beijing pics - i had such a blast.

much better than doing physio. my studying schedule has shifted back another day. ok back to studying. for reals.

feeling better

after i ice skate. i'm always a little iffy before i go - i'm tired, there's so much to do... but it's always refreshing to take a break and sweat a little bit. my jumps are getting better... not much else is. :P

stuyding my microcards on the subway have been really productive. :P not sure why. maybe it helps to have someone read over my shoulder intrusively.

bought my ticket to thailand!! i'm so excited, gonna hang with a few of my classmates.

Memory

I remember when I was younger, someone told me that if you read something once, you'll retain about 40% of it. Then the second time you read something, you'll retain 90% of it. I think I'm living proof that's not true.

Too much to memorize. My brain is going to implode, while the previously learned stuff is trickling into disappearance. We'll all pull out ok, right?

Korean tv

Pros:

• No commercials! During the show, at least... they save all the commercials and play them all at the end of the show, so there's like 20-30 minutes of commercials after each show. It's so weird tho, when Oprah's like, "we'll do this... after the break" and then it comes on right away. It's great. ;)
  
• All the older American TV shows are on - Apprentice season 1, all the American Idols... but more than that, Jamie Oliver is on the Food Channel like 3-4 times a day. He's only playing in the early early morning hours in the US (he's been on for a long time, I suppose) but I love it~ his food looks soooo yummy, with fresh basil and fruits and vegetables.
  

BIG con:

• Very distracting from my studying!!
  

Going to study with my cousin in the university area of Seoul today. Hoping that a change of scene will help me study. It's also the area where Ehwa University is, the top girls' school in Korea, who are known for their fashionable and pretty girls. Feeling a little bit of pressure to blend in. ;) It should be fun.

my studying schedule for the next few weeks:

1 day immuno
1 day micro
1 day behavior
1 day biostats
4 days physio
6 days pathology

then review for the remaining days. an idealistic schedule, let's hope it works. test is coming up!

went to a fairly distant cousin's baby's first birthday party yesterday (my distant cousin is the baby's dad). i never knew i had so many relatives - i basically was an object of curiosity, the "tall american medical school girl" that they'd only heard about (since I live so far away). it was a little odd. i think people aren't sure what to do with me b/c they're not sure about how well I can speak korean. it wasn't too bad, a few of my cousins that i knew well came so that made it fun. the baby was really adorable, he was nice enough to let me hold him without crying. ;)

talking to the baby's mom, and then falling asleep with his nose squished. 

sean's drooling on my shoulder 

my cutie pie cousin. she's gotten so big. she was fooling around so much during dinner and exasperating her mom. I wasn't helping by cracking up.  


Buried deep in my histology syllabus: (yes, I can't believe I'm digging thru my histo syllabus, looking for information on the vestibulocochlar system)

"The cochlea responds to vibrations created by sound waves striking the ear drum. The device responds to vibrations ranging from deep bass to very high pitched sounds..... At least until age 40, or the completion of 4 Led Zepplin concerts, whichever comes first. Thereafter the response range narrows from a low of 3,100 to a high of 3,104. Coincidentally, this is precisely the range in which your spouse does NOT speak, but exactly the range at which most microwaves, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuums, teenagers, and furnace fans operate. Note this. It will explain a great deal as you age."

i felt like all the signs today were telling me not to go ice skating today. I hadn't slept much (started stressing out after I saw that my current studying schedule wouldn't allow me to finish studying before taking the boards), it was raining and thundering and the wind was blowing really really hard, and my mom was tempting me to stay at home. To top it off, I missed the shuttle bus so had to hail a taxi. Man, missing the shuttle bus was almost too much, but my teacher was waiting and I had already spent so much time getting there, so I went. All in all, I was really glad I went - I had a really good time today. I felt like I was working off my stress by repeating and working on my jumps, over and over. It felt really good, my endorphins were running high. I really needed that.

Exercise increases BDNF in your brain (a neurotrophic brain factor). So while studying for the boards, I think it's a good idea to exercise - it makes me smarter. ;) That's my excuse for going twice a week.

The Altar Boyz CD in the mail came today, with five autographs written out to me - I love it!

Ice skating. It's really been taking up some time - a subway ride with two transfers, and a shuttle bus ride away, just to get there one way. But it's worth it. My dad came along with me on Monday since it was a day off for him, and the last time he took pics was my first day of skating. It's nice to know that there's a difference :D altho it doesn't feel like it sometimes. Check out the pic on the bottom right, of me jumping. 


 

This pic completely cracks me up. :D It looks so much worse than it really seemed. My teacher was watching me fall. ouch.

My new purse - after I saw it on the Apprentice - Kendra and Tana were carrying similar ones, and I thought it looked cute, and so of course, I went looking for it. I found it yesterday in Dong dae mun market, this really cute purse store.  


Went to the electronics market with my dad in Yongsan. It's so big there, we got lost. It was fun tho, I've hardly spent time with my dad. There are so many mp3 players in Korea that are about half the size of an ipod shuffle.

I found a store selling the sixth season of Sex and the City for $5. :D

pics of my honey bunny in vienna, austria. lovely setting.  

Did I mention that his new single's out? :) Check it out here. I can't wait til his new CD is out on July 26th.

feeling like i've been staring at the same thing studying all day. not progressing very well, but finally i sat down and set a schedule to finish pharm studying, in four days. woohoo.

saw tom cruise and katie holmes on oprah today. it was a weird show. tom cruise is acting a little too weird, seems suspicious, like he's hiding something (like, oh i dunno, his sexuality??). who knows.

i think i need to relax, the boards are really getting to me. maybe i'll make a trip to a mokyoktang soon, sit in baths of green tea, mud, or hot mineral water.

listen to jason mraz's new song! i love it~

an interesting BBC article:

"South Korean women have a reputation as the most striking in Asia... The Korean look, with high cheekbones and sculptured features is all the rage from Shanghai to Singapore.
...
The streets of Seoul are thick with impeccably groomed young women in miniskirts, seemingly immune to the sub zero temperatures of the Korean winter.

Women of marriageable age are under intense pressure to look their best at all times and one of the consequences has been an explosion in plastic surgery.

A woman's magazine recently advised its readers to spend 30% of their incomes on looking good.

The reason, you will end up with a better and richer husband and that has to be a sensible investment.

...
South Korea has just 1,200 certified plastic surgeons. Many thousands of others are operating without proper qualifications... One qualified surgeon told me he knew of psychiatrists doing liposuction and radiologists performing double eyelid operations.
...
And in the frenzy to look their best South Korean women, as well as increasing numbers of men, are still prepared to take the risk."

interesting article, here.

how funny! ambush makeover in korea. the host looked familiar. :)

went ice skating today. the punk speed skaters that barely come up to my hips are getting more and more annoying. they cut me off, they ruin my figure eights, they stare at me blankly with their mouths open (probably thinking 'someone that old can't skate?'), and worst of all, they skate MUCH better than me. grrr. it's embarrassing skating in front of them. at least they're in their funny streamlined outfits with their names written in ENGLISH on their backs, in case i ever want to track them down.

i figured that the one thing i can do better than them is that I can skate backwards.

an interesting link from mmonk's blog:

"While most of those marriages used to involve men marrying women with less education, studies have found, lately that pattern has flipped, so that by 2000, the majority involved women...marrying men with less schooling - the combination most likely to end in divorce."

eek. what does that mean for me? marrying some guy with an MD, PhD, AND another degree? my chances of finding an SO are decreasing by the day.

My new glasses

new glasses
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

what a fun weekend. too much fun. really starting to buckle down and study now. hopefully this will continue. ;) of course, aside from ice skating twice a week. i'm going again tomorrow. :)

met up with a college friend, whom i haven't seen since graduation. she's one of my five close girlfriends in college, where we were all middle children of exactly three-daughter families. we all get along well for some odd reason.

is star wars any good? might watch it on the army base tomorrow, it's free for ppl with army base passes.

rain rain go away... at least it's keeping the heat away.

Street scene in Seoul

Street scene in Seoul
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

An interesting scene I saw today, while waiting for my mom outside the subway station. Do you see the guy on the telephone wire that extends over the street? There's a guy sitting on it, fixing something. Crazy. Some things you'll never see in America, like this and guys wearing unflattering hot pink t-shirts.

altho fashion in Korea has come a long way. These days, some guys are wearing jean jackets and cargo pants, which look refreshingly casual. In girls fashion, a lot of girls are also wearing jean jackets and spring green is also trendy. The thing with trends is that, you don't see just a few ppl wearing jean jackets, like u do in America. you see about 80-90% of them wearing very similar things. There's this huge pressure to fit in. :D i wish i brought my jean jacket from home.

I've also found myself taking lots of pics of the view outside of our lovely apartment. My dad has made a final decision to move out of Korea, at least for a few years. I'm glad, but sad at the same time - I really loved coming to Korea. It somehow agrees with me - my skin has even cleared up. Or maybe that's just all the sleeping and eating I'm doing. :D

ahh need to study, can't seem to get past biochem. Tons to memorize. Talking about not studying, I started ice skating yesterday. SO much fun, i missed it a lot. my teacher said i improved a lot, and though I could start learning a salchow soon. i foresee a lot of bruised knees in my near future.

the humidifier's singing at me. what should i do? feel a little lost in this house, not sure where anything is. but it IS nice to be home.

i'm so sleepy. am i jet lagged, or just lazy?

Han River

Han River
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

The view from my room at 3 am, thanks to jet lag. It's very smoky this morning b/c of the rainy weather. Got my hair done today - love it! I guess I never feel like I'm in Korea unless I 1) get my hair done, 2) ride the subway, and 3) go to Myung dong.

You know how you're on the plane looking outside at the view, and you're always tempted to take a picture of the view, but are always disappointed at the resulting pictures? I hope Korea isn't like that for me. It seemed like a good idea to come here and "study", but hopefully the results won't be bad. D-day for me: June 22, from 9 am til 5 pm.

thinking of going to Angkor Wat with my parents after the boards.

i love upgrades to business class. :)

my seat was like a massage chair - there were massaging knobs massaging my back, the entire 12 hour flight. :P I couldn't believe my luck. i slept after two glasses of champagne.

two years of med school over... unbelievable. the last set of finals were pretty brutal, and everyone was feeling really burnt out. i feel like i barely made it, but SO glad it's over. wrapping up the loose ends of one part of my life, getting ready to start another... Monday's the last time our class will be completely together for our practice boards exam.

how do you study for a test that's six weeks away? it's going to be tough, feels like a vacation already. my dad told me to take a break. i will oblige him willingly. :)

i know i've talked about the altar boyz a lot, but one more thing: they challenged the backstreet boys to a sing-off! (or whatever it's called). hilarious.

In an open challenge to the backstreet boyz, the Altar Boyz sent them this message:

"Please contact us at your earliest convenience to discuss the details of the Battle. We have a number of questions: What song will you be performing? Would you like Ms. [Jessica] Simpson to judge the Battle? Will you be lip-syncing?

Should you not appear as requested, we will assume that you have forfeited"

eek that's going to be an awesome show. Altar Boyz will blow them out of the water with their singing, but the backstreet boys might have more stage presence (ego's? :P)... Altar Boyz probably aren't used to performing for huge crowds like the backstreet boys are. It should be really fun to watch.

rest of the letter here.

secret link to one of the ABz's songs. listen towards the end of the song, the tongue-in-cheek undertones of the closeted gay member. ;) (one critic said Mark may be in the closet, but the closet door's wide open). my previous obsessions on the ABz.

ah broadway's much more fun that studying gastric cancer.

talking about the most recent voting of American Idol, where Constantine was voted off, when a lot of people thought that Scott should have been voted off (Scott has a history of arrest for domestic violence, which the following quote refers to):

"“I am surprised that Scott is still on the show with his smug personality. I do not understand why they condone domestic violence, but kick off a woman for posing nude. I truly do not understand how the violence is not worse.” --Jenny"

good point.

Last day of class

Last day of class
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

the future doctors of america. scary isn't it? (to see where I'm blending in with likeminded geeks, oh whoops, i mean fellow students ;), click on the picture)

i managed to wake up and show up to the last lecture (i missed the earlier one :) I guess I showed up just in time for the nostalgic pictures... when I think of lecture, I think of: professors putting in a plug for their field saying why their field is the most important in medicine (they ALL can't be the most important), zoning out, surfing the net madly, watching other people's laptops to see what they're doing, watching M and T and B nod off, and H's tropicana orange juice bottle. oh and the important and fascinating stuff we learn in class.

it's been a good ride. i could reflect more if we didn't have finals next wk.

Sarah Vowell

Sarah Vowell
Originally uploaded by jochang621.

I know, I'm such a geek. Sarah Vowell's one of my recent favorite authors - and a regular on NPR's "This American Life" show. It was fun! I even dragged M and i even caught her laughing. It was nice to get out of davis too, and forget about studying for a little bit. I went to one of my favorite stores, body time. I blogged about Sarah, here. I was also surprised to see that I could convince one of my med school friends to go take a short road trip, the week before finals. :P so funny... a friend of ours got mugged last week in berkeley, and the entire time, we were looking around at possible muggers... we felt very muggable, but we were safe. hehe

the studying (and the diet) start tomorrow... it always starts tomorrow...

it's so funny, there's this whole culture on flickr. Lots of beautiful pics tho, pics that I aspire to taking one day, like mmonk's. I guess I can see the culture, being a newbie.

last day of class tomorrow - so funny how everyone's cameras came out this last week of class. I guess doing a urinalysis lab is not a good day for pics. ;) ah too many urine jokes... pretty gross.

finals next week! I can't believe it's my last set of finals for a real lecture-school type setting, maybe in forever (no wait, grad school classes next year... I always forget we have class :P)! Crazy. two years have really flown by, and I actually like being a student. avoidance of the real world = good thing

so apparently, korea's not in asia. I signed up to take the step 1 - usmle boards in ASIA, b/c I assumed Korea was in Asia... stupid me. Apparently Korea was a separate choice, aside from Asia. They should have clarified - put Korea first, and then "Other Asian Countries" or something like that. And now b/c of my "mistake", I may have to start the scheduling process all over again. Hopefully without paying $500 again. Not to mention the fact that by the time my scheduling permit gets here, I'll be about 2000 miles away.

so frustrating.

reminds me... for the mcat's, there were stories of people scheduling to take it in Hawaii or Las Vegas - they take it as soon as they get there, and voila, post-test, they are in vegas or hawaii. Sounds like a nice idea. It'll be fun b/c a few of my friends from school will be in Korea when I'm there! That's going to be tons of fun.

serving breakfast 




I saw Oprah yesterday, my favorite... definitely going to miss her when I go to Korea, trying to catch her on AFKN in the mornings and missing her on Mondays b/c it's not airing in the states that day (b/c Korea is ahead). Anyways, Steven Cojocaru was on, talking about his kidney transplant and his diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease. He got fired from his job for agreeing to talk to Oprah about organ transplant, which is now a cause he wants to promote. (It's even the same network, NBC!) That was so sad. Rumor is, Katie Couric was upset, but who knows. I'm going to be watching Good Morning America now.

"Cojocaru was less positive discussing how he lost his job on "Today," after being part of the show for over four years. He said that three weeks after his surgery, he was fired after making plans to appear on "Oprah."

"I wasn't just fired, I was dumped," he said. "I was shot at the crack of dawn, I was left in the gutter, I mean, it was so cold."

Winfrey expressed shock, explaining that she had understood that Cojocaru would appear on the "Today" show first. She added, "It's not worth losing your job!""

article here.

There was a cadaver among the first years this year that had polycystic kidney disease. Debilitating, and so sad that NBC would try to limit the exposure of him talking about it.

my mood.

overwhelmed.

 

random

sarah vowell, a writer and contributor to npr, is probably best known for her voiceover work in "the incredibles". she's so funny! i saw her on letterman last night, and she said when she "sold out" to do voiceover work, she sells out all the way - and even did animated game voiceovers for the incredibles, and voice work for the violet parr doll. she got discovered when the director was hearing her on the radio.

"Have you ever had to giggle, yawn, scream, sigh, guffaw on command?

[SV:] That was actually the hardest part of the job and something my radio essays and documentaries hadn't prepared me for. At the first session I was supposed to make a sound into the microphone like I had just been punched. Like, "Uh!". I was having trouble, not being an actor, and finally I just told Brad [the director], "You're going to have to hit me." So he stood next to me and punched me in the arm. We always recorded the screams at the very end because they wreck the voice. That was super fun. I don't think I had screamed, really screamed, for about 20 years."

getting an offer: "Then I got an email from the producer. It was just the sort of left-field ... [an] offer I [usually] turn down without blinking. But it was from Pixar. They're the best at what they do, the most universally culturally revered. It's like if Nelson Mandela showed up asking for your help to fight racism. Maybe fighting racism isn't normally your thing. Maybe you're more of an armchair racism hater. But if Mandela was standing at your door asking you to get on the bus, you'd just start putting on your shoes, right?"

article here

Paul Taylor Modern Dance Company... this pose in "Promethean Fire", which I believe is Paul Taylor's reaction/interpretation of Sept 9/11. Wonderfully moving, with the demise of the entire cast in a heap of bodies with reaching hands, which then resurrect into rising hope. This pose was the final pose - with open arms, symbolizing hope and optimism for the future. 


Previously, I saw the SF Ballet perform another Paul Taylor work, called Company B. Set to the music of the Andrews sisters, in WWII era costuming, it was very upbeat and happy music. However, in the dancing, Paul Taylor put in the angst of wartime and the "chill of bereavement". For instance, in this one dance (still set to the upbeat voices of the Andrews sisters), this couple dances a wistful waltz without touching, just facing each other. Each time they repeat the dance, the distance between them growing further apart. And in the last few moments of the dance, the girl all of a sudden crouches in anguish... and the guy joins a line of men walking in the background, most likely symbolizing the lives lost in war. For some reason, the juxtaposition of such innocence in the music and the heavy subject matter made it more poignant and moving.

Eventide was another piece that was emotionally moving - in an interview, Paul Taylor said he believed all relationships to be doomed and never stay together, and Eventide reflects this. In the end, in the swirling dancing of individuals and couples melding together, you end up yearning, hoping, that these couples will stay together. It ends with the couples walking away from each other, arms reaching. Very sad.

ok enough about dancing! I blame my wordiness on my dance criticism class I took in college. But I highly recommend you see Paul Taylor if you get the chance, and try to sneak into the third row like I did. ;)

sex and the city quote, on how society only rewards marriage, not being single: Carrie: "Think about it. If you are single, after graduation there isn't one occasion where people celebrate you. ... Hallmark doesn't make a "congratulations, you didn't marry the wrong guy" card. And where's the flatware for going on vacation alone?"

V. Sattui winery in Napa Valley. It was so beautiful, and nice to get out of Davis. I'm tempted to go again soon. :) 

there is such a disconnect between what we know, and what we do.

my thoughts are with emily right now. I always remember stopping by every pasadena symphony performance and saying hi to her, with her clarinet in hand.

a bump in my neck. hopefully it'll be ok.

is it weird that i like him?

up to my neck in nephro. ick.

Rent: the movie!! I'm so excited about it coming out. Here's a pic of Adam Pascal as Roger, and is that Rosario Dawson? She's playing Mimi, it sorta looks like her but I can't tell. I had better see Rent on Broadway before the movie comes out - I'm sure the movie will bring the audiences back to see the musical. 

How cute! The first production photo of "Billy Elliot: The Musical". It looks really cute. Man, I'm really getting into this whole musical thing (I blamed this). Wicked is coming to SF too!!! I can't wait~ 

View of the Rockefeller Ice Rink 

Last few days in NY

Thank God I had a few more good days after my mugging. Hopefully going to try to keep that out of my mind.

I saw two great Broadway musicals - Dame Edna (hilarious!) and Altar Boyz (really funny). Altar Boyz is really funny too - based on the idea of a Catholic boy band. That idea in itself was hilarious. At first, I was a bit worried that it would be like a boy band concert, but the subtle undercurrents of plots was really cleverly done. I thought that I might be offended, esp with such topics like religion, but they handled it really well, I think. They also sing so much better than any boy band out there! Looking forward to their soundtrack coming out.


"Contrary to what some may surmise, you need not be a 15-year-old girl from Westchester to have a great time at Altar Boyz, the new musical spoof of Christian pop music and teenage boy bands... this 90-minute romp [is] where sexy, but chaste, young hip-hoppers shake their hot cross buns in tight pants while preaching the dangers of loose morals.

Take me, a 45-year-old childless and straight Upper West Side male without cable who couldn't name a single tune by In Sink... I'm sure there were plenty of references that passed over my head ... but still I laughed my secular butt off.

And yet you can disregard all of that and just kick back with director Stafford Arima's non-stop production that keeps the giddiness soaring at an unholy pace. Either way, I bet there won't be a dry pew in the house."

article here.

I think my favorite NY moment this time was ice skating in Rockefeller Center. It was a beautiful day my last day in NY, with the sun shining and an incredibly hot day of high 50 degrees.

Another favorite NY moment: sipping a teanyccino from moby's cafe, teany. What's a teanyccino, u ask? "A blend of toasted flowers, and cornflower blossoms, served with steamed milk or soymilk" YUM, very addicting. It was served to me by a woman who has a faux-hawk. I finally saw what a faux-hawk looked like. ;)

Back to reality with nephro discussion section this morning, along with laundry and bills. woohoo.

The Altar Boyz - my boys! From L to R: Scott Porter, David Josefsberg, Andy Karl, Tyler Maynard, Ryan Duncan. Tyler was my favorite, and I got to shake hands with Andy Karl! hehe that was such a groupie remark. And no I'm not a groupie.  

An ending pose in one of their songs - the Altar Boyz. This tongue-and-cheek pose (of the cross) was hilarious - very much what the show was about.  

a classic NY moment
times square
statue of liberty
empire state building
seeing a celebrity
being mugged...?

yes, a few nights ago, I got robbed involving several guys... one of the scariest experiences in my life. A guy basically grabbed my purse from behind, and dragged the purse (and me clinging on to it reflexively ) across the subway station floor until all of a sudden, I realized I was being mugged and he might have a weapon, and I just let go. (I still think I would have won that tug-of-war.) I have to realize how lucky I was - I luckily had my camera in my other hand (some pictures are irreplaceable!), and miraculously, my cell phone popped out of my purse and some ppl in the subway, after the mugging, returned it to my sister. Also, my most recent purchases were in my other hand, so they were saved too. (shallow, I know, but right now, I'm looking at every detail optimistically, incl my $40 nicole miller dress i just bought). I was really really lucky, but unluckily targeted at the same time. There was nothing I could control, and yet I really felt like God was with me at the time. If I were to be mugged, I guess this is the way I would have preferred to have done it (rather than at gunpoint, etc.) But it was still REALLY scary, and after he took my purse, I just ran away from him as fast as I could and pictured myself NEVER leaving my sis's apartment again.

Despite all of this, we had the most help I could have wanted. The NYPD were really helpful and were the *nicest* group of people. Their response was super quick and ended up finding the four guys involved, and I really felt like they were on our side, trying to protect the public from being robbed. (My friend thinks it's b/c we were twin girls, but whatever ;) They were extremely reassuring, and made sure I was ok, and even gave us a ride home at 3 am and offered to buy us coffee.

In the end, not everything turned out the way I wanted to, but I still have to trust that everything will turn out well. It took us about two days to really get over this - I'm venturing out on my own for the first time tomorrow. It should be fine. Apparently, there were three days in a row where Asian girls were targeted, all in the same area, within one block of each other. So be careful, girls...

Jen found a really good website with tips for not being mugged: here. So my advice is, don't let it stop you from coming to NY, but it never hurts to be prepared for the worst. My last trip here, I was COMPLETELY paranoid about being mugged, and this time, I really let my guard down. It never hurts to keep $20 and ur cell phone in ur pocket in case something happens.

Overall, thankfully I got out physically unhurt, with a bruised left knee and a shaken sense of stability. Can thunder ever strike twice? I really hope not.

ooh it's raining really hard outside, and the wind is blowing, like in scary movies.

finals are over! it's always an ordeal, no matter how many times it passes. i always have the same regrets of not having studied earlier. in celebration, we cancelled our napa valley picnic (thanks to the rainy weather) but went to berkeley instead for really good korean food. on the way to berkeley in the car, we argued about a sex and the city fight that charlotte and harry have in season six. not surprisingly, it ended up being that the girls were siding with charlotte, and the guys with harry. i'm saying that it was a harsh thing for charlotte to tell harry that others see them as a weird couple, but understandable b/c of her efforts and what her friends told her. the guys thought that what she said to harry was unforgivable. i disagree.

(sorry if you hadn't seen that episode, that last paragraph probably didn't make any sense.) We argued for a good 20-30 min, I'd say.

another week of school - seems never ending, esp since the second yr med students are the only ones in school. the only ppl left here in this city are the grad students, for whom every day is a vacation. haha.

NY, here I come! it's so cold there, wonder how I'll survive? it's 60 degrees here and I'm breaking out my scarves and heaviest snow parka. it's 40 degrees in NY and my sister's breaking out her skirts and summer clothes. craziness.

denial? (read on...)

Samantha's been reporting on last night's weird date...
Miranda: Y'see, this is why I don't date -- the men out there are freaks.
Carrie: Well that's completely unfair.
Miranda: I'm sorry, if a man is over 30 and single, there's something wrong with him, it's Darwinian -- they're being weeded out from propagating the species.
Carrie: Okay, what about us?
Miranda: We're just choosy. I'm getting more shrimp.

studying hard for pharm (see my pharm cards?). i look like i'm falling asleep but i'm really not. i had no idea that my friend was taking a picture of me - friends with cameras are dangerous, lots of potential blackmail material.  

last night, the same friend and S and i studied last night.

me at 2 am = not a happy camper, but my friend still managed to get one candid of me. i'm going to get you back, s.

two more finals to go - here we go. did you guys know it was easter next weekend? whoops, i forgot and scheduled my flight to NY then. right now, i haven't thought about much else besides finals. it's such a self centered narcissistic existence. hopefully lasting only a short while.

finals and shopping
ah it's finals time which means that it's the perfect time to do anything but study. Esp shopping.

Some of my finds on the web: I think I'm on a cheap streak lately, which is better for my wallet anyways

• Isaac Mizrahi's swimsuit collection: love Isaac Mizrahi's stuff at Target, so cheap too!
  
• Old Navy skirts and their Bermuda shorts, which I know are on tv. I got converted into liking Bermuda shorts after seeing Austin on Project Runway design some for the post office uniform. Very cute!
  
• Body Time Perfume Oils: a nice note, not the harsh smell of perfume but more of an aura. My favorite smells: China Rain, Aura. My wish list includes: green tea, orange blossom, patchouli, lavender.
  
• Gap has a new essential oils line! Go check it out.
  
• Amazon.com, of course - my newest buys: Pharmacology Recall and A Fabulous Girl's Guide to Decorum.
  
• Essie
  

my only escape in these busy times are going online. like reading a book. the internet maybe can be the book for the new millenium. like online chatting is the new phone.

dreaming of: a picnic in Napa Valley in this 80+ degree weather, ice skating in Wollman rink in Central Park in the 15 degree weather in NY, playing with my cousins in Korea, standing in St. Mark's Square in Venice *not* covered in pigeons.

sigh back to reality. school really gets in the way of the stuff i really want to do. ;)

you know when things don't turn out the way you expect them to? usually every day is so mundane, nothing going on, but then there are certain things that happen that surprise you. i guess that's why people say they don't like surprises.

i think i still do. i can't control these circumstances anyways.

i'm actually excited about starting lab next summer and next year. I'll be a grad student! It's so weird, being a part of that group. In Stanford, we used to call them "those sketchy grad students". Now I'm going to be one. Just don't let me buy clogs... the ultimate lab shoe. I think I'm destined to own a pair tho. Maybe I can get a cute pair.

Things Learned: Keys to Getting Off of Ski Lift Successfully on a Snowboard
(without a stomp pad)

1. Kick the snow off of your board while you're on the lift, esp in the area where your free foot may land.
2. Scooch as far away from your other liftmates as possible (eliminates the possibility of someone, esp yourself, grabbing onto someone else and pulling everyone down into a messy fall).
3. As you're about to get up, put your foot firmly down and gain your balance FIRST, before standing up. It's important to go slow here without panicking.
4. Hope for the best, esp turning or stopping without a stomp pad. Now that's hard.

My success rate at getting off of lifts really increased yesterday - got off about 8 times successfully, only fell once. It was a great day - weather was great, and I boarded all day for $10! It was much better than going to class. :) I'll have to make up for lost time tho, this weekend.

I cut my bangs today, hoping it'll clear my outlook on life.

I think I'm still sick - I still have muscle aches and a cough, and I keep on sleeping four hours at a time during the afternoons. It's almost scary, I just KNOCK out. I wonder if I have some virus? In Micro, we learn about all these blood cultures, sputum cultures, or serology tests to do in times of flu symptoms, but I've *never* had the option of doing that when I've been the sick person. So why learn it? ;)

My dad in action. I rarely get to see him *truly* in his element - usually at home, he's surrounded by his three daughters it's so hard for him to get a word in edgewise. but when you see him at work, i really saw a different side to him. i can only hope that one day, i'll love my job as much as he does. he was born for this. 


A really random thing happened a few days ago. I received an apology from a stranger (or at least, I don't remember him) via email, from this one guy that said he was my mentee (I was a mentor at one time during undergrad). He said he didn't expect me to recognize him or remember him, but recently a friend asked him if there was anything he could change about his past, and he said he wished he had been friendlier to me, because I had always been nice to him. random huh?

a short online chat with my dad:

me: apa, I think I'm gaining weight.
dad: eat less

studying for the USMLE boards has officially started today, with a four hour embryology review. wow, so much of embryology looked foreign. ;) i officially broke in my First Aid book by writing in it for the first time (as AS bluntly commented, it does look really new, even tho I bought it over a year ago).

it was a study day today. went to a prof's house for office hours - it was interesting, she is single and lives a little like a college student except in a much bigger and nicer house. remind me if in ten years, i'm single, to limit myself to one cat.

Food Myths
courtesy of Alton Brown's Good Eats show on "Food Mythsmashers", which I thought was interesting.
(in no particular order, actually in the order which I remember it and think it's impt)

Myth #1: Mushrooms soak up water, so don't wash them.
Answer: wrong. Alton ran some very scientific experiments (as a future PhD student, I was quite impressed with his controls :) and found that even soaking mushrooms in water for 30 minutes showed no difference from washing them under running water for mere seconds. And even then, 4 oz. of mushrooms only absorbed about a tsp of water. And since mushrooms are grown in compost (albeit sanitized, but still, pretty gross), it's probably a good idea to wash your mushrooms and not brush them.

Myth #2: Non-stick pans can kill small birds.
Answer: TRUE. Heated to 500 degrees, a non stick pan gives off fumes that sensitive birds like parrots and canaries can breathe in and die from. Since this experiment has never been done on humans (not intentionally, altho it has been reported that non stick pans can give humans flu-like symptoms), Alton recommends using non stick for medium heat cooking (not for searing or even sauteeing) and never use a nonstick pan, dry, with no food in it.

It's so tough to avoid nonstick. My roomie only owns Le Creuset non-nonstick pans, and it's so hard to use and such a pain to clean. Definitely in terms of convenience, nonstick pans are great - but knowledge is always impt.

feeling a bit sick today. sniff. it's been a short week, but it's felt sooo long. not sure why.

Good luck to Sarah on her dance performance tomorrow!

Spoons

What a weekend. Not a lot of sleep nor studying, but still a lot of fun. I love three day weekends! A bunch of church people came over, and we ended up playing "Spoons" til 2 am. Man, it's a dangerous game... the first time I played it. I ended up with a bent fingernail and a thumbprint bruise on my leg. Another girl got her face scratched, and SL (a small but strong girl) was tackling people. At one point, SL grabbed all five spoons and started blackmailing me - "are you going to be nice to me?" But then my roomie and I ganged up on her and wrestled away all the spoons. haha. She was bitter that the roommate coalition ruined her blackmail plan. :)

ooh it's beautiful outside today. the sun is back out. yay. To study neuro or not to study?

"God has extremely low expectations"
A quote I found in a book review in the Oprah magazine. I thought it was a funny thought.

I think I have a problem, it's alarming me how much I'm sleeping these days. I just fall asleep and wake up 2.5 hours later. Maybe I have something wrong with my reticular activating system? :P

I did go to ballet class today - probably the most productive thing I did all day today. The teacher used me to demonstrate sissone's. :) I think I strained a muscle tho.

Three day weekend coming up! It's going to be a weekend full of friends - old ones from high school and new recent ones. It should be really fun, hopefully we won't get stuck in the snow at Tahoe. It's been raining for a week, so the snow should be really powdery. Maybe it'll be easier to fall into. ;) I hope I get better at boarding!! It's really exhausting, getting up from falling all the time.
***
In response to a question asked by a reader to the author of "French Women Don't Get Fat", Mireille Guilliano, where the reader asked, "How to win a French woman's heart?"

"Speaking now as a French woman, let me say that since we cultivate joie de vivre showing an appreciation for that is the key. Respect and enhance the enjoyment she derives using her senses in tiny thoughtful ways - some flowers for no reason, a divine piece of chocolate left for her to find with a sweet note. Champagne is great. All the old clichés…they became clichés because they work and are used again and again. And be sure to be open to the pleasure of the senses yourself. American men can be so joylessly pragmatic sometimes and short of spontaneity, delight in the moment. Above all make her laugh, and that applies to all women the world over."

in my defense, in response to jen's blog (since she won't let anyone comment, ahem), i went to bed at 2:30 am last night and was really tired and had to get up to go to Psychiatry class to INTERVIEW a PATIENT at the mental health treatment center. Not to be a patient at the treatment center. It was interesting - saw a person with schizophrenia, must be a horrible disease to have. The patient we had tho, her schizophrenia was drug-induced (drugs caused her brain damage). A big reason not to do drugs.

After psych class, we went to Trader Joe's and picked up some groceries. I am now eating blue corn tamales with green chile and hummus and whole wheat pita bread. yum! I really wish they would open a Trader Joe's here.

Valentine's day was fun - had a potluck dinner with some med school friends, and then some church friends came over and we ended up watching "Strictly Ballroom" and talked til 2:30 am. Interesting conversation, including the classic, "can girls and guys ever be just friends?" My safe answer to that is, it's different for each individual. :) I also got a phone call from an old flame - that was the extent of the romance in my Valentine's day (i.e. not much).

It's raining. So dreary outside.

i love the morning news shows - the Today show, the View, Good Morning America... it's a great way to start the day. The only down side is, it usually takes a lot longer to get ready in the morning if I'm watching. And it's harder to study for my cardio final with the tv on. ;)

SF this weekend! My gift to myself celebrating the end of finals... it'll be a weekend for family. My aunt just had surgery, so I'll stay with her and see how she's doing, and Sarah's coming up so i'll see her. Going to see the SF ballet that night too. really excited! Maybe it'll inspire me to exercise and go to ballet class regularly again.