Two Less

Another day in ICC 6.  Learning more about being an MS III in the hospital.  Seems like you won't be asked much when it comes to making tough decisions, but it doesn't mean you won't need to know what to do.

I'm ready to move on.

Final Days

10 more days.

20 months later, my days left on the island are now approaching single digits.  How did this all happen?  In one sense, it felt like an eternity and at the same it, it flew by.  Maybe it was the monotony of class-library-home for nearly two years that seems to have made it all go by.  Ask me for details about each day or a particular event and I'd be hard-pressed to recall.  My current mood is relief mixed with hints of apprehension of the future.  In a sense, I've been comfortable knowing my routine.  Now I have to start thinking about studying for Step 1 and preparing myself to enter the hospital as an MS III.  There will be real patients and deal decisions made.  Part of me wonders if I'm ready for this responsibility.

This week, we've been attending a seminar to prepare us for next year.  We'll be asked to write SOAP notes and present patients to residents and attendings.  Am I ready for that kind of reality?  I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I know I will be excited to go home.  Maybe I'm superstitious, but I try not to think about it too much and I'm convinced I'll jinx myself and be stuck on this island forever.  I've been watching too much Lost.  I'll look forward to starting my life again back in California.  I'll be busy re-forging my friendships and picking up where I left off.  I feel like I put my life on pause for the last two years and I have a fair amount to catch up on.

Home Stretch

Less than 30 days left on the island.  Behavioral Science final tomorrow afternoon.  Then two more minor tests and then I'm out of here.  I can't wait to get home.  Thanks to the fiancee, I have a Vado HD waiting for me.  It will be a trip back to my digital media days in high school, although it will be a big upgrade: no more VCR video transfers and horrible audio syncing.  I'll look forward to filming the nieces and nephew, hockey games, LAN parties, and trips in the G.

Listening to Sharks games that start at 11:30pm is pretty brutal.  Leaving me in a 1-1 game before I sleep is just torture.  Speaking of torture, congrats to the Giants on winning the World Series.  A rag-tag bunch pulled it off.  They won in a dominant fashion (4-1) with superior pitching and timely hitting.  I'm looking forward to seeing The Freak pitch next season.  I figure it would be a unique opportunity to see such a dominant pitcher in his prime.

Yikes, why am I up?  Time to get some sleep, so I don't pass out during the exam.

Peace.

Last One

We're almost getting to the end.  Tomorrow will be our last set of blocks in our basic science medical career.  I am both anxious and relieved at the prospect.  It will be nice to be done, but it was a little comforting to enjoy the status quo.  Now I'll have to finish up here, head home, and learn how to do things all over again.

I've started selling some of my stuff to new students.  A toaster here, a fan there.  It's slowly starting to work its way out of my apartment.  And with each sale, comes a little bit of advice and words of encouragement.  I know what it's like to come here and adjust to a nice life, both in lifestyle and work ethic.  I'm living proof it can be done if you're willing to put the time in and get it done.

Having no class will be nice.  Well, there will still be ICM, but at least my afternoons will be returned to their rightful spot, where they will be used for naps and lazy afternoons before studying.  I can't wait!

Next week is going to be busy and a lot fun.  I have blocks on Monday and then our first Comp on Friday.  There will be a lot of practice problems completed in the coming days.  But Friday will be the beginning of a very nice week.  I'm looking forward to my mini-vacation and a chance to relax in the middle of a hectic schedule.

Last Day of Class

Today was our last day of formal instruction.  Although, it doesn't quite have the same feel as high school, where 3 months of summer awaited, it does feel kind of cool to be done.  We had review sessions in both classes, so there wasn't a ton of paying attention, but I was present (for at least one of them).  I decided to skip out on Behavioral and start studying.  I haven't done that either, hence the post.

I finally put the bike up for sale.  Initially, I put it on VMD and got no hits, but after tossing a few fliers around on campus, I finally got an interested party.  I think he's gonna take a look at it this week and I'll probably let it go within a week or two.  The money will be saved... and then promptly spent on an Envy 14 when I get ready to head out for clinicals.

So now we have a about a week before block exams and a week and a half before the first Comp.  I'm looking forward to be able to finish up the first Comp and have the coming weeks free before I head off the island.  I also need to book my ticket back home.  I'll look into that this week.

I need to start selling my stuff too.  I'm sure I have random items here and there that need to be put up for sale.  My goal is still to leave this island in two suitcases, the same way I came.  I've been pretty good about being minimal in my material gathering, but it will be interesting to see what I have when I start pulling stuff out of the closet and drawers.

I think that just about sums it up, so now I'll give another shot at trying to study.

Format Me

After a couple of installs, I have my (computer) life back in order.  I've got most of my software, some of my music, and very little of my videos: sadness.  I hope to gather up some more as I go along, but only having 80GB on this SSD means I'll have to be a lot more discriminating with my musical choices.

On a brighter note, I'm stuck on Google Chrome!  I thought I had find the perfect browser in the form of Firefox, but then I decided to switch to Chrome after some time on the roomie's computer.  I love the integrable gmail app, the preview screen when opening a new tab, and the over quickness of Chrome.  I thought I had known the best in FF, but I seemed to have found better.  When FF4 stops putting out betas and finally finishes up, I'll go back to it to see how it is, but for now, I am very content.

I just took the Physio Shelf exam.  I sat through all 120 questions, but I was feeling a little tired after about question 90 or so.  On question 60, I purposely closed my booklet and closed my eyes for 5 minutes.  I figured this would reduce the burnout I felt when I took the MCB and Anatomy Shelfs in previous semesters. Either way, it was a marathon I was happy to get through.

Now I have the weekend ahead of me.  I'm planning on getting work done as well was catching the Giants game tomorrow night at the casino.  It should be a small, but decent, crowd on both sides.  I might even sneak a couple of games of SC2 in there, although I'm in a bit of a protest against my computer's lack of power to play the game.  It would be nice I wasn't forced into so many mis-clicks.  In the last game I played, I somehow managed to right-click my probes into my opponents base.  It was rather brutal.  It also makes micro damn near impossible.

The Sharks started off the season with a win.  I couldn't watch since I was taking the Shelf, but I saw a quick recap and checked out the box score.  Step one for an 82-0 season has been completed.  I'll look forward to more wins in the future.

Stupid Drivers

The ones on the road are bad, the ones updating my computer are even worse.  I updated some software on my computer the other day, only to get a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) during the restart.  I frantically tried to run Safe Mode or Repair/Restore my OS, but eventually had to give up.  I spent the evening trying to make a bootup disk from the HP copy of Win7 and eventually figured out that copying the files to my external HDD and then opening the program was enough to reinstall Win7 (who knew?!).  So I'm back, of sorts.  On a bright note, I did finally put in that SDD and things are going pretty smoothly.  I think heat has been reduced, but gaming changes that quickly.

I got a couple of games of StarCraft II in last night.  I finally won a game online!  I was pretty excited to finally see a W in my profile.  Sadly, I intalled SC2 even before I had put MS Office back on here.  That became problematic this morning when I was trying to read the write-ups for ICM, but luckily WordPad has been drastically improved, so I was good to go.

Nap time.  Peace.

Let's Write Something

Fifth semester seems to be in full swing.  We finished Med Ethics last weekend.  Although some parts were exceedingly dry, the case law examples were interesting.  It was intriguing to see both sides and discuss the ethical dilemmas they faced.  Both sides seemed to have valid issues, so to say one answer was absolutely right would be too simplistic.  One of our written assignments involved analyzing the events of Terri Shiavo and making our own judgement call.  Ultimately, I agree with the husband that it was in Terri's best interest to let her die as her quality of life was seemingly gone.

In the place of Med Ethics has come ICM 5a (although there is no reference in the schedule at a 5b section, although I shouldn't be surprised by this stuff anymore) and additional time for both Pharm and Behavioral (which have now been upped to 90 minutes).  We now have to add write-ups for ICM to our study time.  Not exactly a fair trade, in my opinion.  On top of this, I also have to fit in sutdying for the 1st Comp, which is the Friday after our last block exam.  I'm starting to see why people complain so much about the 5th semester schedule.  We start out days at 9am and don't finish until 3pm.  One has to wonder how outside studying (for the Comp) is even possible.

Seems odd to be studying while everyone else is preparing for blocks tomorrow.  I can sense the stress, but I can't sympathize (until next week, at least).  This weekend will filled with remaking Pharm charts and updating the Behavioral objective sheet.  I cut a pretty big hole into what needs to be done, but this week will only add more stuff and extend my work.  Also, I managed to catch whatever bug is going around, so I'm fighting a bit of a cold too.  Thankfully, this is the first time I've been sick since I've been here.  I can't say the same for all the mosquito bites and cellulitis, but I guess one must pick their poison around here.

I finally took the Kaplan Diagnostic this weekend.  After not being able to log in for the first hour, I was able to get help from a classmate.  Apparently, if you click on the link the in email, it sends you to the wrong site, but if you copy and paste the link, it sends you to the right place.  I have no idea how that works.  I was able to log in, but had to shut down the browser a couple of times while taking the test as I lost communication to the server, but it still decided to continue running down the allotted time in each section.  Not cool.  I scored reasonably well, considering I have not really had a chance to study.  I figure, in due time, I'll be able to get through the material I need to and pass the first Comp, which would take a ton of stress off going into the finals for Pharm and Behavioral.  If not, there are two more, but it would be nice to finish that first one off.


Life update complete.

Being Thankful

Today I read an article about a high school student who tragically passed away in a car accident.  He seemed to be a model student, athlete, and son.  At 17 years of age, he left this world.  Under normal circumstances, I would have felt some sorrow and moved on.  But in this particular case, I was more deeply affected.  He seemed to have had most things going for him, but his life was sadly taken at such a young age.  Sometimes we forget to take a moment and remember to be thankful for what we have.  We get caught up in the trivial and many times, forget the big picture.

So if I can remind myself, I should take 5 minutes each day to close my eyes and thing about all the blessings I have around me and be thankful for the Creator who allowed me to have such luxuries.  Although sometimes it can be tough being out here, so far from close friends and family, I must also remember the opportunity I have been given and the gifts that surround me.

So I'll pray for this young man and his family, and remind myself to be thankful for all these gifts.

Hurry, Please.

I've been waiting to go home.  We have our block 4 exams tomorrow and then finals next Tuesday.  I've been counting the days.  I have my copy of StarCraft II sitting at home in its shiny, new box.  I've been watching too many replays online so help curb my urges to play.  Thankfully, my computer here is not fast enough to play it.

It's Been Awhile

Looking back at my last post, I see that I have taken quiet a vacation from the blogosphere.  The family was here two weeks ago and it was wonderful.  We went SNUBA-ing, where the tank is kept on the surface while you're submerged.  We even checked out a shipwreck in the form of a abandoned submarine.  The last part was a little freaky as I lost my regulator on the way up and had to swim the last 10 feet with no oxygen, since I had just exhaled.  We also had lobster one night and I even got to help pick it out of the tank.  Personally, I find the meat to be a little bitter, but the butter sauce does make it easier to enjoy.  I'm glad they were able to miss it, although I wish my nephew could have joined them.  Overall, it was a great break from school.

This is our last week of class.  We'll get one more week to prep for finals (including taking Pharm, which is pretty annoying), but at least it won't be at 8am.  I can't wait to finish and get off the island.  I'm counting the days until I get home; I'm looking forward to spending time with AS and seeing my family.  Also, my copy of StarCraft 2 should be home when I arrived.

It was been a little quieter since PT moved out.  It was kind of sad to see him go; it's been pretty quiet here, which is probably why I'm updating this thing right now.

15 more days...

Block Week

This wonderful time in the semester has come upon us.  One week until block 3 exams.  I'll hide my excitement.

My personal feeling is that Pharm is going to be monstrous.  As for the other classes, I know what I'm getting in to, but Pharm is a whole new beast.  Combine the concepts of physiology, problems of pathology, and the memorization of Med Micro and then you start to see the picture.

On a bright note, family is coming in two weeks.  I'll be waiting on them excitedly.

Living the High Life

After two semesters of walking by our portable BBQ, we decided to take some action.  A trip to the grocery store yielded charcoal, a metal brush, and some meat to grill.  It took about 15 minutes to clean up the grill and set up the charcoal.  Last night was our first attempt and everything came out fantastically.  Fresh, hot meat just tastes better (take that how you like).

I'm inspired, so now I'm looking though my freezer for things to BBQ the next time around.  I found some chicken strips I had, so I'll probably marinate them this week and toss them on the grill soon.  Outdoor cooking is also a nice bonding opportunity.  My roomie and I sat out over the fire, talking about our lives and enjoying the unusually cool (read: 80F) evening.  It reminded me of my trips to Yosemite and Big Bear.  I miss those days.

Second blocks are in the books, so I finally feel like I can breath again.  It's nice having about 1/3 of the semester wrapped up, so now I know I'm not on any precarious slope for the upcoming weeks. 

The family is coming next month, so I'll be looking forward to their presence on the island.  I was exciting listening to my niece and nephew tell me about their time at the park.  They are great story-tellers and happen to be pretty smart too.  I also got a chance to video chat my brother and sister-in-law.  the highlight was watching my niece crawl up to the computer.  She even knows how to turn the mic off on my sister's MBP... I guess they are that simple to use! 

Study time is over for me, so I think I'll get a quick workout in.  I'm on a partial phase to improve my exercise and food intake.  I bought a lot of fruits and veggies.  I also bought stuff to make more soups, since they are less caloric dense then solid food and give one the appeasement of feeling full.  It's going to be tough sneaking in lunch with ICM starting at noon, but I hope quick trips back home and fast meals will cover it.

And with that, it's time to get ready...

Die, Mosquito, Die!

I hate mosquitos!

One punk-ass bit me today while I was waiting for a haircut.  The sucker slipped up my jeans and bit me through my sock.  I saw it fly off and I wanted to crush the thing.  Sometimes I wonder where I found such hatred for such a small creature.  I've come to the conclusion that it is two-fold.  One, the bite is annoying and itchy.  On a deeper level, I feel a sense of injustice as this parasitic insect has taken something from me (my blood) and will use it to make more blood-suckers.  At least have the decency to write me a check!

I was looking up a band I liked in undergrad and found their Myspace page.  I listened to a couple of songs and was looking at some of the comments.    Sadly, there are so many chicks e-whoring themselves on myspace.  Taking a picture of yourself in the bathroom mirror and leaving a useless, self-promoting message on a wall will not launch your career, sorry.  We live in a country which was removed the concept of talent and hard work in favor of whoring; it's a slippery path.

I am glad to have exams out of the way.  I'll be excited to finally have my life back.  Well, for a few more weeks at least until I have to do it all over.  ICM is once again killing my afternoons.  Luckily, the review practical wasn't too bad today and she said I covered everything on the list.  I'm fairly certain someone stole my practical checklist yesterday.  Now, why would someone want to do that?  I have no idea, but when I find out, I'm going to exact some sweet revenge.

Inspiration

A combination of stress and a new member of the blogging community has given me the justification to add another post.  And now an update.

I made shrimp fried rice last night.  I have further perfected the recipe by partially boiling the shrimp to reduce the drying that occurs after they cook.  So far, it seems to have worked.  I invited Zan and Shumaila over to my place to enjoy a warm (after microwaving) meal and some laughs.  They brought their electric mosquito swatter.  I think we killed 4 of them in total last night.  It's always tough to get people to come out to my neck of the woods.  Granted, it is an extra 3 minute walk from school, so I guess I can forgive them (please note the sarcasm here).  I'm glad it only takes a home-cooked meal and mango shakes to draw them in.

There is a new pizza joint at BB's Grill.  I find it to be a little unfair since Dan has been serving pizza to students for quite some time and now he has direct competition.  The worst part is that the fact that the new guy's pizza tastes better and costs the same.  I can't help it, but I end up going to the new guy and drown the guilt with each slice.

Six weeks into my 4th semester and so far so good.  I haven't been overly busy, so it has given me some time to watch episodes of Big Bang Theory along with the NBA and NHL playoffs.  It truly sucked to see my Sharks go down to the Blackhawks, but there is always next year.  My only worry is that Patrick Marleau might be leaving us.  I wouldn't blame him for going somewhere else since the critics unfairly laid into him for the Sharks playoffs fiascos.  Nabby might be leaving too, but I don't feel like he's be as big of a loss of people would like to think.  As I read elsewhere, the Sharks have a 82 game pre-season.  So now it might time to pick up a young goalie with playoff potential (Carey Price, I hope you're reading this) that is salary cap friendly.

I've been starting to think about clinicals the last couple of weeks.  People have been asking me what I think about medical school.  I can't really say it's that much different from undergrad.  We go to lecture-based classes, study in the library, and take scantron tests.  I don't think I'll fully understand what it takes to be a doctor until I get on the wards.  And this is where things get a little scary...

Imagine having to make a decision about another person's health and more importantly... their life.  There is a lot of power and a ton of responsibility in that.  Right now in Behavioral Science, we're talking about how to handle talking to patients who are dying and discussing end-of-life decisions.  Imagine that, telling someone that they are about to die and the only think we, as physicians, can do it mitigate the pain and help to ease the transition.  Could you have that conversation with someone?  More personally, will I?

I wonder how I'll be as a communicator.  Sure, I don't mind engaging socially with people, but can I have a deep, meaningful conversation with a relative stranger?  For the most part, this is to make it easier on your patient and also it's to help the physician stay strong in such a vulnerable position.  The studies cite fear of patient's reaction as one of the reasons doctors are not very good at this.  I guess I would agree; physicians will have to deal with so many emotions (pain, anger, sadness, elation) from people they have a professional relationship with.  Now I'm starting to see how difficult the humanitarian side of medicine can be.

A New Semester

And so we begin 4th semester.  With the previous September class graduated, I finally feel like the "seniors" on campus.  Classes seem reasonable.  I'm not exactly sure what to make of my classes just yet.  Some people have said that there is too much free time and others thing that this is the busiest semester here.  I guess one can't take too much advice from others and should focus on finding out for themselves.

Break was fantastic and short.  My only gripe was not having enough time to make it down to LA.  I guess I'll have to make it up next time.  Other than that, it was rather productive.  So much so, I was not able to spend enough time watching TV and playing video games.  I had bought Left 4 Dead 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare with plans to beat both campaigns, but I didn't have the time.  I did get to play L4D2 with MB and HC, so all was not lost, but our playing time totaled about 5 hours.  Sadly, I was partially at fault for cutting the LAN party short by crashing at 1am.  I'm getting old.

The only part I didn't miss were the monstrous clouds of pollen.  Allergies absolutely killed me when I got back.  I'm gonna need to live near the ocean to avoid the dry, dusty climate of inland California.

Justin Bieber, Why Are Your Songs So Catchy?

Currently listening to "One Time" after getting hooked on "Baby".  Dare I admit even his videos are cute?  Maybe I've become so jaded by all the gangster rap and hood rats in every hip hop video.  It's a nice change of pace to think that modern youth might be somewhat innocent.  Have I become so old that I'm already critiquing the future generation for being too liberal?  Yikes!

Watching the Kings game right now.  As my fb post states: [I'm] ...sitting in the Caribbean watching an American team play hockey in Canada via a Russian feed over the internet and [feel] very cultured.

AUC decided to change their lecture schedule for next semester.  They'll be doing double-lectures for a 4-week course during the first week.  So if you miss the first week (which means coming back to school late), you'll miss 7 classes and automatically fail the class.  Thanks for telling me two days ago instead of 3 months ago when I booked my ticket home!  So then I had to call American Airlines to re-book my ticket.  Changing my flight was going to be $600, which is $50 more than the cost of the whole flight.  They finally found another ticket, but now I have to cut my vacation short by two days.  Sometimes I convince myself that they have their shit together.. and then the prove me wrong.

Either way, I'm excited to get home.  Just gotta get these finals out of the way and make it back.  I can't wait to see everyone, drive my car, play video games, and sleep in my old bed.  I'm looking forward to the simple things in life.

On a side note, the Sharks played a fantastic game.  Sure, we can call them out for spotty defense and bad goaltending, but they found a way to win.  Every time the Sharks scored, the Avs came back with heart breaker goals.  But there was a major difference in this game: the Sharks showed resilience in the face of adversity.  They came back, tied it with thirty seconds left, and won it in OT.  Well done, Sharkies!

Sharks vs. Avs: First Impressions

It's that time of year again.  I was so excited last night; I had chills running down my spine.  I watched the game over a shitty internet connection and was getting about 0.5 FPS.  I didn't care because it was playoff hockey and I was watching my Sharks, the top team in the Western Conference, play their first post-season game in 2010.  They came out strong, dictating the game, and fired shots on net.  And then it began...

They became passive.  The stopped working to get the puck.  They were scored on first.  The thoughts of the previous playoff experiences began to creep back into my mind.  Were they truly different this year?  Was this a new beginning?  And in the end, they lost.  They played like the teams of the past.  They are more talented and better than the Avs, but they refused to play like it.

My connection finally sucked so much I was forced to listen to the rest of the game on the radio.  It didn't matter because their lackluster play carried over even through my speakers.

So no more excuses.  Either they pull it together to prove why they are the best team in the West or they fold all over again and Doug Wilson blows this team up.  I've given them the benefit of the doubt for 4 years now.  I told myself it was bad bounces or bad match-ups, but no more.  Excuses are for those who are unwilling to step up.

Now is this time for them to prove me wrong.  Game 2 needs to be a statement.  They need to come out hard and never let off the gas.  They are the top seed in the Western Conference and should crush anyone in their wake.  A 4-1 or 5-2 game is warranted. 

Shut the critics ups.  Don't leave any doubt.  Show us you care enough to win at all costs.

The Journey Begins.

When a hockey player scores a goal, he puts his hands up, turns around, and waits for his teammates to celebrate; when a wide receiver catches a touchdown, his frist instinct is to push his teammates away so he can celebrate on his own.... and that is the difference. 


Let the quest for Lord Stanley's Cup begin.

Four-day Weekend

Four whole days off, although I'd trade it to get back home two days early.  It will do for now.

Less than three weeks until I get home.  I'm already thinking about all the video games I plan on playing, especially with the new monitor making its way to my place.  I'll be exciting to kill zombies in full HD.  Speaking of, I should probably contact home and see if it arrived.  I've put my brother-in-law to set it up and test it out.

The roomie's friends are in town.  So far they seem pretty chill.  They're crashing on the couch for a week, so we'll see how that goes.  I'm guessing we should look around for a couple of air mattresses or something.

I'm currently in the library on the equivalent of a Friday, but I did go over some stuff.  I've been productive, damnit!  I'm starting to get lazier by the day.  Luckily, I can coast my way through from this point on and be fine, but I'll still try to finish strong and pad the stats on the way out.

Also, some words of advice for the Sharks.  Now is not the time to be playing your worst hockey.  Get your act together ASAP!

EDIT: I checked my email and my monitor has been delivered.  FTW!

Weekends: The Perfect Days

If only every day was like the weekend.  I'd wake up on my own time (with no mandatory attendance clauses), get ready, head to the library, put in a couple of hours of work, and have the rest of the day to myself.  I'd go for runs and hit the gym.  I'd take on a new hobby and possible get a chance to help out more in the community.  I'd spending more time giving advice to lower semester students.  I'd have more outside reading and make myself a well-rounded student.  I'd get out to the beach more often and enjoy the perks of living on a Caribbean island.

But my weekdays are not like my weekends, so I won't do any of the following.  Until then, I'll sit in class on the weekdays and pretend my life is fulfilling.

On the bright side, there is an MSA event tonight with catered food.  Count me in.

Got Talent?

AUC's talent show was this weekend.  Once again, the talent pool was phenomenal.  The school has very talented musicians and artists.  The bhangra group did a great job and I enjoyed my time working with them.  I'll be excited to see some of the finalized videos, but the cam vids were pretty cool.  It felt good finally preparing for something other than a multiple-choice test.  I have to say that I'm a little saddened that we have no more practice.  I'll need to find new venues to occupy my evenings.

After the show, we made it out to Tantra (which is a welcomed change from Bliss) and ended up having a great time.  It was good to kick back with the other dancers and see people outside of their shell (read: library).  Some people I may never look at the same way again, which is a good thing in this instance.

Only a few more weeks to go.  I can't wait to get back home.  If I could take my finals now, I would.  I saw my niece and nephew on the computer last night, which was an awesome event.  Those two little rascals were hard to hold down to keep in front of the screen, but I give their parents credit for trying.  I'll look forward to my own bed and waking up in my own room.

Block Weekend

What is it about having to get real work done that allows us to work on all the useless things in life?  I have exams on Monday, so it makes sense to update my blog since I have nothing else pressing.  On an interesting note, I mixed some juice with green tea and was wonderfully surprised with the outcome.  I also drank a Red Bull when I got into the library, which is probably why I feel wired right now.  Caffeine is such a wonderful drug.

I have hit the approximate halfway mark in my basic science studies.  Assuming I don't fail any classes (God willing), I'll be off this island by the end of the year.  I will reference the cliche about time flying by, but I think it actually did.  Not to say that it has been all fun and games, but the busy work did help pass the time.  I don't know if I've said this, but the moments when I feel most nostalgic are when I have nothing to do.  I think about the free time and how I should be spending it at home.

And now a quick rant on Med Micro: why must we memorize all these bugs?  In the real world, we'll send off for labs, so they all present pretty much the same way.  I stare at these flashcards for a weekend, take down as much as a I can, regurgitate them onto an exam, and walk away without actually learning any of them.  Know the big ones (Staph. aureus, Strep. pyogenes, etc.) and you're good to go.  Anything else is a waste of valuable mind space. IMHO.

Fall Days

It has been a long time and a lot has happened, but let's see if I can put it all together.

The fiancee, her sister, and two cousins came down to SXM over the last week and half.  It was the perfect mid-semester break and gave me a chance to spend time with them exploring the island.  I found all sorts of new beaches and fun places to see.  I'll be excited to have more guests and now I have the knowledge to be a good tour guide.

Some of the highlights include checking out the Westin pool, going to Bliss, making shrimp fried rice, and going zip-lining, finding Friar's Bay, and finding a great restaurant at Grand Case.

But after all of this, I have come back to reality.  I still have 7 more weeks until this semester ends.  Studying has been coming along.  I also signed up for the bhangra dance for the talent show.  It's only a 1 minute routine, but I also get the chance to meet more people and spend a little more time outside my apartment, which is always welcomed.

EDIT: I should note that the whole reason I picked the title was to reference the two days of gloomy weather we had, which I sadly forgot to write about last time.  So here you go.

Chicken Fried Rice!

Yesterday, I tried my hand at making chicken fried rice.  That fact that I am alive here today to tell you this tale should be label my endeavor as a success.  I got the recipe from the internet and with the watchful of my Asian roommate, I was able to successfully put it together.  I cooked the chicken, steamed the rice, cut up vegetables, and cooked an egg.  In the end, I tossed them all in a wok and cooked it through.  Along with my ability to make egg drop soup, I can practically make a full Asian cuisine.  Not really, but I tell myself that.

Next up, making Pakistani food.  Personally, I'm pretty far from this since my attempt at daal was an epic fail.  My mom even measured out all the spices and tossed them in a bag for me.  Asian works for the time being.

Third block has begun.  I've found that I have more free time and I am still able to keep up with my work.  This is a good thing, since I'll be taking it easy starting at the end of this week.  I'm even thinking about participating in the bhangra group for the AUC talent show.  Along with the martial arts group, there are a lot of things to try out.  Almost seems like undergrad again.

On Sunday, we watched the USA vs. Canada Olympic ice hockey game.  The underdog US team won against the very talented Canadian team.  The crowd at the casino was ruckus and drawn on very national lines.  Every goal with followed by cheers for the US or Canada.  Glad to see people getting into hockey, even if it was mainly because of the national bragging rights.  Personally, I was a little conflicted watching since Marleau, Thornton, Heatley, and Boyle all skated for Team Canada.  Whenever they came on the screen, I looked away because I couldn't bear rooting against them.  I was called out a couple of times, but we're also talking about my favorite player in hockey.  Overall, it was a very entertaining game.

Before we went to the casino, we also got together and played some StarCraft on campus.  It was a fun couple of hours.  We had 5 people so we played from FFA and then a game of 3v2.  Hopefully, we can play a few more times before the semester ends, depending on everyone's schedule.

Eight more weeks until I get to go home..

It's February Already?

Blocks are around the corner which means it's time to start blogging to kill some time.  Seems like it has been a while since I have had a chance to express my thoughts.  So here's a quick rundown on my life.  I've been making it to class pretty consistently for the last 6 weeks.  I think I've only missed 3 days of class and one of those times was to make it to a doctor's appointment.  I've noticed that if you pay attention during class, you have much less to do when it comes time to opening your books and studying.  The extra time has been good to me, since I have been able to make it to the gym, play basketball, and watch more StarCraft pro-gamer videos.

It's a sick addiction, but there is so much of it on YouTube that I have a nearly inexhaustible supply.  I'd feel worse if I was one of only a handful of people who did it, but watching this stuff is really popular.  I've even improved on my own game when I play, since I have a better understanding.

This Monday will be part two of my traditional semester game plan; do well on the first two exams and ride it out to the end.  It works out well and keeps me pretty stress-free for the entire semester.

The only painful aspect has been the memorization for Med Micro.  Brute memorization has never been interesting to me.  Give me concepts and let me adapt them to new situations.  This is actually how Physio works, but Med Micro continues to annoy me.  Luckily, I found a flashcard program for the iPhone, so I have created a better way to study than sit there and stare at pages of paper.

Today was our last day of ICM 3.  We were given a check off to figure out whether we learned the new parts of the physical examination (heart, lungs, and abdomen).  I pretty much had it all down, so it went by quickly.  Next semester, we get new preceptors, so it will be interesting to see who we get.  Our current guy was pretty good.  He made sure we were on top of the reading, but he was also pretty reasonable in our interviews and worked with us most of the time.  I think he tried to make it fun and informative.  If we didn't have three other classes, I would have had the time to actually enjoy, but that was not the case.  For now, I will enjoy having my afternoons back again.  Now I can nap in peace and not find myself waking up in the evenings.

And I think that is about it from me, so I will get back to studying and hopefully finish up early tonight.

Worst Response to an Athlete's Injury

I see that Patrick Elias was hurt in a game today.  Under the Yahoo write-up, some idiot wrote: I hope he feels better because he's on my fantasy team!

A guy gets carried off on a stretcher and you're worried about your fantasy team?  Sometimes I wonder whether people have any understanding of reality anymore.

And now on to me. 

I made it to the BBQ today.  We hung out and tossed the football around for about 30 minutes.  The first thought I had as soon as I stepped onto the beach was how I should kick myself for not coming more often.  The weather was awesome, with scattered clouds, which made it bearable to lounge for a little bit.

I made it back, but it has been raining on and off since I got back, so I studied on the couch.  This might be the second time I've studied at home since I've been here.  It felt a little odd, but I did get my work done. 

I found a stream for the playoff games today, so I've been watching the Arizona/New Orleans game.  I think I'm rooting for New Orleans.  I guess I have a hard time supporting a division rival of the Niners.  This will probably keep me entertained until I make it out to the gym and play basketball tonight.  This time we've decided to invite only a couple people to play, since the pick-up crowd has been getting too big as of late.  Plus, there are always a few characters who take pick-up too seriously, which takes the fun out of playing.

Cooking Apples

The iPhone is done.  The price of ordering a new screen (which I'm pretty certain is the problem) makes investing in another 2G about the same cost.  When I get back, I'll have to eBay the old one, which still fetches about $100 even broken.

I had lunch today at Thai Savanh with some friends, although they brought my meal (out of 13 people) last, which was kind of a pain.  The food is pretty good though, so I won't complain too much about the timing.  I got back, took a nap, and now I need to head to the library to get some work done.  I'll have a little more to do since I stayed up last night to watch/listen to the Sharks v. Kings game last night.  I stream I had, which played the Pittsburgh game pretty well, was really choppy for the Sharks game.  I even tried listening to the audio stream from the team website, but got tired and shut it off.  I hope I can catch a few games (maybe on an East coast trip when the games start earlier) when I have some free time.  I did make it out to the gym and ran outside last night.

I think my New Years resolution has been to stay in better shape (and hopefully eat better too).  I've been going to the gym or running every I've been back.  It's only been about a week and a half, but it's a start.  So long as I'm organized with my time, I think I can keep up with this trend.  Next week is the beginning of a month's worth of ICM 3, which means two more hours will disappear to the sounds of "tell me about the pain?".  I did think it would be all semester, so finding out that it would take place over 4 weeks was a nice surprise.  I also found out our next vacation is only 2 weeks, not the 3 I had thought.  I really need to work on my timing.

On my list of things to find out is whether my parents are coming to Florida to take advantage of a family friend's condo in the area.  I hope I'll see them, since it is only about a 2 hour flight to FL.  So I'll need to book my flight over there and my flight home soon.

iPhone Down

Just when I finally got everything running the way I wanted, the whole thing crashes on me.  The screen is blank even though it randomly started playing music.  Now I'm in the process of restoring the software, so we'll see how much luck I have.  I'm hoping that the screen didn't die, because that would be a huge pain to fix around here.  I'm hoping this does the trick or I'm going to be SOL for the rest of the semester.

Weekend Has Arrived

Friday came rather quickly, I believe.  I guess that would be the routine, since that is pretty much how the last two semesters went by once things started rolling.

I've been away the laptop and have been extra productive.  Organizing one's time is especially key.  Getting work done is important, but getting it done in a shorter period of time is icing on the cake.  I've been able to get my work done in the library within 2 hours, gone to the gym, paid more attention in class, and even went running around campus yesterday.  Running outside on changing terrain is a whole different animal.  Treadmills are nice, but it's quick different when you have to actually propel your own body.  I'm rather sore today, so I guess it worked.

Tonight is Bliss.  Sounds like most of the school is headed out there, so I guess I'll be partaking too. 

Two Days In

I made it to another 8am class today, which now makes two in a row.  I would like to receive an award for my perseverance now.  It helps that I find the classes this semester more interesting.  We're finally getting into pathology, which is nice since that is the main concern of doctors anyways.  It's nice when things all work properly, but we need to figure out what to do when things go wrong.

In the library, I put my laptop away and managed to get my work done in short order.  Who would have thought.  I'll stick to my iPhone, which gives me my email, facebook, and internet, but does not allow me to do too much else, so I'm coerced to do more work.  I guess it's a blessing in disguise.  Let's see how long it lasts.

The advantage of finishing early was that I was also able to make it to the gym and then play basketball at 6pm.  We won the first game we played and managed to win one more.  I had 2 points and a steal, which might have been my best performance in a 5-on-5 game here at AUC.  After our second win, I headed home, wanting to enjoy going out on top, like the great John Elway.

Also, I would like to point out that Mac users are a bunch of liars.  They talk about how brilliantly made their products are.  I tried to reformat my iPhone, only to have the phone crash mid-install and forcing itself into a continous reboot cycle until the battery died.  I spent six hours downloading firmware and reading up on websites to try and fix it.  I managed to fix it with a combo of iTunes and Blackra1n to jailbreak and then unlock the phone.  Let's be honest, Apple takes something already good (like Unix) and makes it appealing to the masses (OS X) and then proceeds to block any further innovation.  Don't kid yourself, kids.  As much as Apple tries to pretend their the company out there working against the "man", they are simply a wolf in sheep's clothing.  At least Microsoft doesn't try to pretend who they are.  With Windows 7 out, there are going to have a hard time trying to convince many more to switch over.

Winter Break

Wow, time truly did fly by over the last two weeks.  I'm back in MIA waiting for my flight back to SXM and I'm trying to figure out everything that happened.  I'll try to recap.

I came back in and was picked up by the fiancee.  We headed to Morgan Hill, hung out with my sister and her family, picked up my car, and went back to Hollister.  I woke up the next morning and headed down to Big Bear with the NorCal group.  We stayed at a luxurious cabin for two nights, playing video games, cooking BBQ, and going snowboarding and skiing.  I even tried those new twin-tipped skiboards to see if they were truly like skating on ice or not.  Although it was not an exact crossover, they were entertaining to try and I think I'll be skiing next time I go.  My brother is right; the pendulum has swung in the favor of skiing again as the slopes are saturated with snowboarders.

I got back from the trip and spent some time at home enjoying my bed and home-cooked food.  I even managed to play some video games.  I met up with Cian and Matt.  We hooked up our computers and played Left 4 Dead, beating all 5 campaigns.  I think it was one of the few times we actually played games for the majority of the time.  Maybe we're all grown up now.

The last major trip was to Redding with the family.  We stayed with extended family and hang out with the kids.  I remember playing a lot of Wii, eating cupcakes and biryani (although not in that order), and going down the slopes on inner tubes.  We also slipped in a quick trip to the Indian casinos, where I lost about $30 of my brother's money.

All in all, it was a lot of fun.

Only 4 more months before I get to do it all over again.

EDIT: I also made it out to SF to see Wicked.  I made sure to watch The Wizard of Oz before going to give myself context to the musical.  It was a good idea, since there were references in the musical that came directly from the movie.  I was in awe of the performers, who sang, danced, and acted throughout the entire 3 hours.  It's one of the things the fiancee and I enjoy, so I'll try to make it more of a habit in the future.