Today's blog is written in reponse to an article I read in an email titled "A unified effort on AIDS, Global Health Crises". Supposedly Bush just introduced a Bill urging Congress to approve an additional budget of $30 billion over the next 5 year targeting AIDS. Although I think this is awesome, especially coming from our current President, shouldn't there be diversity in how this type of funding is allocated? We have $30 billion here going specifically to AIDS in developing nations. What about other diseases that are constantly foreshadowed by AIDS and cancer like infectious diseases (ex: worms, malaria, dengue fever, etc.)? Some of these diseases are caused by poor health infrastructures within these nations. There are millions of people who do not have access to clean water, which is a major concern. Not only that, there are millions upon millions who do not have access to simple healthcare to address the rising problem with chronic diseases that are affecting the developing world. Chronic disease rates like heart disease, diabetes, and cancers used to be considered a problem seen mostly in developed nations but studies now show rates of these diseases increasing in populations in Africa and Asia.
My only problem with disease-specific programs like this budget targeting only AIDS is that a big concern is directed towards AIDS, which does affect millions of people, but is nowhere near being the top cause of mortality in the world. There are many other "killers" that need to also be addressed. I guess any money going into global health is better than none.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
To conduct or not to conduct
Original date: 09-06-06
I was walking through the hotel (venetian) this morning to the cafeteria and was suddenly struck with how loud the "hotel" music was playing. Mind you..it's like elevator music, but ALL classical in the early mornings. It was a group of violinists going full swing...would that be called a symphony? Anyways, I just couldn't help myself but proceeded to flick both my hands in rhythm to the music like a conductor. The music just consumed my every being and I could not, for the life of me, help myself from doing this. Oh and I got pretty serious at it too and proceeded with the violent head movements that conductors do when changing his instructions to the different groups of instruments. I realize that I'm sounding like a "music idiot" right now because I have no idea what the correct jargon is for all this. But yeah, that's my story for the morning.
I was walking through the hotel (venetian) this morning to the cafeteria and was suddenly struck with how loud the "hotel" music was playing. Mind you..it's like elevator music, but ALL classical in the early mornings. It was a group of violinists going full swing...would that be called a symphony? Anyways, I just couldn't help myself but proceeded to flick both my hands in rhythm to the music like a conductor. The music just consumed my every being and I could not, for the life of me, help myself from doing this. Oh and I got pretty serious at it too and proceeded with the violent head movements that conductors do when changing his instructions to the different groups of instruments. I realize that I'm sounding like a "music idiot" right now because I have no idea what the correct jargon is for all this. But yeah, that's my story for the morning.
How do you take your...
Has anyone noticed how terribly stressful it is to order breakfast? In all honesty, I never noticed this until just the other day, mostly because I am too distracted from the delicious food on the menu. Usually, people order breakfast food during breakfast hours (duh!) and maybe after a long night of drinking (a must!). In both of these occasions, the individual may not be fully prepared for the stress that the waitress/waitor is about to bombard them with. Good god! For instance, I was at a diner the other night and this really nice waitress came over and first asked me for my beverage of choice. After she retrieved my iced tea, she whipped out her pen and the little pad of notebook paper and started....
W: What would you like?
me: umm...well, corned beef hash and eggs please.
W: How would you like your eggs?
me: scrambled
W: How would you like your hashbrowns?
me: uhh....cooked? oh, but not too crispy please:)
W: What kind of side would you like? Toast, which comes in white, wheat, rye, or mutli-grain...English muffin..or you can choose from our assortment of fresh oven-baked muffins, which are blue-berry, bran, banana nut, cheesecake pumpkin, cornbread, or poppyseed???
me: (While she was going through this long list of delicious choices, I just could not handle the fact that in point two seconds she will require an answer and I lost her at the blue-berry muffins! What the hell am I going to do? I want her to repeat the muffins, but she looks like she's going to sit on me! At this point, I am so frail from starvation that I know I won't be able to defend myself if she were to sit on me so I proceed with my answer..) I will have the english muffin please...toasted.
W: What kind of jam? Strawberry, grape, marmalade.....
me: (Thinking...why can't you have the assortment on the table like most restaurants do in those cute little caddies?) Umm...strawberry...
W: What kind of syrup?
me: syrup?
W: For your pancakes.
me: (Thinking...I get pancakes! I kind of missed that on the menu. What kind of syrup? Is she really serious?? What would she say if I said "maple syrup from the deep forests of New England"??) I laugh and she gets annoyed...oops. Umm...maple please.
W: Is there anything else you would like?
me: (Thinking..NO...THANK GOD!) No that will be all thank you!
W: Your order will be up soon.
OMG! See how stressful that was?? All these choices put in all those questions! Mind you, she was talking uber fast. I was completely sober and wide awake during this specific interaction, but I can't imagine successfully ordering food when I am either just waking up or completely trashed! Not only will I be completely stunned if I was in either of the aforementioned situations, but I will be left to starve from not completing my order... This is tragic. We all know how important breakfast is...
W: What would you like?
me: umm...well, corned beef hash and eggs please.
W: How would you like your eggs?
me: scrambled
W: How would you like your hashbrowns?
me: uhh....cooked? oh, but not too crispy please:)
W: What kind of side would you like? Toast, which comes in white, wheat, rye, or mutli-grain...English muffin..or you can choose from our assortment of fresh oven-baked muffins, which are blue-berry, bran, banana nut, cheesecake pumpkin, cornbread, or poppyseed???
me: (While she was going through this long list of delicious choices, I just could not handle the fact that in point two seconds she will require an answer and I lost her at the blue-berry muffins! What the hell am I going to do? I want her to repeat the muffins, but she looks like she's going to sit on me! At this point, I am so frail from starvation that I know I won't be able to defend myself if she were to sit on me so I proceed with my answer..) I will have the english muffin please...toasted.
W: What kind of jam? Strawberry, grape, marmalade.....
me: (Thinking...why can't you have the assortment on the table like most restaurants do in those cute little caddies?) Umm...strawberry...
W: What kind of syrup?
me: syrup?
W: For your pancakes.
me: (Thinking...I get pancakes! I kind of missed that on the menu. What kind of syrup? Is she really serious?? What would she say if I said "maple syrup from the deep forests of New England"??) I laugh and she gets annoyed...oops. Umm...maple please.
W: Is there anything else you would like?
me: (Thinking..NO...THANK GOD!) No that will be all thank you!
W: Your order will be up soon.
OMG! See how stressful that was?? All these choices put in all those questions! Mind you, she was talking uber fast. I was completely sober and wide awake during this specific interaction, but I can't imagine successfully ordering food when I am either just waking up or completely trashed! Not only will I be completely stunned if I was in either of the aforementioned situations, but I will be left to starve from not completing my order... This is tragic. We all know how important breakfast is...
A Halo at the Entrance
Dated: 10-5-07
Before I go into the topic of this particular blog, I just want to say hi to all you people out there. Yes you! The one reading this public service announcement. The one I want to talk to but just can't seem to find the time to because of a contract I signed about a month ago...the one involving me to hand over my soul while writing out a check with an ungodly amount. Yes you. I just want to say hello. Oh and maybe I should wish you happy birthday, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukah and Happy New Year while I'm at it. Who knows when my next public service announcement will be:)
Okay so the title of this blog is appropriate to the situation I was in and you will see why in just a moment. A couple days ago, a couple friends from my med school class were discussing about going out to Virginia to go grocery shopping. I chimed in that I needed to go grocery shopping as well but since I was just going to wait until the weekend to do so. They immediately stopped their conversation to tell me about this grocery store they were going to. Long story short, it was absolutely necessary that I accompany them to this store named Wegman's. Funny name, you think... (chuckles to self). You just have no idea just yet what this place entails but I will tell you.
So we drove about 45 minutes out into Virginia where there are trees and fresh non-city air that pumps regenerative life into my lungs and therefore my soul. (There is something about fresh air that when breathed makes colors seem more vibrant and people seem more friendlier...to a point where you just want to give them hugs with substance). This was after class, by the way and it was almost dinner time so my tummy was starting the intro to the jungle thunder drum roll. Needless to say, I needed food and it was appropriate that we were going to a grocery store. I foresaw myself munching through a bag of cheetos selecting fresh fruits and vegetables from the produce section.
We then parked the car and were ready with our check cards and appetite to tackle "The Wegman's". To me it's called heaven, but the store is called Wegman's...a chain us westcoasters have no idea about. But as we walk through the front doors, words cannot accurately describe what happened to me. It felt as if a divine spirit filled me up and I heard angels singing in the background. (I love background music by the way). The gates were opened and they were letting me into heaven, I thought! "Are you sure I should be here, I asked". I thought I said it in my head but maybe I thought a little too loudly because my friends were like..."dude just grab a cart and let's go". This snapped me right out of my divine experience and straight back to business. Grocery shopping is fun but let me tell you. I get downright in the zone with my cart. My mind is focused on that grocery list and mapping out the aisles so no distractions are allowed on this journey. Nope! It's all business. Our first stop, though, was food. And I didn't even realize what that meant until we stepped foot into the foodcourt. That's right, folks! There is a FOODCOURT in the grocery story. Genius! Whoever thought this up was no fool.. People are always on the brink of starvation when they go grocery shopping...well at least I am. That's why I go grocery shopping...BECAUSE I'M HUNGRY! I don't want to be in there after eating a buffet. I feel nauseous at that point and cannot even think of food much less buy some for later. But this was no ordinary food court. There was a buffet line but there were also lines of those glass cases that usually holds meat and fish products at grocery stores...you know..the kind where you have to ask the meat or fish guy to weigh some shrimp or cut meat in a particular way for you. Yes, those kind! But there was cooked food in there instead! And there were "food guys" waiting to help you make your selection. "Just let me know what you want, miss, and I will get you whatever you want". Such magical words. I stuttered then stumbled into confusion. Where has this place been all my life? Am I dreaming? I was in the middle of checking by pinching myself when I stumbled into cookie corner. I nearly fainted. They had a "COOKIE CORNER"! All that flashed through my mind were screaming fans at an N'Sync concert........way back in the day. Cookies of all shapes and sizes were available to you, the grocery shopper. So you can munch on them while you select your fruits and vegetables in the produce section. This place is a caveat to grocery shoppers. You will spend extreme amounts of money in this store because of unforeseen spending through aisles such as the cookie corner.
After recovering with a plate of Chinese food (remember the buffet line), we finally got to do what we came for and hit that grocery list. So we started with the produce section. But all of you who know me well, knows that my relationship with produce entails apples and cucumbers...maybe you can throw in some lettuce and the occasional tomatoes (only for cooking) but it's pretty standard and nothing too fancy. In other words, I do NOT have butternut squash EVER on my list. With that said, this should be a quick affair in getting through the produce section. BUT NO! I was surrounded in glory and unconsciously I started putting fruits and vegetables in my cart...things I never really heard of. When am I ever going to use string beans? It requires boiling and I don't have time to boil water...it takes forever! I barely have time to do laundry! In reality, I am not this incompetent but you get the general picture of this situation. Asian pears, check. Purple garlic, check. Baby bok choy, check. A suspicious looking bunch of green leaves, check. I really had to take that bunch back when no one was looking...I sort of felt sophisticated in a healthy way by putting it in my cart, but in reality it would just have grown into something else in my fridge. And so reasoning kicked in and I put it back. Sad. But, I cheered up knowing our next two destinations were the dairy section and the cereal aisle. (Speaking of which I'm getting hungry and am going to get a bowl of cereal...be right back!)
Back. So now we are in the dairy aisle. This section of the grocery store gets quite complicated. In my opinion, no one really knows how much milk is left at home. I try to guess that I might have just enough milk to last me through a couple bowls of cereal so I may need to get another half a gallon...but come to find out at home that my estimation was under by about 2 more bowls of cereal which means I need to compensate by eating cereal twice a day for a couple days to catch up to my milk intake regimen so that carton 2 doesn't go bad by the expiration date. It really does get this complicated. And no one ever remembers about the cheese situation at home....especially because there are so many to choose from! You eat provolone or swiss with sandwiches, then maybe some sharp cheddar with the dish that needs baking and then some mixed cheese packets for the occasional mexican dinner night. It's endless. So, yes, I get stuck in the dairy aisle for quite some time. But that's okay. I needed some milk anyways.
We then moved on to the cereal aisle. Mind you....I'm just piling things into my cart on the way to these aisles. Pretzels, toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, pasta sauce...they all just appeared in the cart at the end. I don't quite remember how this happened but to tell you the truth, I was fully focused on these 3 aisles only. Cereal is next....and yes....I saw the box all the way from the end of the aisle. Two words...Honey Smacks. Yes, my friends. I almost fell on my knees to kiss the ground. This store carries Honey Smacks. You just don't realize how important this fact is! Not many stores carry this cereal! First of all, the stores in DC do not carry too many products because they usually carry convenience items...not thinking that maybe some poor soul out there just dreams of buying honey smacks. But that's just minor detail. This store carries Honey Smacks and I'm elated. At this point, I'm already formulating a letter to the company stating how they rock my socks in the grocery shopping experience. And as we proceed to the checkout line, my eyes scope out the scene one last time to find a huge section of the store that we missed....the organic section. As in, everything organic from clothes to tea bags. We didn't have time and the resources to hit this section up (mind you, we are on a medical student budget which is pretty damn near poverty) but I felt surge of happiness for the hippies out there who need products like these. (Disclaimer: I do use organic products and feel a little too cool using them for some reason).
And this was my shopping experience. I'm still in awe that something like this exists. Hardwood floors, high ceilings, perfect lighting.....and let me tell you...lighting is everything in a grocery store. We do not need people squinting at the bunches of green leaves trying to decipher which one to take home because there is not enough light. That would be a disaster in itself.
Before I go into the topic of this particular blog, I just want to say hi to all you people out there. Yes you! The one reading this public service announcement. The one I want to talk to but just can't seem to find the time to because of a contract I signed about a month ago...the one involving me to hand over my soul while writing out a check with an ungodly amount. Yes you. I just want to say hello. Oh and maybe I should wish you happy birthday, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukah and Happy New Year while I'm at it. Who knows when my next public service announcement will be:)
Okay so the title of this blog is appropriate to the situation I was in and you will see why in just a moment. A couple days ago, a couple friends from my med school class were discussing about going out to Virginia to go grocery shopping. I chimed in that I needed to go grocery shopping as well but since I was just going to wait until the weekend to do so. They immediately stopped their conversation to tell me about this grocery store they were going to. Long story short, it was absolutely necessary that I accompany them to this store named Wegman's. Funny name, you think... (chuckles to self). You just have no idea just yet what this place entails but I will tell you.
So we drove about 45 minutes out into Virginia where there are trees and fresh non-city air that pumps regenerative life into my lungs and therefore my soul. (There is something about fresh air that when breathed makes colors seem more vibrant and people seem more friendlier...to a point where you just want to give them hugs with substance). This was after class, by the way and it was almost dinner time so my tummy was starting the intro to the jungle thunder drum roll. Needless to say, I needed food and it was appropriate that we were going to a grocery store. I foresaw myself munching through a bag of cheetos selecting fresh fruits and vegetables from the produce section.
We then parked the car and were ready with our check cards and appetite to tackle "The Wegman's". To me it's called heaven, but the store is called Wegman's...a chain us westcoasters have no idea about. But as we walk through the front doors, words cannot accurately describe what happened to me. It felt as if a divine spirit filled me up and I heard angels singing in the background. (I love background music by the way). The gates were opened and they were letting me into heaven, I thought! "Are you sure I should be here, I asked". I thought I said it in my head but maybe I thought a little too loudly because my friends were like..."dude just grab a cart and let's go". This snapped me right out of my divine experience and straight back to business. Grocery shopping is fun but let me tell you. I get downright in the zone with my cart. My mind is focused on that grocery list and mapping out the aisles so no distractions are allowed on this journey. Nope! It's all business. Our first stop, though, was food. And I didn't even realize what that meant until we stepped foot into the foodcourt. That's right, folks! There is a FOODCOURT in the grocery story. Genius! Whoever thought this up was no fool.. People are always on the brink of starvation when they go grocery shopping...well at least I am. That's why I go grocery shopping...BECAUSE I'M HUNGRY! I don't want to be in there after eating a buffet. I feel nauseous at that point and cannot even think of food much less buy some for later. But this was no ordinary food court. There was a buffet line but there were also lines of those glass cases that usually holds meat and fish products at grocery stores...you know..the kind where you have to ask the meat or fish guy to weigh some shrimp or cut meat in a particular way for you. Yes, those kind! But there was cooked food in there instead! And there were "food guys" waiting to help you make your selection. "Just let me know what you want, miss, and I will get you whatever you want". Such magical words. I stuttered then stumbled into confusion. Where has this place been all my life? Am I dreaming? I was in the middle of checking by pinching myself when I stumbled into cookie corner. I nearly fainted. They had a "COOKIE CORNER"! All that flashed through my mind were screaming fans at an N'Sync concert........way back in the day. Cookies of all shapes and sizes were available to you, the grocery shopper. So you can munch on them while you select your fruits and vegetables in the produce section. This place is a caveat to grocery shoppers. You will spend extreme amounts of money in this store because of unforeseen spending through aisles such as the cookie corner.
After recovering with a plate of Chinese food (remember the buffet line), we finally got to do what we came for and hit that grocery list. So we started with the produce section. But all of you who know me well, knows that my relationship with produce entails apples and cucumbers...maybe you can throw in some lettuce and the occasional tomatoes (only for cooking) but it's pretty standard and nothing too fancy. In other words, I do NOT have butternut squash EVER on my list. With that said, this should be a quick affair in getting through the produce section. BUT NO! I was surrounded in glory and unconsciously I started putting fruits and vegetables in my cart...things I never really heard of. When am I ever going to use string beans? It requires boiling and I don't have time to boil water...it takes forever! I barely have time to do laundry! In reality, I am not this incompetent but you get the general picture of this situation. Asian pears, check. Purple garlic, check. Baby bok choy, check. A suspicious looking bunch of green leaves, check. I really had to take that bunch back when no one was looking...I sort of felt sophisticated in a healthy way by putting it in my cart, but in reality it would just have grown into something else in my fridge. And so reasoning kicked in and I put it back. Sad. But, I cheered up knowing our next two destinations were the dairy section and the cereal aisle. (Speaking of which I'm getting hungry and am going to get a bowl of cereal...be right back!)
Back. So now we are in the dairy aisle. This section of the grocery store gets quite complicated. In my opinion, no one really knows how much milk is left at home. I try to guess that I might have just enough milk to last me through a couple bowls of cereal so I may need to get another half a gallon...but come to find out at home that my estimation was under by about 2 more bowls of cereal which means I need to compensate by eating cereal twice a day for a couple days to catch up to my milk intake regimen so that carton 2 doesn't go bad by the expiration date. It really does get this complicated. And no one ever remembers about the cheese situation at home....especially because there are so many to choose from! You eat provolone or swiss with sandwiches, then maybe some sharp cheddar with the dish that needs baking and then some mixed cheese packets for the occasional mexican dinner night. It's endless. So, yes, I get stuck in the dairy aisle for quite some time. But that's okay. I needed some milk anyways.
We then moved on to the cereal aisle. Mind you....I'm just piling things into my cart on the way to these aisles. Pretzels, toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, pasta sauce...they all just appeared in the cart at the end. I don't quite remember how this happened but to tell you the truth, I was fully focused on these 3 aisles only. Cereal is next....and yes....I saw the box all the way from the end of the aisle. Two words...Honey Smacks. Yes, my friends. I almost fell on my knees to kiss the ground. This store carries Honey Smacks. You just don't realize how important this fact is! Not many stores carry this cereal! First of all, the stores in DC do not carry too many products because they usually carry convenience items...not thinking that maybe some poor soul out there just dreams of buying honey smacks. But that's just minor detail. This store carries Honey Smacks and I'm elated. At this point, I'm already formulating a letter to the company stating how they rock my socks in the grocery shopping experience. And as we proceed to the checkout line, my eyes scope out the scene one last time to find a huge section of the store that we missed....the organic section. As in, everything organic from clothes to tea bags. We didn't have time and the resources to hit this section up (mind you, we are on a medical student budget which is pretty damn near poverty) but I felt surge of happiness for the hippies out there who need products like these. (Disclaimer: I do use organic products and feel a little too cool using them for some reason).
And this was my shopping experience. I'm still in awe that something like this exists. Hardwood floors, high ceilings, perfect lighting.....and let me tell you...lighting is everything in a grocery store. We do not need people squinting at the bunches of green leaves trying to decipher which one to take home because there is not enough light. That would be a disaster in itself.
A new hobby
Earlier this week, a classmate invited me to play squash with him. I, being up for anything other than mindlessly pumping on the elliptical, was ecstatic to learn a new sport and getting some cardio in at the same time. This was a Tuesday after I endured an hour and a half of Extreme Training class on Monday night. Let me paint a picture for you: It's Satuday and I'm still sore from Monday. Needless to say, on Tuesday I was barely surviving walking up a flight of stairs. But, I wanted to play squash anyways. This turned out bad because I didn't know the court rules and didn't have the proper shoes on. Supposedly, Nike Shox aren't allowed on the squash courts because they're dark soled shoes. Boo.
So Friday came along where we had a grueling 3 hour immunology exam. After, we decided to pick up some games of squash. There was me and three other guys from class. I was quickly taught the rules and then we were off. Two on one court against each other, and then the other two were on the court next door. Let me just provide you with some background. I played tennis for almost 15 years. And if anyone reading this knows what tennis is all about, it's all about memory muscles. After playing the sport for that long, you just know how to do certain things like strokes, swings, volleys, and footwork like the back of your hand. It's almost like riding a bike, where you do everything really thinking about it, but the only real thing that leaves your memory is the feel for the ball when you hit it and maybe your reflexes. I've been hit too many times by the tennis ball so reflexes are not a concern for me anymore. Just hit me already.
So anyways, we start playing and I'm getting my ass handed to me game after game. Mind you, hitting the ball isn't a problem...well...let's just say that I started hitting the ball with the strings after a long warmup. Disclaimer: the head size of a tennis racket is considerably larger than a squash racket. So I'm hitting the ball, but I'm just not getting the angles of the court! What's so frustrating is that you can hit every possibly wall in this little room just as long as the ball hits the front wall before it bounces on the floor. What kind of jacked up game is this?? And me being spacially retarded, I was getting killed by these guys! And I mean slaughtered. Zero points. Bagels. Donuts. Nada. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many times I ran into the wall! Yes. Your girl here collided into a non-moving wall like a train on tracks going full speed with nothing able to stop it. Good thing the wall was sturdy. If it was glass, we could have had some major problems there...like that one time back in tennis camp where I ran into a glass sliding door. Such bad memories resurfacing.
So, yeah. You could say I had a little adventure learning a new hobby. But, I must say that even though it's probably the most frustrating sport I have ever played, it's definitely a lot of fun and I'm already hooked. I need to go buy a racket of my own now.
So Friday came along where we had a grueling 3 hour immunology exam. After, we decided to pick up some games of squash. There was me and three other guys from class. I was quickly taught the rules and then we were off. Two on one court against each other, and then the other two were on the court next door. Let me just provide you with some background. I played tennis for almost 15 years. And if anyone reading this knows what tennis is all about, it's all about memory muscles. After playing the sport for that long, you just know how to do certain things like strokes, swings, volleys, and footwork like the back of your hand. It's almost like riding a bike, where you do everything really thinking about it, but the only real thing that leaves your memory is the feel for the ball when you hit it and maybe your reflexes. I've been hit too many times by the tennis ball so reflexes are not a concern for me anymore. Just hit me already.
So anyways, we start playing and I'm getting my ass handed to me game after game. Mind you, hitting the ball isn't a problem...well...let's just say that I started hitting the ball with the strings after a long warmup. Disclaimer: the head size of a tennis racket is considerably larger than a squash racket. So I'm hitting the ball, but I'm just not getting the angles of the court! What's so frustrating is that you can hit every possibly wall in this little room just as long as the ball hits the front wall before it bounces on the floor. What kind of jacked up game is this?? And me being spacially retarded, I was getting killed by these guys! And I mean slaughtered. Zero points. Bagels. Donuts. Nada. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many times I ran into the wall! Yes. Your girl here collided into a non-moving wall like a train on tracks going full speed with nothing able to stop it. Good thing the wall was sturdy. If it was glass, we could have had some major problems there...like that one time back in tennis camp where I ran into a glass sliding door. Such bad memories resurfacing.
So, yeah. You could say I had a little adventure learning a new hobby. But, I must say that even though it's probably the most frustrating sport I have ever played, it's definitely a lot of fun and I'm already hooked. I need to go buy a racket of my own now.
Can I have my cake and eat it too?
Last night me, my roommate, and eight of our friends from med school went out for sushi at a place in Dupont called Sushi Taro. My roommate raves about this place constantly. The girl eats sushi like its a normal occurrence, so her word that this place is "amazing" is credible. So we went. The great thing about dinner was that we didn't have to wait for our table. Thumbs up! With a party of ten, you can imagine what type of time chaos this could have been considering it was peak dinner time on a Friday night in DC. But, my roommate being the clever girl that she is, also called ahead to give them a window of when we would arrive even though they don't take any reservations.
With that said, we were seated almost right away when we got to the restaurant. The place is cozy. And I mean slightly low celings, semi-claustrophobic atmoshphere that you get from Chinese restaurants when they fill and occupy every possible space they can. I am surprised that these same "filled beyond capacity" restaurants don't get a fire hazard violation for exceeding the number of people that can fill the restaurant at any given time. Coming back to the point of my blog, the restaurant was cozy and inviting and I was excited about eating sushi...well eating anything for that matter. I really didn't eat anything all day and when I found out dinner was at 9pm, I started gnawing at my fingers thinking it was food. Long story short, I ate a snack to curb my hunger until sushi and when we finally got seated, I was beyond excited for din din.
After ordering, me and two classmates, Catherine and Roshni, got into a discussion about the service industry in DC. This was right after our waitress came by our table because we had asked for more plates. (There weren't enough on the table for all ten of us). She then proceeded to argue that she brought out enough plates for us all and actually counted the number of plates we had! I'm sorry...but if a customer asks for another plate, shouldn't you just get another plate for them? I'm not trying to be a brat here, but come on! What are you going to do eventually? Say "no, you have enough plates". This makes me laugh actually. Hahaha.
But, that's the thing about service in DC. It totally sucks donkey balls! I'm so serious! Coming from Vegas, which is a total service indutry city, I guess I'm spoiled to what you need to get in terms of service. And this is because you need to work hard for those tips! Don't just expect it without providing good service. No! No! No! I'm not even hard to please when it comes to good customer service. I can make your food at home and it probably would be cheaper. But I decided to come to your restaurant and buy an overpriced cheeseburger and iced tea because I want to have food prepared for me instead. But, a good attitude may be too much to ask for in this city.
Take for example, the safeway next to my house. If I had a choice, I would never step foot in that grocery store EVER! The cashiers are rudest people I have ever come across. They don't acknowledge you are even there. The girl who usually stands on checkout aisle two is texting on her cellphone while scanning the grocery items. She should get promoted with her obvious multi-tasking skills, seriously. And then, the cashiers are yelling at the stockboy who is at the back of the grocery store. Most of the sound has probably failed reaching him considering that they're yelling right into my ears. I hate it there, but what can you do when the next grocery store is another ten blocks away? Suffer.
I really don't think I've had good service anywhere in DC. Everyone seems to have something shoved way too high up their ass so I'm not surprised to not get good customer service. I shouldn't say that though. Maybe it's because people here don't care to what type of service they get. They put up with it because they don't care either way. As long as they get their cup of coffee or cheeseburger eventually, they just don't care how it's prepared and presented. This is sad because preparation and presentation are key elements with food. You want that cake beautiful and you want to feel good about eating it too.
With that said, we were seated almost right away when we got to the restaurant. The place is cozy. And I mean slightly low celings, semi-claustrophobic atmoshphere that you get from Chinese restaurants when they fill and occupy every possible space they can. I am surprised that these same "filled beyond capacity" restaurants don't get a fire hazard violation for exceeding the number of people that can fill the restaurant at any given time. Coming back to the point of my blog, the restaurant was cozy and inviting and I was excited about eating sushi...well eating anything for that matter. I really didn't eat anything all day and when I found out dinner was at 9pm, I started gnawing at my fingers thinking it was food. Long story short, I ate a snack to curb my hunger until sushi and when we finally got seated, I was beyond excited for din din.
After ordering, me and two classmates, Catherine and Roshni, got into a discussion about the service industry in DC. This was right after our waitress came by our table because we had asked for more plates. (There weren't enough on the table for all ten of us). She then proceeded to argue that she brought out enough plates for us all and actually counted the number of plates we had! I'm sorry...but if a customer asks for another plate, shouldn't you just get another plate for them? I'm not trying to be a brat here, but come on! What are you going to do eventually? Say "no, you have enough plates". This makes me laugh actually. Hahaha.
But, that's the thing about service in DC. It totally sucks donkey balls! I'm so serious! Coming from Vegas, which is a total service indutry city, I guess I'm spoiled to what you need to get in terms of service. And this is because you need to work hard for those tips! Don't just expect it without providing good service. No! No! No! I'm not even hard to please when it comes to good customer service. I can make your food at home and it probably would be cheaper. But I decided to come to your restaurant and buy an overpriced cheeseburger and iced tea because I want to have food prepared for me instead. But, a good attitude may be too much to ask for in this city.
Take for example, the safeway next to my house. If I had a choice, I would never step foot in that grocery store EVER! The cashiers are rudest people I have ever come across. They don't acknowledge you are even there. The girl who usually stands on checkout aisle two is texting on her cellphone while scanning the grocery items. She should get promoted with her obvious multi-tasking skills, seriously. And then, the cashiers are yelling at the stockboy who is at the back of the grocery store. Most of the sound has probably failed reaching him considering that they're yelling right into my ears. I hate it there, but what can you do when the next grocery store is another ten blocks away? Suffer.
I really don't think I've had good service anywhere in DC. Everyone seems to have something shoved way too high up their ass so I'm not surprised to not get good customer service. I shouldn't say that though. Maybe it's because people here don't care to what type of service they get. They put up with it because they don't care either way. As long as they get their cup of coffee or cheeseburger eventually, they just don't care how it's prepared and presented. This is sad because preparation and presentation are key elements with food. You want that cake beautiful and you want to feel good about eating it too.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
My First LTE
This is a letter to the editor for a local newspaper in American Samoa I wrote in response to an article written by one of my new favorite people, Amata Aumua. She is currently running for Congresswoman of American Samoa against the incumbent, Congressman Eni Faleomavaega. Her article can be found here: http://www.amata.as/cgi-data/news/files/284.shtml
Dear Editor,
This is a response to Amata’s Pacific Notebook titled “Bread and Circuses” published on January 10th. As a young adult who was born and reared on the islands of Samoa and am currently pursing a graduate degree, I feel a need to throw my two cents in. I stumbled on Ms. Aumua’s Pacific Notebook article online and digested what I thought was a fresh breath of progressive ideas for the New Year. I have a deep love and respect for the Samoan way of life. To many, this way of life is considered simple and compared to the unyielding and sometimes unforgiving competitions of life that was mentioned in the article, I would agree without hesitation that this is true.
As Ms. Aumua pointed out, those in professional sports should be highly acclaimed for their accomplishments in making a name for themselves and putting Samoans on the map, especially with football. However, athletic accomplishments should not be the only thing prized in our society; not when a huge majority of college athletes do not go on to play professional sports. We all know the advertisement the NCAA plays during commercials of big sporting events. It goes like, “90% of our athletes become pro in something other than sports”. Although it is unknown how accurate that number is, it is substantial enough for us to enlighten the future college athletes from Samoa to have a definitive back up plan. This comes in the form of their education.
Mentioned in the article was a Samoan college student from San Francisco who wondered why our culture emphasized achievements in sports at the expense of other achievements, especially in academia. My question is who does the Samoan youth look to for aspirations and guidance in pursuing the arts or the sciences or in becoming a CEO of a major company or a professor at our country’s elite institutions? I found this quite difficult in that for most of my formal education, I did not have a mentor who looked, talked, and understood my island roots. This is not surprising in that I am entering a profession in the United States in which Samoans are poorly represented. I guess the task at hand should be to get more of our people into these positions of leadership who can inspire and instill thought into those of the coming generation.
Speaking of generations, every spring sees students from high school that all have important decisions to make in creating a world with their footprints on it. My opinion on sports should not negate any aspirations of our island’s students in becoming student athletes in college. In contrast, I am trying to highlight an important point that Ms. Aumua expressed in her article. The fact remains that our world is complex and challenging and highly competitive. This brings to mind an article written in the New York Times earlier this year about girls at some of the best public high schools in the United States. As a product of the feminist movement and being told all their lives that they can become anything they wanted to, they not only are the best students of their class at the best public high school in the country, but they are also well versed in different languages, can play musical instruments, are considered competitive enough to be recruited as a college athlete, act in plays, and have enough time to even be leaders in their church youth group. The list of achievements of these young individuals are extensive but what’s daunting here is that these impressive resumes still may not be enough to get into the elite colleges of America because there are thousands of these prototypes. The youth of today no longer sit on the sidelines. They are out taking charge of their future no matter what age, sex or race they are and the competition to get into the “Harvards” or the “M.I.Ts” or law school or medical school is getting stiffer and stiffer. These kids are out there because they have people telling them their whole lives that anything is possible and that any goal is attainable and that being only an athlete is just not good enough. The whole package is now needed to succeed, whatever package that may be.
Ms. Aumua’s article drove home an important theme that needs to be addressed and that is to better equip our youth for their future. For most of my life, I was also an athlete and had a very difficult time as a kid deciphering whether education or sports was more important. This decision was ultimately up to me to make but what infuriated me as a high school student was a teacher who unjustly presumed that because I was an athlete, I did not have to worry about my grades in school. I felt I was placed in the “dumb jock” category automatically by a person who was supposed to mentor and encourage athletes to not only pursue but also excel in both sports and academics. Instead, she closed off the idea that maybe one day after my time as a college athlete had expired, I would be interested in getting into medical school to become a doctor. Now in this profession grades really do matter.
As I look back to that time when I was in the middle of high school and not really knowing where and what my future was going to lie in, I did take those words to heart. But this teacher's ignorance of the importance to strive for excellence in education now just reminds me daily of how essential it is for Samoa’s youth to “stand on the shoulders of mentors” as Ms. Aumua puts it. The more variety of mentors they have, the more options they get for their future in knowing that there are many, many fields to pursue other than the ones filled with grass and painted lines.
Sincerely,
An inspired student
Dear Editor,
This is a response to Amata’s Pacific Notebook titled “Bread and Circuses” published on January 10th. As a young adult who was born and reared on the islands of Samoa and am currently pursing a graduate degree, I feel a need to throw my two cents in. I stumbled on Ms. Aumua’s Pacific Notebook article online and digested what I thought was a fresh breath of progressive ideas for the New Year. I have a deep love and respect for the Samoan way of life. To many, this way of life is considered simple and compared to the unyielding and sometimes unforgiving competitions of life that was mentioned in the article, I would agree without hesitation that this is true.
As Ms. Aumua pointed out, those in professional sports should be highly acclaimed for their accomplishments in making a name for themselves and putting Samoans on the map, especially with football. However, athletic accomplishments should not be the only thing prized in our society; not when a huge majority of college athletes do not go on to play professional sports. We all know the advertisement the NCAA plays during commercials of big sporting events. It goes like, “90% of our athletes become pro in something other than sports”. Although it is unknown how accurate that number is, it is substantial enough for us to enlighten the future college athletes from Samoa to have a definitive back up plan. This comes in the form of their education.
Mentioned in the article was a Samoan college student from San Francisco who wondered why our culture emphasized achievements in sports at the expense of other achievements, especially in academia. My question is who does the Samoan youth look to for aspirations and guidance in pursuing the arts or the sciences or in becoming a CEO of a major company or a professor at our country’s elite institutions? I found this quite difficult in that for most of my formal education, I did not have a mentor who looked, talked, and understood my island roots. This is not surprising in that I am entering a profession in the United States in which Samoans are poorly represented. I guess the task at hand should be to get more of our people into these positions of leadership who can inspire and instill thought into those of the coming generation.
Speaking of generations, every spring sees students from high school that all have important decisions to make in creating a world with their footprints on it. My opinion on sports should not negate any aspirations of our island’s students in becoming student athletes in college. In contrast, I am trying to highlight an important point that Ms. Aumua expressed in her article. The fact remains that our world is complex and challenging and highly competitive. This brings to mind an article written in the New York Times earlier this year about girls at some of the best public high schools in the United States. As a product of the feminist movement and being told all their lives that they can become anything they wanted to, they not only are the best students of their class at the best public high school in the country, but they are also well versed in different languages, can play musical instruments, are considered competitive enough to be recruited as a college athlete, act in plays, and have enough time to even be leaders in their church youth group. The list of achievements of these young individuals are extensive but what’s daunting here is that these impressive resumes still may not be enough to get into the elite colleges of America because there are thousands of these prototypes. The youth of today no longer sit on the sidelines. They are out taking charge of their future no matter what age, sex or race they are and the competition to get into the “Harvards” or the “M.I.Ts” or law school or medical school is getting stiffer and stiffer. These kids are out there because they have people telling them their whole lives that anything is possible and that any goal is attainable and that being only an athlete is just not good enough. The whole package is now needed to succeed, whatever package that may be.
Ms. Aumua’s article drove home an important theme that needs to be addressed and that is to better equip our youth for their future. For most of my life, I was also an athlete and had a very difficult time as a kid deciphering whether education or sports was more important. This decision was ultimately up to me to make but what infuriated me as a high school student was a teacher who unjustly presumed that because I was an athlete, I did not have to worry about my grades in school. I felt I was placed in the “dumb jock” category automatically by a person who was supposed to mentor and encourage athletes to not only pursue but also excel in both sports and academics. Instead, she closed off the idea that maybe one day after my time as a college athlete had expired, I would be interested in getting into medical school to become a doctor. Now in this profession grades really do matter.
As I look back to that time when I was in the middle of high school and not really knowing where and what my future was going to lie in, I did take those words to heart. But this teacher's ignorance of the importance to strive for excellence in education now just reminds me daily of how essential it is for Samoa’s youth to “stand on the shoulders of mentors” as Ms. Aumua puts it. The more variety of mentors they have, the more options they get for their future in knowing that there are many, many fields to pursue other than the ones filled with grass and painted lines.
Sincerely,
An inspired student
A new friend
I know it's been a while since I last posted. Med school just took over my life last semester. I really was planning on diligent writing throughout school but I succumbed to the shedule overload and the writing inevitably was pushed to the curb. But, I'm back and with a vengeance. I attended a lecture today and speaker gave some casual advice to the eager ears of medical students of writing in a journal to keep note of important events through this period. I'm assuming we will all eventually become senile at one point in our lives and a journal would be nice to look back with painful but fond memories (talking about med school here).
I'm off-topic already and I just started writing this post about meeting a new friend. I met a classmate of mine today. Weird, I know. I'm in my second semester of school, which is six months into knowing my peers and yet I am still meeting people from my class! I met one yesterday too on a squash court! It amazes me that I haven't met everyone yet but what can you do? Actually, I take that back. I've met people in my class more than once...maybe more than three times. You know how it goes. You meet people and you forget their names so when you pass in the hallway, you're sort of embarrassed to admit you forgot their names after only meeting them the night before at so and so's party. And before you know it, three months have passed and you're meeting the same person AGAIN at some other person's party. This time you may have had a few drinks in you so the name slips for the second time! So you end up meeting them, this time sober, when you're in conversation with mutual friends and get introduced AGAIN. Hopefully, this doesn't happen too often or you'll be one of those people with no friends because you can't remember any of their names. You'll be a "smiley"...aka..the person who you always see in the halls smiling at you and you casually say hi because you know they're one of your peers but the conversation doesn't go beyond that.
I'm off-topic already and I just started writing this post about meeting a new friend. I met a classmate of mine today. Weird, I know. I'm in my second semester of school, which is six months into knowing my peers and yet I am still meeting people from my class! I met one yesterday too on a squash court! It amazes me that I haven't met everyone yet but what can you do? Actually, I take that back. I've met people in my class more than once...maybe more than three times. You know how it goes. You meet people and you forget their names so when you pass in the hallway, you're sort of embarrassed to admit you forgot their names after only meeting them the night before at so and so's party. And before you know it, three months have passed and you're meeting the same person AGAIN at some other person's party. This time you may have had a few drinks in you so the name slips for the second time! So you end up meeting them, this time sober, when you're in conversation with mutual friends and get introduced AGAIN. Hopefully, this doesn't happen too often or you'll be one of those people with no friends because you can't remember any of their names. You'll be a "smiley"...aka..the person who you always see in the halls smiling at you and you casually say hi because you know they're one of your peers but the conversation doesn't go beyond that.
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