How have I lived (and taken photos) without a proper flash all this time?? I am shaking my head as I see the test shots I have taken all evening in my dark backyard after buying a flash for my camera today. Not only am I giddy about finally buying the flash but I got a super sweet deal on both the sb-600 flash and the 55-200 VR Nikon lens I've been wanting to buy. This guy on craigslist wanted to get rid of both so bad and he gave me an awesome deal...too good to resist. So for the past few hours, my poor family has had a camera in the face and flashing lights in their eyes. I'm pretty sure they won't miss me when I leave! Ha!
On a side note, it has been too much fun and giggles doing Neurology at UNSOM here in Vegas. My attendings are super cool and chill and I have been seeing the most interesting neurological cases thus far. I'm sure my parents think I'm going to become a neurologist. Not quite though...I still love the babies and especially the mothers I deliver them to:) So far, I've stuck to my guns and am still thinking OB. I leave in exactly one week to head down to the DEEP SOUTH...the motherland aka "Samoa". I am so excited to go home again! It's been only a couple years but it feels like forever ago! I'll be doing my month long international elective in Obstetrics. Luckily, LBJ Tropical Medical Center is a bonafide baby factory!! Holla to the island girl that will be delivering them:)
But for now, I have to learn how to safely pack my camera gear, pack enough scrubs and tank tops (hot and humid is waiting for me on the island), and hopefully learn enough about child neurology in my one day on the service tomorrow.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
This just caught my eye
A quote I just read:
To most physicians, my illness is a routine incident in their rounds, while for me it’s the crisis of my life. I would feel better if I had a doctor who at least perceived this incongruity.
This statement is sadly true for some (hopefully not too many) patients. Coming from the medical side, I have seen this in action unfortunately. It's sad but I cannot answer to why it happens because I really don't know why some physicians do not have insight into how they act around their patients.
To most physicians, my illness is a routine incident in their rounds, while for me it’s the crisis of my life. I would feel better if I had a doctor who at least perceived this incongruity.
This statement is sadly true for some (hopefully not too many) patients. Coming from the medical side, I have seen this in action unfortunately. It's sad but I cannot answer to why it happens because I really don't know why some physicians do not have insight into how they act around their patients.
wow it's been ages
Talk about writer's block. This has been a long dry spell in my writing on this blog. It totally defeats the purpose of me creating this blog in the first place as I planned to write my every step, road block, and hill climbed through the beast that is medical school. Ultimate fail! Well...it has been a really interesting year so far. I'm currently wrapping up the last week on psychiatry and then I'm off to Vegas for a month of Neurology at UMC. My schedule worked out fabulously as I will get to spend QT with my family for a month while doing a rotation and then I have a month in the motherland (Samoa...sigh) doing my international elective in obstetrics. Yippeee! I'm really excited about getting back into some baby catching action again! It's been way too long. My OB rotation was back in Jan/Feb which seemed like forever and a day ago. So this will be a nice refresher before I get into 2 months of primary care working in outpatient gynecology early spring next year. Exciting times ahead:)
I really should be studying for my psychiatry shelf and I only signed in to "follow" a friend's blog...but the NEW POST button was calling my name. Now, seeing my thoughts go straight to print is quite therapeutic...lesson learned. I really need to post more. A few friends have created blogs recently so that was another gentle reminder for me to start up this old engine again. Until the next post...which will hopefully be sooner than later...coocoocachoo:)
I really should be studying for my psychiatry shelf and I only signed in to "follow" a friend's blog...but the NEW POST button was calling my name. Now, seeing my thoughts go straight to print is quite therapeutic...lesson learned. I really need to post more. A few friends have created blogs recently so that was another gentle reminder for me to start up this old engine again. Until the next post...which will hopefully be sooner than later...coocoocachoo:)
Monday, February 22, 2010
Pregnancy wheel app
So I finally got around to downloading the pregnancy wheel application on my blackberry although my OB rotation is ending this week. I know...kinda late! I was using the good old school method although practically every intern and resident has an iphone with the wheel application. What prompted me to finally download the app was a very LONG 24 hour call of constantly trying to locate the wheel in my overly stuffed white coat. It once took me five minutes fumbling through all four pockets. Grrrr!
Anyways, so I'm reading the reviews on the blackberry app site and just had to chuckle a little bit with all the expectant mothers rating the app with 1 or 2 stars because the wheel only provided the estimated date of delivery and current gestational date based on the last menstrual period. One reviewer was disappointed because the wheel did not approximate the size of the baby/fetus. I think the only good rating came from a nurse who said the dates were really accurate for the wards. All I kept thinking while reading these reviews was how far we have come with technology that a phone application can cause unwarranted anxiety to patients. I'm actually surprised I haven't yet come across a patient on this rotation who hasn't busted out with their iphone/blackberry with their own app and telling us their approximate due dates! The joys of technology...at least now I don't have to fumble through my pockets for the wheel and looking like a hot mess third year med student. As it is, that already happens enough times!
Anyways, so I'm reading the reviews on the blackberry app site and just had to chuckle a little bit with all the expectant mothers rating the app with 1 or 2 stars because the wheel only provided the estimated date of delivery and current gestational date based on the last menstrual period. One reviewer was disappointed because the wheel did not approximate the size of the baby/fetus. I think the only good rating came from a nurse who said the dates were really accurate for the wards. All I kept thinking while reading these reviews was how far we have come with technology that a phone application can cause unwarranted anxiety to patients. I'm actually surprised I haven't yet come across a patient on this rotation who hasn't busted out with their iphone/blackberry with their own app and telling us their approximate due dates! The joys of technology...at least now I don't have to fumble through my pockets for the wheel and looking like a hot mess third year med student. As it is, that already happens enough times!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Long weekend update
Gosh! It's been forever and a day since I last wrote. A million things have happened but I really can't update all of my activities since my last post so I will update on the past weekend/month. Right now I'm on my OB rotation. One word: AWESOME! I knew I would really like it and was about 90% sure that OB is what I want to go into before I started my rotation, but now I'm convinced this is what I really want to do. We have eight weeks of OB, so the first month (January) I spent doing inpatient. Looking back, I guess I worked really long hours but I didn't notice much (besides how much weight I lost!) because I loved being there everyday and didn't mind waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning to go to work. The weight loss probably came from not eating because I slept whenever I wasn't at the hospital, and that included most meals. What else...oh yeah! I delivered babies while I was on inpatient! The hospital I worked at was a serious baby catching factory so the opportunities to deliver are pretty much endless. By far, delivering a baby has been the coolest thing EVER! I totally forgot what the sex of the first baby (pretty sure it was a girl) was due to my initial shock and fear of dropping the poor thing that I forgot to look! I'm a mess.
On inpatient, I also got my first taste of "conversing" in Spanish because most of patients at this hospital (at least OB) are Spanish speakers only. I put it in quotation marks because it's really me butchering the language. I'm kicking myself for taking German in high school and then French in college instead of Spanish. I mean, really, when am I ever going to use either of the other two? So my plan is to buy the Rosetta stone language program for Spanish and ease my way into learning it.
So now I'm on outpatient mostly working at this large group practice. The pace is much slower, which is nice so I get more time to study for my shelf (end of rotation exam) in a couple weeks. Today is a holiday so we're all enjoying the long weekend that is coming off a long week off. DC just has the biggest snow storm in over a hundred years I guess. The President dubbed it "snowmaggedon" so now all my facebook and twitter friends have pictures of snow EVERYWHERE! I was in Dupont Circle last night for dinner and most of the cars were still buried in feet of snow. The cute little dump trucks that have been a permanent fixture all over the city for the past week and a half were still working late last night trying to get as much snow shipped out of the district before tonight and tomorrow's snowfall. Yes, we are getting more! I've come to realize that I'm not a fan of snow. Although DC doesn't really snow all that much (at least for the last two winters before this one), this snowpocalypse has given me enough reason to decide on going to the west coast for residency. I'm a fan of ocean, sand, heat, tanning lotion, and turtles. Concrete, snow, ice, and thick coats are the completely opposite.
On inpatient, I also got my first taste of "conversing" in Spanish because most of patients at this hospital (at least OB) are Spanish speakers only. I put it in quotation marks because it's really me butchering the language. I'm kicking myself for taking German in high school and then French in college instead of Spanish. I mean, really, when am I ever going to use either of the other two? So my plan is to buy the Rosetta stone language program for Spanish and ease my way into learning it.
So now I'm on outpatient mostly working at this large group practice. The pace is much slower, which is nice so I get more time to study for my shelf (end of rotation exam) in a couple weeks. Today is a holiday so we're all enjoying the long weekend that is coming off a long week off. DC just has the biggest snow storm in over a hundred years I guess. The President dubbed it "snowmaggedon" so now all my facebook and twitter friends have pictures of snow EVERYWHERE! I was in Dupont Circle last night for dinner and most of the cars were still buried in feet of snow. The cute little dump trucks that have been a permanent fixture all over the city for the past week and a half were still working late last night trying to get as much snow shipped out of the district before tonight and tomorrow's snowfall. Yes, we are getting more! I've come to realize that I'm not a fan of snow. Although DC doesn't really snow all that much (at least for the last two winters before this one), this snowpocalypse has given me enough reason to decide on going to the west coast for residency. I'm a fan of ocean, sand, heat, tanning lotion, and turtles. Concrete, snow, ice, and thick coats are the completely opposite.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Chimera
This is what Webster's defined as a chimera: an individual, organ, or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution. I wiki'd "chimera" first, but the definition was a little too "sciency" for the purpose of this post. Basically...my point here is that I recently discovered that my hair is in fact an example of a chimera. I recently got my hair trimmed (when I say recently, it usually means a range from 1-3 months) and the hair lady (yes, I cheated on my hair guy Kevin, but I was in Vegas in desperate need of major conditioning and apparently a trim as well) pointed out that I had two different kinds of hairs on my head. Weird!!
I, of course, knew this but it's a fact that I like to keep under wraps or on the low or on the low down dirty shame or in the hush hush...get the picture? Technically, my hair is curly...super curly in fact. But for some odd reason, the hair just above the nape of my neck is STRAIGHT. And it's not just a few random strands here and there. It's a whole spicy bunch of hair that is straight. When I flat iron my hair, there is no problemo. But what girl has the time to straight iron their hair everyday...especially when that girl has super thick samoan hair that even if you shaved half of it off to donate to Locks of Love, there's still enough left to hide the shaved parts.
The problem here happens when I maintain my "curly look", which basically entails me getting out of the shower, forcefully raking a comb through my hair and adding magical protein goop so that it doesn't look like Medusa's hair. An hour later when my hair is nice and dried, the straight hairs all come out and my head of hair proceed to look like two different people own my head...one takes the top of my head, the other takes the bottom.
It's soooo weird!!!!
I, of course, knew this but it's a fact that I like to keep under wraps or on the low or on the low down dirty shame or in the hush hush...get the picture? Technically, my hair is curly...super curly in fact. But for some odd reason, the hair just above the nape of my neck is STRAIGHT. And it's not just a few random strands here and there. It's a whole spicy bunch of hair that is straight. When I flat iron my hair, there is no problemo. But what girl has the time to straight iron their hair everyday...especially when that girl has super thick samoan hair that even if you shaved half of it off to donate to Locks of Love, there's still enough left to hide the shaved parts.
The problem here happens when I maintain my "curly look", which basically entails me getting out of the shower, forcefully raking a comb through my hair and adding magical protein goop so that it doesn't look like Medusa's hair. An hour later when my hair is nice and dried, the straight hairs all come out and my head of hair proceed to look like two different people own my head...one takes the top of my head, the other takes the bottom.
It's soooo weird!!!!
Monday, August 31, 2009
New trilogy on the shelf
I really cannot help this habit that I have. Whenever I travel, which happens to be quite a bit because I love to visit the familia in Vegas, I always stop by the newsstand or the bookstore in the airport to pick up something to read on my flight. I usually pack a book or two from my collection of unread books on my shelf at home before I travel so I don't have to spend money on yet more books. But...it never works out. I ALWAYS find something more interesting to read. This results in a bookshelf full of half-read books...all of them just waiting patiently for me to end their agony of sitting on my desk or beside my bed, all stacked up neatly one on top of the other.
I just realized this problem when I went home to my parent's house this past summer. Other than a high school photo on the wall, my old room doesn't really look like a room that I once inhabited...except for the books! My closet is full of them. The shelf has a pile and the floor of the closet has another pile. I even found some old books in the garage...still half-read! What a disaster. These books need a home, but yet they are still in lingo waiting for me to finish reading them and either put on a shelf or given away for someone else to read. Books are way too heavy for me to carry in my luggage. I have absolutely no trouble filling my suitcases to the maximum allotted weight with just clothes. Ask my friend Sala, who painstakingly helped me rearrange my clothes into HER SUITCASES throughout our entire trip in Australia just so I didn't have to pay the exorbitant luggage fees at the airport.
Oh gosh...I love how I start writing a post with the intention of describing what's on the title but it either never happens or it takes me forever and a day to get there. Anyways, I really hit the jackpot on my scavenger book hunt at the Las Vegas airport this past trip. I stumbled on the Mortal Instruments Trilogy by Cassandra Clare. If you're like me at the moment and totally depressed because not only is Harry Potter all grown up and married to Ginny without a named-but-should-be-nameless dark wizard to fight, but Bella and Edward also have a half-and-half vampire love clan of their own in the mountains of the Northwest (sorry for the tinsy spoiler for those who haven't finished reading). This leaves me without any extended novels about enchanted worlds to read! None! Until now...thanks to a bookstore in an airport.
Update: I have read the first two books in the MI Trilogy. I'm itching to buy the third book in the series: City of Glass. CAN'T WAIT!!!
I just realized this problem when I went home to my parent's house this past summer. Other than a high school photo on the wall, my old room doesn't really look like a room that I once inhabited...except for the books! My closet is full of them. The shelf has a pile and the floor of the closet has another pile. I even found some old books in the garage...still half-read! What a disaster. These books need a home, but yet they are still in lingo waiting for me to finish reading them and either put on a shelf or given away for someone else to read. Books are way too heavy for me to carry in my luggage. I have absolutely no trouble filling my suitcases to the maximum allotted weight with just clothes. Ask my friend Sala, who painstakingly helped me rearrange my clothes into HER SUITCASES throughout our entire trip in Australia just so I didn't have to pay the exorbitant luggage fees at the airport.
Oh gosh...I love how I start writing a post with the intention of describing what's on the title but it either never happens or it takes me forever and a day to get there. Anyways, I really hit the jackpot on my scavenger book hunt at the Las Vegas airport this past trip. I stumbled on the Mortal Instruments Trilogy by Cassandra Clare. If you're like me at the moment and totally depressed because not only is Harry Potter all grown up and married to Ginny without a named-but-should-be-nameless dark wizard to fight, but Bella and Edward also have a half-and-half vampire love clan of their own in the mountains of the Northwest (sorry for the tinsy spoiler for those who haven't finished reading). This leaves me without any extended novels about enchanted worlds to read! None! Until now...thanks to a bookstore in an airport.
Update: I have read the first two books in the MI Trilogy. I'm itching to buy the third book in the series: City of Glass. CAN'T WAIT!!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I never thought I would say this....
...but I officially hate flying. In the last month, I have been on ten airplanes and am getting on another one tomorrow morning to head back East. Don't get me wrong. I love traveling! But, I no longer have that uncontrollable excitement to get on an airplane anymore. I used to get all giddy because of all the free stuff you get on airplanes. (I used to collect airline blankets back in college. No one told me it wasn't free...don't judge me!) But now, nothing is free, really. Well, maybe the icky disgusting feeling of oily hair and congested face pimples that I always seem to get after every flight no matter how short the duration is.
To make matters worse, I can no longer sleep peacefully for long periods of time on any of my flights. Because I came back with a lovely DVT from my excursion in the Macchu Picchu mountains earlier this year, my doctor has recommended me to walk around on all flights every hour or so. It wasn't until I was doing aerobics with some 80 year old passengers in the back of my Qantas flight (going to New Zealand) did I realize that I really detest flying. Ugh...don't even get me started on the smell of the bathrooms on planes. Gross!
To make matters worse, I can no longer sleep peacefully for long periods of time on any of my flights. Because I came back with a lovely DVT from my excursion in the Macchu Picchu mountains earlier this year, my doctor has recommended me to walk around on all flights every hour or so. It wasn't until I was doing aerobics with some 80 year old passengers in the back of my Qantas flight (going to New Zealand) did I realize that I really detest flying. Ugh...don't even get me started on the smell of the bathrooms on planes. Gross!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Quote of the day
Came across this quote on twitter just now.
"I have an insatiable hunger for awesomeness...and a tireless pursuit for the amazing".
I like it. I'm going with it.
"I have an insatiable hunger for awesomeness...and a tireless pursuit for the amazing".
I like it. I'm going with it.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Tyranny of Popular Vote
This is an essay written by my Grandpa Janairo back in the 1930's. My dad has quoted parts of this essay since my childhood and luckily a copy was found recently. Thought I'd share it.
Tyranny of the Popular Vote
Man irks under the burden of compulsory obedience. It is repulsive to his sense of self respect that he should be made to follow blindly and to accept ungrudgingly that which is imposed upon him to be sheer superiority. He has revolted from spiritual tyranny when Martin Luther flung his memorable defiance in the Council of Nantes and declared that the human spirit can not be imprisoned by bigotry and fanaticism. Man struck the death knell of corporate tyranny when the days of the feudal lords were declared gone forever by the onrushing tide of human freedom embodied in the Magna Carta of England and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Political liberty has been since its birth the antithesis of tyranny. And yet, paradoxical as it may seem, it has brought about, by the strength of its ideal and the dynamic force of its principle, a new tyranny strong because its set is the masses, uncompromising because it springs from ignorance, powerful because it is regarded as the people’s voice. This offspring of democracy is the tyranny of popular vote.
Tyranny of the Popular Vote
Man irks under the burden of compulsory obedience. It is repulsive to his sense of self respect that he should be made to follow blindly and to accept ungrudgingly that which is imposed upon him to be sheer superiority. He has revolted from spiritual tyranny when Martin Luther flung his memorable defiance in the Council of Nantes and declared that the human spirit can not be imprisoned by bigotry and fanaticism. Man struck the death knell of corporate tyranny when the days of the feudal lords were declared gone forever by the onrushing tide of human freedom embodied in the Magna Carta of England and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Political liberty has been since its birth the antithesis of tyranny. And yet, paradoxical as it may seem, it has brought about, by the strength of its ideal and the dynamic force of its principle, a new tyranny strong because its set is the masses, uncompromising because it springs from ignorance, powerful because it is regarded as the people’s voice. This offspring of democracy is the tyranny of popular vote.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Need to write again
Wow....I cannot believe my last post was over a month ago! Crazy! I really need to start writing again. I'm actually back in Vegas to study for the boards. Finals finished last week Friday and that's all I have to say about that. Glad that's over with.
Because I will be here in Vegas for two months, my suitcases for traveling were both overweight but at least the guy at the US Airways counter felt so sorry for me (maybe I looked like a hot mess from packing and moving all weekend and from recovering from a huge hangover) that he let me check my begs without paying. Holla! He did give me some advice..."in the future, pack lighter". What a funny man.
So yeah, it's great to be back home. The heat is exhausting. I hung out with the parentals all day doing this and that and came home looking like a crispy lobster. Gotta love the heat in this city:) For dinner, we tried the new buffet at the new M hotel. OMG! By far, this has to be the best buffet in the city! They have free (as in included in the price) wine and beer. And because they had this station at the front entrance, the buffet really had me at hello:) All in all, a great day! Tomorrow...the real work starts.
Countdown to June 19th begins right now. Wish me luck!
Because I will be here in Vegas for two months, my suitcases for traveling were both overweight but at least the guy at the US Airways counter felt so sorry for me (maybe I looked like a hot mess from packing and moving all weekend and from recovering from a huge hangover) that he let me check my begs without paying. Holla! He did give me some advice..."in the future, pack lighter". What a funny man.
So yeah, it's great to be back home. The heat is exhausting. I hung out with the parentals all day doing this and that and came home looking like a crispy lobster. Gotta love the heat in this city:) For dinner, we tried the new buffet at the new M hotel. OMG! By far, this has to be the best buffet in the city! They have free (as in included in the price) wine and beer. And because they had this station at the front entrance, the buffet really had me at hello:) All in all, a great day! Tomorrow...the real work starts.
Countdown to June 19th begins right now. Wish me luck!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Chronic disease is depressing
It is. It may not be readily apparent but it's there...
I just got off the phone from a long conversation with a family member, whom I greatly admire and adore and our conversation made me feel a lot of things. Helplessness. Depressed. Sorrow. Admiration. It is a nice palm-sized slap of reality when I have these conversations and learn about other people's circumstances, because many times I am wrapped in a nice comfortable bubble...called medical school. I cannot believe I'm calling med school a comfortable situation, but it's all relative. Compared to my cousin's life right now, mine is just peachy.
It is peachy because I do not have a father who is sick and undergoing chemotherapy. It is peachy because I do not have to worry on a constant basis whether my father's lab results this week will require him to undergo another transfusion...one of a countless number that he's already been through. My life is peachy because I am not the one taking care of a patient who has a chronic medical condition that will eventually take his life and that patient is my own father.
My classmates and I often discuss the issue of managing chronic illnesses and how difficult that will be. Every patient is different and may not respond to the treatments you prescribe, especially in a condition like cancer. The treatment is steps beyond the fact that you have to break bad news to them and that they have to deal with the bad news you bring them. This doesn't even address the fact that you may not have all the answers...especially if you're not telling them the answers that they want to hear. Some people will have diabetes forever. It won't be cured. How depressing is that kind of news to anyone? In my uncle's condition, there is no known cure. There are treatments that can help prolong his life but the bottom line is, there is no cure.
So all I could offer my cousin in her time of need was a pair of ears and moments of reassurance that hopefully this treatment will work. And hopefully her dad will tolerate this treatment. And although her parents look at her as being the "bad guy" in the situation, what she is doing is admirable. She is taking care of her sick father to the best of her ability. Because he is her father and as a child, anyone would want to take care of their parents in any way possible.
It is tough when the lines between the "caretaker role" and being a daughter gets blurred. I am sorry she has to go through this. I'm sorry for anyone to have to go through that, especially the individual who has the condition.
As I evaluate the events of my day and remember the many moments of me complaining about how much life sucks because I am stressing about school, it's conversations like this that help me adjust the lens so that I tread purposefully (hopefully with fewer complaints) in the right direction of life education.
I just got off the phone from a long conversation with a family member, whom I greatly admire and adore and our conversation made me feel a lot of things. Helplessness. Depressed. Sorrow. Admiration. It is a nice palm-sized slap of reality when I have these conversations and learn about other people's circumstances, because many times I am wrapped in a nice comfortable bubble...called medical school. I cannot believe I'm calling med school a comfortable situation, but it's all relative. Compared to my cousin's life right now, mine is just peachy.
It is peachy because I do not have a father who is sick and undergoing chemotherapy. It is peachy because I do not have to worry on a constant basis whether my father's lab results this week will require him to undergo another transfusion...one of a countless number that he's already been through. My life is peachy because I am not the one taking care of a patient who has a chronic medical condition that will eventually take his life and that patient is my own father.
My classmates and I often discuss the issue of managing chronic illnesses and how difficult that will be. Every patient is different and may not respond to the treatments you prescribe, especially in a condition like cancer. The treatment is steps beyond the fact that you have to break bad news to them and that they have to deal with the bad news you bring them. This doesn't even address the fact that you may not have all the answers...especially if you're not telling them the answers that they want to hear. Some people will have diabetes forever. It won't be cured. How depressing is that kind of news to anyone? In my uncle's condition, there is no known cure. There are treatments that can help prolong his life but the bottom line is, there is no cure.
So all I could offer my cousin in her time of need was a pair of ears and moments of reassurance that hopefully this treatment will work. And hopefully her dad will tolerate this treatment. And although her parents look at her as being the "bad guy" in the situation, what she is doing is admirable. She is taking care of her sick father to the best of her ability. Because he is her father and as a child, anyone would want to take care of their parents in any way possible.
It is tough when the lines between the "caretaker role" and being a daughter gets blurred. I am sorry she has to go through this. I'm sorry for anyone to have to go through that, especially the individual who has the condition.
As I evaluate the events of my day and remember the many moments of me complaining about how much life sucks because I am stressing about school, it's conversations like this that help me adjust the lens so that I tread purposefully (hopefully with fewer complaints) in the right direction of life education.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Taking the beast out
Just doing some random test shots with my beast of a camera before I head out to Peru tomorrow. I'm overly excited at how many pictures I'll be getting this coming week! Wish me luck:)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
10th Annual Student Charity Auction
Hey hey!
This year I have the pleasure of co-chairing GW's annual student auction, which benefits the HEALing Clinic (GW's Student Clinic). Currently, it runs through the District of Columbia's Bread for the City Organization, which is an all-in-one non-profit entity that provides all types of services, including medical care, to those in need.
It's a combined effort as both the Classes of 2011 and 2012 are working together to fund-raise money through the student auction to help fund the running costs of our awesome clinic! These running costs include overhead expenses such as electricity, water, heat, etc...as well as labs and drugs for the patient. Physicians volunteer their time and students (us) are there to gain more experience and learn more about vulnerable populations who do not have health insurance, who may be homeless, or who do not have adequate health care coverage.
I worked at the HEALing Clinic last year and first learned how to take a patient's blood pressure (old school style...not with those fancy shmancy electronic bp machines), presented my first patient to an attending and got a peek into the lives of some of DC's poor residents, who sadly may have so many co-morbid conditions. This was my first lesson into primary care.
Anyways, the clinic does great work and has some awesome people running it who are very passionate about "serving the underserved". Remember that clever little "pull at your heart strings" answer everyone says at their medical school interview? Hahaha...
Well, we are having this fundraising auction on April 17th. If anyone would like to donate an item of any type (art, wine, basketball game tickets, ballet/theatre tickets, gift certificates) or if you have the hook-up anywhere, please let me know! And if you're in DC on that date, please feel free to join! We hope to have enough wine and food for everyone and of course...some mad bidding going on:)
To see a list of items: Goodies
This year I have the pleasure of co-chairing GW's annual student auction, which benefits the HEALing Clinic (GW's Student Clinic). Currently, it runs through the District of Columbia's Bread for the City Organization, which is an all-in-one non-profit entity that provides all types of services, including medical care, to those in need.
It's a combined effort as both the Classes of 2011 and 2012 are working together to fund-raise money through the student auction to help fund the running costs of our awesome clinic! These running costs include overhead expenses such as electricity, water, heat, etc...as well as labs and drugs for the patient. Physicians volunteer their time and students (us) are there to gain more experience and learn more about vulnerable populations who do not have health insurance, who may be homeless, or who do not have adequate health care coverage.
I worked at the HEALing Clinic last year and first learned how to take a patient's blood pressure (old school style...not with those fancy shmancy electronic bp machines), presented my first patient to an attending and got a peek into the lives of some of DC's poor residents, who sadly may have so many co-morbid conditions. This was my first lesson into primary care.
Anyways, the clinic does great work and has some awesome people running it who are very passionate about "serving the underserved". Remember that clever little "pull at your heart strings" answer everyone says at their medical school interview? Hahaha...
Well, we are having this fundraising auction on April 17th. If anyone would like to donate an item of any type (art, wine, basketball game tickets, ballet/theatre tickets, gift certificates) or if you have the hook-up anywhere, please let me know! And if you're in DC on that date, please feel free to join! We hope to have enough wine and food for everyone and of course...some mad bidding going on:)
To see a list of items: Goodies
Sunday, March 8, 2009
oh boards...
So I finally got enough courage to open up my USMLEWORLD account to start "studying" for Step 1. My subscription just recently started last weekend, but I needed a little motivation to actually open it up and start practicing with some questions. The motivation came from a small lecture one of our deans gave on Thursday about how we all should be practicing with questions at this time in our studies. "Should be"...are the key words here. For some unknown reason, I have it in my head that I can start studying when finals for this semester's courses are over...and it will all be okay with me passing in the end. Hahaha...I'm such a comedian sometimes.
Anyways...so I open my account and start taking these practice tests that I categorize by subject. I don't want to go into full blown depression about my lack of knowledge from the past two years of med school, so I create a test on my "easier" subjects like Biostatistics and Psychiatry. Boy did I get a rude awakening! Who knew that specificity and sensitivity can be plotted on a graph against each other?! *sigh*
After one test, I realized that I need to re-evaluate the rest of my semester. So...I decided to head to the kitchen to cook myself lunch, dinner, and food for the next couple days. "I can't think straight on an empty stomach" was a good enough reason to procrastinate studying even more. Then came my laundry. And now, blogging about the fact that I NEED TO START STUDYING! AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Ok, I'm done. I will go study now. I feel much better after venting/justifying/procrastinating on blogger.
Anyways...so I open my account and start taking these practice tests that I categorize by subject. I don't want to go into full blown depression about my lack of knowledge from the past two years of med school, so I create a test on my "easier" subjects like Biostatistics and Psychiatry. Boy did I get a rude awakening! Who knew that specificity and sensitivity can be plotted on a graph against each other?! *sigh*
After one test, I realized that I need to re-evaluate the rest of my semester. So...I decided to head to the kitchen to cook myself lunch, dinner, and food for the next couple days. "I can't think straight on an empty stomach" was a good enough reason to procrastinate studying even more. Then came my laundry. And now, blogging about the fact that I NEED TO START STUDYING! AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Ok, I'm done. I will go study now. I feel much better after venting/justifying/procrastinating on blogger.
Gmail's backgrounds
So I've been trying out the different backgrounds for gmail in the last few days. Since I spend a substantial amount of time looking at emails, I might as well enjoy the scenery. I was only prompted to try out the different options recently, though. Since this feature came out, I had the "ninja" theme. I find it really cute that at the very bottom of my email page, the ninja husband and ninja wife are eating dinner together. I like to think this happens around my dinner time in the evening, but alas, i discovered that the ninja meal is a semi-permanent fixture. Wouldn't that be cool though? I think there's one theme where the time of day and the weather in your city will be displayed on your screen as part of the themed background....I think. Unless I'm totally making this up. Anyways...I tried the different themes and am now back to the ninjas. I can't seem to let them go just yet.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Twitter-nation
I am in "Status update heaven"! It's official...I found my new crack and it's Twitter.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Concert update
I went to see Missy Higgins play at the 9:30 club this past Monday, and I was floored at how amazing she was live! Amazing! Lenka, a fellow Aussie (oy! oy! oy!), opened for her. What an adorable girl she is:) She had birds and little toy animals strategically placed all over the stage. It was great for me...because I like looking at the entire stage setup including whats on the ground and what color the mic is and all that jazz. It just made me smile every time I found little fake cute birds swinging from her band's instruments. Luckily, I was close enough to see all these things...center stage and front row. I also saw the list of the whole set Missy was planning to play for the night. Sadly, the "Special Two" wasn't on the list. But...holla at your girl! Front row and center! And we didn't get to the club that early either. However, it was also a snow day in the District so I guess people were less inclined to stand in the cold too far in advance before the concert started.
It's so bad now, though, because I was listening to Missy on my ipod this morning on my way to school but I had to switch to another artist because she was absolutely amazing live that I can't really listen to her recorded stuff just yet.
On another note, she played this instrument that I have never seen before. It sounds just like a harmonica but you blow air into this tube that is connected to a tiny little piano. Does anyone know what this instrument is called? Lol...it's such a cute little thing!
It's so bad now, though, because I was listening to Missy on my ipod this morning on my way to school but I had to switch to another artist because she was absolutely amazing live that I can't really listen to her recorded stuff just yet.
On another note, she played this instrument that I have never seen before. It sounds just like a harmonica but you blow air into this tube that is connected to a tiny little piano. Does anyone know what this instrument is called? Lol...it's such a cute little thing!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
An angel in Hell
I was just about ready to start studying when I came across this link to an article on Glamour magazine by Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues). She traveled deep into the Republic of Congo to follow the work of Dr. Denis Mukwege, who runs the OB/GYN ward at Panzi Hospital.
Ms. Ensler warns readers before-hand of the horrors you will read in this article, but what is astonishing is how mind-blowing femicide has become in this region of the world. Everyone hears about the stories of rape victims and they are all traumatic. However, reading through the individual accounts from the survivors of these atrocities gives me chills knowing that there are human beings that are capable of such destruction.
I believe the author makes an excellent point in her article in saying that these acts of violence are done to achieve a goal: destroying the human soul. My heart broke in reading about how strong these women are and how they are able to live each day with hope. It is a comfort knowing that there are amazing people, like Dr. Mukwege around in this world, who dedicate their lives to repairing the after-math of inhumane violence.
Here's an excerpt from the article quoting Dr. Mukwege on why he became a physician: “My father was a pastor. He was very gentle, very human. From him I got the caring to treat patients. When we would go and visit sick people together, he would pray. I would ask, ‘Why can’t you give them tablets or prescriptions?’ He said, ‘I am not a doctor.’ I decided then that prayer is not enough. People must take things into their own hands. Asking God does not change anything. He gives us the ability to say yes or no. You must use your hands, your mind. When I receive women here who are hungry, I can’t say, ‘God bless you.’ I have to give them something to eat. When someone is suffering, I can’t tell her about God, I have to treat her pain. You can’t hide yourself in religion. Not a solution.”
In this part of the world, Dr. Mukwege is the doctor, healer, pastor, prayer leader, comforter, advocate and listener...I'll add one more to the list: inspiration.
Ms. Ensler warns readers before-hand of the horrors you will read in this article, but what is astonishing is how mind-blowing femicide has become in this region of the world. Everyone hears about the stories of rape victims and they are all traumatic. However, reading through the individual accounts from the survivors of these atrocities gives me chills knowing that there are human beings that are capable of such destruction.
I believe the author makes an excellent point in her article in saying that these acts of violence are done to achieve a goal: destroying the human soul. My heart broke in reading about how strong these women are and how they are able to live each day with hope. It is a comfort knowing that there are amazing people, like Dr. Mukwege around in this world, who dedicate their lives to repairing the after-math of inhumane violence.
Here's an excerpt from the article quoting Dr. Mukwege on why he became a physician: “My father was a pastor. He was very gentle, very human. From him I got the caring to treat patients. When we would go and visit sick people together, he would pray. I would ask, ‘Why can’t you give them tablets or prescriptions?’ He said, ‘I am not a doctor.’ I decided then that prayer is not enough. People must take things into their own hands. Asking God does not change anything. He gives us the ability to say yes or no. You must use your hands, your mind. When I receive women here who are hungry, I can’t say, ‘God bless you.’ I have to give them something to eat. When someone is suffering, I can’t tell her about God, I have to treat her pain. You can’t hide yourself in religion. Not a solution.”
In this part of the world, Dr. Mukwege is the doctor, healer, pastor, prayer leader, comforter, advocate and listener...I'll add one more to the list: inspiration.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Induced labor
Today I saw seven patients with my preceptor, which is the most I have ever seen on a given afternoon in her office. Usually there are two other students besides myself and today there was only one, so maybe that's why I was able to see more patients.
There was nothing too out of the ordinary with today's patients. There was one lady who had an aweful year with both her grandmother and mother passing away within a month of each other. That's so aweful. She also was on a job placement abroad with her spouse when the hotel they were staying at was bombed by terrorists. Yikes! That's a story you don't hear everyday. I always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, because I never know what to say. Death in the family is one thing and I can empathize with that, but a near death experience from a bomb!?! Hmmm.... "that must have been so frightening!" I think my eye balls nearly popping out of its sockets was enough concern for my patient's taste.
On a side note, another patient wanted to be induced into labor on Friday the 13th. Now that's a first. Usually people attempt to stay hidden under something sturdy in fear of something terrible happening to them on Friday the 13th. I know I tread through my day a little more carefully on 04/20 because I went to a high school that constantly had bomb threats on that day to celebrate the Columbine shootings. So this patient has an interesting outlook on life requesting this date. But maybe she wants her baby born on Valentine's Day...who knows. However, she was told by my preceptor that if she was induced on Friday, she will likely have her baby that day. I'm secretly rooting for her to have her baby on Saturday, though...just to be on the safe side.
There was nothing too out of the ordinary with today's patients. There was one lady who had an aweful year with both her grandmother and mother passing away within a month of each other. That's so aweful. She also was on a job placement abroad with her spouse when the hotel they were staying at was bombed by terrorists. Yikes! That's a story you don't hear everyday. I always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, because I never know what to say. Death in the family is one thing and I can empathize with that, but a near death experience from a bomb!?! Hmmm.... "that must have been so frightening!" I think my eye balls nearly popping out of its sockets was enough concern for my patient's taste.
On a side note, another patient wanted to be induced into labor on Friday the 13th. Now that's a first. Usually people attempt to stay hidden under something sturdy in fear of something terrible happening to them on Friday the 13th. I know I tread through my day a little more carefully on 04/20 because I went to a high school that constantly had bomb threats on that day to celebrate the Columbine shootings. So this patient has an interesting outlook on life requesting this date. But maybe she wants her baby born on Valentine's Day...who knows. However, she was told by my preceptor that if she was induced on Friday, she will likely have her baby that day. I'm secretly rooting for her to have her baby on Saturday, though...just to be on the safe side.
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