Showing posts with label medical school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medical school. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2009
dress!
i was shadowing an anesthetist today, and the female surgeon in the OR had on a scrub material dress! cool!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
funeral home, then duluth.
i spent a day in cloquet shadowing a mortician/funeral director. it was kind of a quirky day. i'm always the only student shadowing at each site everyday, but for whatever reason, today nick (another student in my class also doing this internship) was scheduled with me at the funeral home. i think it worked out really well, since while usually when i am shadowing it is nice to have the one on one attention from the physician or nurse (etc), today it was nice to have a buddy. it wasn't the dead bodies that bothered me, but the strange/strong personality that makes a funeral director. i think i might have felt a little uncomfortable there on my own.
that said, the funeral director was incredibly nice. he even bought us lunch at mexico lindo. which, coincidentally, someone had mentioned to me on tuesday as the best mexican food ever. it was decent. i had a chimichanga.
we were let out of there early since not much was going on, and since we were now only 20 miles from duluth, we went on a spontaneous adventure to duluth! we saw the waters of lake superior, saw the bridge go up and a giant boat go through, climbed big rocks, skipped little rocks, visited the visitor center, and browsed some shops. IT WAS SO COLD. but it seemed a shame not to go, so we braved it. canal park in duluth seems like it was be really nice and fun if it was warm out.
that said, the funeral director was incredibly nice. he even bought us lunch at mexico lindo. which, coincidentally, someone had mentioned to me on tuesday as the best mexican food ever. it was decent. i had a chimichanga.
we were let out of there early since not much was going on, and since we were now only 20 miles from duluth, we went on a spontaneous adventure to duluth! we saw the waters of lake superior, saw the bridge go up and a giant boat go through, climbed big rocks, skipped little rocks, visited the visitor center, and browsed some shops. IT WAS SO COLD. but it seemed a shame not to go, so we braved it. canal park in duluth seems like it was be really nice and fun if it was warm out.
Monday, July 13, 2009
beets: my new favorite food!
got lazy today. after a day in outpatient oncology, i found myself in ER for a few hours. by the time i got back to walter's house at about 6:30p, i was hungry and tired. no biking, just made dinner. boiled round yellow beets and long red beets, beet greens, and an apple cinnamon brat.
then did i make mac 'n cheese?!
no way! with the left over yellow and red beet juice, i dyed some pasta orange! saved for the next few days. i tasted some; the flavor is SO GOOD!
back to blogging about my food. some things never change.
then did i make mac 'n cheese?!
no way! with the left over yellow and red beet juice, i dyed some pasta orange! saved for the next few days. i tasted some; the flavor is SO GOOD!
back to blogging about my food. some things never change.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
super pleasant sunday!
yesterday dr. reed (who i had shadowed in the ER on tuesday) called to invite me to her home for sunday! so this morning i set off on a series of gravel roads to her property. i got there at 9a, in time to watch her (and even try my own hand at!) milking her goats! she's got a nice little barn with milking goats, kids, egg laying chickens, barn cats, and a pretty little horse! she brought a large pail of goat's milk in, and i got to watch her make cheese! it's amazing that with the milk of the two goats she milks day and night, dr. reed makes cheese, yogurt, cream, buttermilk, and ice cream.
the property that she has made her home is pretty amazing. she has miles of trails for hiking, lots of maple trees that she taps for sap and actually makes her own maple syrup, a patch (at least) of wild blueberries near the house, lots of trees some of which became the lumber that is her house and her other buildings, solar panels and a wind turbine that is sufficient for 96% of her power needs, compost piles that date back 3 years, and an amazing vegetable garden. she has a greenhouse to get her plants going, then a large outside garden, then another part of her garden that is covered by a hoop house and can stay warmer, then yet another part of her garden that she plants vegetables that can grow more toward winter (at which point she can pull the hoop house over to cover the winter garden). she plants snow peas, shelled peas, green beans, celery, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, different lettuces, different peppers, newt potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, horseradish, fennel, beets, every kind of tomato, many kinds of chilies, garlic, different shaped eggplants, asparagus, melons, watermelons, pumpkins, squash, strawberries, raspberries, many kinds of other berries, a couple of different apple trees (just from what i remember), and more! then near the house, she has a giant herb garden, with many herbs i have heard of and many more i have not. she has a few different cold rooms in her basement of different coldnesses where she can store a lot of her fruits and vegetables and cheese to eat over the winter. her maple syrup operation is also quite impressive! the trees are tapped, with tubbing that runs all around and into a reservoir, which then has tubing that runs the sap to the syrup house where they have to boil the sap down 25:1 to make syrup. on her property, she has vegetables, dairy products, eggs, and maple syrup (which she uses in the place of sugar for everything) to sustain her and her husband, and a lot extra of many things to give away to friends. i think sustainability is a huge goal of her and her husband!
it was such a pleasant sunday; dr. reed showed me all around her place and we chatted while she made cheese, watered her flower gardens, and made killer blueberry wild rice pancakes! it's amazing that she began to build her home and life on this property at the start of medical school, and even had goats to milk before school started. she really knew what she wanted both in her career and in her life, and went all out for it!
i watched her make those pancakes, but forgot to take mental note of the recipe. i want to document what i remember so that maybe i can recreate it sometime. 1C whole wheat flour + 1C whole wheat pastry flour + 1Tbs baking soda + baking powder (?) + pinch of salt. 1/2 a stick of melted butter + 3 egg yolks + 1/4C maple syrup. combine dry stuff + liquid stuff + goat buttermilk + vanilla (?) + goat milk until correct consistency. then fold in cooked wild rice + blueberries. lastly fold in the egg whites, which were first beaten until stiff. butter the hot griddle and make pancakes! i don't know if i have forgotten ingredients or messed up the order, but doesn't it sound delicious?! we had these amazing pancakes with butter and her maple syrup, plus easy over eggs from her hens, and coffee with goat milk cream. she also sent me home with a bottle of her syrup!
i got back to walker's house a little after 4p, was still feeling lazy after yesterday's biking, but decided the two pancakes and two eggs (one brown, one green!) i had earlier merited some sort of physical activity. i biked a leisurely 12.5 miles round trip just past sturgeon lake (going south) and back. i wanted to make it to this gorgeous farm/ranch i saw last time on my way to willow river. apparently it is owned privately by a family. the building on the left is the house, and the equally gorgeous building on the right is the barn!
the munger trail basically runs right next to hwy61. here's a nice little stretch of the hwy with tall, straight pine trees lining the side!
there you have it in terms of pictures of the munger trail. two posts back were pictures of the trail going north of moose lake, and this post is going south. the rest in between is more or less the same. at least the part that i have ridden, which is about a 30 mile stretch from finlayson to mahtowa.
the property that she has made her home is pretty amazing. she has miles of trails for hiking, lots of maple trees that she taps for sap and actually makes her own maple syrup, a patch (at least) of wild blueberries near the house, lots of trees some of which became the lumber that is her house and her other buildings, solar panels and a wind turbine that is sufficient for 96% of her power needs, compost piles that date back 3 years, and an amazing vegetable garden. she has a greenhouse to get her plants going, then a large outside garden, then another part of her garden that is covered by a hoop house and can stay warmer, then yet another part of her garden that she plants vegetables that can grow more toward winter (at which point she can pull the hoop house over to cover the winter garden). she plants snow peas, shelled peas, green beans, celery, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, different lettuces, different peppers, newt potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, horseradish, fennel, beets, every kind of tomato, many kinds of chilies, garlic, different shaped eggplants, asparagus, melons, watermelons, pumpkins, squash, strawberries, raspberries, many kinds of other berries, a couple of different apple trees (just from what i remember), and more! then near the house, she has a giant herb garden, with many herbs i have heard of and many more i have not. she has a few different cold rooms in her basement of different coldnesses where she can store a lot of her fruits and vegetables and cheese to eat over the winter. her maple syrup operation is also quite impressive! the trees are tapped, with tubbing that runs all around and into a reservoir, which then has tubing that runs the sap to the syrup house where they have to boil the sap down 25:1 to make syrup. on her property, she has vegetables, dairy products, eggs, and maple syrup (which she uses in the place of sugar for everything) to sustain her and her husband, and a lot extra of many things to give away to friends. i think sustainability is a huge goal of her and her husband!
it was such a pleasant sunday; dr. reed showed me all around her place and we chatted while she made cheese, watered her flower gardens, and made killer blueberry wild rice pancakes! it's amazing that she began to build her home and life on this property at the start of medical school, and even had goats to milk before school started. she really knew what she wanted both in her career and in her life, and went all out for it!
i watched her make those pancakes, but forgot to take mental note of the recipe. i want to document what i remember so that maybe i can recreate it sometime. 1C whole wheat flour + 1C whole wheat pastry flour + 1Tbs baking soda + baking powder (?) + pinch of salt. 1/2 a stick of melted butter + 3 egg yolks + 1/4C maple syrup. combine dry stuff + liquid stuff + goat buttermilk + vanilla (?) + goat milk until correct consistency. then fold in cooked wild rice + blueberries. lastly fold in the egg whites, which were first beaten until stiff. butter the hot griddle and make pancakes! i don't know if i have forgotten ingredients or messed up the order, but doesn't it sound delicious?! we had these amazing pancakes with butter and her maple syrup, plus easy over eggs from her hens, and coffee with goat milk cream. she also sent me home with a bottle of her syrup!
i got back to walker's house a little after 4p, was still feeling lazy after yesterday's biking, but decided the two pancakes and two eggs (one brown, one green!) i had earlier merited some sort of physical activity. i biked a leisurely 12.5 miles round trip just past sturgeon lake (going south) and back. i wanted to make it to this gorgeous farm/ranch i saw last time on my way to willow river. apparently it is owned privately by a family. the building on the left is the house, and the equally gorgeous building on the right is the barn!
the munger trail basically runs right next to hwy61. here's a nice little stretch of the hwy with tall, straight pine trees lining the side!
there you have it in terms of pictures of the munger trail. two posts back were pictures of the trail going north of moose lake, and this post is going south. the rest in between is more or less the same. at least the part that i have ridden, which is about a 30 mile stretch from finlayson to mahtowa.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
i am doomed to have strange tans
didn't go biking thursday because i got back late from camp heartland. friday i was touring the hospital's lab for 2 hours in the morning, and then at the retail pharmacy in the clinic across the parking lot following a pharmD student (who had a stash of almonds in his white coat pocket and would pop 1 or 2 almonds every 20 mintues or so) around. we got let out at 1:30p (instead of 5p)! so i decided to go for another bike ride! i was really tired, but somehow i still made it relatively easily to mahtowa (25 miles!) and back. the sun was super shiny on the way there, and when i got back i realized i finally got a sunburn. but instead of evening out my farmer's tan, i basically only burned my back because i sit so forward on my bike! + all sorts of straps: bag, camera, bra, tank top...it's a riot back there!
i finally took my camera along, which made me realize even more that, although the trail is wonderfully paved, there is really not a whole lot to see along the way.
after getting back from biking friday evening, i realized my tires were pretty flat. i went to alco and bought a super light tire pump and, on impulse, bought a little "bike computer"!
saturday morning i went on a search for a farmer's market! there is one grocery store in moose lake, and it is kind of crappy and not cheap. some people had mentioned that there might be a farmer's market on saturday in the parking lot of the hockey arena...and there it was! there were only 2 stands...apparently it is still early in farmer's market season. i purchased round yellow beets and long red beets, romaine, onions, some big round purple root thing, green beans, and a cantelope.
then set off (toward the south) for my bike adventure to finlayson! the whole trail has been really flat so far, but near finlayson there is a group of hills. i had to get off my bike twice, once on the way there and once on the way back ;( but it was fun to climb the hills and even more fun to go down them! i totaled 38.6 miles today! i was so tired the last 5 miles. and with my new bike computer, i've realized...i'm a really slowwww biker...i averaged 10.6mi/hr ;(
finally back, i was exhausted. i drove back to mahtowa to purchase some brats. apparently tj's corner store has the best brats. when i biked there, i couldn't really buy brats and bike back with them. for dinner, i had boiled yellow beets, steamed beet greens, and a chicken wild rice brat. it was DELICIOUS! i had never made beets before, i never thought i liked them, but the yellow beets were SO GOOD and sweet. i thought about taking a picture of my dinner, but then i was too tired and hungry, so alas, no picture.
maybe next time i'll actually blog about why i am here, the internship.
i finally took my camera along, which made me realize even more that, although the trail is wonderfully paved, there is really not a whole lot to see along the way.
after getting back from biking friday evening, i realized my tires were pretty flat. i went to alco and bought a super light tire pump and, on impulse, bought a little "bike computer"!
saturday morning i went on a search for a farmer's market! there is one grocery store in moose lake, and it is kind of crappy and not cheap. some people had mentioned that there might be a farmer's market on saturday in the parking lot of the hockey arena...and there it was! there were only 2 stands...apparently it is still early in farmer's market season. i purchased round yellow beets and long red beets, romaine, onions, some big round purple root thing, green beans, and a cantelope.
then set off (toward the south) for my bike adventure to finlayson! the whole trail has been really flat so far, but near finlayson there is a group of hills. i had to get off my bike twice, once on the way there and once on the way back ;( but it was fun to climb the hills and even more fun to go down them! i totaled 38.6 miles today! i was so tired the last 5 miles. and with my new bike computer, i've realized...i'm a really slowwww biker...i averaged 10.6mi/hr ;(
finally back, i was exhausted. i drove back to mahtowa to purchase some brats. apparently tj's corner store has the best brats. when i biked there, i couldn't really buy brats and bike back with them. for dinner, i had boiled yellow beets, steamed beet greens, and a chicken wild rice brat. it was DELICIOUS! i had never made beets before, i never thought i liked them, but the yellow beets were SO GOOD and sweet. i thought about taking a picture of my dinner, but then i was too tired and hungry, so alas, no picture.
maybe next time i'll actually blog about why i am here, the internship.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
tired.
biked to barnum and back. i think about 12 miles. my butt is starting to hurt...
schedule of last 3 days:
monday. met with CFO of the hospital; occupational therapy
tuesday. ER
wednesday. quality improvement meeting; hospital pharmacy; chiropractor
take home message: paperwork, paperwork, paperwork
blah!
schedule of last 3 days:
monday. met with CFO of the hospital; occupational therapy
tuesday. ER
wednesday. quality improvement meeting; hospital pharmacy; chiropractor
take home message: paperwork, paperwork, paperwork
blah!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
i am in moose lake!
after a brief hiatus...back by popular demand! ha!
i am in moose lake, mn!
after an uneventful but glorious drive up i35...an awesome hwy: smooth, divided, sunny, blue skies, white puffy clouds, 80 degrees outside! there was a slight traffic jam on i35 heading south, all the people coming back from their 4th of july weekends, but i guess not many people heading up north at the end of a long weekend!
walters house, where i am staying, is modest, but new: 4 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 living room/dining area, 1 fully equipped kitchen, central air. right now i'm on "moose lake wifi 214". is moose lake all on wireless? wow what a savy place. it's definitely a step up from phi rho. also, walters house essentially shares its parking lot with mercy hospital, where i will be doing most of my internshiping, so extremely convenient. unfortunately i have no roommates at the moment, and am not sure when i will get any, so it's quite lonesome here. so far i have settled in, made a giant pot of celery+carrots+chicken+pasta. and a sandwich for lunch tomorrow. some things never change.
tomorrow i will start to explore moose lake. i am most excited about: <http://www.munger-trail.com/traillogs.html>. too bad i can't ride a segment of it each day.
anyway, for those who are still interested in getting honors for summer session! yesterday i realized that moose lake is only 1hr45mins from phi rho...so all the noncampers+kalie should come up and camp one weekend!!! unfortunately i am not allowed to have any guests at walters house, but i bet there is good camping around here! or you guys should come up and bike with me for the day!
thus is the start of my 1 month summer internship in medicine (sim) in rural minnesota! i realized on the drive up that my summer is going to be all about going back to my "roots". even though i have lived in mn since i was 2 (save the 4 years of undergraduate), rochester is hardly representative of mn. for the first half of my summer i am going to experience up north mn for the first time! and then later, i'll take it back even further and go to taiwan for 3 weeks!
and so it begins.
i am in moose lake, mn!
after an uneventful but glorious drive up i35...an awesome hwy: smooth, divided, sunny, blue skies, white puffy clouds, 80 degrees outside! there was a slight traffic jam on i35 heading south, all the people coming back from their 4th of july weekends, but i guess not many people heading up north at the end of a long weekend!
walters house, where i am staying, is modest, but new: 4 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 living room/dining area, 1 fully equipped kitchen, central air. right now i'm on "moose lake wifi 214". is moose lake all on wireless? wow what a savy place. it's definitely a step up from phi rho. also, walters house essentially shares its parking lot with mercy hospital, where i will be doing most of my internshiping, so extremely convenient. unfortunately i have no roommates at the moment, and am not sure when i will get any, so it's quite lonesome here. so far i have settled in, made a giant pot of celery+carrots+chicken+pasta. and a sandwich for lunch tomorrow. some things never change.
tomorrow i will start to explore moose lake. i am most excited about: <http://www.munger-trail.com/traillogs.html>. too bad i can't ride a segment of it each day.
anyway, for those who are still interested in getting honors for summer session! yesterday i realized that moose lake is only 1hr45mins from phi rho...so all the noncampers+kalie should come up and camp one weekend!!! unfortunately i am not allowed to have any guests at walters house, but i bet there is good camping around here! or you guys should come up and bike with me for the day!
thus is the start of my 1 month summer internship in medicine (sim) in rural minnesota! i realized on the drive up that my summer is going to be all about going back to my "roots". even though i have lived in mn since i was 2 (save the 4 years of undergraduate), rochester is hardly representative of mn. for the first half of my summer i am going to experience up north mn for the first time! and then later, i'll take it back even further and go to taiwan for 3 weeks!
and so it begins.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
projects...
i haven't posted in a while. since, i've been super crafty!
starting with halloween ('08), i convinced my roommate to dress up as "things that are striped" after being inspired to wear ribbon!! she went as a zebra and i as a busy bumble bee! i wore a black shirt and pinned yellow ribbon all around me. too bad you cannot see my wings in this picture. miraculously, they turned out quite like insect wings, wire frame, white plastic bag body, and kind of tear-drop-shaped and turned down.
next i tried to think of something cute and practical to give my friends for christmas.
blank canvas totes with felt cutouts, sewed on by embroidery floss. all, of course, signed by me!
but maybe the best part of christmas was that i embroidered our stockings!
and then, after my first experience with an advent calender, it was off to winter break! i couldn't believe i had finished a semester of med school, 1/4 of our classes before step 1 of the boards. it had been a productive semester (wrt to projects anyway).
after the initial bento making burst, i had not kept up the lunches like i thought i might. right before break, i went to an asian grocery store and found some rice molds and veggie cutters! my second semester lunches don't quite live up to first semester, but i've been doing some interesting things with meatballs. [turkey+tofu+celery or turkey+tofu+bittermelon or turkey+tofu+eggplant or turkey+canned pumpkin (my favorite)]
finally, last thursday, i went to school for 8am class, but was 5 minutes late. so...i just decided to skip the whole day. i built a layout (and designed the logo!) for pnc's new newsletter!
then the second half of my day i made a birthday card for albert with all the extra felt i still have.
my roommate (the zebra) and i topped the day off with a grocery trip. it was the perfect day.
starting with halloween ('08), i convinced my roommate to dress up as "things that are striped" after being inspired to wear ribbon!! she went as a zebra and i as a busy bumble bee! i wore a black shirt and pinned yellow ribbon all around me. too bad you cannot see my wings in this picture. miraculously, they turned out quite like insect wings, wire frame, white plastic bag body, and kind of tear-drop-shaped and turned down.
next i tried to think of something cute and practical to give my friends for christmas.
blank canvas totes with felt cutouts, sewed on by embroidery floss. all, of course, signed by me!
but maybe the best part of christmas was that i embroidered our stockings!
and then, after my first experience with an advent calender, it was off to winter break! i couldn't believe i had finished a semester of med school, 1/4 of our classes before step 1 of the boards. it had been a productive semester (wrt to projects anyway).
after the initial bento making burst, i had not kept up the lunches like i thought i might. right before break, i went to an asian grocery store and found some rice molds and veggie cutters! my second semester lunches don't quite live up to first semester, but i've been doing some interesting things with meatballs. [turkey+tofu+celery or turkey+tofu+bittermelon or turkey+tofu+eggplant or turkey+canned pumpkin (my favorite)]
finally, last thursday, i went to school for 8am class, but was 5 minutes late. so...i just decided to skip the whole day. i built a layout (and designed the logo!) for pnc's new newsletter!
then the second half of my day i made a birthday card for albert with all the extra felt i still have.
my roommate (the zebra) and i topped the day off with a grocery trip. it was the perfect day.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
exam question
an old exam question from my biochem class:
While of the following statements is FALSE? DNA chips:
a) can be used for detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms and for measuring the levels of mRNAs.
b) refer to DNA adhered to a surface that is available for base pairing with a complementary probe.
c) can have hundreds of thousands of unique sequences on a single chip slightly greater than 1 square centimeter.
d) have been used to show that different cancer cells have distinct patterns of gene expression.
e) are now the currency of preference at Las Vegas casinos.
i hate when they write such ridiculously obvious questions. i'd rather that they write a really easy question that is not so obvious so i can at least feel good about myself when i get it right.
o yeah, the answer is "e".
While of the following statements is FALSE? DNA chips:
a) can be used for detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms and for measuring the levels of mRNAs.
b) refer to DNA adhered to a surface that is available for base pairing with a complementary probe.
c) can have hundreds of thousands of unique sequences on a single chip slightly greater than 1 square centimeter.
d) have been used to show that different cancer cells have distinct patterns of gene expression.
e) are now the currency of preference at Las Vegas casinos.
i hate when they write such ridiculously obvious questions. i'd rather that they write a really easy question that is not so obvious so i can at least feel good about myself when i get it right.
o yeah, the answer is "e".
Saturday, August 30, 2008
med school + mid life crisis
it's been 3 weeks of med school.
9 days of lecture + anatomy lab, 4 study days, 1 written exam + 1 practical exam, and so far 3 days of partying + class/lab + general laziness
i feel like i've been at this forever. there is no easing into med school, you just get thrown into the cold cold water. but after two solid weeks of studying, and taking the exam, and getting my score back, i finally feel i can do the next 2 years. i had definitely never studied so much in my life.
at the same time, i know i can't carry on continuously like i did the past two weeks. i had a mini mid life crisis today and went out and bought watercolors and brushes. so here i am, writing, listening to the song shauna and i recorded, and looking at a flower i painted and taped to my wall. i find a little comfort in my creations.
on painting: inspired by vermeer, i wanted to paint clouds, but when i started, i realized that to paint watercolor clouds you have to paint blue around them to make the white clouds and that all of a sudden seemed extremely difficult. flowers are probably the lamest and easiest to paint with watercolors. hopefully next time i'll challenge myself a little more.
also, i just got a sore throat.
9 days of lecture + anatomy lab, 4 study days, 1 written exam + 1 practical exam, and so far 3 days of partying + class/lab + general laziness
i feel like i've been at this forever. there is no easing into med school, you just get thrown into the cold cold water. but after two solid weeks of studying, and taking the exam, and getting my score back, i finally feel i can do the next 2 years. i had definitely never studied so much in my life.
at the same time, i know i can't carry on continuously like i did the past two weeks. i had a mini mid life crisis today and went out and bought watercolors and brushes. so here i am, writing, listening to the song shauna and i recorded, and looking at a flower i painted and taped to my wall. i find a little comfort in my creations.
on painting: inspired by vermeer, i wanted to paint clouds, but when i started, i realized that to paint watercolor clouds you have to paint blue around them to make the white clouds and that all of a sudden seemed extremely difficult. flowers are probably the lamest and easiest to paint with watercolors. hopefully next time i'll challenge myself a little more.
also, i just got a sore throat.
Monday, August 11, 2008
blindness
i feel like in asian dramas, going blind is a big archetype, and usually it is caused by an accident like falling. is it that easy to go blind from falling? hopefully we learn this in medical school...
Friday, August 8, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
we the living
this is why i want to be a doctor:
"Comrade Commissar, you see, I love him. And he is sick. You know what sickness is? It's something strange that happens in your body and then you can't stop it. And then he dies. And now his life--it depends on some words and a piece of paper--and it's so simple when you just look at it as it is--it's only something made by us, ourselves, and perhaps we're right, and perhaps we're wrong, but the chance we're taking on it is frightful, isn't it? They won't send him to a sanatorium because they didn't write his name on a piece of paper with many other names and call it a membership in a Trade Union. It's only ink, you know, and paper, and something we think. You can write it and tear it up, and write it again. But the other--that which happens in one's body--you can't stop that. You don't ask questions about that. Comrade Commissar, I know they are important, those things, money, and the Unions, and those papers, and all. And if one has to sacrifice and suffer for them, I don't mind. I don't mind if I have to work every hour of the day. I don't mind if my dress is old--like this--don't look at my dress, Comrade Commissar, I know it's ugly, but I don't mind. Perhaps, I haven't always understood you, and all those things, but I can be obedient and learn. Only--only when it comes to life itself, Comrade Commissar, then we have to be serious, don't we? We can't let those things take life. One signature of your hand--and he can go to a sanatorium, and he doesn't have to die. Comrade Commissar, if we just think of things, calmly and simply--as they are--do you know what death is? Do you know that death is--nothing at all, not at all, never again, never, no matter what we do? Don't you see why he can't die? I love him. We all have to suffer. We all have things we want, which are taken away from us. It's all right. But--because we are living beings--there's something in each of us, something like the very heart of life condensed--and that should not be touched. You understand, don't you? Well, he is that to me, and you can't take him from me, because you can't let me stand here, and look at you, and talk, and breathe, and move, and then tell me you'll take him--we're not insane, both of us, are we, Comrade Commissar?"
Ayn Rand, We the Living, Part ONE, Chapter XVI
Friday, January 11, 2008
first post
when i was volunteering at the salvation army good samaritan medical clinic this monday, a very old, retired nurse asked me, "so how is your job as an emt?"
i was an emt (mit-ems!!) in college, which is how i came to be doing nursing assessments at the local free clinic. now, though, i work as a research technician in a molecular neuroscience lab.
i explained to her that i now work in research, and then almost as an afterthought, i added that i would be going to medical school this fall. she promptly replied, "i have never had a desire to be a doctor." then she explained that doctors were too far removed from the patient. she wanted to take care of patients. i smiled, but inside i was aghast. man, i just want to get away from the lab bench! basic science research--talk about far removed from the patient.
and next year, i will most definitely leave the lab bench! this morning i just mailed a $100 check to university of minnesota medical school. they call it an "acceptance deposit", which must be paid within two weeks of the acceptance letter and is "non-refundable after may 15, 2008." does that mean it IS refundable before then? nowhere does it explain how i can get that money back should i decide to go to another school. (also, nowhere in the packet of materials i recieved with my acceptance letter does it specify the "pay to the order of" for that check.)
confusion aside, with my first (well maybe only) medical school acceptance, i feel i am finally moving in a forward direction post mit graduation. it has been a long year and a half since my undergraduate graduation. this purgatory that is the time between undergrad and grad school has been filled with frustrating biomedical research, living at home with my parents and little brother, and hundreds of hours working on applications in coffee shops. in an email, an MD friend, upon hearing of my acceptance, wrote, "welcome to the game!" after going through a year of the med school application process, i do feel that this career choice is (unfortunately) a game. as i accept my first acceptance, i feel very excited to be going back to school, but i also wonder HOW MANY ASIAN DRAMAS CAN I WATCH BEFORE I BEGIN MED SCHOOL?!
and so for the next six months, i will earnestly watch asian dramas, discover more chinese music i like, write my own dramas based on the lives of my friends, and blog about how i wish i live in taiwan (instead of dreary minnesota). med school here i come!!
i was an emt (mit-ems!!) in college, which is how i came to be doing nursing assessments at the local free clinic. now, though, i work as a research technician in a molecular neuroscience lab.
i explained to her that i now work in research, and then almost as an afterthought, i added that i would be going to medical school this fall. she promptly replied, "i have never had a desire to be a doctor." then she explained that doctors were too far removed from the patient. she wanted to take care of patients. i smiled, but inside i was aghast. man, i just want to get away from the lab bench! basic science research--talk about far removed from the patient.
and next year, i will most definitely leave the lab bench! this morning i just mailed a $100 check to university of minnesota medical school. they call it an "acceptance deposit", which must be paid within two weeks of the acceptance letter and is "non-refundable after may 15, 2008." does that mean it IS refundable before then? nowhere does it explain how i can get that money back should i decide to go to another school. (also, nowhere in the packet of materials i recieved with my acceptance letter does it specify the "pay to the order of" for that check.)
confusion aside, with my first (well maybe only) medical school acceptance, i feel i am finally moving in a forward direction post mit graduation. it has been a long year and a half since my undergraduate graduation. this purgatory that is the time between undergrad and grad school has been filled with frustrating biomedical research, living at home with my parents and little brother, and hundreds of hours working on applications in coffee shops. in an email, an MD friend, upon hearing of my acceptance, wrote, "welcome to the game!" after going through a year of the med school application process, i do feel that this career choice is (unfortunately) a game. as i accept my first acceptance, i feel very excited to be going back to school, but i also wonder HOW MANY ASIAN DRAMAS CAN I WATCH BEFORE I BEGIN MED SCHOOL?!
and so for the next six months, i will earnestly watch asian dramas, discover more chinese music i like, write my own dramas based on the lives of my friends, and blog about how i wish i live in taiwan (instead of dreary minnesota). med school here i come!!
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