and...Go!

First, it was a nice, quiet early birthday celebration with family, 2 weeks ago. As usual, mom made a wonderful dinner. I overdid it with the noodles (so good) and the steak (so better). Then the gifts and the cake. It's official...I'm 29. the rents gave me some cash, which is always helpful, and my sister and bro-in-law were very generous in getting me a nice-sized flat screen TV for my room. Muchas gracias, indeed.
The rest of that weekend was spent getting some things organized for the upcoming semester. Then it was off to my roadtrip...





Left NJ last Tuesday, the 16th. Arrived in the city by 7ish and had a nice barbecue on the roof with Yoni. His apartment is in the upper west side, which had a nice urbanite feel to it. The next morning, I did a lot of walking in Riverside Park and was playing with the new camera I bought from my brother. It worked well, except for the memory card...not enough memory (sheesh). Took lots of pictures of trees. They were better looking than the architecture. Had lunch at this hummus joint by 72nd street and had Shakshuka (tomato stew with poached eggs) for the first time. Very tasty and bright. Spent the rest of the afternoon just chillin' in the apartment...I think I pulled a hammy from all that walking. That evening, saw "The Hangover" with Yoni and his friend. Pretty damn funny. Later on, it was off to a bar for some more eats and drinks with his other friend, Andy. Congrats to him for getting the GI fellowship!


The next day, it rained, and it never really stopped. So I said my goodbyes and thanked Yon for his hospitality and the use of his couch. I was finally off to Massachusetts to go see Chris and Al. They had since moved from Boston to Waltham into this huge condo. Chris and Al got me some strong plum wine and 3 one-cup sakes for my birthday. Chris and I split one of the sakes before heading out to another party in downtown Boston. Al caught up with us later that evening from her work and we pretty much played pool and had pizza and wings, courtesy of Chris's work. Later that night on the ride back home, we all decided to go for more food @ this place called Shabu Zen. Very cool Japanese restaurant that specializes in shabu-shabu (translation: swish-swish). They give you raw food so you can cook it yourself on the boiling broth on your table, very much in the style of fondue. Everything looked and tasted amazing. I went home the next day and Chris had to go to Martha's Vineyard with his workmates. It would've been a great trip for him except that it was still raining. It never stopped. Al had to go to work too, unfortunately so we all said our goodbyes and I was off, back to Jersey.
That afternoon I picked up some CDs for the ride back home to Cherry Hill and met up with my other friend, Viv, @ Eclectic in Montclair for coffees and a late lunch. It was good to catch up with her.
And so ends my abridged New England roadtrip.

Yesterday, 3rd year officially started with our orientation. Back to battle...

Song of the Day: "Nothing But A Miracle" - Diane Birch

She's So choice!

The night before

Hours away from the big Step 1 exam. Another hurdle to pass along my journey. Wish me luck. Later =)

Song of the day: "Devil May Care" - Diana Krall

Blogetty blah blah

Did most of my studying for today. Got a number of test questions done as well. The big one is less than 2 weeks. EEK. I'm still wired. Really have nothing much to say except for a few splintered fragments of thought that just flitted into view. To enumerate:

1. My birthday roadtrip will be delayed. Certain unavoidable and pressing duties that require my undivided attention have come up. And I must attend to them prior to my vacation. Once again...joy, deferred.

2. I find that my ability to be a "good Samaritan" is getting blunted. Is it me? Have I become so self-centered and jaded that I can't even offer a shred of help in times of need? Take, for example, this afternoon. This woman that worked in the coffee shop I was studying at was leaving after her shift. 15 minutes later, she comes back in, saying that her car has a flat tire. Granted, she said that Triple A was coming to help, but none the less, I could have offered some assistance. Instead, I make a comment about how she just couldn't leave the place. At the time, I thought I was being witty and light-hearted about the situation, but come to think of it now, I probably sounded downright insensitive. Ugh. Jerky! Won't happen again.

3. I need to tone down the caffeine if I am to successfully go to sleep @ around the 12-to-1am time frame.

4. It may be a little late now, but I think I need a highlighter with some color other than bright yellow.

5. I could go for some pie. Apple or pecan would do. =(

6. Since I can't sleep yet, I figured I'd do some more studying and stop procrastinating...

Good night.

Song of the day: "Closer" - Travis

More, more, more

Another sleepless night. I have a couple more lectures and some reading to do before I turn in. I figured I'd procrastinate a bit and blow off some steam. Or whatever's PG about it. The 3 weeks are slowly whittling down to 2. And I still have a lot more to do. I think I have a good plan right now. Do some lectures in the morning and by the evening, do as many questions as I can (at least 100+). Pathology and the rest of the body systems are getting a once over. After this week, it will all be Micro, Pharm, and OMM until the bitter end. Grrr. Just keep working and you'll be all right. Bring it.
I'm thinking of going to Acadia National Park (Thanks Jon, for suggesting it) in Maine for the highpoint of my roadtrip. Then cover the rest of the state and whatever else I missed on the way back. One of few things I'm actually looking forward to doing. I also got my 3rd year rotation schedule, so it's kinda nice and sobering to know that there is an abundance of work ahead, after I get back. No sweat, right? Right.
It's nice to get encouragement from time to time. I met some 4th year friends of mine today. They're enjoying their month off right now before they head out to their internships. Just the mere fact alone that they were standing there, graduated, giving me a pep talk is a good enough affirmation that there is light at the end of this tunnel. Things have been worse. I just have to keep moving, day in and day out. The work is good and I don't mind it as much as I used to. It keeps me sane (weird, I know).
That's it for now, I guess. I'll write again if there is something more substantial that's worth writing about.
Good night.

Song of the day: "Sad Song" - The Spring Standards

I'm a sucker for harmony. And this song ain't really sad at all =)

Warm...

3 more weeks before I take the boards. I want to get this over with, but everytime I take a practice test, I still feel unready. Slowly getting to the score that I want. I'm glad I get a few more days before the big one.
Happy Memorial Day. I hope you got to spend it with loved ones, relaxing and enjoying the good weather. I'm inside the house, feeling unmotivated and a little tired.
I need coffee. Badly. I made a bad decision about drinking a red eye (my new favorite drink) this past Saturday night. I was able to study, alright, but getting to bed at a reasonable time was absolutely out of the question that night. I was reading a pathology book til 4 in the bloody morning, and didn't really sleep til 6. Woke up @ 10 for mass. I had awful dreams tho. It's like my brain was punishing me for making it stay awake past what it normally wanted. It was not a restful sleep at all.
I decided that I will take a small roadtrip up the northeast after the big exam. A chance to see some old friends, new places, and hopefully clear my mind. There's just way too much crap in there that needs to be emptied out. Crap that I don't need, never needed. This is a nice chance for me to reset myself before rotations begin. Also, I get to test out my new camera...it's actually my brother's old Canon Rebel. I bought it from him for cheap because he got a new, cooler one. I'll put some nice pics up when I get around to it.
I hope you're all well and doing well. If you're reading this, send some good love my way. I can always use it. If I haven't seen ya or talked to you in a while, I hope I can fix that sooner rather than later.
Ok, time I get myself going. That's all for now. More next time.

Song of the day: "It's Not True" - William Fitzsimmons

And so it goes

So, it's been almost a year since last I wrote something in here. Lots has happened. New Orleans (Habitat for Humanity) was a lot of fun. Just being able to put in a good day's worth of work for the benefit of those needing lots of help was a good thing for the soul. And getting to play in the Bourbon St. nightlife was also pretty groovy. Thanks to Meg and Mirv for coming to NOLA and showing me the sights. Let's do it again next time =).
The Migrant Worker Clinic turned out well too. There were lots of patients to see and they were very grateful for even the smallest thing we can do for them. Really made me realize that healthcare should be more accessible to the public. On a brighter note, I got to practice my Spanish and my vital sign skills.
Teaching or at least, assisting in the Prematric program was a great way to make new friends and review my anatomy/OMM. Also, it made me realize finally that I'm not cut out to be a teacher. I hate...repeat...HATE grading papers.
The fall and spring semesters of 2nd year were nothing but one big sequence of trials...droning on and on. Endless days and sleepless nights of learning Path, Pharm, and Medicine...plus other peripheral classes...oh and don't forget to season the whole thing with the day-to-day drama (yes, life still exists out of med school). After review for Boards, I felt like I haven't really learned anything solid in the past 10 months of 2nd sem. It was like, ok, lets memorize for the test, then regurgitate. Rinse. Repeat. And now, it's Boards time. Just when I thought I was done shoveling 500 medical pancakes down my throat, I have to do it all over again for Step 1. I have less than a month left to prepare. Saddle up kiddies...it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
On the upside, I'm looking forward to 3rd year. Every day is a day closer to my goal. Yes, it's difficult now (hell, it's been difficult all year long, especially the end of the spring sem), but all of this is just prologue to the good stuff. So far I'm still alive, still standing and keeping myself open for better things ahead. And all the prep work/heartache/backache/sleep-deprivation I'm doing now is paving the way for all of that, so no worry about a t'ing cuz every lil thing gon' be alright.
Yea, I have good and bad days, but so does everybody. I figure, it's just another opportunity for me to make things right. And pretty much that's all I can do, for now.
There are ideas in the making...I'll keep you posted as things progress.

Ciao.

Song of the Day: "Caroline" - The Belleville Outfit

Booyah!

June 15th...and then I was 28. That's right, another year down "and miles to go..." or so the saying goes. Thank you to all my awesome friends and awesome family for the awesome presents, awesome birthday wishes, and an awesome good time. You're all Awesome. Thank you to my dog, Stitch, for throwing up on my lap on the ride down to Rachel's place. Thank you, Chris for lending me your pants because mine reaked of doggie spew. And thank you, MacGuyver for showing me the importance of duct tape.

Tatay, Happy Father's Day. Your present is forthcoming...sorry about the delay =)