first test is over!

well, i had my first test. all our tests are online, so we all bring our laptops to the classroom, wirelessly connect, and take a multiple-choice test together. very interesting. i sucks at MC tests, so i better get better at it fast! the bad thing is that half the class couldn't get logged onto the test (you need a password), so while half the class was trying to take the test, the other half was panicking, studying more, talking, etc. sigh, what a mess! i was in the half that had to take a paper-version of the test (medical terminology was the exam), and it went ok. passed is all i'll say. =)

so now i'm in week 3 of classes. it's not too bad yet, but we're adding 2 more classes: pharmacology and microbiology--prob the two classes that require the most memorization ever!!! gonna have to know all these drug names and types, as well as the microorganism's latin names that cause disease. sigh!! i was complaining that my brain is getting dumber by the minute as i use my brain cells to study, and not to do day-to-day stuff. like these last few days, i've almost run into the corner wall next to my room everytime i leave my room! how embarassing!

well ppl have begun moving in to my floor (finally), mostly Public Health students. met a few, they are nice but young. at least i won't be so lonely anymore! and i went to play badminton a few times with the Yale team. they are mostly graduate students in chemistry/neuroscience/etc, but nice ppl. about B/C level for those of you who play. decent competition, and it's good exercise! i don't think i'll have the time to compete against the other Ivy League schools, but we'll see. it would be nice to visit Brown, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, etc.

okies, i better get back to studying. i've been taping TV since i don't see to be able to find time to watch. and now i'm getting further and further behind....help!!! (all i taped was Amazing Race and Olympics so far, but i'm already far behind!). back to studying...*yawn*...

classes have begun!

so like i said, i'll rarely blog. but here is an update btwn classes during my 15 min break. orientation week was beyond draining, but very informative. by friday, i didn't want to do a thing but sit in bed and veg. too bad we had a ropes course/team-bonding thingy to go to for 4 hours. it was fun, but afterwards, EVERYONE was dead. i took my first (and only thus far) nap to recuperate, and our class went out to a nice bar at night with the 2nd year students.

weekend was filled with errands, shopping, wandering downtown, and relaxing...and guess what!! yup, i finished "studying" (if you can call skimming = studying) my medical terminology 22 chapter, 900 page textbook! finished sunday night at 2pm. WHEW!!! now i have to review over and over and memorize all those prefix/suffix/combining words by next thursday. this will be our first exam ever.

oh, and i found one of the most popular pizza places while wandering called "pepe's". the line for it at 2pm was INSANE--worse than Zachary's in berkeley! seriously like 20 ppl lined up outside, reading newspapers, talking, etc. one day i'll hafta try, but only during weekday lunches!

so school week has begun, and it's ok so far. for the first time in my life, i review my lecture notes right after each lecture--i don't want to risk falling behind! yesterday we had the most tiring day--anatomy lab for almost 6 hours. we actually met our cadaver during orientation week--he's sooo small and thin. prolly had a stroke 'cuz one leg has no muscle due to paralysis. at first, i thot he was a girl 'cuz he's like my height, and thinner. but nope...he's definitely a man. my group has decided to name him Morrie 'cuz he's a old fella (about 60), from the book "Tuesdays with Morrie", except our lab group is now called "Wednesdays with Morrie" (we have anatomy lab every wednesday). we took apart his back from shoulder to butt, down about 2 layers of muscles, which took us about 4 hours. then we had radiographic imaging like xrays and MRI to look at for about an hour. at the end, we SMELLED, were sticky, and my feet/back ached so much i couldn't do anything but sit on my butt and watch TV.

oh yea!! i got a 20" flat screen and a VCR! so i can record amazing race and the olympics (badminton will be on BRAVO) if needed. my room is just about 100% set--i bought nearly everything I need, and my boxes that I shipped finally arrived. that makes for much less pressure since classes will pick up by next week. if anyone is curious, link to my daily schedule is at: http://www.info.med.yale.edu/phyassoc/pacals/year1.htm.

well that's it for now. it's raining here...gonna have tropical storms to the weekend. no plans yet!

so if any of you have time and would like to visit here or NY or Boston (i'm about 1.5h away), please let me know so i can try to work on my schedule to match! tho i live in the dorms, there is room on the nice new carpeted floor for friends. =) hope things are going well back in sunny CA! miss you all!

busy busy busy

not to disappoint any of you, but i don't think i can keep up blogging much longer. life is way too busy. quick summary of last two days: orientation is hecka crazy, 8am-5pm, speakers non-stop about campus safety, financial aid interviews, health insurance, what to expect, class officer positions, PA panel, computer IT tech, blah blah blah blah. tired each day. and i'm still trying to settle in, buy what i need, study medical terminology (apparently my class is all done studying except for me, it seems). so each nite i get like 4-5h of sleep, partly 'cuz i'm too wired from running around all day, and partly 'cuz it's too darn hot to sleep. so no more bloggin' long ones 'cuz gotta study. and i was sooo gonna buy a tv yesterday, and at best buy, i broke down at the cash register (not really), and could not bring myself to sign $150 for the TV 'cuz i knew it was a "waste" of money. i never did watch much TV as most of you know, and how the heck will i have time now!!?? it'll only be a distraction. so now i'm tv-less, and if i get one, it'll be a cheap used one from someone around here. today at least i got my laptop wireless hooked up (nearly missed my lunch appt with the faculty for it), and maybe in class I'll chat a bit if anyone is up that early. k, time to study again. 3 chapters tonite, giving it 3h....back to work!

First day of Orientation!

First day!!! Got to class at 8:30, and it was packed. Well, packed for the total 32 ppl in our class. But I think one girl didn't show up. She's the 3rd asian, named Joanne Wei. Her name was called, and nobody answered. We sat around and chatted for an hour because the program adminstrators were missing some papers, and I made two more friends. =) So many people to get to know! They also served us free breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and pastries. YUMMMM fruits!! Finally, we started our first and only project for today: to draw out our life onto poster-size paper and show-and-tell it to the class. We did that for about 1.5 hours, which was long but nice 'cuz we got to hear everyone's story and their background. We have a dad with a 3-year-old daughter and 6-month-old son, another to-be dad with a baby coming in 5 months, and a single mother (Kati) with a 3-year-old toddler!!! Can you believe that?? I can't believe it!!! How the heck well she handle studying all this and raising a child on her own?? And she has no family helping, as far as we know. She's from the midwest. Geezus!!!! I soo admire her. Remember her name 'cuz she'll come up again later in this blog.

We ended early at 11:30am, and were supposed to get student IDs but the machine was broken. This really sucked 'cuz living in the dorms requires the same ID to get in, up the elevator, to the gym, and for my MEAL PLAN!!! I want to start using it, but I'm not sure if they'll let me until August 23rd or so. Really really sucks!! But....on the bright side, they have like 20 food carts right outside the dorms/med school (like outside on Sproul, with the japanese carts during lunch) from 11-2:30pm, serving TONS of ethnic food for hecka cheap!!! Yummy and HUGE portions too! It's really really great. I got a 3-part thai dish consisting of: pineapple fried rice, mango-salmon curry, and pepper chicken for $5!! And i was stuffed after only 1/2, which means it's good for 2 meals! How great is that!!! They have every type of food from $4 burritos, to $3 chinese plate, indian, thai, vietnamese, greek, american...but no pizza i don't think, which is supposedly New Haven's specialty. But, they have BOBA!! PEARL TEA!!! i could NOT believe. I saw an indian doctor drinking it, and i had to ask her where she got it, and she pointed to the cart less than 100 yards from my dorm!! I am SOOOOO happy!!! =) Thank goodness for chinese ppl everywhere!!

After lunch, I went to get my ID card, and met up with my dormmate Charlene by accident. We ended up running a bunch of errands together in the burning burning heat (we were sweating like pigs after). We REALLY should have taken the car!! We walked at least 3 miles, rushing everywhere because we have a BBQ with 2nd and 3rd year students at 6:30pm tonite. We went to Staples and got me the leather chair and blue rug, and then to Shaw's to buy birthday cakes for the two ppl in my class who happen to have the same birthday today!! I felt it would be a nice thing to do, and Charlene agreed to chip in for it. =) We bought 2 cakes, chocolate and white. One is for Matt, turning 23 and already married for 1.5 years (his wife is pretty, and i think they are very Christian), and Roxanne turning 22, the girl who looks like Meena Suvari (she's my other "chauffeur", so sweet!) =). Got home, installed everything, quickly showered and then met Charlene to get to BBQ. We got lost (we're great at taking the longest routes possible, esp when walking) driving there (it's about 10 min drive), and arrived fashionably late this time, at about 7:20pm. Had burgers and chips, still hungry from all the walking today. Gave the cakes to the birthday peeps, and helped light the candles while everyone sang. About 100 ppl were there, and my "Big Sib" Aubrey (2nd year PA also from CA, married) could not make it to see me because she's on-call at the hosptial. =( but she gave me a gift of $20 Staples gift card (could have really used that today, i spent $70 on chair and rug), and a bunch of nice color gel pens and highlighters!! I feel so special, 'cuz Charlene got NOTHING, and the other girl got indeex cards and post-its from her Big SIb!! hahahahah poor ppl.

So here comes my biggest embarassment of today. I was talking to a 2nd year student who just got married prior to PA school, and Roxanne and I were asking if it was tough. She said it wasn't that bad, and then i said to Roxanne, if you ever feel stressed about all the work we have to come, just remember Kati (the single mom). 2 min later, I looked up, only to see Kati sitting directly across from me!!!!!! AAAAUUUGGGHHH!!! I quickly whispered to Roxanne, "Do you think Kati heard me?" and she said, "No, I looked at her when you said her name and she seemed busy talking." I was sooo worried!! Stupid me!!! Big mouth!!! =( But 10 min later, Kati smiled at me as if she wanted to get to know me, which is a good sign. But we never got to talk. I hope i didn't make an enemy on the first day!!

Anyhow, left the BBQ after talking to a few more ppl 'cuz it was getting mosquito infested (I have 7 new bites to prove it), and decided not to go to Bar (it's a bar..haha) to celebrate the b-days 'cuz I was tired and wanted to get settled. Amy (the 2nd year class president who sold me her fridge and microwave, and btw, the fridge freezer don't work so i can't store ice cream, boohoo) suggested that since all the dorm rooms are open (they are cleaning it out for the incoming med students), I should snag a few extra pieces of furniture. So i took a recliner chair, and another rolling file desk/cabinet, and now my room is almost complete!! Just need a TV, shoe rack, maybe a small bookshelf, and extension cord and I'll be set to go! =) I want it all ready before classes officially start next week.

Oh yea, one more silly story. I was at Walgreens (again) buying school supplies, and this bald guy comes up to me and asks, "Are you a model?" I was like, "huh?", and he asked again, "Are you a model?" I shook my head no, looked at him like he's nuts, and went on talking on my cell. For goodness sakes, I'm 5'1, not even, how the heck can i be a model!!! So from that experience, I know not to visit Walgreens at night 'cuz of weird ppl out there. I had other nasty guys looking at me funny, making me all nervous. No more Walgreens after 10pm!! Oh, and I had my first dunkin' donut experience. Bought a Caramel Freeze, and it's nowhere as good as starbucks. So prob won't go back for that, but I'll try a donut someday. Okies, this has been a WAY too long post, it's 1:24am, and time to hit the sack!!!

Last day of freedom!!!

So today is the last day of vacation--tomorrow starts orientation week. I forced myself up at 10am, lifted a bit with the dumbbells i brought (yea, i know...i spent 10# of my overweight luggage on 2x5# dumbbells) and spent all morning online chatting and getting my palm pilot set up for classes. We have crazy schedules that are different every day, so I needed some way of staying organized. For an idea, check out: http://www.info.med.yale.edu/phyassoc/pacals/year1.htm Anyhooo, went to Walgreens (again, seems to be my fav store for now!) and Roxanne (a new PA student I met yesterday who looks like Meena Suvari, or whatever her name is like from American Pie) called me up to go to Ikea. We called up two other students, and drove up there. It was my first Ikea experience, and let me tell you--it was INSANE!!! Ppl there are not normal! We were shoved, pushed, smushed, canned like sardines in a HUGE warehouse, with kids running and screaming and jumping on all the beds. It was chaotic to say the least! Then again, this Ikea just opened less than a month ago! Traffic and parking was horrendous as well! So we just shopped--too afraid to get into the lines, tho i wanted to try all the yummy cheap food they had. =( Came back and decided I had to statisfy my fruit craving and decided to go grocery shopping about 15 min. walk away from the dorms. Too bad it was blazin' hot, but for food, i'd do more than most ppl! So I trekked and stopped by Staples, where I've decided to buy a nice new leather manager's chair (I usually study in my dorm, so I'd like a comfy one...to doze off in....zzzzzz....) and a rug. But no car, so I told them i'll come back with a car some other day. Went to Shaw's, which is like a Safeway, and bought grapes, nectarines, peaches, apple....yummm!!! And some milk and cereal, and of course, ICE CREAM! =) Food here is MUCH cheaper than CA, like a bottle of OJ is $4.19 at home, but only $3.19 here. pretty nice deals. =) Thankfully, Roxanne called me while I was shopping and offered to pick me up. Within 5 min, my dormmate Charlene called and offered to pick me up too! My classmates are sooooo nice and friendly!!! So helpful! And I was worried about not having a car! Geez! =) Hopefully, everyone will continue to be this nice after work starts picking up. I got home, saw Roxanne's 1-bedroom apt which was GORGEOUS (she's from...Wisconsin, trucked everything over). She came over to my dorm room to use the computer (she has no ethernet yet), and liked it tho my room is totally BARE compared to her's. I ate a DISGUSTING dinner of a microwavable 99 cents chicken and salsa with rice dinner I bought at Walgreens, with some veggies I bought at Shaw's. Absolutely GROSS!!! had some milk and ice-cream (craving dairy for some reason), and tried to study, but to no avail. Ended up surfing online for a television (gotta use the free cable they give us here), and was just about to buy it, but best buy would not allow me to use my gift card online. So Charlene will give me a ride tomorrow to Best Buy, how sweet of her. =) never got to studying...and went to bed around 1am! gotta wake up at 7:45 am tomorrow!

Day 1

I'm recounting the days past, so please bear with me 'cuz i already forgot most of it. Oh yes, I woke up at 7am PST (10am EST), but decided to sleep in til noon EST 'cuz it's my last few days of vacation. Finally dragged myself up, and was about to leave to shop at Walgreens (the closest store only a block away) when someone knocked at my door. It was Tina again, with another PA student who will also be living in the dorms!! So now I have a buddy! Her name is Charlene, and she is from Boston with a pretty significant accent that I have a hard time understanding!! She's 25 or 26, and engaged with her high school sweetheart. They've been dating for 9 years, and is planning on a wedding in 2007 after she graduates. WOW!! Nice ring tho. =) Charlene doesn't have a key that works (I got lucky, coming in early, so I got the only key that works) so she basically has to call me to get into and out of the dorms. sucks for her. =( Ran errands at Walgreens, then decided to work out since I haven't in days. Sooo outta shape!!! I was pouring sweat 5 min into it (dunno if the humidity plays a factor, the gym in the dorms has AC). No girls...saw 5-6 guys lifting weights. Nobody talked to me, but that's ok. Came back and showered (the showers here are nice, nice strong water, clean, large, 4 per floor for 20 students), and went out with Charlene to explore. We found the bookstore and looked for knick-knacks, and then went on to meet up with our classmates for a first-get-together at TK's bar and grill. For ONCE, and prob the only time ever, I was FIRST to arrive!!! Thanks to Charlene, I guess! A total of 15-16 ppl came out of the 32 ppl in my class to this first informal get-together, and everyone is really awesome!! I'm soo happy I was at this social, 'cuz now I have half the class down. We talked, ate, drank, headed to a club where they didn't charge cover (usually $5 only), and they had great music so we danced a bit. It was strange going to a club not loaded with Asians--it was mostly white college boys and black ppl. They played my Usher song, so i have nothing to complain about! Home at about 1230am. =) (scary i'm calling this place home already!)