i'm baaaack!

yes that's right! i'm back home in good ol' sunny CA! ahhh so very nice =). i have a few days worth of stuff to catch up on, but let me start with my lucky day.

thinking i could pull all-nighter, i only slept about 30 min prior to getting up at 4:10am to catch the bus to the airport for my 7am flight. i was quite pooped and zoned out, and ended up napping all the way to chicago. it was -2 degrees farenheit in chicago, so i guess i shouldn't complain about the cold in new haven (yet). i had a 1.5h layover, and saw that my flight to oakland was overbooked and United was looking for ppl to give up seats. I saw another flight that flew directly to SJC departing at the same time, and went to that counter to ask if they still had space, but they said they were fully booked as well. so i sat down to nap again, and then i heard over the PA, "we are still looking for people willing to give up their seats on this flight. we will give you a free ticket voucher, and give you two options to choose from: 1) you can take later flight to Oakland at 3:30pm (it was 10am), or 2) you can take flight to SJC at 10:10am." now you should have seen me--i would have been perfect for amazing race at that instant 'cuz i literally leaped up from my sleeping position, leaped over a luggage, dashed around the chairs and ran to the front counter! but no!! two people were ahead of me! they couldn't make up their mind about the free flight, and i immediately interjected and said, "i'll go to sjc for sure!" =) as they were about to process my paperwork, the lady asked, "did you check in luggage for this flight?" and sadly, i did, and supposedly i have to follow my luggage wherever it goes. so she said she has to take the next person in line who doesn't have checked-in luggage, and i must've looked real sad 'cuz she said, "why don't u sit down and i'll see what i can do." and 5 min later, she called for me, and said, "Here you go, you are all set for SJC departing now, but you will need to pick up luggage at Oakland later." I didn't care--i had a free UA ticket voucher in my hands!! saved me at least $250 (flying coast-to-coast in the future), not to mention this flight was only $190. AND my parents get to pick me up closer to home, AND i land earlier! what could have been better?? =) so that made my christmas eve. =D

rest of day was spent with family shopping at fry's (that's my dad's way of christmas--taking us to his favorite store and telling us to choose something), eating, more eating, and more eating. =) i can't wait to get a digital camera--now i'm looking at the new Canon SD300, which is a slimmer and smaller version of the Elph, and also with a 2" screen! i can't wait to try it out...the main thing holding me back is the shutter lag, battery life, and poor nighttime photo. i guess we'll see--2 weeks til i hafta get one!

NYC, re-visited!

i can't believe it--finals are done. i survived 3 weeks of torture, barely! i was nearly the last to crawl out of our classroom, as i had nowhere to go really since my flight home isnt' til friday. the rest of the class darted out the second they were done, so eager to escape Hope 203. so i went back to the dorms, managed to spend $50 on water and snacks, and donated $100 to charity, and paid for several people's meals just standing at the cashiers! net balance at end: $9. too lazy to buy more junk food to bring home, so decided to just let that money slip. then i managed to totally exhaust myself the next 4h cleaning, mopping, vacuuming, laundry, organizing a room that is only 10x14 square feet in size! geez! so much for going to the CT mall--i had no energy left. so instead i plopped myself in bed and watched the first "Bridget Jones Diary" and managed to stay awake until the last 20 min. woke up, felt like i slept a good hour, and deliberated going to NYC tonite instead of tomorrow. i decided to workout first (i suddenly had all this energy), and go to NYC after. turns out, the shuttle schedule for the holidays are all different, and i missed the shuttle to the train station! so i had to wait for 1.5 more hours for the next shuttle (i wasn't about to walk to the train station at 10pm lugging a 25" bag). finally, i caught that one, got to the train station, and to NYC by 11:40pm. my friend met me there, and after dropping off luggage, we decided to go check out rockefellar center xmas tree. sadly enough, it wasn't even LIT! we wandered around times square and near central park, and i was getting tired so we headed back at 2am.

next morn, i woke up at 10am and went shopping on my own. my plan was to walk south through central park (i was staying north of the park or uptown, shopping is all downtown), and shop all day, and subway it back home with bags in each hand! but turns out, it began to rain and only 1/4 way through central park, i had to call it quits and hop on the bus. the whole day, i must've been re-soaked about 4x 'cuz it never stopped raining. =( too bad there aren't that many "indoor malls" in NYC--just lotsa stores individually. i had lotsa fun, but i guess i still wasn't fully rested from my finals 'cuz by 3pm, i wanted to call it quits! 3h of shopping and i had already pooped out!! how sad...=( no stamina! but after an hour's rest at rockefellar ice rink (where i saw the tree, lighted this time! and crappy ppl ice skate--why would you pay $30 for 30 min of ice skating in a tiny rink where EVERYONE can see you fall?), i was somewhat ready to go again. i wanted to hit up the old navy that sharon and i went crazy in last time, but wasn't sure how to get there. i randomly hopped on a subway, and managed to get to 32nd street where i found it! shopped more, and by 6pm, i REALLY was done. NO MORE plz!! sadly enough, i had only purchased 3 items at Gap, after an ENTIRE day's of shopping! at least i really liked what i bought and didn't spend too much money. my friend met me up there, and we went to korean-town just next block and ate yummy food! =) costly tho, but i didn't have to pay! =P decided to check out empire state building which was lighted green/red for the holidays, but the visibility was zero (rain rain all day) so we just looked from outside. went shopping some more, looked at shoes and nice wool coats, and still didn't buy anything. went to check out union square (yet another mall i didn't know about), and visited campus, and came back around midnight. ended up watching "unforgettable" on TV--some movie about a detective who injects CSF into himself of people who have died 'cuz CSF supposedly contains "memory" neurotransmitters and that's how you can figure out who killed who, etc. Interesting, but lotsa medical stuff that didn't make sense. anyhow, was gonna pull all nighter...(continue reading next blog now!)

more blogs to share!

oh boy, my friend birdie just created a blog too!! now we just need a few more--esp guys! i wanna hear what you boys are thinkin' about! tho the boy-blogs i read of my badm pals are short and once-in-a-blue-moon. i guess blogging is just not a masculine thing to do. =P but don't let that deter you--i'll add you to my friend-list, now that di showed me how! =D

so i spent an hour catching up on blogs--so addicting! and so much fun! you know what's kinda scary? sometime last week or over the weekend, somebody broke into our locked picture case and of all the photos, took the one with my friend roxanne (who's quite busty in her top) and me. poor roxanne--she was pretty freaked out about that one. i wonder who would have put that much effort to break a lock to get a pic of her...=P

oh i sure had a rude awakening this morning. i heard loud vroom vroom outside my dorm room, and rushed out thinking my neighbor had a vacuum cleaner and i wanted to borrow it. but instead, it was the cleaning staff, waxing our hallway. so i nearly slipped rushing outside, and when i saw it was just a floor waxer, i turned around and tip-toed cautiously back...but to no avail, 'cuz i began to flail, and PLOP! i was on my ass. now my butt is wet, my palms are burning, and i'm sure the guy was crackin' up even tho he asked if i was ok. oh well, that got me up for sure!

SNOW!!!

it's a WHITE CHRISTMAS!! it's absolutely beautiful outside--snowed about 4" yesterday, not much, but at least the grass is white! it was chiiiily for sure this morning, but i took the secret underground tunnel to class so i didn't find out until i had to step outside to our class mini x-mas party. about 12-20 degrees, but with wind chill, it felt worse. still, now it's sunny, and i *wish* i had my snowboard with me 'cuz everytime i see snow, it makes me wanna ride! =D

so i just finished my next-to-last-exam, and i didn't think it was that bad though i did worse than i thought. people in the class thought it was horrible though, so i hope there is a large curve. then i slipped/slided my way over to the cafeteria, where i "attempted" to spend $225 remaining on my card which expires in 3 days. i only managed to spend $75, and i bought a bunch of crap snack food to hopefully bring home (if it all fits) and feed my starving brother, hehe. it's so sad...bought a case of water for like $36. total rip-off, but either spend it, or let it go to waste. there is also the donation option, but i don' t know how reliable the cafeteria "donation" will be. oh well, i even invited my class to have lunch/dinner on me, but so far only a couple of ppl took me up on my offer. $150 left to spend over 5 meals...$30/meal--dang!! and i usually spend less than $5/meal. oh well, money a-wasted. good ol' yale, they sure know how to make us poor.

back to studying--one more to go, then i'm FREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jingle bell rocks!

so my friend asked, which i prefer: my zanier badminton life, or my "mature" one. hrm, i'd like to have a bit of both! one keeps me feeling young, the other i need to keep progressing! =) just weird to kinda have two types of personality in one, sorta!

so i'm TOTALLY in the christmas mood right now. in fact, i've been playing xmas music off my $7.99 alarm radio for the last 2 hours, and it will probably run through the night. unfortunately, i'm still stuck here at school with 2 more finals to go. it sooo hard to be motivated esp right now, when most people are home, done with finals, shopping for gifts, wrapping them, spending time with family and friends, and eating lots! i keep trying to tell myself that the med school students have 6 exams (supposed "exams" since they are taken annoymously and it doesn't matter if you P/F except for a couple of them) in the next three days. then again, they get the torture over in 3 days, while our great program has dragged it out for nearly a month!! oh well, stop complaning nancy! =P

so i couldn't take it any longer, and went shopping. i'm DYING to shop, so if any of you want to brave the post-holiday crowd, gimme a call when i get back! i went to ann taylor loft, and bought a nice burgandy-red hooded fleece with pom-poms (hehe) and a pretty faux fur scarf. dunno when or how i'll use the scarf (since most of you know i dress pretty sporty/casual), but it was soo soft and elegant i HAD to get it! =) now i have to find a nice wool coat to wear with it. so that cheered me up a bit...until i had to go back home and go back to reading about pneumonias.

so my tentative plan after i finish my finals at 10am on wed 12/22 is to pack and head to NYC! i plan to visit rockefellar center, look at the tree, maybe shop around times square if i can bear the cold and the crowd! or i may delay my trip a day, and take the bus to the connecticut mall on wed, and go to NY thursday. we'll see how i feel. but i fly home from LGA for sure at 7am on friday (xmas eve!) and i can't wait! =) i'm gonna be the LAZIEST person in the world when i get back!! ohhhhh just the thought of it! =P plus, i'm gonna pamper myself and get the one and only gift i've been DYING for for the last year---a digital camera! if any of you have high recommendations of any, please let me know (min req: 3mp, 3x optical, no shutter lag, movie mode, under $300)!

gosh dang it

you know what, i think i'm schizo. and have OCD-personality. perhaps i'm saying all this because i just took my psychiatry final exam, but i'm also up at 3am in the morning reading up on a bunch of old friends xanga blog sites instead of studying for my last three exams. the reason i self-diagnose is that i realize i can sorta be like two people at once, depending on the group i hang out with. ever since i kinda stopped hanging out with SJSU/badminton ppl, i'm so much more mature. reading up on their site made me miss all the crazy fun we had, but also realize that i'm older than them and in a diff stage of life. i dunno..some are only like 2 years younger, while others are still in college! but yea, i did talk more ghetto with them, did crazy things, led a "fun, exciting life" (according to some), and now i'm just as boring as can be. i mean, just take a look at my site! black and white...that's how boring simple and plain it's been these last few months.

now don't get me wrong--i absolutely LOVE what i'm learning here, and i'm having fun in a odd, intellectual way. but boy, do i miss playing badm from 11pm to 4am, winning drink/dinner game bets, seeing 10-15 friends every nite at open gym, eating a carrows after, driving 8h to SD or LA for tournaments, etc. it was so nice back then--so stress free, even tho i was in a MA program too.

now if you are truly curious, you can msg me and i'll give you my old xanga blog site which is MUCH more entertaining and gives you another side of me....if you dare...heheh. okies, it's 312am, i failed my psych exam this morn (as did rest of class, so i'm not too worried), did pretty well on my physical exam lab practical final (if any of you ever want to be given a COMPLETE physical exam from head to toe minus the rectal, pelvic and breast exam, i can do it in 45 min flat), and came back at 5pm to nap 2 hours away followed by 1h TV, 1.5h workout (felt great), and 3h xanga reading. sigh...so unmotivated to study! it's CRUEL i tell you, putting EIGHT finals in 3 weeks....don't even finish til 12/22, when rest of world (well, besides working world i guess) gets to relax. oh well, in due time, in due time...

1 down, 7 to go!

sigh, what a feeling to be done with an exam! this cardio exam was long--60 questions crammed into 1h. but surprisingly, i did pretty well actually (we see our results right after) probably due to my 12-hour session at the library followed by a couple more at home last night! (not to mention studying from 4pm to 1am Mon-Wed) it was weird 'cuz i missed questions i thought i knew due to carelessness (ran out of time to check everything) which made me mad, but then i got questions right that i basically guessed on! so in the end, it worked out quite well. and based on my interest in the material and doing decently on the exam, going into cardiology seems like a good option. I first considered it working in cardiac rehabilitation last year (it's a prescribed and highly monitored 3x/week exercise protocol for people who have/had heart attacks and surgeries and other cardiac problems), but nearly passed out while shadowing a PA performing an open heart surgery last year (the overwhelming smell of blood got to me...i can look, but apparently i can't stand the smell!). I guess i'll find out during rotations, and maybe i can stay away from open heart surgery and do interventional stuff or just cardiology and not cardiothoracic surgery. options options options!

anyhow, one exam down, now 7 more to go. i think from now on, i will study in the library--i was sooo productive yesterday, quite proud of myself! probably because i find the material very interesting, and i just couldn't stop reading. like i'd read lecture notes, then go to my own notes, then classmates notes, and finally to two textbooks to confirm it all and read for more info, and get all excited when then info all matches and makes sense! Sigh, it's great how medicine is so certain and steady in a way--been around for so long, they know certain things as facts. Yet it's amazing how many things are still being developed, and what they can eventually do! i told my friend about my studying with 4 sources of notes, and he's like, you sound soooo nerdy right now! yup, that's me now, a NERD. who-hooo! (ok, i'm tired, lack of sleep for a week, ignore my insanity plz! :P)

My life ends here...

yea, this is it. vacation ended. it was great, fantabulous, relaxing, full of eating and friends, but too short. 18 hours of flight, only 4 days of fun. and now my life ends here.

my final exam schedule til x-mas:
fri 12/3 cardiology medicine (biggest module yet)
sun 12/5 physical exam lab "mock" final
tues 12/7 microbiology/virology exam
thurs 12/9 physical exam written final
mon 12/13 physical exam lab "real" final
mon 12/13 psychiatry final
thurs 12/16 pulmonary medicine final
mon 12/20 pharmacology/cardiac drug exam
wed 12/22 nephrology/kidney medicine final

That's EIGHT, EIGHT (yes i do know how to count, one exam is done 2x) freakin' finals in 3 weeks til my next break! I've been at library for almost TEN hours straight now, and i don't anticipate stopping anytime soon...damn cardio. i love the material, i hate the stress of exams. so if u don't hear from me...you know where i am....wish me luck!!