vacation time is priceless. i don't think i knew how much i needed some time off until i got it, and now... after about 2 weeks of pure chill... i am sufficiently slackered-up. sure, i still have things to do-- residency apps, final touches on my senior year schedule, studying for step 2, etc.... but who can really care about such trifles when there are summer tv shows to watch, dvds to rent, and summer sales at the malls? .................. i'm mightily fighting off the jangly, panicky nerves that have propelled me so effectively through the year.
went to mario's place in riverside this week, before andy and i went to sevilla for SALSA lessons. the food: passable with flashes of potential (e.g. rich butternut squash ravioli, delicious goat cheese with the purple haze salad). maybe i'm just prejudiced against inland empire food, coming from the land of bay area foodtopia and knowing that i can sample excellent cuisine in pasadena/LA if i wanted to brave hours of traffic... but thus far, i have to say, i just haven't been so impressed by anything i've tried out here in the way of gourmand-fare. sigh...
anyway, the dancing... oh the dancing. despite my unsteadiness on heels, and my tendency to lead my partner... AND my wont to approach the routines like a drill sergeant... twas quite lovely. a great way to spend an hour an a half on a tuesday night. who can resist free salsa lessons?!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
Thursday, July 06, 2006
that's not right
was cramming with my psych review book tonight, and ran across a paragraph that read something like this... "patients with phobias often suffer from major social disabilities (e.g. failure to marry)"
...............................
failure to marry?! wtf???
in other news, a new sign of my old age... the delirium of sleep deprivation kicking in at the ludicrous hour of 11pm. but, as always on the nights before exams, my handy-dandy panic/survival instinct kicks in to completely overwhelm my body's desperate cries for sleep with a mental slap upside the head.
there's nothing a denny's run can't cure.
random thought of the week: north korea is obviously suffering from multiple psychiatric disorders... here's my attempt at a diagnosis.
Axis I: Bipolar d/o (disorder), type 1- most recent episode, manic (as evidenced by grandiosity, risk-taking, psychotic/aggressive behavior)
Axis II: Paranoid personality d/o, Antisocial personality d/o, Narcissistic personality d/o... ah hell, I'm throwing all the personality issues at it
Axis III: starvation
Axis IV: social/global isolation, low socioeconomic status, belligerent and crazy dictator
Axis V: 20
...............................
failure to marry?! wtf???
in other news, a new sign of my old age... the delirium of sleep deprivation kicking in at the ludicrous hour of 11pm. but, as always on the nights before exams, my handy-dandy panic/survival instinct kicks in to completely overwhelm my body's desperate cries for sleep with a mental slap upside the head.
there's nothing a denny's run can't cure.
random thought of the week: north korea is obviously suffering from multiple psychiatric disorders... here's my attempt at a diagnosis.
Axis I: Bipolar d/o (disorder), type 1- most recent episode, manic (as evidenced by grandiosity, risk-taking, psychotic/aggressive behavior)
Axis II: Paranoid personality d/o, Antisocial personality d/o, Narcissistic personality d/o... ah hell, I'm throwing all the personality issues at it
Axis III: starvation
Axis IV: social/global isolation, low socioeconomic status, belligerent and crazy dictator
Axis V: 20
Friday, June 23, 2006
honesty and responsibility
those are two of the three principles of the addictions treatment program at the VA. i'm currently finishing up my "addictions week" part of the psych rotation, and... it's been pretty intense. mostly because i've been faced with a lot more honesty than i thought i could handle.. which is a pretty burdensome responsibility. let me explain... i've been learning about addictive behavior and the ways in which friends/family enable addicts, and i'm finding- disturbingly- that i can see some of the addictive/substance-abusive traits in MY circle of friends. and i worry, because now that i have some knowledge under my belt (just enough to make me dangerous, as my attending says), i wonder if i should take some action..... anyhoo, that's a whole 'nother can of worms. just suffice it to say, i don't know a lot of individuals with "HEALTHY" or non-worrisome drinking habits. For example, some of the warning flag alcohol questions include: do you ever have more than 5 drinks in one setting? have you ever had more than you intended? have you ever felt that you should cut back? when you go out to drink in a social setting, is the point to spend time with others or is the point to get drunk?
anyway. who am i to point fingers, right? but at the same time, who am i but a delinquent kind of friend if i don't point out habits/behaviors that could potentially or ARE currently causing problems for people? i dunno..................... but on the bright side, i've learned so much about how GOOD fellowship groups can function... from AA. i had to attend an AA meeting (which met BUTT early in the morning, btw), and was sooooooo surprised at what i found- despite huge numbers of people packed into a gymnasium, it was warm. friendly. supportive. like a family. and that's what i think the truest idea of a church would be. or small group.
sigh. in other news... time is running freakin out. so many deadlines in my head, so many exams coming up, and yet all i want to do when i come home is watch some fluffy tv, eat some good food, spend time with friends, and sleep. i'm seriously strugglin for productivity here. then again, what else is new? ;) some things never change.
anyway. who am i to point fingers, right? but at the same time, who am i but a delinquent kind of friend if i don't point out habits/behaviors that could potentially or ARE currently causing problems for people? i dunno..................... but on the bright side, i've learned so much about how GOOD fellowship groups can function... from AA. i had to attend an AA meeting (which met BUTT early in the morning, btw), and was sooooooo surprised at what i found- despite huge numbers of people packed into a gymnasium, it was warm. friendly. supportive. like a family. and that's what i think the truest idea of a church would be. or small group.
sigh. in other news... time is running freakin out. so many deadlines in my head, so many exams coming up, and yet all i want to do when i come home is watch some fluffy tv, eat some good food, spend time with friends, and sleep. i'm seriously strugglin for productivity here. then again, what else is new? ;) some things never change.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
like, whoaa....
dood. DOOD. my baby sister is graduating from high school tomorrow. what is going ON?! nevermind the fact that every weekend from here til august is packed with weddings... weddings of my PEERS. oh, and in four weeks, i'll be "officially" a FOURTH-year medical student. i'm currently researching residencies, and evaluating the differences between health insurance coverage and maternity leave allowances.
all this to say.......... HOLY TOLEDO, BATMAN!? when did I get so old???
in other news, i've shed the boot o' shame, as i've taken to calling it. nevermind that my appointment is on monday. if the doc tells me to put it back on, so be it.... but until then, i'm savoring my freedom.
oh and i've become re-fascinated with personality types. myers-briggs personality types, specifically. one of my attendings gave us a mini-lecture on how these different types can dictate communication styles, and how one should tailor one's bedside manner to these types. SO cool.... i plan on somehow utilizing this stuff in my practice. hey, i can always dream, right? hehe.. here's a short-hand online test for those of you who DON'T know what you are... for the record, i'm ENFJ.
all this to say.......... HOLY TOLEDO, BATMAN!? when did I get so old???
in other news, i've shed the boot o' shame, as i've taken to calling it. nevermind that my appointment is on monday. if the doc tells me to put it back on, so be it.... but until then, i'm savoring my freedom.
oh and i've become re-fascinated with personality types. myers-briggs personality types, specifically. one of my attendings gave us a mini-lecture on how these different types can dictate communication styles, and how one should tailor one's bedside manner to these types. SO cool.... i plan on somehow utilizing this stuff in my practice. hey, i can always dream, right? hehe.. here's a short-hand online test for those of you who DON'T know what you are... for the record, i'm ENFJ.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
i <3 psychobabble
today was my first day of psychiatry. i viewed this day with a great deal of trepidation, given that i am pretty much 90% sure that i want to go into family/psych.... but i was not disappointed. it's exciting, it's soooooo interesting, it's like being in my beloved psych classes all over again... i'm pretty stoked. at last..... i think i can make a decision about the rest of my life.
in other news, Loma Linda is freakin hot. already. cannot WAIT to see al gore's new movie, an inconvenient truth, so that i can confirm all of my global warming paranoid ideations.
and yet again, i have decided to throw myself into the hell that is the no-carb zone. south beach diet, here i come!!! i can already feel myself becoming insanely cranky and willing to literally steal lollipops from babies. but it's all for the greater good, right? who cares that i lose my soul in the process ;)
in other news, Loma Linda is freakin hot. already. cannot WAIT to see al gore's new movie, an inconvenient truth, so that i can confirm all of my global warming paranoid ideations.
and yet again, i have decided to throw myself into the hell that is the no-carb zone. south beach diet, here i come!!! i can already feel myself becoming insanely cranky and willing to literally steal lollipops from babies. but it's all for the greater good, right? who cares that i lose my soul in the process ;)
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
irony = suckiness
so you know that alanis morissette song "ironic" where most of the things she mentions aren't so much ironic as they are just plain sucky? yeah. this is one of those entries.
my baby nephew, evan dean liao, is critically ill. he's in the hospital and expecting surgery. if you pray, please do for him and his parents, dean and angie. if you don't pray, please still send some good juju-type thoughts their way...
i feel shallow. just this afternoon i was bitch/moan-ing about my oral exams this morning for obgyn. a few minutes this evening before i found out how ill evan is, i was laughing my head off at some dumb clay aiken fan/american idol reject on tv. i don't want to be the type of person who has contrived faux gravitas oozing from their every pretentious word or thought, but damn... sometimes i wonder if i SHOULD take life more seriously.
my baby nephew, evan dean liao, is critically ill. he's in the hospital and expecting surgery. if you pray, please do for him and his parents, dean and angie. if you don't pray, please still send some good juju-type thoughts their way...
i feel shallow. just this afternoon i was bitch/moan-ing about my oral exams this morning for obgyn. a few minutes this evening before i found out how ill evan is, i was laughing my head off at some dumb clay aiken fan/american idol reject on tv. i don't want to be the type of person who has contrived faux gravitas oozing from their every pretentious word or thought, but damn... sometimes i wonder if i SHOULD take life more seriously.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
introducing...
cute baby picture of the week... evan dean liao, my 1 month old nephew... smiling away in his sleep
my attempt at a foodie blog
i spent one of my post-call days this past week wandering around beverly hills/santa monica... twas yummy. and expensive, as you can imagine. tried sprinkles cupcakes - deeeeeeeeelish! but oversweet at times, discovered a new gourmet chocolatier, ate cuban take-out for lunch at a sunlit mini-park with lots of trees and green grass..... not much studying to be had, but plenty of treats for the tummy. then in the evening, i was able to meet up with Sonya for some wandering on Montana and 3rd St. Promenade. gourmet burgers, crepes made by REAL FRENCHMEN... dood. i love living near good food.
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