hives

i don't think that i've ever been allergic to anything.
yesterday, for the first time i noticed hives on my belly.
i think that my immune system has gone array :).
today, i woke up with hives on my outer thighs.
this afternoon, i got 'em on my neck. i took a shower and now I have hives on the back of my thighs,too! what is going on???
they are not that itchy so it's more puzzling than annoying.
i'm trying to list down some triggers: pressure, cold, hot shower..
drycleaning chemical?? maybe laundry detergent..dogs..pizza??
i don't know...

four christmases

reese witherspoon: 5'2"
vince vaughn: 6'5"

we're definitely watching this movie ;).

p.s. i just saw this article where they said that ramps needed to be built, boxes for reese to stand on needed to be present and vince even had to go barefoot :).
reese and vince

grief

my patient who we had to send to the icu earlier this week came back to the wards last night for comfort care. by some oversight, she didn't come back to our team. last saturday, the last time we were on-call, i admitted her for shortness of breath. she had metastatic stage IV lung cancer. i meant to stop by today to say hello. but i didn't really know what to say. we're on-call again tonight. as i wrote my admission orders and notes for my 2 new patients, i heard wailing in the hallways. i had the sinking feeling it was for her. may she rest in peace...

P.S. So to escape the wailing in the 4th floor, I went back to our team room. Both computers there were in use so I headed to the 5th floor. The door was locked. So I went up one more flight to the 6th floor. A few minutes later, I saw my intern and resident go in one of the patient rooms. I heard more wailing. Another patient has died... The intern was crying too, the team who was taking care of that patient did not mention that he is dying.. One more patient is not doing so well. Yeah, it's one of those nights..

how was your day??

i don't think that i'm the type who would come home and talk about how my day went.
i think that i would like to separate my home life from my work life..
does anybody really want to know that one of my patients is dying?? would i want to go through crying as i tell the story and remember how her face looked as i left for the day? i don't think so..

$160 mistake

Lockefield resident: "Are you lost?"
Me: "No.. I thought I parked my car here."

You see, I now live within walking distance from campus. I'm renting a studio apartment on top of a detached garage owned by a faculty member in our school. Yep, my 10th apartment in 10 months. In case, anyone is counting ;). This residential street is beautifully lined by trees. When I moved last week, the lovely leaves were fiery orange. This week they have a lovely shade of red. Indeed, their colors can rival New England foliage. I've been meaning to walk to school since last week but I've been too lazy. I've been parking in a commercial parking clot close to school. But this week, I thought that I should try to park at my old apartment complex. I was never towed there and I didn't even have a sticker for 2 months.
But today, the inevitable happened. I got towed..

I could really be pissed but I'm choosing not to be. Today has been too good of a day for me to spoil. You know how vocabulary can sometimes influence how people perceive you. Today my medical vocabulary was just flowing. I didn't know where the words were coming from, but I thought I sounded pretty well today haha.

So I peacefully walked home. It was a lovely walk. I really should walk everyday. Maybe the dividend of my $160 mistake would be the savings I will get from not ever having a cardiac cath :). There is really peace in solitude... I wonder though if the peace is partly coming from the knowledge that at the end of your brief solitary walks, you know that there would be someone to join you in the rest of your journeys..

the lovely daughter

right now, my mom is giggling for me. she's tongue-tied for me.
it's too cute :). thanks for all the prayers, mommy ko!

me upon meeting Boris the rottweiler: what happened to his tail??
answer: ummm, they don't have tails..

rolling home

so, i'm back in indy. y'all know what that means.. ;).
this is an exciting day. i see some dimsum, race cars, canal walk, etc..

what to wear? what to wear? i think i'll put on the pink suit.

one more day

one more day until the big test and i can't concentrate..
i hope i can pass it :).

it's 11 AM and i'm still in bed.. what can motivate me to get up today?? i think that i'll go get the triple combination roast pork, soy sauce chicken and BBQ duck for lunch from a local favorite. and i'll also get a tira misu cheesecake. there, that should be enough motivation :).

bless the broken road

so, i'm supposed to be studying for my boards: step 2 CK which is scheduled in 9 days!! i'm supposed to be freaking out since i still don't know much. but instead i find myself watching countless wedding videos haha.

this is the background music for one of the wedding pictures slideshows. this is the song currently playing in my head:


"Bless The Broken Road"

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

[Chorus:]
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

[Chorus]

Now I'm just rolling home
Into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.

hot chocolate

I'm here at Starbucks enjoying a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top and a cheese Danish.

Last night, I saw Madame Butterfly at the LA Opera. The minute I stepped out in the courtyard, I was enchanted. There was a lovely fountain in the middle. Couples in love, dressed to the nines abounded. 'Twas a lovely night, perfect weather with dark sunset blue skies. A sense of romance was definitely in the air. And yeah, the production did not disappoint, as well :).

I'll leave you a quote from Puccini:

Chi ha vissuto per amore, per amore si mori.
(Who has lived for love, dies for love.)

foot clinic

a few minutes before midnight last night, we hurried to master wong's foot clinic in san gabriel valley. it took us about 20 minutes to get there from the hollywood roosevelt hotel where we picked up another friend. it is a not a clinic per se but a foot massage place. i was expecting the kind you normally get when you get a pedicure. but i was pleasantly surprised that for $15 you get a 1 hour full body reflexology massage. totally relaxing!

they asked us where we are from in their broken english. the three of us were the only customers. we actually just caught them as they were about to close. Philippines. Vietnam. Japan. International women of Mount Holyoke :).

we went to a dessert place afterwards and enjoyed a red beans with herb gelatin slush.
we didn't get home until half past 3 in the morning. i'm supposed to be studying for my clinical skills exam scheduled for next monday. don't worry, i'll study all day today :).

save the date

01.02.2010

teacher's class

i attended the teacher's class today. my friends were excited for me to meet the single male teachers. never mind that i am leaving tomorrow haha. these are the "cream of the crop", as they put it. the future ministers, the future leaders of the church. why do i feel that i am being pulled in a totally different direction?
the 'ideal guy' in my head never seemed to have found me. someone did find me. i don't know what it means.. i do want somebody to hold me.

the end of the suitcase saga

with a few more days left here in san francisco, my suitcase has finally arrived!
i guess, it didn't want to miss the trip to LA :).

today, i got to visit the outpatient imaging center at china basin. it's very close to the baseball park downtown. i took the opportunity to walk along the bay. the view was simply gorgeous. there were lots of people walking, enjoying the fine mid-70s sunny day.

satisfied customer

i finally got the call from motel 6 today. they have shipped my suitcase! because of the delay, they are only charging me $15. so i have volunteered to be a motel 6 endorser :). it's really hard to find a better price. they are everywhere. and of course, the staff is very nice.

for sure, on my drive back to indy, motel 6 can expect my business :).

off to church now...

ramadan

i was just speaking with a friend who is currently observing ramadan. she mentioned that this period reminds her among other things that she doesn't need much at all. i wonder how is it that the excesses in our lives are not as glaring as it should be..
why is it that it's easier to perceive what is not there?

meet for coffee?

who else is a non-coffee drinker?
i wonder what's the proportion of coffee drinkers vs. non-drinkers..

northern cali

i think that i may have found my place :). it's really nice to be around so many active brethren. last night, i had dinner with 2 sisters who are also CWS teachers here in daly city. i'm tagging along with one of them today. she will be preaching in the san pablo congregation. every week, the teachers here are assigned in various congregations. that will be so fun. i would love to be able to teach in different places.

so hopefully, in a few months time, i will get a spot here in northern cali. even just for a year. that will be so awesome!

first earthquake

i just felt my first california earthquake..
4.1 magnitude, no biggie :).

in the big city

i have forgotten what it is like to commute in a big city. i have been "midwestified". :) but i went in today with an open mind. i had to drive to the BART station. take the BART into San Francisco and then take the MUNI to the UCSF campus. total time was approximately 1.5 hours this morning! tomorrow, it should be half the time since I already know the system.

so far, so good. i feel that i am learning a lot. everyone seems nice.
i was kinda expecting that everyone will be intense. but there seems to be quite a nurturing environment. just exactly what i need!

first day in cali

after 4 days of driving, i finally arrived in cali last night!

the lovely santamaria family greeted me warmly. jigo, the youngest of the family, gave up his room for me.

since my travel commenced one day earlier as originally planned, i was able to attend the district's track and field meet earlier today. i took jerika (ate bel's daughter) and lyn-lyn (ate lou's youngest daughter) with me in livermore.

we walked around and i was pleasantly surprised to see a number of familiar faces. i immediately saw ka gaudy and family. gleng competed in the 100 m dash and long jump. gleng even won second place in the long jump event for her age group. there were only 2 contestants :). gemma invited me to the district Kadiwa gathering on the 20th. there will be a special worship service and luncheon for all single brethren in the district. maybe i should start praying to meet somebody haha.

i also saw brethren i originally knew from the boston and philadelphia congregations. i was very excited to finally see bro. bob and sis. sandy after so many years. bro. bob was our minister in boston ('94-'95). he is now the district minister here in northern california. i chatted with his wife for a little bit. i told her of my plans to go to jerusalem after graduation. they were previously assigned in israel and took care of the locales of jerusalem, haifa and tel aviv. she told me that when they first got there, they lived in joppa. remember that jonah went here to find a ship for tarshish instead of nineveh. wouldn't it be great to get to visit biblical lands? i am definitely planning on a taking a dip in the jordan river. she also mentioned that it used to be that the worship service in jerusalem took place in a cave-like structure. it sounded so very first century. but since the jerusalem congregation has grown they had to move to the more touristy area of the city. right now, they worship in a hall above a mcdonald's. it would have been nice to worship in a cave :).

and of course, i also saw PB. he made plans to have dinner with ate mayette and becky on thursday. i met ate mayette in '94 but has not seen her since then. i'm not sure how late i need to stay at the hospital that day but i will also try to meet with them.

so tomorrow, i will start my rotation in ucsf. it should be fun!

'lost' luggage

guess who left a piece of her luggage in Denver?
i thought somebody stole it at one of the rest stops. :)
but motel 6 to the rescue. they will be shipping it to me.

i'm here at boise at the hyatt place. it's a very cute affordable place.
i'll definitely stay here again if ever i'm back around these parts.

kansas city and denver

the church on the hill

it was love at first sight for me when i saw the new chapel of the kansas city congregation. we have about 120 brethren over here according to one of the sisters. this chapel was purchased in december and they are trying to sell their old one. i wish i can post the picture from my camera now but i'm too lazy to get my usb cable from the car :).

this is the first chapel i've seen that is perched on a small hill. the stairs leading up to the main entrance even has white railings. i thought that it looked very romantic.

the worship service was great. my favorite verse of the night, psalm 119:105 - "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." that always resonates with me...

the drive to kansas city from indy was very pleasant and quite uneventful. i just returned a number of phone calls while driving... listened to jimmy carter talk about obama's nomination... listened to the radio.. daydreamed. there was also an initial stretch of highway that i've passed through multiple times in my drives to st. louis. i was a bit bored so i actually started reading a book. sounds unsafe, huh? i'll try not to do that again tomorrow :).

praying for faith

my last patient tonight (also my last shift in emergency medicine) shared that in the midst of all the craziness in her life, she prays that her faith stays with her because that's all that she has. i echoed her prayer. i pray hard that my faith stays with me no matter what.

i found myself in bloomingdale, illinois last sunday. i got lost on the way to the chapel. it was my first time to attend worship service there so i was very unfamiliar with the area. i found myself standing outside of the chapel, the worship service was already in progress and all the doors were closed. i felt like crying. i can't remember missing any worship service since after college except for when i was hospitalized once. i started thinking whether it is a good idea to lock the doors. but i soon realized that in the grand scheme of things, it probably ensures that everyone comes in time for the worship service. i was torn between leaving or staying for the children's worship service. i had a shift from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m that day so i needed to get back to indy right away. i already traveled 3 1/2 hours to get there. i could not go home without even attending the children's worship service. so i stayed. and i am glad i did.

bloomingdale has a beautiful chapel. i was inspired by the children gathering together in worship. i can see the fruits of the discipline inside the church. it is a small price to pay. i always remind myself that everything needs to be done in a proper and orderly manner. if that means that i need to manage my time more wisely, so be it.

i will be heading to california later today after i get a few hours of zzzz. my first stop is the kansas city congregation. i hope that i get there on time. i'll post pictures here. :)

p.s. happy birthday, mommy ko! i'll call as soon as arrive in california..

Hooka

Friend: "Do you want to check out that hooka bar?"
Me: "Ummm... sure.. what is a hooka?"
Friend: "You smoke something fruity.."
Me: "Oh.. ok.. (sounds harmless).

Waitress brings the hooka pipe..

Me: "This does not contain nicotine, right?"
Friend: "Yes, it does."
Me: (Yikes! My lungs are toast!)

playing doctor

most days, i absolutely love playing doctor. i like being paged... "dr. cruz, please call blah blah blah." i love it when i have all the time in the world to take care of my patients. i love it when i know exactly what i need to do for them. i love it when i don't have to hurry and cut them off as they tell me their personal story. i love it when they ask me for a hug afterwards. i love the days when i feel that i have made a difference by simply expressing that i care a lot that they get well.

of course not all days are perfect. there are days that there are so many details to attend to that i have to ration my time. there are days that i resent the patient who is abusing the system. there are days when i can't wait to go home and maybe not come back.

but today was not that kind of day. today was great. and i just want to write this today so that i'll remember that most days are fun. most days make me smile and look forward to the next day.

riding the ambulance

today, i rode an ambulance for the very first time. i was assigned to "ride-along" with medic 5.

here's how i rolled today:



it was an interesting day! we transported patients with abdominal pain, seizures, bee sting allergy, chest pain, gunshot wounds and heat stroke amongst others. for the latter, the paramedic and emt I was working with even made it to the 6 o' clock news. here's the only video i can find in the news websites. i'm the one in the blue scrubs. you'll see me starting to walk down the steps at around 2:50. we went up the roof to "rescue" our patient.

the cincinnati story

i fell asleep before i finished writing this last night..

i have just attended the worship service in cincinnati tonight and it was announced that they will have a chapel of their own soon. the brethren there are in such high spirits. it is indeed a great blessing.

the cincinnati congregation was born in the fall of 2008. the original dayton congregation was split into two. those living north of dayton (~20 brethren) started attending in the newly formed piqua congregation. those from south of dayton (~50 brethren) started looking for a temporary place in cincinnati. by march of this year, they started worshipping in a rented hall closer to their homes.

when i lived in dayton 6 years ago, no other brethren actually lived in dayton. dayton just served as the midpoint for the brethren in the north and south. for the longest time, they tried to compromise on the place where they would buy the permanent house of worship. no appropriate chapel in the dayton area was found. chapels that were looked at turned out to be too far for one of the groups. A
decision was made to split.

and soon enough the cincinnati congregation will have their own place of worship. all glory to God! no more rented halls, no more sense of impermanence, no more searching for the right place. all of us here in indianapolis can only pray for the same.

geography lesson

this past weekend i met new filipino friends. on saturday i attended the first birthday party of the daughter of one of the family medicine residents from my school. she attended UST. i have previously met 2 other residents from UST, one also in family medicine, the other in OB/GYN. they mentioned me to her so she also invited me to the party. on sunday, i met for the first time the filipina co-worker of the guy who owns the house i stayed in last month. they both work for the accounting firm of the department of defense. i love meeting people so i always take advantage of opportunities to meet and make new friends.

i had free time today after my appointment at the dentist so i visited the accounting firm. (i finally had a root canal treatment today for the abscess i've had since february. i've been too busy to get an appointment. it didn't hurt but it's been really swollen! gross!) the place was huge! about 4,000 military and civilian employees work there. she introduced me to some of her co-workers. one ex-army dude asked me which island i'm from. i said that i'm not from an island, i'm from the bataan peninsula. i tried to explain what a peninsula is: one side water, one side land. somehow in my head, i don't have the correct map of bataan. i guess i've only traveled through one side so i've only seen one side land and one side water. the guy seemed offended that i had to explain what a peninsula is. he said that he knows the meaning of a peninsula and it actually means 3 sides water and 1 side land. hmmm, i said that i don't think that bataan is shaped like a square. so finally the marine dude googled the bataan peninsula. so i guess the ex-army dude is more right. i now have the corrected picture in my head. here's the map of my lovely province.

why i can't get things done

subtitle: life as a 4th year

i have this radiology paper that i need to submit for publication soon. but it's really hard to find the motivation to prioritize working on it.

i had good intentions to work on it today. our lecture finished early. but on the walk back home, a friend asked me if i want to go shopping. how can i resist? :)
after shopping, another friend called to ask me if i want to go running. i need exercise, right? after running, i got a message from a friend wanting to go to dinner. i need to eat, right? :)

so we're all 4th years now. our thoughts are preoccupied by things like applying to residency programs. we need to finalize our CVs and personal statements. most of us pretty much know which specialty we are going into. we're narrowing down our list of places where we want to be. it's an exciting time for us. in our last year, we are trying to learn as much as we can. soon enough, we'll be responsible for a lot of things. we'll probably look back to this last year as the best of times. good luck to all of us as we journey on!

Risktaking

oops.. i was writing something about risktaking yesterday, but decided not to post it. but the title posted itself somehow :), so here goes..

Somebody commented today that I must be a risk taker. I personally don't think so. I don't like taking risks really. I don't jump off planes.. I don't gamble... Obviously, no sex, drugs and alcohol :). I think that I have a pretty conservative approach to life. Risktaking somehow has negative connotations for me. I think of a risk taker as someone who throws caution to the wind; someone who goes through life haphazardly. I'm pretty cautious actually. I like making plans, deliberate plans at that. So please, you may call me adventurous but please do not call me a risk taker :).

I had to check Webster for the definition of adventurous: "characterized by unknown dangers and risks (an adventurous journey)". Is being adventurous and being a risk taker the same then? Wait, there's a fine point, "adventurous implies a willingness to accept risks but not necessarily imprudence". So I guess I should qualify my statement then, I am not an imprudent risk taker.

new place

hello, friends and family! just a quick hello from my new place.

las vegas was great. moore and i stayed at planet hollywood. we reminisced about the good old grade school days. we even joked about getting hitched while in vegas ;).

here are some pics from the wedding:





that's it for now. back to watching... Hopkins!

D.C. pictures

wow! 2 comments since my last posting. thanks for sharing in my journeys :).
here are some pics from my D.C. trip:

with Edith and Amaya


with Glenda and James


with Sofia and Caroline


Lincoln Memorial at night


Blurry Washington Monument in the background


Fun times at the pool


Anteaters at the National Zoo


National Cathedral


Free hotel room after missing my connecting flight in Boston

first day of pilates

so i can now count three fitness activities i enjoy. walking, yoga and pilates!
the studio is about 5 blocks away from my new place. they are running a 2-week special so it's a great time to begin pilates.
alissa (australian "hostel-mate") and i actually woke up very early this morning to go to the studio only to discover that they were closed. we just ended up walking on the monon trail starting at the south broad ripple area (54th street) this morning. we also had omelets and biscuits at a local diner afterwards. it was an enjoyable walk with profound conversations about love, spirituality,and philanthrophy among other things.

i took a quick nap and shower after we got back and got ready to go to school. today was my first day of radiology clerkship. exciting times! i decided to take a walk to the hospital and catch the people mover. after our orientation lecture, i met with my research advisor and discussed my research project. yes, i actually do some hard work aside from all the fun stuff i write about here :). after promising her that i'll get the project done, i took the people mover again and walked home. after a couple of hours working on my research project, i then walked to my pilates class.

one new thing about me, i started wearing tank tops. i used to not like showing skin since i didn't want to risk being "provocative". but i realize that i'll be in my 40s soon. i think that there is a huge difference between being provocative at 16and when you're 32 ;). when you're older, you're probably more concerned about being fit rather than just looking good for vanity. i must say though, i take a second look now of guy's biceps and abs. i hope that's ok :).

my hostel home

hey hey hey! this is my first post from my new home for the month. this is the sixth, yep, sixth place in six months! amazing, huh?

i'm now living in the old northside of indianapolis about 7 blocks north of downtown where i used to live. my place is sort of a hostel with students and professionals from all over. there's a big house where the owners live with the other renters. i'm staying in the 3-bedroom carriage house at the back. i currently share the house with two guys from india. they are consultants for a software firm and are temporarily assigned in indianapolis. i haven't met all the people who live in the big house except for one woman from australia. she's a real estate investor, here for 3 weeks looking to snap up foreclosed homes. the environment has an international feel and the owners are super welcoming. they promote a home away from home atmosphere. i think that i'm really going to enjoy this month.

yesterday, one of my roommates tagged along with me as i ventured into the
monon trail . i've lived here in indy for so long and i had never been on the trail. we don't live far from the beginning of the trail so this is a good time to begin. it's a 10.5 mile trail. my goal is to be able to run the trail this month. i bought running shoes the other day. but i really don't think that i have a runner's personality. yesterday, we just walked leisurely for a couple of miles or so and headed back. i'll probably run/walk again later tonight.

i haven't really talked much with the other roommate. he apparently works at night. but the roommate i hanged out with yesterday is pretty cool. he said that he does yoga most mornings so i told him to wake me up when he does. i start my radiology rotation tomorrow and i don't have to be at school till noon. oh yeah, he also cooks! he seems to be an all-around decent guy.

the australian woman is pretty friendly too. we're actually going to do pilates tomorrow at a nearby studio. it seems that a lot of people i meet now is into eating healthy and staying fit. i guess, they are really not bad company to keep :).

so yeah, life is fabulous. i just finished a great month of medicine. i start radiology tomorrow. i'm heading to washington d.c. this weekend to meet up with my college friends, glenda and edith. then of course the week after is the wedding in vegas.

so that's the update for now. i don't know if anybody is still reading this. how come, nobody leaves a comment? :)

surreal

(i was supposed to post this yesterday but blogger suddenly went down as i was typing, not a good sign haha. i'll just post it anyways since i already wrote it..)

our health center emailed me the results of my recent varicella titer this morning. i had them drawn as a requirement for my away rotation. i opened the attachment and i zeroed in on the age part. it said: 32 years. wait a second, i thought to myself. they must have sent me the wrong results. i'm not 32. wait, how old am i? i AM 32. yikes! i forgot. and i'm not married yet? solution: "little church of the west" las vegas, july 12 ;).

what to eat

i can't help but be curious about what other people eat. the grocery store kinda overwhelms me. i don't really know what to buy. today, i went to a small store that prides themselves of selling reasonably priced organic stuff. one of my ex-roommates have taken me there before. i didn't really have a list. i knew i wanted to get some hummus and chips that one of my friends have shared with me recently. otherwise, i just planned to wander around and explore.

as i wandered around, i heard somebody call me. who knew that the grocery store is a great place to socialize? i immediately reached into my classmate's basket to see what's in there :). i got some of the same stuff for me. happy cooking to me :).

sawasdee

that's hello in thai. it looks like i'm going to be restaurant-hopping this summer so i want to share with you my gastronomical adventures. there were a lot of choices in the menu tonight but i still gravitated to my favorite thai dish: pad thai with shrimp. yum! good food, good company, good conversations. a night that made me smile ear to ear as i constantly reminded myself that there's really no need to think about tomorrow ;).

the next trip

you might be wondering where i'm headed for my next trip. i'll be viewing the 4th of july fireworks at the nation's capital!

i haven't posted the paris pictures here, so here are some:
(btw, one of my memorable experiences in paris involves a public toilet. i know, gross :). i really had to empty my bladder. we finally found a working one as we were looking for the metro (subway) stop. i went in and the stall was fairly clean. i did notice though that the bowl did not have a hole. hmmm, how am i supposed to flush? but i really had to go, so i went. i told my friend that it was so weird that the bowl didn't have a hole so i had to show it to her. as we walked back, the stall door was closed and we can kinda heard water noises. so after all the noise was gone, we opened the door and voila, the toilet was clean! it must have been a self-cleaning toilet. i should google that to find more information about its mechanism. :).)

downtown living

i was daydreaming down the hallway on my way out to throw the trash. i only realized that i might have missed the exit once i smelled the pool. as i walked back, a friendly voice asked me if i'm looking for where i need to throw the trash. (everyone in this building is so friendly)! i looked up and the guy looked really familiar. for the last 3 years, he has been a host at our medical school talent show. i am starting to feel that the city is getting smaller. :)

earlier in the day, i walked to my future home for next month. it turned out that the previous tenant is from my school as well. i recognized the name since he is going into radiology. i have not met him personally, but i will be on-call with him later on this month. (i'm doing an elective inpatient month in the hospital where i hope to apply for my transitional year.) he is in his last month of his transitional year. the transitional intern i'm working with this month is also going into radiology. (diagnostic radiology is a 5-year program: 1 transitional year + 4 years diagnostic radiology). it's nice to start getting to know people in the field.

lately, for dinner, i've been frequenting this cajun creole place across my building. but when i got there tonight they have ran out of food. so i decided to walk down the avenue to try to find another place. as i was walking, i ran across one of my classmates. it seems that everytime i walk around, i either run across somebody or i spot them in the outside seating area of the various eateries.

i love this area. very urban! i can pretty much walk to where i need to go. it's a side of indianapolis that is very lovely and very appealing to young professionals. the closest grocery store which i finally found in my random walk is a bit pricey, though. but the walk there and back to my place was very nice.

here are some pics of my current place:

this is my 5th place in 5 months. it's getting hard to explain to people why i move every month ;). ummm, who said that there needs to be a rational reason? :)

Caregiver

Yep, I'm a Sharonian. Blame it to my mom who used to take me to her movies as a little girl :). When I visited my cousins in England, one of them mentioned that Sharon was just there to shoot a movie. Of course, I had to google the film. I just watched the trailer and it made me cry. It portrays the life of a Filipina caregiver there. I met a true-to-life caregiver. I was delivering a package for her from her daughter. She, in turn, sent money back. I can only imagine her sacrifices in pursuit of a better life.

Here are some pics from the London trip.


The London Eye


Stonehenge




Reunions with Dancel and Ate Bebe




Tower Bridge and Tower of London


Windsor Castle

passport

after numerous calls to the post office and the french consulate, i finally got my passport today. whew! i thought that i would have to cancel my trip due to a lost passport. but it looks like the trip to london and paris is a go :).

i stopped by the house today, it looks like someone has taken up residence there. it seems like somebody has been sleeping on the bed. they still continue to strip the place down. my ancient tv and microwave is gone. my nice desk is gone. my books and papers are all over the floor. what a mess! i'm realizing that i probably won't go back there anymore.

i did find my 5th apartment. i'll be subletting a classmate's apartment in june. the condominium complex is a former five-story factory building located in the current arts district of indianapolis. the factory manufactured women's silk hosiery. at its peak in 1929, they sold 12 million pairs! however the discovery of nylon in the 1930s spelled doom for the company. in the '80s, developers renovated the space into 69 unique units. in 2008, i get to live there :).

Langit

I left the apartment at 4 o'clock in the morning. I was in the unit by 4:20 a.m. I glanced at his room knowing that something was amiss. I looked for his chart and it was nowhere to be found. Every morning for the last week or so, I have been afraid that it would be the day. His nurse saw me. She asked me if I already knew. I shook my head. She recounted the events of yesterday. She told me that his body is still there. We went in and there he was, all bundled up, looking very yellow. I didn't think I would cry. We all knew it was coming. By the time he was my patient, he was already fastly deteriorating. I told the nurse that I'll just stay for a little bit to say a prayer. The tears started coming. I know we don't pray for the dead. But I just felt like asking God for grace, for grace that babies go to heaven.

Somebody just asked me the other day if I think that babies go to heaven. I said that I don't know. If they are not in the body of Christ, only God knows of their fate. Only God knows.

4th apartment

Yep. I'm writing from my 4th apartment since January! I haven't quite decided where I'll be next. Most likely, it still won't be home yet. I'm way having too much fun living in different places :). I love these month-to-month arrangements. Other than the constant move, there's not much new. I did promise someone that I'll cheer him on for the Mini-Marathon this Saturday. It looks like I'll be taking up running soon ;).

Aftershock

Most people here in Indiana have not experienced an earthquake. Today was their lucky day. At about 5:30 a.m. this morning, a 5.2 magnitude quake was felt in Indianapolis. I did not feel it. I was on overnight trauma call and was assisting a resident hold a patient down as he inserted a chest tube to drain blood from the patient's chest. The patient had significant hemothorax after being involved in a motor vehicle accident.

But later this morning, as I was trying to catch some sleep at my current apartment, I definitely felt the aftershock. At first, I wasn't sure if I were just dreaming. But yep, a 4.5 magnitude aftershock was recorded. This is perfect timing as next week I will be moving to our very own twin towers here. The two towers are the tallest residential buildings in Indiana, each with 30 floors. Imagine experiencing an earthquake while living there. That should be interesting ;).

British visa

I got a call from UPS letting me know to expect mail today. I mailed my visa application last Thursday after getting my biometric finger scans and digital photograph at the local application support center. I'm on my anesthesia rotation right now so I'm typically done for the day before noon. So I went home and waited for the UPS man.

Everytime I go home, I feel that I should really move back. Despite the house's rundownness and clutter, there's still a serenity to the house.

[Loud knock at the door.]

UPS man: UPS!

[I opened the door.]

UPS man: I need your signature here.

[I signed for the envelope.]

UPS man: The bank behind you just got robbed yesterday.

[I just withdrew some money there last Monday].

Me: (rolling my eyes) That's why I don't live here anymore.
I just came back to wait for the mail.

UPS man: I can't blame you.


Sometimes I think about what lead people to commit crime. It's sometimes easy to blame them if you assume that they have addictions and need to support these addictions. Some for sure are on the lazy side. What if they are trying to work but just can't make ends meet? What's their hurdle for not getting a better-paying job? How do I see myself in the future making an impact in education promotion, job creation, and community revitalization? Certainly, the impact will not be made by fleeing the 'hood.

March pictures

the view from my bedroom



one snowy morning


piqua, oh GWS: first Holy Supper


birthday pictures




celebrating match day with my roommate at the jazz kitchen





this afternoon with pabu