1. At the ER yesterday, I had a 9-month-old boy lean down and start chewing on my stethoscope bell while I was listening to his chest. A lot of the babies like to grab the cord of my stethoscope as I'm leaning over them and try to put that in their mouths, but I've never seen anyone just lean over and start munching hands-free. I guess he's teething; good thing I had cleaned the thing right before seeing him, or he would have gotten a mouthful of everyone else's bronchiolitis and gastroenteritis bugs.
2. I have a cough/cold, and I think it's from being coughed on last week by a baby in the ER. They're not very perceptive when it comes to not coughing in other people's faces.
3. When you go out for dim sum in Hong Kong, you get a place setting at each seat (teacup, bowl, chopsticks, spoon), two teapots, and a large bowl in the middle. One teapot has your choice of tea (and there are so many choices, yum!) and the other has hot water. You use the hot water for two things: first, to refill the tea teapot as you go (and periodically a waiter will come around and refill the water teapot for you), and second, to wash your place setting. "Wash your place setting? What do you mean!?" Well, you pour hot water in your own bowl, then swirl your cup, spoon, and chopsticks in them. When washing your chopsticks, you face a dilemma, since only about an inch or so of chopstick can be submerged in the bowl. So you can use the spoon to ladle some water onto the higher part of them if you life, or maybe use your fingers. When you're all done, you pour the dirty water from your bowl into the large bowl on the table, and the waiter takes it away.
When I was younger, my mom would make us wipe down our spoons and chopsticks when we ate at restaurants, and I thought it was dumb. Embarrassing, really. And people don't do it so much at Chinese restaurants, but everyone at Vietnamese pho noodle shops does it all the time. At pho shops, the spoons and chopsticks and napkins are all stored at the table, so I suppose it makes sense to wipe yours off before you use it, at least to get the large dust particles off.
When I went to Hong Kong with my mom a year and a half ago, my grandmother made me wash my place setting, and I went along with it because I didn't want to argue, but in my head I was thinking, "This is so dumb. It doesn't do anything." Then I looked around and, lo and behold, EVERYONE was doing it! The waitstaff EXPECTS you to do it -- that's why they bring you the large garbage-water bowl! So apparently it's a cultural thing. However, that does not mean there aren't flaws in the logic.
I highly doubt 1) that the china is *so* dirty coming out of the kitchen so as to be considered unusable without another washing; 2) that rinsing the china in boiling water for 15 seconds is going to kill anything that wasn't already dead or that wouldn't hurt you anyway; 3) that you're rinsing off any soap residue (a weak second explanation my mom offered me, but I know she didn't believe it either); 4) that you're not doing more harm than good by getting your own grubby fingers in on the action. But, whatever. When in Rome...
My grandmother adds her own twists to the procedure. Sometimes she insists that you use tea to wash the china, although I never figured out why. She also likes to use her fingers to really rub the bowl of the spoon and the food end of the chopsticks while washing them -- extra insurance against dirt, I suppose. And as a person relatively aware of germs and the standards of aseptic technique, I tend to watch out for things like holding onto a handrail and then eating finger foods without first washing your hands. So one morning this past winter break while we were in Hong Kong, I happened to notice my grandmother holding onto a handrail while we went down some steps on our way to dim sum -- she's 84, so she needs the handrail for balance -- and then when we got to the restaurant, she started washing her spoon and chopsticks with her hands and I had to say something (after speaking gibberish Cantonese myself, I got my cousin to say something for me). I'm pretty sure that it never would have occurred to my grandmother that she was making her utensils dirtier by washing them with her fingers -- that's how different her concept of sickness is from mine. I think the difference is both age and culture.
For instance, she 100% believes that being cold will lead to arthritis, which is a common misperception in the U.S. as well. Being cold is not really a good thing, so there's no real harm in people believing this. But then there's her dishwashing methods. She doesn't have a dishwasher in her apartment, so one night I helped her wash the dishes after dinner. I filled a basin holding the dirty dishes with water and used a rag and soap (it was shampoo, actually!) to wash all the bowls, spoons, and chopsticks. Then I rinsed them in running water and stacked them on the counter. My grandmother started heating a wok of water and placed the clean dishes in it -- to disinfect, I guess. In the U.S., I think we would only do this to glass baby bottles, but whatever, I go with the flow. But then she wanted me to stop using running water to rinse the dishes and only rinse them in the basin -- which you may remember was holding dirty dishes and now soapy water -- and then put them in the wok. So that would mean the wok water would be getting soapy. It didn't make sense to me, so I kept doing it my way. Water wastage, be damned. And what about cups? Cups do not get washed in my grandmother's house; then get put in a pan and boiling water gets poured over and in them, so they're "steam-cleaned." Why don't cups need soap? I have no idea, but there were four women there who had been wearing lipstick, which therefore wasn't coming off. Craziness, I know, but there's more: her kitchen doesn't have drawers, so the spoons and chopsticks are stored upright in a canister, like what I keep my cooking spoons and spatulas in at my house. When they're not being used, you have to place a dishcloth over them (to keep off dust? germs? ghosts? who knows...), BUT it's the same dishcloth that has been used to clean the dishes and wipe down the counter and all that other stuff, just rinsed off and wrung out. To me, that's gross. (However, I know there are plenty of people in this country who will use a nasty nasty sponge for months on end to wash their dishes. ick!)
So maybe I'm a little hyper-sensitive to my grandmother's quirks; I *was* a microbiology major, after all. And I know I shouldn't be too harsh, because I certainly have my own quirks as well (I won't share, don't worry). But it has made me wonder about germ theory. In 1854, it was a breakthrough when John Snow took the handle off of the Broad Street (London) water pump and people living nearby stopped getting cholera. In the 1840s, Ignaz Semmelweis was ostracized for recommending that surgeons wash their hands in between performing autopsies and delivering babies (the nerve!) -- this is how ignorant of the germ theory of disease people were 150 years ago. We know more now, but we don't always put our knowledge into practice (ahem, grimy sponges and not washing your hands).
On the other hand, there are schools of thought that say using antiseptic -- or worse, antibiotic -- products are doing more harm than good. 1) antiseptic/antibiotic hand gels kill the commensal bacteria that naturally live on our hands, leaving room for bad bacteria we come in contact with to set up shop (bacteria generally don't grow on top of one another, so if the good bacteria are there, there won't be room for the bad ones). 2) antibiotic hand gels and soaps are worse because they are allowing both good and bad bacteria to grow under the selective pressure of an antibiotic, thus promotigng antibiotic resistance (this is a concern, but no one has really shown that it might actually be a possibility). 3) some say that children who grow up in sterile homes that are constantly being wiped down with disinfectant wipes and sprays are at risk for actually being sicker, because their immune systems have never had to set up primary defenses against common household allergens and microbes, and as long as you're not talking about something like cholera or H. pylori, your gut can handle pretty much anything you ingest and you won't get sick anyway. So housewives (and househusbands!), stop sterilizing those counters!
So what's the solution? Too dirty = not good. Too clean = not good. Maybe it's all in your frame of reference. It is important to remember, after all, that the majority of us (medical students and professionals, take note that I am talking about home habits, not clinical habits) are not going to be coming into contact with microorganisms that cause really severe diseases, so you can afford to be a little bit dirty. And I suppose there's no harm in consuming soap residue from your dishes. Just take my advice and don't get too close to coughing babies.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
It's been finalized: Three months from now, the semester will be practically over and our friends from Philly will be coming for Derby Week. The festivities kick off with Thunder Over Louisville, which is some huge, crazy fireworks display over the river, and then at least two of our friends will be arriving at the end of April. EScottC and our friend Ducleotide are running the Derby mini-marathon (crazy people), and then we'll have a week of fun (OK, I'll have school) before the Derby itself. We're opting for the $40 infield (pukefield) tickets, since actual seats are all sold out and are being sold online for $200+ each. I'm excited for my first Derby, and I'm planning on buying a big, crazy hat anyway even though I'm sure it'll be destroyed.
Hard to imagine, but three months simultaneously seems like a very short and very long time from now. I have my first round of tests in two weeks, and by the end of April I'll be finished with class and preparing for my third round of tests/finals. It's chilly now (granted, still pretty warm for January) and by then it will be very warm. Three months will pass in no time, I'm sure, but in the meantime I struggle to get through the week a day -- no, an hour -- at a time. Funny how that works.
I got some of that baking itch scratched last night -- I made cupcakes (white cake, vanilla buttercream frosting). However, eating them is still going to be a problem, but if they're not gone by the end of the week I'll take them to school and that will solve the problem.
And, just a mini-update: the boyfriend from the child abuse case last week has been charged with murder, since the boy died a day after coming to the ER. They're calling it shaken baby syndrome (which explains the lack of bruises or marks on his body from, say, being hit or kicked), and I'm glad they have the guy in custody. According to the news, the mom was at home at the time, which is different from what we heard at the time, but she is not being charged. I'm definitely going to follow this story, and I'll keep you posted.
Hard to imagine, but three months simultaneously seems like a very short and very long time from now. I have my first round of tests in two weeks, and by the end of April I'll be finished with class and preparing for my third round of tests/finals. It's chilly now (granted, still pretty warm for January) and by then it will be very warm. Three months will pass in no time, I'm sure, but in the meantime I struggle to get through the week a day -- no, an hour -- at a time. Funny how that works.
I got some of that baking itch scratched last night -- I made cupcakes (white cake, vanilla buttercream frosting). However, eating them is still going to be a problem, but if they're not gone by the end of the week I'll take them to school and that will solve the problem.
And, just a mini-update: the boyfriend from the child abuse case last week has been charged with murder, since the boy died a day after coming to the ER. They're calling it shaken baby syndrome (which explains the lack of bruises or marks on his body from, say, being hit or kicked), and I'm glad they have the guy in custody. According to the news, the mom was at home at the time, which is different from what we heard at the time, but she is not being charged. I'm definitely going to follow this story, and I'll keep you posted.
Friday, January 27, 2006
after all that hoping for friday...
...friday wasn't so good. nothing big happened or went wrong, i'm just prophylactically exhausted from the weekend that hasn't even happened yet. oh well, that's what friday night is for. saturday morning is going to suck, but it's still more than 12 hours away.
i wish i had more time to cook, and more people to cook for. sometimes (often when i'm procrastinating), i get the urge to cook. sometimes it's cooking dinner-type recipes. often, when i'm stressing, it's baking. i'm not a particularly wonderful baker or anything, but i haven't really had the opportunity to try my hand at it, either. occasionally i'll make brownies, and i recently bought a muffin tin so now i can make cupcakes as well (all from mixes, but they're soooo good). but i'd really like to bake a multi-layer cake with icing and all sorts of fun decorations. or bread from scratch. or cream puffs or tons of cookies or any of a number of things. but who's going to eat it all? standard dinner recipes are for 4, and i'm from a big family so i'm used to cooking for 6 (but i've adjusted to 4), and with dinner that's ok because you'll eventually eat the leftovers. but no matter how long it takes you and your roommate to polish off a cake, you can't escape the fact that you've eaten half a cake all by yourself. so i wish i had more people to feed.
last night i was playing around on the internet while i was eating dinner and realized that this sunday is Chinese New Year - the beginning of theYear of the Dog. i wish i had realized this earlier, because i've been meaning to make a batch of dumplings, and this would have been the perfect excuse. but it's too late to invite people over at this point, plus i have no time to prepare. so maybe next weekend, and we'll just celebrate a week late. i'm thinking dumplings (guests can help make those so they're fun), steamed chinese veggies with oyster sauce, fried rice with chinese sausage or roast pork, and a whole steamed fish. yum! and then it occurred to me that i still don't own a wok, so that's next on my list of kitchen items to acquire. if my new year's feast goes on as planned, i'll probably do it sans wok, but maybe i'll get one in time. after some sleuthing, i've learned that carbon steel is best, and i learned how to cure it and dry it properly, and i discovered that they now make these wok rings for the stove to support the round bottom of the wok, which is nice, because a flat-bottomed wok is just a funny-looking pan, which is pointless. hopefully this next week i'll have time to get all this stuff and prep to have people over. but i'd really like to, because we have too nice of an apartment to not have people over, and now we finally have a couch so there are places for people to sit.
i wish i had more time to cook, and more people to cook for. sometimes (often when i'm procrastinating), i get the urge to cook. sometimes it's cooking dinner-type recipes. often, when i'm stressing, it's baking. i'm not a particularly wonderful baker or anything, but i haven't really had the opportunity to try my hand at it, either. occasionally i'll make brownies, and i recently bought a muffin tin so now i can make cupcakes as well (all from mixes, but they're soooo good). but i'd really like to bake a multi-layer cake with icing and all sorts of fun decorations. or bread from scratch. or cream puffs or tons of cookies or any of a number of things. but who's going to eat it all? standard dinner recipes are for 4, and i'm from a big family so i'm used to cooking for 6 (but i've adjusted to 4), and with dinner that's ok because you'll eventually eat the leftovers. but no matter how long it takes you and your roommate to polish off a cake, you can't escape the fact that you've eaten half a cake all by yourself. so i wish i had more people to feed.
last night i was playing around on the internet while i was eating dinner and realized that this sunday is Chinese New Year - the beginning of theYear of the Dog. i wish i had realized this earlier, because i've been meaning to make a batch of dumplings, and this would have been the perfect excuse. but it's too late to invite people over at this point, plus i have no time to prepare. so maybe next weekend, and we'll just celebrate a week late. i'm thinking dumplings (guests can help make those so they're fun), steamed chinese veggies with oyster sauce, fried rice with chinese sausage or roast pork, and a whole steamed fish. yum! and then it occurred to me that i still don't own a wok, so that's next on my list of kitchen items to acquire. if my new year's feast goes on as planned, i'll probably do it sans wok, but maybe i'll get one in time. after some sleuthing, i've learned that carbon steel is best, and i learned how to cure it and dry it properly, and i discovered that they now make these wok rings for the stove to support the round bottom of the wok, which is nice, because a flat-bottomed wok is just a funny-looking pan, which is pointless. hopefully this next week i'll have time to get all this stuff and prep to have people over. but i'd really like to, because we have too nice of an apartment to not have people over, and now we finally have a couch so there are places for people to sit.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
soooo close to friday
I was surprisingly awake today, which means I met goal #1 for the week (stay awake through class), but I have to confess that I spaced out during 1/2 of biochem and all of neuro, so I didn't meet goal #2 (pay attention in class). But physio was good. So I was 100% for staying awake and 50% for paying attention -- not soooooo bad. Free lunch today, too, so overall a positive day.
There were two Maryland interviewees today, and 1 yesterday -- what is this sudden interest in KY? No matter, I was very happy when the UMD kid (OK, he was from UMBC but who cares) stood up in class, and everyone made fun of me for cheering. The other girl went to Howard, which is close enough. Plan for tonight: study, maybe go to my ab class, more study. Translation: nap, ab class maybe, tv, maybe study. #1 goal: go to sleep EARLY! Now I know why my parents always went to bed around 9 or 10 my whole life; when you have to wake up to go to work (class is like work when it starts at 8!), you need to go to sleepy early!
There were two Maryland interviewees today, and 1 yesterday -- what is this sudden interest in KY? No matter, I was very happy when the UMD kid (OK, he was from UMBC but who cares) stood up in class, and everyone made fun of me for cheering. The other girl went to Howard, which is close enough. Plan for tonight: study, maybe go to my ab class, more study. Translation: nap, ab class maybe, tv, maybe study. #1 goal: go to sleep EARLY! Now I know why my parents always went to bed around 9 or 10 my whole life; when you have to wake up to go to work (class is like work when it starts at 8!), you need to go to sleepy early!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Crazy Tuesday!
I've had two good days of class -- at class on time (or no more than 5 minutes late), awake through all of my classes, and I even put on a little bit of makeup both days! Due to a class rescheduling issue, we were done with class at noon today and don't have any class tomorrow -- it's like a weekend in the middle of the week!
This afternoon I worked a Kosair ER shift (the children's hospital in town). I'm a research assistant for an RSV study -- I listen to babies' lungs and rate their respiratory signs on a scale. Anyway, it was pretty boring, not too many patients -- although one bona fide RSV+ 6-month-old did come in, so I had to completely suit up in protective gear to evaluate him -- and I was getting some good studying in in one of the break rooms, and then one of the nurses came back and announced there was a full arrest. I wandered out to the ER to see, and I saw an understandably hysterical mother. Over the next hour, I got updates from the nurses: it was a 2-year-old boy who was being watched by his mother's boyfriend. The boyfriend called the mom at work and said she had to come home because the kid wasn't breathing (hello? maybe call 911 first?). So she came home and then called 911, and then there weren't any paramedics, only EMTs, so they only did chest compressions on the way in, which took 10 minutes, so who knows how long the kid was out. And when he arrived, his body temp was only 88 degrees -- so he was probably out for a long time (and no, he didn't fall into the river or anything). They got his heart beating again, but his catheter passed gross blood, so that indicated kidney damage -- probably trauma (but no visible bruises on his body). After he was stabilized, they sent him to CT and started thinking it was abuse by the boyfriend. I don't know what the CT showed exactly, but he had a bleed, and then the mother got really upset (but eerily, calmly upset, not hysterical), and... the boyfriend disappeared! He had asked where the bathroom was and didn't come back! The whole ER swarmed with security, and then police, and the place went on lock-down. At the same time, all the family was being held in the back part of the ER, where I HAD been studying, and they were all screaming bloody murder (Mom: "You're telling me there's something wrong with my baby's brain, and the only person with him today was my boyfriend. Now I'm normally a Christian woman, but today I'm not. I'm going to kill him. Where is he? I'm going to kill him."), so I was not back there anymore. It was very tense and finally the little boy went up to the PICU and the family followed, with many counselors and social workers and CPS in tow. Whew. The boyfriend? He indeed had gone to the bathroom, and locked himself in. He was being guarded quietly by the cops, and when the family went upstairs, they took him away. Silver lining, I suppose. Things don't look good for the kid, I think they were going to get him warmed back up and then pull the plugs :(
Tomorrow I'm going to be very productive even though I don't have class. A full day of studying downtown, interrupted for an hour by lunch with an interviewee from Maryland (yay, homestaters!) and paying my speeding ticket. Wish me luck.
Oh yes, and I've signed up to participate in the Louisville Polar Bear Plunge to support Special Olympics of Kentucky. That's right, I'm going to jump into the Ohio River in February -- wearing a crazy costume! Any ideas? -- will you support me? Go to https://louisvilleplunge.kintera.org/2006/ulsom2009 and click on my name to donate. I need to raise $100 -- please help!!
This afternoon I worked a Kosair ER shift (the children's hospital in town). I'm a research assistant for an RSV study -- I listen to babies' lungs and rate their respiratory signs on a scale. Anyway, it was pretty boring, not too many patients -- although one bona fide RSV+ 6-month-old did come in, so I had to completely suit up in protective gear to evaluate him -- and I was getting some good studying in in one of the break rooms, and then one of the nurses came back and announced there was a full arrest. I wandered out to the ER to see, and I saw an understandably hysterical mother. Over the next hour, I got updates from the nurses: it was a 2-year-old boy who was being watched by his mother's boyfriend. The boyfriend called the mom at work and said she had to come home because the kid wasn't breathing (hello? maybe call 911 first?). So she came home and then called 911, and then there weren't any paramedics, only EMTs, so they only did chest compressions on the way in, which took 10 minutes, so who knows how long the kid was out. And when he arrived, his body temp was only 88 degrees -- so he was probably out for a long time (and no, he didn't fall into the river or anything). They got his heart beating again, but his catheter passed gross blood, so that indicated kidney damage -- probably trauma (but no visible bruises on his body). After he was stabilized, they sent him to CT and started thinking it was abuse by the boyfriend. I don't know what the CT showed exactly, but he had a bleed, and then the mother got really upset (but eerily, calmly upset, not hysterical), and... the boyfriend disappeared! He had asked where the bathroom was and didn't come back! The whole ER swarmed with security, and then police, and the place went on lock-down. At the same time, all the family was being held in the back part of the ER, where I HAD been studying, and they were all screaming bloody murder (Mom: "You're telling me there's something wrong with my baby's brain, and the only person with him today was my boyfriend. Now I'm normally a Christian woman, but today I'm not. I'm going to kill him. Where is he? I'm going to kill him."), so I was not back there anymore. It was very tense and finally the little boy went up to the PICU and the family followed, with many counselors and social workers and CPS in tow. Whew. The boyfriend? He indeed had gone to the bathroom, and locked himself in. He was being guarded quietly by the cops, and when the family went upstairs, they took him away. Silver lining, I suppose. Things don't look good for the kid, I think they were going to get him warmed back up and then pull the plugs :(
Tomorrow I'm going to be very productive even though I don't have class. A full day of studying downtown, interrupted for an hour by lunch with an interviewee from Maryland (yay, homestaters!) and paying my speeding ticket. Wish me luck.
Oh yes, and I've signed up to participate in the Louisville Polar Bear Plunge to support Special Olympics of Kentucky. That's right, I'm going to jump into the Ohio River in February -- wearing a crazy costume! Any ideas? -- will you support me? Go to https://louisvilleplunge.kintera.org/2006/ulsom2009 and click on my name to donate. I need to raise $100 -- please help!!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Sunday update
3 hours later, and i have yet to do any real studying. i have, however, done pseudo-work: i finished updating my CV and put together all evidence of my research experience (thesis, lit review, practicum files, etc) to send to Dr. McKinney, head of the epidemiology department at the school of public health here, to try and get a job this summer. then i submitted my application for the summer research scholars program to try and get funding for said job. tomorrow i need to call Dr. Troutman, head of the city health department, to set up a meeting about possibly working for him this summer -- need to keep my options open. plus i need to contact some doctors about maybe doing some shadowing. or maybe i'll just get a job at Old Navy so i can buy clothes with an employee discount.
i also did some assorted class president stuff, which is what i always do when i need to do pseudo-work. the only pseudo-work left on my list is cleaning, but i'll do that during tv tonight. i still have to finish putting things away from my hong kong trip, and clean clothes keep piling up that i need to hang up and/or iron.
and my final act of procrastination will be to tell you where i've eaten this week: Diamante, on Bardstown Road, courtesy of an interviewing pre-med that we took out to dinner and a gift certificate from Restaurant.com; and Flanagan's, also on Bardstown Road. Diamante was really good. I've read good things about their wings on Robin Garr's site, and they were true; the wings were spicy but also tangy-sweet, yum! I had a southwestern grilled chicken breast with black bean and pineapple salsa, which was also very good - the chicken was very tender! - with sauteed mushrooms and garlic smashed potatoes. ESC had a buffalo chicken sandwich, so it was like he never finished the appetizer, but he said it was also very good. I'd definitely go back, either for a semi-nice dinner, or just to sit at the bar and have wings and a burger. Flanagan's, on the other hand, wasn't so great. Lots of my classmates go there late at night, and it seems like it would be fun in such an instance. They have a pretty good beer selection, both tap and bottle, which is much-appreciated. I had a chocolate cherry ale (can't remember the brewer's name) that was really good, and ESC had Never Summer Ale, which he said was good but was too hoppy for me (i don't like hoppy beers ever). The food was less good: we ordered "cheesy breadsticks," which were in reality cheese calzones due to their size (not so bad), but they were followed within 3 minutes by our entrees. boo, bad timing. Entrees were pretty good: i had a southern fried chicken sandwich, which was really crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside, but tasted pretty bland even though i swear it was somehow the cause of the spicy sensation in my mouth. ESC had a buffalo chicken sandwich (he does usually have a more varied food repertoire, i swear!). they were OK, but all they have on the menu are appetizers, burgers, chicken sandwiches, and pizza. It's supposed to be an Irish pub; why the crappy menu? In that respect, I like Molly Malone's across the street better, but I don't remember what their beer selection was like. So I guess it's Molly Malone's for food, Flanagan's for drinking.
Also this week, I made an easy chicken recipe: throw a chicken breast, some red pepper chunks, and some onion (preferably sweet but i was trying to use up an old non-sweet one) in a piece of aluminum foil, sprinkle with monterey chicken seasoning (i was also trying to use up half a beaten egg, so i used it to lightly bread the chicken), and fold up into a packet, then stick in an oven for about 45 minutes or until your thermometer beeps. i also threw in a head of garlic (cut off just a bit of the top to expose the cloves, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper) for about an hour to make some roasted garlic and enjoyed some garlic bread. I also made a really easy pork roast, it was one of those pre-marinated, pre-wrapped deals from the meat section, and i served it with baked sweet potatoes and steamed green beans while we watched Lost episodes. Last week we got industrious and made lasagna, which was fun and delicious, so I'll throw that into the rotation again soon. And in the spirit of trying to "eat more fish because it's good for you and eating it in restaurants is expensive," i bought some frozen tilapia fillets, so i'll try those out this week. Also this weekend I made sugar cookies from scratch for the first time ever for a volunteer event our class did with the local Big Brothers/Big Sister chapter (cookie decorating). They came out pretty well, although I think I rolled them a tad thin, so they were more crispy than chewy, so now I know I can make those successfully.
Well, 1 football game down (see ESC's blog for the minute-by-minute syopsis if you care about things like that), I hear another rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, and I have 2.5 hours before Desperate Housewives. I WILL get some studying done today! I WILL!
i also did some assorted class president stuff, which is what i always do when i need to do pseudo-work. the only pseudo-work left on my list is cleaning, but i'll do that during tv tonight. i still have to finish putting things away from my hong kong trip, and clean clothes keep piling up that i need to hang up and/or iron.
and my final act of procrastination will be to tell you where i've eaten this week: Diamante, on Bardstown Road, courtesy of an interviewing pre-med that we took out to dinner and a gift certificate from Restaurant.com; and Flanagan's, also on Bardstown Road. Diamante was really good. I've read good things about their wings on Robin Garr's site, and they were true; the wings were spicy but also tangy-sweet, yum! I had a southwestern grilled chicken breast with black bean and pineapple salsa, which was also very good - the chicken was very tender! - with sauteed mushrooms and garlic smashed potatoes. ESC had a buffalo chicken sandwich, so it was like he never finished the appetizer, but he said it was also very good. I'd definitely go back, either for a semi-nice dinner, or just to sit at the bar and have wings and a burger. Flanagan's, on the other hand, wasn't so great. Lots of my classmates go there late at night, and it seems like it would be fun in such an instance. They have a pretty good beer selection, both tap and bottle, which is much-appreciated. I had a chocolate cherry ale (can't remember the brewer's name) that was really good, and ESC had Never Summer Ale, which he said was good but was too hoppy for me (i don't like hoppy beers ever). The food was less good: we ordered "cheesy breadsticks," which were in reality cheese calzones due to their size (not so bad), but they were followed within 3 minutes by our entrees. boo, bad timing. Entrees were pretty good: i had a southern fried chicken sandwich, which was really crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside, but tasted pretty bland even though i swear it was somehow the cause of the spicy sensation in my mouth. ESC had a buffalo chicken sandwich (he does usually have a more varied food repertoire, i swear!). they were OK, but all they have on the menu are appetizers, burgers, chicken sandwiches, and pizza. It's supposed to be an Irish pub; why the crappy menu? In that respect, I like Molly Malone's across the street better, but I don't remember what their beer selection was like. So I guess it's Molly Malone's for food, Flanagan's for drinking.
Also this week, I made an easy chicken recipe: throw a chicken breast, some red pepper chunks, and some onion (preferably sweet but i was trying to use up an old non-sweet one) in a piece of aluminum foil, sprinkle with monterey chicken seasoning (i was also trying to use up half a beaten egg, so i used it to lightly bread the chicken), and fold up into a packet, then stick in an oven for about 45 minutes or until your thermometer beeps. i also threw in a head of garlic (cut off just a bit of the top to expose the cloves, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper) for about an hour to make some roasted garlic and enjoyed some garlic bread. I also made a really easy pork roast, it was one of those pre-marinated, pre-wrapped deals from the meat section, and i served it with baked sweet potatoes and steamed green beans while we watched Lost episodes. Last week we got industrious and made lasagna, which was fun and delicious, so I'll throw that into the rotation again soon. And in the spirit of trying to "eat more fish because it's good for you and eating it in restaurants is expensive," i bought some frozen tilapia fillets, so i'll try those out this week. Also this weekend I made sugar cookies from scratch for the first time ever for a volunteer event our class did with the local Big Brothers/Big Sister chapter (cookie decorating). They came out pretty well, although I think I rolled them a tad thin, so they were more crispy than chewy, so now I know I can make those successfully.
Well, 1 football game down (see ESC's blog for the minute-by-minute syopsis if you care about things like that), I hear another rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, and I have 2.5 hours before Desperate Housewives. I WILL get some studying done today! I WILL!
haha
I'm not QUITE this bad. I only send relevant news articles, and only to a handful of people. I never send inspirational/funny/emotional stories. But I still get the same reaction :)
http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/archive/pearls-20060122.html
p.s. - this is my favorite comic strip. the c-j does not have it. boo.
p.p.s. - 5 hours, 15 minutes, here i go :)
(oh yeah, i found out a lot of people think it should be "p.s.s.," not "p.p.s." -- there are a lot more idiots in the world than i thought. including my anatomy professor, who gave us a mnemonic using "p.s.s." (which i don't remember, haha).)
http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/archive/pearls-20060122.html
p.s. - this is my favorite comic strip. the c-j does not have it. boo.
p.p.s. - 5 hours, 15 minutes, here i go :)
(oh yeah, i found out a lot of people think it should be "p.s.s.," not "p.p.s." -- there are a lot more idiots in the world than i thought. including my anatomy professor, who gave us a mnemonic using "p.s.s." (which i don't remember, haha).)
Sunday doldrums
It's Sunday. I woke up just before noon. My natural sleep tendency is to go to sleep between midnight and 1 am, and wake up between 11 am and noon. Unfortunately, that is not how the real world works. And definitely not how residency works. That's what I'm most scared of -- sleep deprivation during residency. And it's also why I have serious doubts I would ever actually run for president of the U.S. You always hear about presidents' crazy long schedules. Of course, if I were president, couldn't I just do what I wanted? Probably not; that's why President Bush always gets criticized about his long vacations and whatnot. And that's why the answer to my solution is dictatorship, not presidency :)
I need to study today, big time. My resolution for the year was to study 2 hours each day during the week. Needless to say, that has not happened. Last week I had a marathon study session at Highland Coffee, the Seelbach Hotel (sat in a lounge area pretending like I belonged), and Borders, which was when I got interviewed by David Jackson of USA Today about what I thought about President Bush. Anyway, I was downtown for a good 5-6 hours, and very productive. I've been back to Highlands Coffee a couple times since, and I really like studying there, except they close at 5 pm weekdays, noon Saturdays, and aren't open on Sundays. This is the only bad thing about Louisville - nothing is ever open except the bars (but they're open until 4 am!)! Saturdays I can study at Java until 2, and Sunday my only option is Borders. Borders is actually kind of nice because I can get away with not ordering anything to eat/drink, but the fact that it's a bookstore can be distracting. This past week I haven't been so good about the studying (or the waking up to go to class), mostly due to television and Netflix (but I'm all caught up on Season 1 of Lost!). This needs to change.
Anyway, today I would go to Borders, except it's raining and I don't feel like walking in the semi-cold rain. Which brings me to Louisville weather: WEIRD. This past Tuesday I walked to school in warm rain, wearing a trench coat ($20 bargain buy at Old Navy!), walked home from school in the afternoon in cold rain still wearing the trench coat but wishing I had gloves, ear muffs, and a scarf, and that night, it snowed. Real snow, with big, fat snowflakes that stuck to everything except the busy roads. I actually had to clean my car off Wednesday morning. But then Thursday it was 60 degrees out, and I was mad I had class all afternoon. CRAZY! This is, according to the Courier-Journal, one of the five warmest Januarys (Januaries?) since 1850. I can't get used to it. OK, so I need to study, and I don't want to go to Borders, so that leaves my apartment, which is great if I'm the only one here or if I can study in the extra bedroom that we've designated the study. The past few months, the study hasn't worked because there's been something wrong with the vent and it's always freezing, so I can't stand it. Plus my computer is in here, so that creates temptations to check email, surf the internet, etc. But now the vent has supposedly been fixed, so I'm going to try it out, close the laptop, and get some good studying in. I swear. EscottC says he's going to watch 7 hours of football today, so I suppose I can study for 7 hours. Except Housewives and Grey's Anatomy are on tonight, so that makes it 6 hours. Plus it's already 3:20, so that's 5 hours, 40 minutes. OK, here I go.
But first: we need a console table for our entryway, to replace the shelf we had there that EscottC accidentally pulled out of the wall when he leaned on it too hard. Target has some nice ones, but they're all so expensive. $90 for a table? From Target? Really? Grr. I think we're going to have to scout some thrift stores or unfinished furniture stores. For some things, like couches, I'm willing to go for quality at this point, but not little curio tables. I'm already borderline-not-following the "if you live like a doctor while you're a student, you'll live like a student while you're a doctor" mantra -- I'm thinking $20-30 for something like this, max. Bargain hunting requires time, though, which is something else I do not have a lot of. So for now, the table has to wait.
OK, 5 hours, 35 minutes. Here I go...
I need to study today, big time. My resolution for the year was to study 2 hours each day during the week. Needless to say, that has not happened. Last week I had a marathon study session at Highland Coffee, the Seelbach Hotel (sat in a lounge area pretending like I belonged), and Borders, which was when I got interviewed by David Jackson of USA Today about what I thought about President Bush. Anyway, I was downtown for a good 5-6 hours, and very productive. I've been back to Highlands Coffee a couple times since, and I really like studying there, except they close at 5 pm weekdays, noon Saturdays, and aren't open on Sundays. This is the only bad thing about Louisville - nothing is ever open except the bars (but they're open until 4 am!)! Saturdays I can study at Java until 2, and Sunday my only option is Borders. Borders is actually kind of nice because I can get away with not ordering anything to eat/drink, but the fact that it's a bookstore can be distracting. This past week I haven't been so good about the studying (or the waking up to go to class), mostly due to television and Netflix (but I'm all caught up on Season 1 of Lost!). This needs to change.
Anyway, today I would go to Borders, except it's raining and I don't feel like walking in the semi-cold rain. Which brings me to Louisville weather: WEIRD. This past Tuesday I walked to school in warm rain, wearing a trench coat ($20 bargain buy at Old Navy!), walked home from school in the afternoon in cold rain still wearing the trench coat but wishing I had gloves, ear muffs, and a scarf, and that night, it snowed. Real snow, with big, fat snowflakes that stuck to everything except the busy roads. I actually had to clean my car off Wednesday morning. But then Thursday it was 60 degrees out, and I was mad I had class all afternoon. CRAZY! This is, according to the Courier-Journal, one of the five warmest Januarys (Januaries?) since 1850. I can't get used to it. OK, so I need to study, and I don't want to go to Borders, so that leaves my apartment, which is great if I'm the only one here or if I can study in the extra bedroom that we've designated the study. The past few months, the study hasn't worked because there's been something wrong with the vent and it's always freezing, so I can't stand it. Plus my computer is in here, so that creates temptations to check email, surf the internet, etc. But now the vent has supposedly been fixed, so I'm going to try it out, close the laptop, and get some good studying in. I swear. EscottC says he's going to watch 7 hours of football today, so I suppose I can study for 7 hours. Except Housewives and Grey's Anatomy are on tonight, so that makes it 6 hours. Plus it's already 3:20, so that's 5 hours, 40 minutes. OK, here I go.
But first: we need a console table for our entryway, to replace the shelf we had there that EscottC accidentally pulled out of the wall when he leaned on it too hard. Target has some nice ones, but they're all so expensive. $90 for a table? From Target? Really? Grr. I think we're going to have to scout some thrift stores or unfinished furniture stores. For some things, like couches, I'm willing to go for quality at this point, but not little curio tables. I'm already borderline-not-following the "if you live like a doctor while you're a student, you'll live like a student while you're a doctor" mantra -- I'm thinking $20-30 for something like this, max. Bargain hunting requires time, though, which is something else I do not have a lot of. So for now, the table has to wait.
OK, 5 hours, 35 minutes. Here I go...
Happy New Year
So... 4 posts in 1 day back in September, and nothing since. I forgot I even had this. I really like blogs -- reading other people's blog, that is -- but I suppose it's time for me to be fair and write something of my own as well.
Quick update of the last 4 months: 1 semester of med school done, and I passed all my classes. Probably Honored one class also, but won't find out until later this month. Went to Hong Kong for Christmas with my whole family and boyfriend, which was very fun but also exhausting. This semester, we have a different class format, and I like it, but I'm still not very good at studying. This needs to end. This past week, we bought a sofa (it came yesterday) and boyfriend got a job (yay!). He's going to be a reporter at the New Albany (Ind.) Tribune and Jeffersonville (also Ind.) Evening News. He starts Monday, and I hope it's everything he wanted in reporting. In a few weeks, we're going to get kittens (I can't wait!).
Scrubs started back up this month, and they show two episodes each week, which is wonderful. However, that means I now have 3 tv nights: Sunday (West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy), Tuesday (Scrubs), Thursday (Will and Grace, ER). Plus, over the last few months, I've gotten addicted to Lost, thanks to boyfriend's sister and Netflix. We've watched the whole first season on DVD, and now I'm quite addicted. However, I'm still not completely caught up, since I've missed everything that's happened this semester, but I found out I can download them from iTunes for $2/episode -- kind of tempting. REEEEEAAAALLY tempting, in fact. However, I don't honestly have time to get caught up on Lost. REEEEAAAALLY don't have the time. Haven't decided what I'll do yet, so stay tuned.
I'm trying to figure out what to do this summer. I've talked with the head of the epidemiology department at the School of Public Health, and we're working on finding me a research project to tag onto. If I'm lucky, I can finagle it so I get paid through the Summer Research Scholars Program -- $3000 for 10 weeks, not so bad. I'm also setting up a meeting with the Louisville Public Health Department, but it being a city government department and all, I don't know if they'd be able to pay me. I'll set up the meeting and see, I guess. If I do the summer research program, I'd start at the end of May and end August 4, so I'd get two weeks off before and a week and a half off before classes start back up. Not so bad, and since boyfriend only gets 2 weeks of vacation a year, it's not like I'd honestly be spending the whole summer traveling or anything anyway.
That's the quick update. More details as they become relevant. In more interesting news, I'd like to make this blog *about* something other than just my ramblings. But I don't have any good ideas. I do plan on include mini-reviews of restaurants we've tried (Louisville has great eating!). And maybe pictures of things I'd like to buy if I had the time and/or money. Sigh. Future earnings = huge. Current earnings = negative.
Quick update of the last 4 months: 1 semester of med school done, and I passed all my classes. Probably Honored one class also, but won't find out until later this month. Went to Hong Kong for Christmas with my whole family and boyfriend, which was very fun but also exhausting. This semester, we have a different class format, and I like it, but I'm still not very good at studying. This needs to end. This past week, we bought a sofa (it came yesterday) and boyfriend got a job (yay!). He's going to be a reporter at the New Albany (Ind.) Tribune and Jeffersonville (also Ind.) Evening News. He starts Monday, and I hope it's everything he wanted in reporting. In a few weeks, we're going to get kittens (I can't wait!).
Scrubs started back up this month, and they show two episodes each week, which is wonderful. However, that means I now have 3 tv nights: Sunday (West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy), Tuesday (Scrubs), Thursday (Will and Grace, ER). Plus, over the last few months, I've gotten addicted to Lost, thanks to boyfriend's sister and Netflix. We've watched the whole first season on DVD, and now I'm quite addicted. However, I'm still not completely caught up, since I've missed everything that's happened this semester, but I found out I can download them from iTunes for $2/episode -- kind of tempting. REEEEEAAAALLY tempting, in fact. However, I don't honestly have time to get caught up on Lost. REEEEAAAALLY don't have the time. Haven't decided what I'll do yet, so stay tuned.
I'm trying to figure out what to do this summer. I've talked with the head of the epidemiology department at the School of Public Health, and we're working on finding me a research project to tag onto. If I'm lucky, I can finagle it so I get paid through the Summer Research Scholars Program -- $3000 for 10 weeks, not so bad. I'm also setting up a meeting with the Louisville Public Health Department, but it being a city government department and all, I don't know if they'd be able to pay me. I'll set up the meeting and see, I guess. If I do the summer research program, I'd start at the end of May and end August 4, so I'd get two weeks off before and a week and a half off before classes start back up. Not so bad, and since boyfriend only gets 2 weeks of vacation a year, it's not like I'd honestly be spending the whole summer traveling or anything anyway.
That's the quick update. More details as they become relevant. In more interesting news, I'd like to make this blog *about* something other than just my ramblings. But I don't have any good ideas. I do plan on include mini-reviews of restaurants we've tried (Louisville has great eating!). And maybe pictures of things I'd like to buy if I had the time and/or money. Sigh. Future earnings = huge. Current earnings = negative.
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