Last 2 weeks in NJ

The first week back from Uganda - adjusting back to States lifestyle, faster pace and more right sided. I felt like I even had to adjust to driving again. I spent the time sorting my pics out and uploading my INMED blog and dealing with paper work for graduation. But I did really miss Uganda and all of the people that I have met and befriended there. It was such a short time but I still felt like I have been there for a lot longer.

It was nice that I have the 2 weeks left in NJ and I could officially say my own good bye to the place that have been my home for the last 2 years. I said goodbye to the people I have befriended at church and it made me reflect back on the last 2 years that I have known them. They have really become my support and home for the last 2 years despite me being MIA every so often. God has really put them in my life as I really needed a family after my not so great experience in Kirksville. Thank you CCCNJ and 5W.

Then moving. Found a company East West Movers Inc and they help with packing. So I planned on packing my bedroom and bathroom and leave the rest for them to help me pack. It only took us all together a little over 2 hours to pack up what I didn't pack and for them to load into the truck. I'm impress. At first when I saw the space that all my things were suppose to go in, I though "Oh crap! I'm going to have to pay more because it will not all fit in there, 300 cubic feet." But they did it with room to spare on top. The only thing that didn't go is my desk but no harm done. I have been wanting an excuse to get rid of it. So now I only have my duffle bag of cothes, sleeping bag and food in the fridge. Everything else that's left either gets toss or get shoved in the last 2 boxes or so that I have left.

I don't think it really hit until today that I am really moving. It was when I looked at my empty apartment and DING! I really am leaving the East Coast for the next 4 years and will being calling Cleveland home. I'm sure God is having fun up there with my life and how everything is turning out, but nonetheless, it will be great. Can't wait to start my new phase of life.

NYC ... College Gals Weekend

My college small group mate Dung came down this weekend to visit. She's in New Hampshire for nursing school and want to see NYC while on spring break. So we did the touristy things. We hit Chinatown's Joe's Shanghai, Doughnut Plant, WTC, Rockefeller, Times Square. I only spent one day with her and her friend in the city. I'm not a fan of the city and I can only handle so much going into the city. They stayed at my place for the weekend. It was nice see her again and catching up on our news. She's still very much as I remembered. And I felt like I was the one who changed the most once I have left UCLA/GOC. It makes me feel old that now I get think back how college was. ::sigh:: Time just flies.

One of the place we visited in Times Square, M&M store. Couldn't resist.

Digging my car ...

The last 2 weeks had been fun. I had to dig my car out of half a foot snow the first week then a week later a foot and half of snow. What a workout. Each time took me at least 45 min to a hour of arm strength. The second time I lost my parking spot to the snow since my spot is next the handicap spot and is at a corner. It had the space for the apartment to pile the snow. What a crazy 2 winter storms.

The 1st snow dig out.

Senoritis

It's the home stretch of the end of my med school training. Graduation is 5/15 and my international elective is coming up. I have a hard time motivating myself to get to work. Also, once I get to the hospital, I keeping wanting the day to be over as soon as possible. I'm on Peds EM this month at St Joseph's. It's actually a pretty good rotation and I am glad that I don't have to go in every day. I have a grand total of 15 12hr shifts. During my shifts I was able to get the required reading done for my Uganda rotation and able to chat with other 3rd and 4th years that are rotating at the same time. For most of my shifts, the 4th years take a long lunch breaks about 1.5 - 2 hr long. haha. Anything to shorten our workload.

What a difference between 3rd and 4th year. As a 3rd year, we are doing everything we can to get the good eval and possible letter. We needed to impress our attending and want to see everything that comes in. Now as a 4th, we know what we needed to do to just get by. What an amazing difference.

I have more time to go over and over my ranking list and the order of all the programs.

Thanksgiving

The week has been great. Came back from CCF interview then went into my FP rotation at Morristown office. They are very laid back and pretty much just do what you like and they are ok with it. I went in on Tues and then before I left at noon, one of them told to go home and take the rest of the week off and show up on next Tues after my St Luke's interview. Amazing or what? Worked only 1 day for the entire week. It was great. I just vegged for the rest of the time and just recuperating from the traveling for the previous interview and the previous month in Seattle and rest up before my crazy whirlwind of interviews in the next month.

I spent Thanksgiving with Kirstin and her family. It was great that I get to catch up with her and her process with the match. She's doing AOA match and she pretty much has narrowed down the a few she wants and knows the order to rank. I wish her the best and in getting what she wants. Perhaps we may end up in the same city for once. ;)

Her family is great. They pretty much have adopted me for the holidays and I have spent a couple of nights with them a couple of times. Her mom, Mary, makes good food, fairly healthy and taste good too. No complaints about food. It's been so long since I have had any home cook meals. Just satisfying. I just kind of vegged out at their place as well, definitely did not do any Black Friday shopping. I don't have any absolute need and have no need to wake up that early on my days off where I don't have to be up and functioning by 6am.

Overall, it was a quiet and relaxing time.

Apple Picking and PJ Pancake House

End of the 1st week of rotation at Jefferson ... more about it later. Drove back to my apartment and went apple picking at Terhune Orchards in Princeton with my small group. It was fun and we caught a bit of rain halfway through.

I didn't realize that there are more variation of apples that I have seen in the markets. They tasted much better than the ones in the market. They had Stayman Winesap, Jonamac, Macintosh, Empire, Liberty, Macoun, Golden delicious and Red delicious. I'm still not a friend of the delicious types so didn't pick any of those nor try them. I did try a bite or two of all the others. My favorite was Empire and I picked more of that. I also liked Liberty and Macoun. Jonamac and Macintosh just tasted too grainy and too thick of skin for me. And they were little more tart than I liked. I really like the Empire because it was more crunchy, slightly sweet and just more refreshing.

Before we left the orchards, I bought pecan pumkin bread and of course 1/2 gal of apple cider. I really miss the good yummy pumpkin bread. My first time was last Thanksgiving trying it at my friend's home and now I'm hooked. For apple cider, heat it up, a dollop of caramel and whipped cream ... yum ... perfect for fall. I knew there was a reason that I'm enjoying fall this year on the East Coast.

Lastly, apple cider doughnut. Never seen it or had it before. It was good but not my fav. The taste has more apple flavor but it's still a doughnut. I also bought apple butter but haven't had a chance to try it yet. Will definitely go for it after I'm back from Seattle around Thanksgiving.

Then we had lunch near Princeton University at PJ Pancake House, which is supposedly this awesome pancake place. I'm not a big fan of pancake and only when I'm in the mood for them. I had their fish and chips. It's not bad but probably wouldn't go there again. We went there mostly for the landmark.

Memorial Day Weekend Retreat

This past weekend I was at Marywood University, Scranton, PA for my church's retreat. The theme was Abraham's journey. I thought it would be good but it was a bit confusing. The speaker was trying to speak from 2 perspectives, atheist and Christian. It would work if he wasn't contradicting himself. It got to a point where I couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. I understand that our journey with God changes as we understand Him more and how much we understands depends on God himself. I was able to get to know the speaker a bit outside of his sermon. He is definitely very clear in his thoughts but the sermon just didn't quite deliver.

The weekend also had 2 workshops. One of which was a women's workshop where it was the speaker's wife leading it. It was pretty good because she was able to give the perspective of being a 2nd generation Chinese American and how to deal with the American world and our parents. I now understand that much of my disagreements between me and my mom really stems from our differences and that we both don't really understand each other's world. It's something I would have work on for years to come. I always feel like it's very hard for me to explain to my mom and have understand what is going on my life. Most of the time, I choose to not to tell her much of my life away from home because I feel like it's one way to keep our disagreement to the minimum. Much work to do.

This weekend made me realize that I long to belong to a place, I long to call a place home. I didn't know any one there, and I was meeting new people every time and don't really how to get to close to them. I really feel like I was an outsider looking in. I don't know how to fix this. I'm really praying that God will help me find a church and a place that I can call my earthly home.

Family Medicine 3

I just finish my 1st week of the super easy and chill family medicine. It is also my last rotation of my 3rd year. I only go in for about 2-3 hours a day and see about 4-5 patients. The drs. there were literally treating me as a 4th year even though I'm still technically a 3rd year. It's a little scary as how I'm going to get more responsibility as 4th year is coming up. They definitely expect that I know what the patient has and have an inkling in how to treat. I'm glad in a way because I get to see what 4th year is like without being one yet.

OB/Gyn

These past 4 weeks I've rotating in OB/Gyn at Trinitas Hospital at Elizabeth, NJ. It's been exhausting. This is probably the 2nd most exhausting rotation I've done this year. The hours were very long. It starts at 7am and can go until 8-9pm the latest. Thankfully, there was no call. We had to do 1 week of clinic, 1 week of gyn surgery and 2 weeks of L&D.

For my 1 week of clinic, I realized clinic work really doesn't work. I get exhausted even with clinic being only 6 hours or so. I get bored and feel like I can't really do anything. It could be the patient population that I get to see, but I feel like I was seeing the same thing over and over again. There isn't really much variations.

The week of gyn surgery was fun. I really enjoyed it. It was definitely exhausting, assisting with any where from 3 to 15 cases a day depending on the day. But it was fun. It kept me going nonstop. I didn't realize I was tired until the end of the day. I definitely like being in the OR more that the office.

L&D was very different. I couldn't really describe it except that it's a mix of office and OR. The office aspect is that we would have to keep track of pregnant ladies and the contractions, determining when they are ready to deliver and taking care of all the prep for the delivery. The delivery is very much like to OR, catching the baby as it comes out and taking care of the lacerations and the baby in the sterile field. The true OR experience in L&D is the c-section.

For me, I personally caught 2 babies on my own, with the midwife helping me. The babies were slippery and I couldn't really find the grip to not drop the babies. I feel like I'm on the verge of dropping babies constantly. The whole process of labor and delivery really turns me off. The girls on the rotation couldn't really decide if vaginal delivery was better or c-section. Both are very crude and cruel. For C-section, some surgeon would take the uterus out and plop it on the stomach to stitch it up then shove it back in. Most of us decide that between the two choices, c-section is probably a bit better. Who knows, medicine is really making us think differently.

During the week of gyn surgery, the most memorable is literally first assisting a vaginal prolapse, which is the bladder drop into the vaginal area and out to where you can see and feel it. This one I was in was fairly big and it took like 20 clamps to hold it and for the surgeon to repair it. It took about 40 mins to repair and this was done by a surgeon who is very fast. It was great watching a prolapse turning it into normal.

I would definitely say this is the 2nd craziest rotation. The first was my surgery rotation, filled with work and politics, very draining.

Anesthesiology

I just finished my 2 week rotation in anesthesiology. It's been fun. I definitely enjoyed my 2 weeks there. The people there were fun and I had a lot of fun with them. I just felt that the people there are happy and very satisfied with their career choice.

Even though there is a bit of physiology, I'm sure I can get it eventually, but everything is very much to my liking. It has calculations and pharm. It's more of having answers right there and then. It is not like in medicine where there is not an end to treatment. So far I haven't seen much of where there isn't an end to the treatment plan. There's always a definite end, very much like surgery. The hands on portion is very much delicate as well. Like spinal or epidural, it's a fine touch and can easily cause big problems. Even intubation is delicate as well. There's an art to it, deciding how to intubate and the actual intubation itself.

I feel more solid in choosing this specialty. Now the problem is figuring out how to get to it.

I picked out my USMLE Step 2 date: July 11

My Birthday

This year's birthday was very low key. I just made myself the pseudo annual birthday meal myself. In my family, my mom would always make fish, crabs/lobster, veggies, birthday noodles and buy the Asian/French yummy cake for everyone's birthday. So for myself, I made noodles and pan fried a orange roughy fillet and bought myself a slice of chocolate cake from the market. It's my ghetto version of birthday meal for myself.

I went out to dinner with a couple of med school friend to CPK. I haven't been to CPK since I was in LA. It was still good. Going there reminded me of home, more of So-Cal. I totally wouldn't mind going back but I don't if I was willing to stay. I feel more comfortable being out here, the east coast. It's more of my pace and fits my more impatient personality more. Who knows, it might change in the next day or so.

Regardless, thank you for all the well wishes.

Whole Foods - New Eye

Today, I went to Staples to get some stuff printed and bound and saw that Whole Foods is next door. Being that it's lunch time and I couldn't try the Thai restaurant that I wanted to so I decided to venture in and see what I could get for lunch. All through undergrad, I never liked Whole Foods at all because of being too organic and too expensive and totally not my taste. But this time around, I find Whole Foods very intriguing and totally fun. It's just too bad that I don't have the time today to wander around.

They have this whole area just for salad bar but their salad bar is very different. They've got the real salad bar, hot foods like Indian curry, popular Thai dishes, traditional American comfort food and desserts. All this and they have a dine in area that look very much like the ski resort's cafeteria by the windows in Tahoe area in Cali. Not only this, the shopping there is awesome. A ton of stuff that I missed from Cali and I was able to find them. It was great for the 20min that I could squeezed in to wander.

This new perspective on Whole Foods must be because I am older and have changed my taste a bit. Before you would never find me willingly to step foot into a place like this. I am so glad that I did today and found a great place very close to my apt. It seems like a great place to study for my upcoming boards as well. :)

Family Medicine 2

Finished with first month of FP. I am still very sure that I will not go into FP. I really do like the patient contact and relationship. It was fun and never the same because you do get to know the patients and know what's going on in their lives. But it's the chronic medical problems that drive me crazy. There isn't really any cure or anything that can make the medical problems go away completely. It's almost like toggling with multiple therapy to just keep the problems in check. Personally, I like to deal with problems that have a solution that will take care of, not just to toggle the treatment and waiting for the next flare up.

This past month has definitely kept me busy. The docs there do various work outside the office. They do school physicals, city hall licensing check up, house calls, residency programs and hospital boards. It was really good to see what else docs can do out the office or hospital work.

I'm tired and really need time to catch up on my rest.

Family Medicine

I just started my first of two months of FP. The first week was definitely interesting. It's a busy office with 2 brothers and a cousin running it. Last week was just me and NYCOM 4th year student there. So on the busy days, the two of us didn't have any break and was walking in and out of the exam rooms non stop. I felt like there was a revolving door that kept spinning and was spitting me and her out at certain destination. It was like this my first day and the day after New Year. Thankfully, we had the New Year's Day off.

It was great because the last week definitely allowed me to work on my clinical skills and the OMM skills. I really didn't realize how much I can do already over the last few months. I have constantly felt that I was a student and not really know anything but the last week proved that the docs at the office really trust our judgement on the patients because we essentially see the patients and they come in to just do a cursory check before signing off. I have a feeling that this month will go by fast and definitely gain more experience and confidence.

First time Blood Donor

I donated blood for the first time today. I'm not sure what to expect so I kinda just follow my resident and the other student in. I've wanted to donate blood for a while but just haven't gotten the courage to do it. Today, I was like what the heck, just go for it. That's what I did.

It wasn't bad at all. The room that the drive was in today was cold and of course, they couldn't find a good obvious vein on my arms, so they have pick the best one. The pinch when the needle went it hurts, it was more painful than when the draw blood for lab work. If that's how an IV line feels, I can see why patients absolutely hate them. I didn't feel anything when the phlebotomist took it out. It took be about 10 min to fill the bag up with my blood. By the end of the time, my hand was tired from squeezing the stress ball that they had us squeezing. After that I just got a sore arm.

I didn't feel dizzy when I got up but I laid down for a couple of minutes before that. By the time I finished, they had catered lunch brought in, so I sat down the staff and basically had lunch with them. They gave me a Christmas mugful of candies and random things. I also got 2 auto show tickets and a BP gas card of $15. I gave the autos how tickets to my residents since I have no intention of going. I think I'll do it again the next time they have a drive.

Now I just feel extra tired. I wasn't tired before this but I feel like it's already 8 or 9pm. ::yawn::

It's all for a good cause. And I also get to find out my exact blood type.

Thanksgiving on the East

This is the first Thanksgiving away from home. I'm spent it with Kirstin's family. She is my closest friend in med school. Her family is very much like mine so it was very comfortable. I definitely enjoyed it and had 2 thanksgiving dinners, one at her brother's place and the second one at her home. It was yummy. My favorite was the Pumpkin Gingerbread. I found the recipe that her mom used and I'm going to try it one of these days.

We also did the Black Friday shopping but we did it at 9am. It was all girls, her mom and her sister (Katie), Kirstin and I, so we did the usual stops, NY&Co, Express, Victoria's Secrets and Bath and Body Works, JC Penny. I have bought sweaters, enough to last me for a long while. I was able to buy the gift for the girl I picked from the inner city organization. So all in all, it's been a good couple days of break away from the hospital. The weather was good until I had to drive back from Saugerties. That day started off with flurries, then raining then icy rain. The road wasn't bad at all but the drivers were kind crazy. 3 accidents along the Thruway which took me 3 hours to get back when it should've taken me 1.5-2 hours. Oh well.

I'm just glad that I didn't have to spend Thanksgiving by myself and in Newark. Thank God for giving me a friend in med school when I didn't think I would find a good Christian girlfriend.

Week of Little Things

Oh Boy! This week was not busy but just lots of things to take care of. The first grocery of the apartment and the little things that my apartment needed, ie nite lites, flashlight, butcher knife. I spent too much time looking for a decent and cheap pitcher for making iced tea. That shouldn't be hard but it was. It seems like people here don't use it or they buy ones that are overpriced.

Then I have to take care of car insurance, registration and losing my CA driver's License. Really didn't want to do that but if I want my car to be legal here in Jersey, I gotta lose it. ::sigh:: Totally not happy about it. So I went to transfer my insurance from MO to NJ within State Farm. I find out I have to pay arms and legs for insurance, tripling what I was paying in MO. Totally not cool. So I spent a couple of hours shopping for insurance and now I'm with Geico. They only double what I was paying in MO and I get Roadside Assistance. How awesome is that. It's the one thing that has gone my way. :)

Then I went to get a library card. The library around my place still uses the catalog index cards system and not computerized. So I have to wait another 30 days before I could check books out from another local library. Ugh.

Then I find out I can't order checks from WaMu because I have changed my address and I have wait for 30 days. And on top of that, the branches here can't do any maintenance stuff because the CA system is different than the Jersey ones. They are suppose to be a nationwide banks. I'm ready to pull my hair out.

Nothing is going my way and the errands are taking too long to get done. So I'm catching up on the TV show, The Closer as a comfort. On a side note, I found those caffeine mints that I've bought in Walmart in Kirksville. I found them in CVS. Yippee.

Week in Weston, Florida

Back from a week in Florida during a hurricane season with a girlfriend. The week was muggy, warm / hot and wet. It literally rain for a couple of hours 3 days out of the 7 days we were there. The place we stayed, Mizner Place in Vacation Village. The place was gorgeous. We mostly sat around the pool and got sun and read random fiction. very chilled. We gone a yummy Italian restaurant not once but twice. The first time we got their appetizer caprese and it was yummy. The second time we got dessert instead, Italian canoli and Tiramisu. oh boy were they yummy beyond description.

We also went to one of the sports cafe and the bad for you fried seafood. Tried conch fritters which I'm sure I've had before but it was in Chinese soup that my mom made. We also tried one of the one of the more upscale restaurant for their yummy fresh fish. I had the seared halibut. It was done to perfection. We went to one very popular Asian buffet. It was only $11 and they've got sushi and hot foods and green tea ice cream. We have definitely had our share of unbelievable yummy food.

We spent half a day in the famous Everglades. We took the tour of the Everglades via an airboat, like the ones on CSI Miami. Saw bunch of crazy native birds ie vultures. Saw 2 alligators in the swamp. Then we got the alligator show and took pictures of me holding a baby alligator (Liana).


The Airboat Ride in the Everglades


The Gator in the Swamp; Vultures waiting for meat


The Gator Show


Me and Baby Liana; Lovely sign :)


Last nite out

More pics of the resort to come.

First week in New Jersey

The drive to Jersey from Missouri took forever. With all the breaks, it took me 15 hrs or so to get to Harrisburg then another 2.5 hrs to my apartment. It just felt like forever. I don't think I would ever want to do it again. It was cramp driving and not much leg room. Ugh.

Then we sort of unpack a bit then me and my parents took a tour of East Coast for 5 days. It is my second time but their first. It was still fun but my favorite this time is Niagara Falls and the Bostonian atmosphere. Perhaps I might spend some time in my fourth year there. Who knows.


The Brooklyn Bridge

Fake or Real? Wax Museum, NYC


Capitol Hill, White House, Washington D.C.


Hershey's Chocolate World


Niagara Falls


Bostonian Lobster (yummy)


Boston Harbor Boat Ride

Will be going to Florida to enjoy the sun next week. Be a fun boring bum.

EXCITING news!!!

YIPPPEEEE!!!! I'm going to Newark, NJ for the next 2 school years. Wonderful!!! I'm just excited thinking about it. There are so many things to do. And just being there is my dream. ::sigh:: Can't wait.

Sorry for the long lapse of update. But I'm in a crazy quarter where there are series of testing and studying.