the world of Yobo....a life in DUO

Thursday, October 21, 2004

 

Every Day is a Winding Road

Every day is a winding road,
I get a little bit closer,
Every day is a faded sign,
I get a little bit closer to feeling fine..

I don't post often because it requires me to be in the mood to write. This happens to be one of those times. If you crazily decide to continue reading, be prepared for a lot of useless drivel.

Part I
It's true: I don't chew my food enough while eating. Like many guys, I totally just inhale it. In the business of eating, the real purpose is sustenance. Pleasant taste is a bonus. Food has one destination ('get 'n mah bellay'), and it's my job to make sure it gets there right fast. Like a factory assembly line, there's no time for stopping. With soup, it's even faster! Sitting here with my Campbell's Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup.. oh wait, nope, all finished. Sitting here with my empty bowl, I came to realize how cold it is in my apartment..

Part II
As of 11:00pm, it is 46 degrees outside (according to Weatherbug). With poor insulation and no heater on, I can only assume that it's about the same inside here. How can you tell if it's really cold in your apartment?

1. It's not comfortable to walk around your apartment shirtless anymore.
2. You've left milk sitting on the counter for hours and it's still "fresh."
3. Your packets of "oil seasoning" that come with some good Asian brands of ramen noodles are always solid (and not liquid, as you would expect oil to be).
4. You have no tobacco products and yet you're blowing "smoke" with each breath you take.

Not to say that any of the above is currently happening to me, but it's a real possibility in the near future. Why not turn on the heater?

1. I don't believe in heaters, I'm a real man.
2. While cheaper than electricity, gas still costs money. Feeling cold can be had for free!

Speaking of money..

Part III


Yuh (Vietnamese for "dirt-ay")

Are these not the dirtiest bills? I'm only keeping them because they have sentimental value. Or else, I would've probably already spent these at the nearest Arby's or Taco Bell..

Part IV
While fast food is fine and dandy, I had the treat to attend a special dinner seminar hosted by the American Cancer Society last night at the Multnomah Athletic Club. Being invited is just one of those perks of being a medical student. The night featured a nice meal (fancy weed-like salad, buttery baked salmon served over buttery rice with buttered vegetables, and a piece of rich chocolate cake with a streak of raspberry), a lecture on translational genomic research and clinical applications (i.e. being able to screen the genetic make-up of lymphoma patients to see whether or not a treatment will be effective for them), and we left with a clinical Oncology textbook (probably worth a hundred bucks or so). With so much butter during the meal, I couldn't help but imagine somebody having a heart attack. After all, not every doctor takes the best care of themselves. I wonder how many physicians end up having heart attacks during trips to conferences where they eat lots of rich foods..

Part V
If somebody was having a heart attack around you, would you know what to do? Being a medical professional, people expect that you will be able to handle an emergency health situation by knowing CPR and whatnot. Up until this afternoon, most of the med students were not "certified" to help. However, four long hours and having "saved" a plastic dummy and a rubber baby, we are all good to go. I learned that the key to saving adults is ELECTRICITY and the key to saving children/infants is AIRWAY-AIRWAY, BREATHING-BREATHING..

Part VI
Getting the results from my last exam was not a breath of fresh air. I did well, but still, not as well as I had hoped. After some extensive calculations, I've determined that I need to average a 96% on the two parts of the next exam in order to finish the class with an "Honors" grade. Considering that I haven't been able to get that score on any of the previous three exams and that this current block (we're studying the head and neck) is supposedly the hardest, my outlook is not the best. But, oh boy (a phrase used a lot by Sam Beckett of Quantum Leap), am I determined. We'll see..

Part VII
From the looks of it, my hair is noticeably soft and smooth and shiny (but not limp). All that extra conditioning seems to be working. However, I've had comments that it's too long.. I just got it cut two and a half weeks ago! Perhaps I should just shave it off..

11:05 PM Albert