Med School Journey Continues - Next Stop: NYC for OB/GYN

I finally will see normal vagina as I do my OB/GYN rotation next, for 6 weeks in NYC. Of course, during the OB part we will most likely see happy mothers-to-be, but during the GYN part we will see all sorts of pathology. Just remember: your vagine should not have a fishy odor or a curdly cheese discharge that smells like cottage cheese - that is bad people, very bad! (But treatable!)

I digress - if any of my readers are airline dorks like me, here is my itinerary:
Delta Flight 78: Depart LAX 730am - Arrive JFK 420pm

I will add Twitter updates during my trip, so check the sidebar on this blog, to the left, for updates about flight status or any delays.

I return to Fresno on December 5. Until then, I will be spending long days delivering babies, examining cervices, and studying for my board exam (Step 2 CK).

36 Hours in Cambria

Honestly, I could have spent 36 hours in one of the dusty cities along the 99 Freeway on the way home from Los Angeles and it still would have been an amazing, fun weekend due to the group of people I was with! First, AA was there - you already know a crazy good time will be had. But then add her Aunties plus their families and big P and you know there will be lots of laughing, drinking, stories, debating, and just plain old fun.

The weekend started with a blowout football game between Thousand Oaks High School and some other team not even worth mentioning because they lost HARD. We got to see our boy BH play one major crucial play, which made it all worth it! After the game, AKH drove us to Cambria where the group was already passed out, except for a couple troopers. We talked a bit, but then went to bed ourselves - big day coming up!

The big OPOLO Wine Tasting Party Day: Saturday was spent wine-tasting at a variety of wineries throughout the area. Can't remember all the names, but it was well worth the time spent. The view alone in the area was enough to help clear your mind and relax. Then, in the evening, we joined the Opolo Winery for their annual wine-tasting: all you can drink, all you can eat, all you can dance, and all you can watch AA juggle, throw paper airplanes, kiss old men, make new friends at other tables, get the owner's attention, and just generally lighten everyone's spirits and mood! And I got to do something I never have before and may never get to do again: stomp grapes. Definitely reminded me of the I love Lucy episode where she is stomping grapes and hilarity ensues. Super cool!

If you have a free weekend, definitely consider a visit to Cambria. If the scenery doesn't relax you, the wine most certainly will - just take a Designated Driver! :)

Oh, one more thing: I took three wine glasses with me back to La Habra to gift to my host family there. Of course, it is a priceless and amazing feeling when you get the wine glasses all the way to their final destination only to drop them at the last possible moment and hear them shatter in the paper bag you had carefully wrapped and placed them in. Absolutely priceless. Therefore, I award myself the biggest doof award for said accomplishment!

Whittier College 5 Year Reunion

It is an exciting time for the Whittier College class of 2004 as we approach our 5 year reunion! In honor of the reunion (and because I'm on the Reunion Committee) we made a special video to commemorate the event. Hope you enjoy!!



And PS: Coming up in a couple days will be "36 hours in Cambria"! Stay tuned!

Ya Don't Say

I ran across the following headline in a NY Times Article the other day:

"Study Finds High Rate of Imprisonment Among Dropouts"


Ya don't say. And all this time I figured dropouts were making our society all hunky-dory. It's a good thing lots of money was spent to research this topic.

“We’re trying to show what it means to be a dropout in the 21st century United States,” said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern, who headed a team of researchers that prepared the report. “It’s one of the country’s costliest problems. The unemployment, the incarceration rates — it’s scary.”

It is scary. It is even scarier that we continue to build a materialistic society that values the Kardashian's of the world to the tune of many TV shows and millions of dollars, but pays its educators an amount inadequate to live in the communities where they teach. It is even scarier that we shell out millions of dollars in salary to folks who can throw, pitch, toss, dunk, and hit a ball, but complain about $5 copay to see our Doctor.

But I digress - point is, dropouts are bad for the economy and end up in prison at a higher rate. Shocking.

8 Hours in Downtown LA

The other evening I saw downtown Los Angeles in a way I have never seen it before - as a really fun, hip, lively place to have a great evening with friends! Around two in the afternoon, my friend CKH and I took Amtrak from Fullerton to Union Station in Downtown, then continued on the Red Line Metro (Subway) a couple stops to the Bank of America Building in downtown where MH works on the 53rd floor. It was a gorgeous view from every side of the building and a great start to what would turn in an amazing evening of food, drinks/cocktails, great conversation and awesome memories.

Stop 1 - McCormick and Schmit's
CKH and I went here first to wait for MH to finish his day at work. We enjoyed the $1.99 appetizers! That's right - we got hummus, fried zucchini and cheese/bacon fries for only two bucks a plate! Only catch is you have to purchase a drink - $4.50 for a beer - but still a great deal! We spent an hour soaking in the late afternoon sun next to some staircase built in the design of some staircase in Rome. Yummy food, great times and a great way to start the evening.
Drink: Draft Shock Top

Stop 2 - Library Bar
At this point MH and our friend AS joined us as we went to this well-known and famous location! The inside has super comfy sofas next to bookshelves and deep/dark wood paneling. Great place to chill after work and catch up with friends as there isn't any blaring music you have to yell over. Sophisticated and fun. And the big fat steak fries covered in bacon grease and oil help you unwind, too!
Drink: Draft Stella Artois

Stop 3 - Rooftop Bar at The Standard Hotel
This is the epitome of super chic and hip and fun. Rooftop, 16 floors up, with cushy chairs to sit around and watch the sunset, the sky turn beautiful shades of red, orange, purple, and dark blue, and the LA skyscrapers rise up and create awesome shadows around you. Not to mention a great infinity pool if you are so inclined. This was my favorite stop of the evening. The air was crisp, perfect temperature, and the atmosphere was fun! Drinks here are a bit pricey, but well worth it for the ambiance. We didn't get food at this stop, but we were eyeing the "Mac n Cheese Balls" on the menu. If you try it, let me know!
Drink: Bottled Blue Moon

Stop 4 - Casey's Irish Pub
If you want some delicious food then this is a great place to stop-in. A cozy place, not pretentious, with great service and super yummy grub. Reasonably priced!
Drink: Draft Smithwick's

Stop 5 - Seven Grand
This place was incredible. Had MH not been guiding us, I would never have known that the unassuming entrance on the street led up a staircase to a dark-paneled, sophisticated bar and pool hall. It just gave you the sense of a place where multi-million dollar deals are negotiated over some whiskey and a game of pool. None of us really drank whiskey but they had an assortment of great beers as well. We drank while playing a game of pool (where I was surprisingly playing pretty well, which is rare).
Drink: Draft Chimay

Around 930 we headed back to Union Station to grab the last Amtrak of the evening home. All of us agreed that this is THE way to spend 8 hours in Downtown Los Angeles. But, from what we hear from MH, there is still lots of great places in Downtown...so another great evening is in the works.

Why Science Rules...

With science, you can explain just about anything. I found this online and thought it was great. A little bit crude, so if you are easily offended, skip this one, but if you have a good sense of humor or are trying to develop one, then this is a great read. Enjoy!

HELL EXPLAINED BY A CHEMISTRY STUDENT

The following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona chemistry mid term, and an actual answer turned in by a student.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unlikely. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. There fore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct..... ....leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.'

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.