Ninety-three, A Second List

Weather
My life as an Indian growing up here
Books (mainly science-fiction)
Engineering school and five years of college there
Video games (mainly computer)
Experiences with my friends
Movies I've seen
Travels I've undertaken
Pointless musings that I come upon somehow
People's health
Where to eat
Medical school stuff
Current life issues my friends and I have
Valiben
Computer Stuff (building, comparing, etc)

These are the things that I have conversations about. I realized while typing them out that I do have a decent amount of stuff I can go on about. But still, at times it feels lacking. Maybe because recently my conversation topics have been limited to a select few. I have an image of a box being built slowly, surreptitiously, and I'm within the confines of it. I still can't see the walls, but it's out there angling in towards me. Last I checked, I'm not paranoid. I figure this is just my natural inclination to resist change. We'll see how things will play out in the coming days.

Ninety-two, Empty and Full

I don't really know what to write. I have successfully pushed aside myself in the past few days in order to properly cram for my exams tomorrow and Friday. My mind is filled with facts about Baclofen (CNS muscle relaxant), Hyoscyamine (Muscarinic Receptor Antagonist), Pemphigus Vulgaris (one type of blister), Bullous Pemphigoid (another type of blister), Ductal Carcinoma, Bowenoid Papulosis, Multiple Sclerosis, and more. I have spent quality time with some friends, and not seen others. I have talked with my family, but not for any long length of time. I have been playing games when I can, but not every day. I have been putting a lot into these exams. We shall see how they turn out.

Ninety-one, Boom Booms!

"Me likee teh esplozions. They were like, BOOM! O_O And I was like woah... O_o Then they like, skating man! *_o i like it.. I watchez again"

It's good that the Internet makes me laugh so much. From one point of view, BebopJelli could be raised on English like this. From another, more optimistic, point of view, she/he was being very creative in the description of this video. If you care to look for it, BebopJelli's comment is still there, 16 pages from the last page of comments. As for the video, while it's neat, not having been a skateboarder myself (or one blessed with much balance at all), I have little to relate to in the video other than liking the explosions in some of them. (thanks dooce for pointing out the comments)

Ninety, Hot Hot HOT!

Being a medical student, they tell you during second year is when you hit your hypochondriac phase. So far I've been good but I'll admit, looking over last night I could easily freak myself out. The fact that I developed a very strong fever out of nowhere is definitely a concern (don't worry, I'll be finding a licensed doc to get it checked up on) but what is even scarier are all the dozens of different conditions that could mean. A tad sobering if you ask me.

No worries for me today though, the fever departed as fast as it came so today I actually feel decent barring a slight left temporal headache. Nothing a Tylenol can't keep quiet while my body heals from the searing ravages of yesternight.

Eighty-nine, Wunderkind Johnny Lee

Today some of my friends and I perused Johnny Lee's website. Lord Chaos fell in love wished to conquer universes with him his Wii Remote usage. Additionally, he has some neat photography. I'll admit that even I really like a lot of the stuff he does. And he has an uncanny resemblance to Hiro Nakamura (no, I'm not saying that because he's Oriental but because they both have a similar facial build). I admit, if I didn't have school, I'd be somewhat interested in fooling around with his technologies.

Eighty-eight, Metaphysical Medicine

Neo, there's someone who could be a great doctor (Spoiler: he did save Trinity!). Imagine having that power in the real world. Being able to scalpel cut someone open, treat them, and sew the patient shut all in a matter of picoseconds (0.000000000001 seconds). Before a drop of blood spills, you're sewing them shut. In my mind, this works in a similar manner to Fry's 100 cups of coffee. Except normal doses of caffeine have little effect on me so I might have to go even higher to kill myself, achieve a higher state of nirvana, and do super-surgery!

Eighty-seven, A Grand Adventure!

So there I was, a little tired, thinking of going to bed (but realizing I would probably put it off by another 2 hours) when I get a phone call returned. It's Amish Girl and she's on a study-kick like no other. But I talk her into hanging out for a couple minutes. Then I hit a dilemma. [insert dramatic musical splurge, then a pause... continue] I don't want to put on my coat! [insert dramatic musical splurge, then a pause... continue] Idea! [spirally uplifting tone] I grab the chorso/chaddar that I have wrapped around me and walk Boldly out the door. Once I shut the door behind me, I briskly walk over to AG's place. I knock insistently and stand there freezing. Who the heck thought it would be bright not to wear a coat? (goes back, "... continue] Idea! [spirally") Oh, mine... hehe. Thankfully, she opens the door fairly quickly and I enter the warmth of her place. Despite the evil that slowly but surely is permeating the place. Of course I speak of her studiousness and not of the cat dander. Her cat is quite precious and would not wish harm upon me (except perhaps when I intentionally try to startle her--the cat, not AG...I think AG would just spray me with mace if I startled her regularly).

After realizing the faux pas of wearing a long coat (which I still don't know if it's still adhered to or not, so I think I'll ask my mentor!) and figuring out which type I'll need and whatnot, I brace myself and head out. A happier man for the load I now carry: AG returned my balloons to me and of course balloons make me happy. They make everyone happy!

Mmmmm...pie

Eighty-six, Medical-ese

"Morphologically, the major change in HD is loss of medium-sized spiny neurons in the neostriatum, manifested grossly by severe atrophy of the caudate nuclei and, to a lesser degree, the putamen. Cerebral cortical atrophy may also be evident, particularly in the frontal lobes."

The fact that I can read that and--outside of the fact that I read "spiny" and think Mario games--understand what it's saying to me means that all these years of schooling were worth something. As I try to figure that out, I realize that that "something" that I gained is the ability to speak in a new language. I wonder how useful this new language will be for talking to non-medical-ese people... I guess it's similar to being a translator. Except that it's involved translations where you actually describe what the words mean to each new person you meet (very few of whom will speak medical-ese). So yay! I'm learning a new language! Now all I have to do is spend the rest of my life explaining words from that language to people who speak English (and other languages).

Eighty-five, Curt

There's something to be said for your outlook influencing your day. Tomorrow will be very good. I guarantee it.

Eighty-four, Pushing Hard

Every so often, I get these urges to perform well. Which usually means sleep loses. It's 1:03 AM and I'm done with my assigned set of "Learning Objectives" (fancy words for testable material). I'm about to go to bed and sleep (by 1:30 at the latest). I'm going to hope to get up by 5 AM so I can get ready and then start studying for today's quiz. Off I go for a couple hours to nap.

Eighty-three, a Rat , an Airport, and Grandparents

I watched "Ratatouille" with my family today. My grandmother doesn't speak or understand English really at all. I wanted her to enjoy a movie and I feel that Pixar has movies that can accomplish that. But I realized that they too have a lot of dialogue at times so I would at times pause the action and explain stuff if it got hectic. I think she thought it was alright but wasn't really interested in it. My grandfather however watched it avidly! I thought that was interesting :) Granted I did hide the Gujarati newspaper (the Divya Bhaskar) when my dad came in with the mail today.

After dinner (I cooked potatoes and learned a couple things I did wrong last time!), "The Terminal" came on after Jeopardy! and I really liked it so I started talking about it to my grandparents while we were eating. Then after dinner, I kept up the explanations. I personally thought this movie would interest my grandmother more because Viktor Navorski doesn't speak English at the start of it and that's something she can relate to. I was surprised when my grandfather didn't go upstairs until 9:40 PM (normally he is in bed by 9:15). And my grandmother normally goes up as well but she stayed until the movie finished at 11! So I think they did like that one. I learned to follow the meaning of the movies without understanding the language from a young age when we'd watch Hindi films at home. It must be very frustrating to watch a movie where you understand none of the dialogue.

I'll have to see what I can do about the lack of stuff to keep the mind stimulated in the house for my grandparents.

Eighty-two, Life Doesn't Stop

I've been reading a new book I borrowed from a friend.

Soon I Will Be Invincible
by Austin Grossman

An excerpt:
"I'm not a criminal. I didn't steal a car. I didn't sell heroin, or steal an old lady's purse. I built a quantum fusion reactor in 1978, and an orbital plasma gun in 1979, and a giant laser-eyed robot in 1984. I tried to conquer the world and almost succeeded, twelve times and counting."

I read that and see pure comic genius.

Aside from that, I've been keeping busy with school. Big exams coming up this semester ranging from cumulative pathology exams to microbiology exams to the big one: Boards, USLME Step 1. And of course, I do my best to keep up with friends far and near. How about you? Staying sane in this crazy world?

Eighty-one, Fourty-five Minutes Before Class

I slept well last night. I don't usually dream-and-remember. I do dream but usually I have no recollection. Every now and then I do wake up in the middle of a dream remembering specifics clearly. And then, like this morning, I wake up right after I've finished a dream. I think this is the worst because you know there's a magical world just beyond your fingertips and mentally you reach for it, trying to grasp even a single thought inspired from it but to no avail. It is lost forever to the mists. Some people take on a sour grapes attitude, "Well, if you don't remember it, then it wasn't worth remembering." In fact, I say stuff like that a lot. But something within tells me that with dreams that is not so. That what we dream of and forget is of utmost importance to who we are as a person and possibly the world, if only we could recall them.

Eighty, Toasted Cheese Sandwiches

I woke up today and throughout today so far have had that heavy sinus-filled feeling of doom which in my world means a judgment of a cold is about to fall upon me. Doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a really bad one, but it's going to be one. The "filled-head" feeling (yes, that's doctor for the lay folk out there), the slight skull ache (specifically my maxilla!), and the low fever I've developed plus my loss of normal taste sense.

Mmmmm, soup and toasted cheese sandwiches (lazy man's grilled cheese).

Seventy-nine, Uttran

As I write this, people in India are going crazy up on the rooftops, especially in Gujarat. Kites are amassing in the air fighting each other and adding a sense of festivity to the cities that is only felt here when large firework shows occur.

The two days of Uttran and Vassi Uttran are a lot of fun. My extended family wonders when next I'll be able to go back and enjoy this time of the year with them. As I glance at my schedule of classes (which began on January 2nd), a part of me wonders the same. Hopefully I'll be able to go around this time of year once before I'm settled into someplace finishing up my residency. We'll see. In the meantime, enjoy these two pictures of one of many unique holidays in India.

Seventy-eight, Estrogen

I have some great friends, there's no denying that. But I realize that over the years I've slowly had an increase in the number of friends who are women in my life. This is all good and fun until one weekend when you realize that two of your guy friends are out of town and two of your girl friends are coming into town (one of them bringing another friend--also a female).

[pause]

I have come to realize that talk of dresses, hairstyles, shoes, & make-up interest me none-at-all. Maybe if somehow they changed who I was or what I was capable of accomplishing, I might take heed, but since to me they are all cosmetic, outer changes, they don't add up to much for me. I'm glad that they were able to bond and that they felt special that I was there to enjoy the evening with them. But a part of me wishes that I'd gracefully stepped out and gone off to shoot or hack things.

On the plus side, I met someone new and got to see "I Am Legend."

Seventy-seven, Seven!

Tonight I helped my classmates throw a silent charity auction. I put down two bids; both were for seven bucks and my bid number was seventy-seven. Coincidence? I think not! (Actually, I did sneak out the registration card for number 77 and fill it out for me beforehand [evil cackling]) In the end I won two tickets to the Science Centre! HUZZAH! I'm excited! It's been ages since I went there (March 2000) Probably I've built it up to be more than it actually is but I can't deny that science centres entrance me. Last time I was there they had an erosion table with running water and sand that was mold-able. I think I bored dad by staying at that one location for most of the time we were there :) What can you say, I was a tiny 17!

By the way, the fact that I'm posting means I survived the cooking of the potatoes mentioned last entry. Yeah...they weren't good. I didn't get them properly cooked through and through but the seasoning was decent. Small steps, right?

Happy January 11th everyone!

Seventy-six, Flames Git Higher!

I start practicing tomorrow. No, not actual medicine, chemistry. Aka cooking. I've cooked Indian items probably a total of 10 times in my life. I just need practice to ingrain it. I'll start simple either with potatoes or cauliflower. I'll just cook the vegetable so I can concentrate fully on it rather than worry about it and bhakri. Hopefully after a couple months of making one vegetable or another (overall, they all have the same set of steps for preparation), I can handle more than one thing in the kitchen (be prepared to run when that date comes Roommate!). My safety record is immaculate so no worries. =P

If you happen to see a column of smoke, pray it wasn't the apartment because by golly, my head will be rolling from all the angry people! On the upside, we might get new windows!

Seventy-five, Bagpipes

Something about pre-thunderstorm conditions (heavy wind, the scent of coming rain, the warm humidity brushing past your cheeks) and a song done with bagpipes just makes me smile. if you're wondering, go to this Orb page where if I have my server up, you can listen to it.

Seventy-four, Observation

"oaf" looks similar to and sounds a lot like "oeuf"

Seventy-three, Our Bonds which Art in Soul

What is the process of forming a friend? Obviously there's no quantitative formula, just many subjective ones. Is it the constant going out to places? Or just enjoying the same activities? Or does it require working together? Constantly talking to each other? I think it's a little bit of it all and most importantly, just being in close contact with someone. There is a flaw to my thinking though. Namely the Beatnik, the Engineer and the Alaskan. None of them are physically close to me or in regular contact these days yet they are very close friends. I've spent ~15 years with the Beatnik and the Engineer. And a couple years with the Alaskan. It blows my mind that I work to talk to and hear from them regularly when I can't even remember to call home once a week.

Why?

Seventy-two, And They're Off!

Apparently the process towards next November's election day began this past week with the start of the "primaries." I'll admit that until "The West Wing" came along, I had practically no idea how the guys that showed up on the presidential ballots got there. And then I grew a small interest in that show because of the Beatnik's mom. The public library began carrying "The West Wing" DVDs and I got hooked. That's where my education on our nations political system came from. I realize something thinking back over Jed Bartlett's campaigns and the final campaign between Jimmy Smit and Alan Alda's characters and comparing them to this year's election: We don't have the same information input from the real candidates that we did for "The West Wing" candidates. I don't mean positions on health-care, education, or the workforce but rather the kind of person that the candidates are and if we feel they can accomplish what they claim.

It's one thing to know a person based on positions and plans for their execution; it's another to get to know someone as the person they are and get a feel for how they will work with the hundreds of different people they will have to get along with. I'm not saying to make it a popularity contest and vote for the one who gets their face shown the most (as I believe presidential elections are right now) . I'm saying to talk to the people who ask for your vote. Get to know them like you know your friends. And then come to a decision about how he/she will interact with other people. Because a job in politics boils down to just that--interacting with other people. And it doesn't matter how many plans a candidate makes up or how much money they have; without the charisma and force to convince other politicians to see his or her way, nothing will happen.

Now if only there weren't three hundred million people in this country for each candidate to become good friends with...

Seventy-one, The Cold Creepeth

It's neat how anyone can talk about weather (unless it's someone who has lived their entire life inside a building with no windows). Even if there are things on your mind that are worth talking about, weather, more often than not, is what comes up in conversation. Speaking of weather, I'm so glad it finally got cold. The big cold front that came through central USA was just what this winter was lacking so far.

Seventy, Memories of Two Weeks

• A three and three quarter year-old bundle of joy
• A two and a half year-old bundle of joy who stood and repeated "mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama..." in an endearing way (to those who were not the mama)
• A ten month-old ninja with a gorgeous smile
• Passing my courses from last semester
  
• A tie stain removed
• Shelling out five hundred for a standardized exam this upcoming spring
  
• Santa who was 3 feet tall
• The Cat in the Hat and Curious George Gets a Medal
• Witness to two marriages
• Green Light, Red Light
• Late-night reading and gaming
• Star Power! during "Stardust"
• Singing at Midnight Christmas Mass
• Super Nintendo games
• Tucker, the solo flier
• "300" Bust
  
• Fudge
• A tiara
  
• Caroling and dropping a lantern off of a rake
• A bean bag
• A gorgeous ornamental gift
• Balloon architecture
• Last minute shopping with my best friends and choosing your gifts during this time--this year it was humorous, next year it will be sad, and after that it will be Tradition!
• Remembering the people I missed time to time
• "The Golden Compass"
• Dust...the type cleaned out of a computer, not from the above-mentioned movies
  
• The cake is a lie
• Epic Loot and a farmer swallowing his gun because his chicken/duck laid eggs
  
• Meeting up at a bar with personality with some long unseen friends
  
• Pani-Puri
• Cleaning snot a lot
• Using my fountain pen for the first time (including filling it with ink!)
• Sentence/Drawing Telephone
  
• Eight people and pots and pans shouting their heads off on the back deck at midnight
• 66
• Getting to play with a neat digital camera and recording an important event
  
• Nutcrackers
• Tribal drums at the aquarium
• Wishing far-off people Happy New Years

Sixty-nine, Two Thousand and Eight

My mind is blank, as it should be at the start of 2008.