HI part 2: not a particularly good day

Today makes me feel very, very low. i kind of just want to curl up in bed and do nothing. During rounds, i was feeling like an invisible ghost again. I dont know what is it that has changed my feelings toward rounds. It's not that i ever had that high of expectations from it. But i'm pretty sure sometime last week the feeling os uselessness really sank in. I never have any input in anything. i can never join the discussion because the medicine team is trained very differently from what a pharmacist does. And the attending never asks for my help with anything drug-related. she kind of just ignores me the whole time and have her discussion with the medicine team. the other doctors who were nice to me before sort of stopped talking to me too because even when they joke they joke about patients or things in the hospital which i'm not familiar with and therefore can't relate. I just sort of stand there feelin left out. I could hear the scream so loud in my head wanting to get the hell out, but i couldn't. i'm sure in no time the entire team will be used to my nonexistence.

then of all the stress related diseases i've suffered since school started, there's a new one: TMJ. my temporal mandibular joint is hurting. it hurts when i chew, hurts when i sneeze, hurts when i open my mouth too wide. so i've been seeking help and so far to no avail. the only thing i know is, i've spent about 5 hrs of my time and $140 and one consult that recommends a $3800 treatment. and you know what? if that's what it's gonna cost, then i will live with it forever. it won't kill me, but it wont make me feel great either, but at least i can stop wasting my precious time on money/time wasters like these. on top of that, i cut my finger while i tried to make curry the other night, and i fell on my ass on pasta sauce in a japanese supermarket here. So yeah, things have been going very, very bad.

Then when i finally got home to talk to close friends online, i am faced with yet another ugly truth: no one cares if they've got wedding on their minds. So yea, my roommates who are all soon to be Mrs's cannot stop talking even for one second about their wedding details. forget about how MY DAY is, it's all about the bridesmaid dresses, the cake tasting, and the wedding favors. i realize that as soon as i fly back to LA i will be face-to-face with this problem. nevermind asking how i am in hawaii or how my rotation is, it's all about getting married, as this is a popular sport now with girls MY AGE. i'm sort of fucked as the single friend. and i'm not exactly living the high life either. I'm not hanging around bars talking with strangers and flirting with hotties. i'm not dressed scandalously and meeting all the single available gentlemen out there. i am working my asses off as the silent mute pharmacy student who tries to get ready before each round and look up the lab values and drug drug interactions that nobody cares to ask about, with a pain in the jaw.

yeah, i am pretty pissed today.

HI part 1 (Everything is great now...with the internet ON)

Yes...I made it here.

This is day #4 in HI, and so far, so good. It keeps getting better each day. :)

Day 1 was miserable. I had gotten off a 6 hr flight. I dragged my ten thousand lbs heavy suit case with me and got on the Alamo bus for the car rental. It was sort of a weird contrast between me (the lone person) and the happy bunch of travelers everywhere (the airport, the plane, at Alamo, on the streets). I picked a RED Chevy Cobalt that looks lovely, and I've always wanted a red car on an island. It just seems suiting. and i went on my way, driving in a foreign place with no real map in hand.

And may i just add, driving here is CRAZY. It's sort of a cross between LA and Taipei. The street signs are sometims no where to be seen, and even if there is one, they dont light up at night. The streets are windey and confusing (due to the geography here) and LOTS of one-way streets and special lane division to confuse the heck out of you. I can never make a left turn where i need to make one and no where to make a U-turn to get back on the street i needed to be on. So LOTS of getting lost, lots of dangerous driving. From day 1-2 i was constantly getting lost. couldn't even find my own apartment or my friend's hotel which is about 10 min away. the parking situation at my apt sucks. I practically have to park ON the curb. I had never been so frstrated. but over the 4 day period, i'm starting to make some progress. I'm recognizing most streets and freeways and getting used to the horrible parking, so that's a good sign.

And so far i think i've been pretty lucky. I was lucky to have found this apartment which is shared between a couple students from Univ of Hawaii. The rent is reasonable, and the girls are super nice. I actually chat with them a little everyday, and today we spent the whole day just running errands and getting food together. I was introduced to a great local hangout (Glazer coffee) and a cheap local eat (some ramen place) and where everything is located relative to our apt (K mart, grocery stores, japanese marketd, post office). I am just all around happy and feel fortunate.

On top of that, a friend from pharmacy school is here on a trip with her high school friends. We decided to meet up and we've been hanging out for the past 2 days. So far we've visited Diamond Head for a hike, the famous shrimp truck on the North Shore, the Dole Plantation, Koa pancake house, Laie lookout, the polynesian cultural center, and the waikiki shopping area. I have so much fun at these places because her friends have been extremely hospitable to me, and we joke around a lot. They didn't mind that i just sort of crashed their vacation. at the end of the day they even took me to Wal-Mart so i could get the necessities i need here *tears*. a short description for each of these places:

Diamond Head: pretty intense for a beginner. I was out of the breath most of the time. but a cool place to check out the volcano crater.

Shrimp truck: located SOMEWHERE on highway 83...so we drove around for the longest time. the place we ended up picking was actually run by a taiwanese owner! the shrimp plate was so good. i had the garlic, but i also enjoyed my friend's Lava shrimp and salt and pepper (my favorite).

Dole Plantation: been there before. but still fun (and the pineapple ice cream is still yummy).

Koa Pancake house: EXTREMELY close to my work place. has some cheap breakfast, although not as good as SD. but very regional and i very much like it.

Laie lookout: a hidden gem next to polynesian cultural center. picture will follow.

Polynesian Cultural Center: been there before. But still fun and i still enjoyed the pagent of the islands as well as the buffet. i liked EVERYTHING on the buffet table and the rainbow ice. the performance was super too. LOVED the fireknife competition.

And the fact that my internet got working today is just awesome. I'm liking it here more and more every day. let's hope it stays like that. ;)

Post 5K

YES! I made it to the finish line. This morning i woke up bright and early for the Revlon 5K which i registered for several months ago. the anticipation has been so much that last night i almost couldn't sleep (had to wake up at 6am to get ready to leave). But i finally did it! my first long-distance race every. i have to say that the process of getting there isn't easy. I first had to get over the mental block that I am pretty unfit (although normal weight, but unfit). Prior to this committment i almost never ran more than half an hour. and before i started training 5 weeks ago sat my ass on the couch every night watching tv or studying instead of getting in shape. However this morning it was a pain the butt to try to get to the course at USC. The traffic was horrible, and no one was exiting the free way. After i finally got off a different exit i still was stuck in lines trying to find parking and getting into a lot. By then i thought i was going to miss the start by being stuck in traffic. But luckily, we arrived at 816ish am. And we were able to pick up the t shirt and goody bag, put on the bib, and join the race.

I made it in 46 min which is kind of embarrassing, considering that's how fast people walk. I went online today (good thing not yesterday, or my spirit would be killed a lot) and found out that most people can do within half an hour or even under 20 min (is that even physically possible?). So i'm going to keep quiet about my time until i can improve. :) but not to make excuse or anything, i was stuck in people traffic for at least 10 min before i could actually run. They mixed all the walkers and runners together and people with their strollers. So the beginning i was literally stuck in people and not running because we were moving forward as a "chunck" of people. And i had to snake my way through before i can hit clearn air. That was just purely bad organization. no one knew what was going on.

When i finished at the Coliseum, i felt definitely very triumphant. I had committed myself to this race also for the reason that i had been bothered by lots of issues that shouldn't matter at all. I was sick of feeling unmotivated, down, pessimistic, and bitter. I wanted to challenge myself and make other purposes out of my life. It's so easy to get caught in the politics at school/work, the stress from school/work, the uncertainty surrounding my immediate future. But THAT ALL shouldnt' matter. I was ignoring my health in the mean time, slowly losing my sanity and became obsessive and a boring person. i wanted to find that lively spirit back (just as how i feel everytime i travel in europe/other parts of the world, i think, screw everything back home i'm staying here and start a new life). So i do feel somewhat liberated now. I'm going to continue this habit of working out at least 3 days a week and feel the best i can.

one small thing: I realized my shoe broke after the race. how funny is that:

getting ready for the 5K

Tonight was my last practice before the big 5K walk/run coming up this saturday. I feel that i'll have to do the full 5K, and not just the 2 miles i usually stop at. i wanted to see what my best time could be, knowing that on the real day it will always be slower (due to the slopes and all). and i wasn't too bad. I did 5K in a little bit under an hour, and i didn't feel like dying at all. mostly i just needed to sustain that power to run for 10-15 min non-stop. then take a walk, then run again. but it takes about 3 repetitions to finish the whole course. which makes me realize how long a way i have still toward a marathon, even a half marathon. But at this point i'm happy enough. I've gone from a complete couch potato who hasn't worked out in maybe a year to someone who can do 5K and still keep a straigh face afterward. and it's been like this too. the following day i can work, hike, whatever, with no debilitating soreness in my legs at all. Very happy with the results. am definitely reaching my second goal: swimsuit body for the summer. :D

Aside from that, nothing too eventful has happened today. I was reading for the boring law class and the notes went on forever. However, I did receive an email from the "maid of honor" from my ex roommate/bestfriend's wedding. she asked us to all join a group and share our favorite memories of the bride (my friend). I haven't submitted one because i haven't thought of one. I know i said that i've gotten over the bitterness but maybe there is still residual feelings. Because when i really think hard, there's so much in the past i can't even begin to list them all:

1. met while working together in school cafeterial. practically met the first week. people keep getting us mixed up.

2. walked to math everyday since we met. then we had physics together, japanese together...

3. lived together for 2 years, cooked together, ate together, went grocery shopping together, clubbed together, went go-karting together..

4. drove me home during freshmen year and introduced to me all the wonderful great rock bands she listened to

5. took me Moo's ice cream when my heart was broken

6. taught me to cook, to bake

7.....


while these people only could trace their memories back to 2007, i could go on forever. and yes, they have to mention about their faith in their message. i know that, that was the only thing that has drawn a line between me and my roommate/bestfriend possibly forever now.


and i listen to both my roommates about wedding planning. and their favors and videographers. i dont know if i should be glad that there's still much to do left in my life because i still have to work hard on my career in order to get somewhere, or if i should be sad that none of my concerns are really their concerns anymore. all my talks about work-related/school-related stress and anxiety about future seem so unimportant in the face of someone's happiest day in her life. i couldn't' bring myself to talk about my own issues.

about rotations...

so Monday was THE DAY when we found out the rest of the rotations. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, i got almost most of my choices, and almost in the order i wanted:

Summer 1: Hawaii
Sumemr 2: Norris cancer hospital - ambulatory care
Fall 1: Off
Fall 2: Baxter - Medical Affairs
Fall 3: Off (trying to switch to Community here, we'll see)
Spring 1: Norris Cancer Hospital - Oncology inpatient
Spring 2: community
Spring 3: Cedars-Sinai - Inpatient Psychiatry

These are all choices I ranked pretty high on my list. Although some of them are pretty challenging, but I'm fine with being challenged, i just dont want asshold preceptors who make your life miserable. so i'm climbing in my boots and hoping for the best.

However, the weird, random thing is that, since my friend decided to get married during summer 1 and therefore had to drop her Hawaii rotation with me (hence i'm on my own), several people have expressed extreme interest in the rotation. People who i'm not necessarily friends with, at best i call them acquaintances. But usually i'm surrounded by a lot of people who only talk to you when they need you (hence NOT my friends). So i was pretty annoyed at the prospect that i might actually have to do a rotation with them, possibly ruining my paradise of a time in Hawaii. Truth be told, I'd rather be with a bunch of people who i dont know and do my own things, than having to hang with someone who i dont particularly like. all of a sudden i'm being stopped in the hallway with smiley faces asking me about the rotation, or getting numerous calls on my phone inquiring about further details. i THANK GOD that i already got housing taken care of. or the prospect of having to live with people from my class who i'm not friends with will surely drive me crazy. you might ask, why this strong reaction? well, since i'm not really friends with them, i'd like my personal life/activities while in hawaii remain private and not known to the rest of the class when i come back. People in our class seem to have nothing better to do than gossip. i clearly remember only telling a handful of people about me doing the hawaii rotations and suddenly now i'm being stopped in the hallway by people i dotn know. they like to gossip to death. that's what you get for getting 170 females in the class and the rest of them feminine guys almost. all of the Hawaii contenders asked me about my housing arrangements, and when i told them that i had that taken care of, one of them even proceeded to ask me if i could share the car rental with her. Uh, we are NOT goin to live together. i dont see how that can be arranged when we have rotation at 6 in the morning. I do not want to wait to be picked up, and i certainly do not want to make a detour in the morning to go get someone. and i would be on house arrest while you have the car. So yes i will shed the extra cash for the sake of my convenience. please understand.

i want to not be anxious and have strength in everythign that i do. I want everything to work out. i really do. :/

stress, and more stress

i will have to update about the hiking trip and the banquet i attended this weekend later (probably tomorrow). But right now i'm gonna talk about my week in a nutshell and why i'm soo wound out right now.

source 1: trying to pass my PK exam. I took it once last week, and didn't pass. so i'm gonna have to retake it again. will likely to be on tuesday. this is one exam you have to take and retake and retake until you pass. or you can't go on rotation. I thought i did good, but apparently not. -_-

source 2: Capstone test --our comprehensive pharmacy competency exam we take ALSO before we go on rotations. if you dont pass --again -- you dont get to go. where do i start to study for all the millions of drugs we've learned from the past 3 years? and the minuite details like side affects, dosage, class, brand/generic name, guidelines...

source 3: get assigned to summer 1 rotation. so in 3 weeks i'll be practicing what i've learned actually ON THE JOB.

source4: having to find housing within 3 weeks--because i have to rent a place in hawaii, and i can't take a look at the apt before i get there. so everything is done over the internet. and people are slow at it. i'm freaking out. i'm waiting for people's response and i dont want to lose my other leads as well.

source 5: having a presentation in front of the class on thursday. and i have to bend some law to make it sound like in my favor. i'm sure the whole class and the professor will be like wtf?! nerve wrecking, and hard grading.

source 6: may have to alter dress for the next banquet happening on friday. no time to take to taylor. dress doesn't fit. got dress cheap, not sure if it's work the money of alteration. but no time to do it anyway.

Source 7: FINAL tomorrow. and i haven't started.

bridesmaid dresses and more...

Today is a somewhat productive day, i guess. i woke up to go to The Grove in LA to meet up with my roommate from college because she wants to buy our bridesmaids dresses there. We met up around noon, and mostly we helped her decide on her gown. It was a really odd experience since in my mind i still feel like we are so young, and that i had just met her 8 years ago, we are now both 25 and she's already trying out dresses. the onlly downside is that when i got home, i realized that some douchebag hit my car while trying to park so now on top of all the unidentified dents i have a huge new addition.

then the LA traffice took me 1.5 hr to get home, of course, i was road raging a little bit. I can't possibly understand the draw of LA. I mean, other than the fact that if you're an actor/actress/musician trying to hit it big in this town i can't possibly see why anyone would want to spend 1/3 of their life stuck in traffic. and it's not even like you have much to do in your car besides playing with your radio station dial.

Then i suppose the big news, on top of everything else, is that i got the summer rotation in Hawaii --which means, i have only 3 weeks to find housing and physically move myself from here to Honolulu to start my medicine rotation. I have begun my search on craigslist and it looks like i have a few leads. hopefully everything will work out, hopefully.