Some say new technology is taking the intimacy out of our interpersonal relationships, but as a transplant to what feels at times like a different civilization, I would beg to differ. Today I came to the realization that if it weren't for that obnoxious list of ways in which I can call/stalk/keep in touch with people, I wouldn't have been able to adjust to my new life as easily as I have.
I haven't really given myself much time to look backwards. With everything school lays on my growing plate I stay pretty busy. But every once and a while, something will remind me of home. A faint whiff of my past will drift across my nostrils and if I stop for a minute I can actually recall the scent of the ocean. And in a second it all comes back to me. I am suddenly sitting on my favorite extension of sandy beach from which you can see the pacific stretch out to malibu on my right and long beach to my left. Behind me are people roaming the sidewalks selling love and music and medicinal marujana. But I digress... (see, even now I censor myself).
I can't let myself dwell on these thoughts too long. There is too much to do in the present (technically, I should be studying for tomorrows exam). I don't want to forget these wonderful memories, but I do feel as if there is so much other information to learn that I should be prudent with my reliving of them. Luckly, one thing I insist on making time for is staying connected with all those I love on the west coast. Thats where I am happy to pay homage to the gods of communication. So thank you for my cell phone so that I may get weekly updates on love lives, successes, hardships or even just to discuss the best outfit to wear out on a friday night. Thank you for Facebook, so that I may get photos that bring a grin and a chuckle to my face in the middle of the library. Thanks to gchat for allowing me hear about the escapades of my roommates and friends. Many thanks to the airplanes that brought my friends and family out here to keep me company for a few days. Thanks even to the postmen who deliver handwritten letters telling me I'm still missed. School is challenging, and bereft of time for socializing, though I'm trying my best. But having that connection to home no matter how disconnected I really am from it, is so worth it.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
its about time
I made it. I finally made it to exactly where I want to be. Incredible how things can sometimes just fall so gracefully into place, you almost forget all the stress and effort it took to get there. Its such a high. Hopefully I can continue to remind myself of my unbelievable good fortune over the next two years, even when my eyes are bloodshot from lack of sleep, my hand shaking from caffeine overload, and my brain feels like its about to herniate through my foramen magnum due to too much cramming for anatomy exams. Nope, I won't take it back. This is exactly what I wanted and still want.
I'm now situated near a new ocean, a new coast, and a new (and for the first time varied) climate. At the end of July, I moved out to Washington, DC to begin grad school at The George Washington University (yes the 'The' is part of the name) and eventually obtain my masters in Physician Assistant studies. With my PA-C or certification, I will legally be able to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Eventually, I will be able to see my own patients, prescribe medications, order lab tests, and diagnose and treat patients. Pretty awesome I'd say.
Just a few weeks ago, we got our first set of white coats. A day later, I donned my white coat and interviewed my first patient (granted they were patient actors, but they were VERY convincing). In just a few weeks, I will know all the components of performing a physical exam. In just a few months, I will be expected to go on rotations with third year medical students. Its all happening faster than I can keep up with it, but its exciting nonetheless.
I have another goal while I'm here and its a goal I try to accomplish any time I go to a new place. I am determined to see as much of this city as is humanly possible. Who knows how long I'll be in DC, so just like in LA, I plan to immerse myself in the culture and history as often as I can, considering of course the obligations dictated by my tuition dollars. Luckily, books are portable, so perhaps one day I'll get to tell you how I was studying in the Library of Congress and taking a study break by the Washington Monument when I ran into Obama walking his dog outside his house (the big white one) on Pennsylvania Ave, and how he asked me for advice on how to fix our healthcare system. Hey, it could happen.
Stay tuned...
I'm now situated near a new ocean, a new coast, and a new (and for the first time varied) climate. At the end of July, I moved out to Washington, DC to begin grad school at The George Washington University (yes the 'The' is part of the name) and eventually obtain my masters in Physician Assistant studies. With my PA-C or certification, I will legally be able to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Eventually, I will be able to see my own patients, prescribe medications, order lab tests, and diagnose and treat patients. Pretty awesome I'd say.
Just a few weeks ago, we got our first set of white coats. A day later, I donned my white coat and interviewed my first patient (granted they were patient actors, but they were VERY convincing). In just a few weeks, I will know all the components of performing a physical exam. In just a few months, I will be expected to go on rotations with third year medical students. Its all happening faster than I can keep up with it, but its exciting nonetheless.
I have another goal while I'm here and its a goal I try to accomplish any time I go to a new place. I am determined to see as much of this city as is humanly possible. Who knows how long I'll be in DC, so just like in LA, I plan to immerse myself in the culture and history as often as I can, considering of course the obligations dictated by my tuition dollars. Luckily, books are portable, so perhaps one day I'll get to tell you how I was studying in the Library of Congress and taking a study break by the Washington Monument when I ran into Obama walking his dog outside his house (the big white one) on Pennsylvania Ave, and how he asked me for advice on how to fix our healthcare system. Hey, it could happen.
Stay tuned...
Monday, May 18, 2009
musings on sin city
Wow, I'd like to apologize now for severely neglecting my blog the last few weeks. To my defense, I've been quite busy (mostly self-inflicted business since I haven't been employed since about March) the whole time. Three of those weeks I spent in a perpetual finals week stress mode called EMT school, and another three I spent backpacking through Europe with my sister (a decent college/EMT graduation present to myself if you ask me). Now that I'm back, I'm trying rapidly to figure out a plan to pay rent before my summer slips away and I have to pack up my life and transport it to Washington DC for PA school. If you have any creative job suggestions, please feel free to leave them here in my virtual suggestion box.
So now that you're pretty much caught up on my life, time to think of something typically LA to post about... Hey at least I'm sparing you the play-by-play of my European adventures. Sometimes I feel like people tend not to really want to hear all about Europe unless they've already been there and can hold up their end of the conversation with anecdotes about British humor or Hungarian goulash, in which case my story is really just another permutation of their own trip and writing about it for their sake would be redundant. This is at least how I felt before I made my own European memories. So I guess if you really truly want to know, ask me.
My upcoming travel plans are in country, but not in California... and yet in a way are uniquely LA just because so many of us Los Angeleans make the pilgrimage to this desert oasis every weekend. Where is this rite of passage mecca? Vegas, duh.
Vegas holds a special place in my heart. Even way before I was of legal drinking age, my family would plan vacations to the city of lights and my cousins and I would wander "lost" in the casinos for hours while secretly searching every slot machine for forgotten change. I'm still bitter that they recently converted all their machines so that they no longer dispense coins with that loud, clanking, let-everyone-near-know-you're-a-winner-even-if-its-only-dropping-nickels sound, but instead feed you an anticlimactic slip of paper with your final tally which you then have to turn in for real cash. Anyway, we probably came out more ahead by the end of the trip than any of the adults... Unless of course we blew it all at the arcade games at Circus Circus.
I once worried that Vegas would loose its charm once I grew up and out of the magic stores and water slides... but boy was I wrong. When you turn 21, this entire world you didn't know existed previously just appears out of nowhere on the four mile stretch that is the strip. I've been three times since that momentous birthday. Each trip was unique, memorable, and to put it in more realistic terms, a total shitshow. This time I'm going with a few of my favorite people on the planet for what feels to me kind of like a last hurrah, since we may not get a chance to all be together like this for quite a while. I'm stoked.
The other ironic thing about Vegas is that I don't even gamble! Ok, maybe I'll spend $5 on slots or $20 at the blackjack tables, but in Vegas terms, thats nothing. Mostly, I go for the free pirate shows at TI, the poolside lounging with Fat Tuesdays in tow, sightseeing at the next big hotel (there's always a new one), seeing just how many people we can fit into a double room, buffets, watching the corny marble statue show at Caesar's, hitting up awesome clubs, looking out for awesomely ridiculous outfits, and maybe even catching the latest Cirque du Soleil show... if there's time. Like I said, its hard to run out of things to do here. Once I even managed to stay up long enough to watch the sun rise.
Well, since I don't plan on watching the sun rise today, I'd better head to bed. Maybe I'll go pick out my heels for Saturday night first...
So now that you're pretty much caught up on my life, time to think of something typically LA to post about... Hey at least I'm sparing you the play-by-play of my European adventures. Sometimes I feel like people tend not to really want to hear all about Europe unless they've already been there and can hold up their end of the conversation with anecdotes about British humor or Hungarian goulash, in which case my story is really just another permutation of their own trip and writing about it for their sake would be redundant. This is at least how I felt before I made my own European memories. So I guess if you really truly want to know, ask me.
My upcoming travel plans are in country, but not in California... and yet in a way are uniquely LA just because so many of us Los Angeleans make the pilgrimage to this desert oasis every weekend. Where is this rite of passage mecca? Vegas, duh.
Vegas holds a special place in my heart. Even way before I was of legal drinking age, my family would plan vacations to the city of lights and my cousins and I would wander "lost" in the casinos for hours while secretly searching every slot machine for forgotten change. I'm still bitter that they recently converted all their machines so that they no longer dispense coins with that loud, clanking, let-everyone-near-know-you're-a-winner-even-if-its-only-dropping-nickels sound, but instead feed you an anticlimactic slip of paper with your final tally which you then have to turn in for real cash. Anyway, we probably came out more ahead by the end of the trip than any of the adults... Unless of course we blew it all at the arcade games at Circus Circus.
I once worried that Vegas would loose its charm once I grew up and out of the magic stores and water slides... but boy was I wrong. When you turn 21, this entire world you didn't know existed previously just appears out of nowhere on the four mile stretch that is the strip. I've been three times since that momentous birthday. Each trip was unique, memorable, and to put it in more realistic terms, a total shitshow. This time I'm going with a few of my favorite people on the planet for what feels to me kind of like a last hurrah, since we may not get a chance to all be together like this for quite a while. I'm stoked.
The other ironic thing about Vegas is that I don't even gamble! Ok, maybe I'll spend $5 on slots or $20 at the blackjack tables, but in Vegas terms, thats nothing. Mostly, I go for the free pirate shows at TI, the poolside lounging with Fat Tuesdays in tow, sightseeing at the next big hotel (there's always a new one), seeing just how many people we can fit into a double room, buffets, watching the corny marble statue show at Caesar's, hitting up awesome clubs, looking out for awesomely ridiculous outfits, and maybe even catching the latest Cirque du Soleil show... if there's time. Like I said, its hard to run out of things to do here. Once I even managed to stay up long enough to watch the sun rise.
Well, since I don't plan on watching the sun rise today, I'd better head to bed. Maybe I'll go pick out my heels for Saturday night first...
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