Is it so wrong?

I have this...let us call it perversion of character.

I love it - LOVE IT - when I get to witness episodes of social awkwardness. Not anything bad, you understand. No one gets hurt or anything. I can't even give a concrete example of such a situation. But you know those situations - it's usually between 2 people - when bystanders slyly glance at each other as if to say, "AWKWARD!!!"?

I delight in the awkwardness. I love the tension slowly winding up like an elastic band being twisted around and around. I can feel the heat as the gears in people's head rotate faster as they try desperately to figure out how to extricate themselves from this horrible position. For me, it's like taking a big slice of chocolate cake and sniffing in the moist chocolatey smell from the spongy goodness.

Before I know it, there's a tiny little crooked smile on my face, almost imperceptible but you can see it in my eyes. My inky black pools of death are laughing so hard, but you'll never know for sure.

Is it so bad, really? Is this evil? I always claimed that I was so.

Snippets of a conversation you would have overheard if you were seated at a certain table at Fran's 2 Saturdays ago

Anonymous: I just wish I could check if his Blackberry really did delete everyone like he said or if it was just me.
Judy: At this point in the romantic comedy that is your life, you would wait until he leaves his phone at his desk, casually saunter over and frantically dig through it for the information that you seek, but he would come back unexpectedly and you would have to shove the phone into your own bag and then a whole bunch of hilarious misadventures would ensue.
Anonymous: Like I even could. He keeps his phone in the back pocket of his pants.
Judy: Yeah and I'm sure that would deter you. o_O That would just add to the hilarity as you try to extract and then replace the phone in said pocket.

-----

Anonymous: Too bad he has a girlfriend.
Judy: At this point in the psycho drama that is your life, you would go over to his house, clonk the girlfriend over the head with a stiletto, wait for him to come home, clonk him over the head as well, tie him up and then demand to know who he loves more; you or her. Then you would probably buy and subsequently boil a bunny to show him how serious your feelings are for him.
[Okay, so that bunny bit was stolen from something else.]

-----

Anonymous: I just wish I knew what was going on. Does he really like me or no?
Judy: At this point in the romantic drama that is your life, you would meet him outside in the POURING RAIN, you in a modest dress that suddenly becomes ever so slightly see through in the precipitation and he in a light-coloured shirt that becomes clingy and reveals his toned physique. You would tell him that it's too late, he's left it too long and you've finally given up. As you turn to leave him in a teary huff, he grabs your arm, pulls you back and kisses you ever so passionately. Even as you protest, "No no, we musn't, it's too late", he scoops you up in his arms in a princess hold and carries you back to his abode, where the camera delicately pans away to the window where the storm is starting to subside, for it isn't that kind of film, oh no. The next morning, the camera pans back from the window along the streams of sunlight to the bed where you are vowing to love each other forever and ever, but then! The audience hears a slight plaintive cough. It turns out that you have both contracted pneumonia for not drying off properly like sensible people after your lovers' quarrel out in the rain.
Anonymous: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! Pneumonia?
Judy: After months of suffering from this debilitating respiratory infection, one of you dies just as your love was starting to blossom.
Anonymous: What? NO! I want a happy ending.
Judy: It's you who dies.
Anonymous: WHAT? Why me?
Judy: You want HIM to die?
Anonymous: NO, I DON'T WANT HIM TO DIE!
Judy: Well it's got to be you.
Anonymous: But WHY?
Judy: For the tragic effect, of course! He had JUST realized he loves you after such a long time period of stringing you along and being wishy washy. And THAT is when he loses you. What is more tragic than that? You're dead.

-----

[2 weeks later]

Anonymous: And he was just smiling at me. There we were, just smiling at each other on the subway.
[Looks at Judy expectantly.]
Judy: ...
Anonymous: ...
Judy: What, is your life a shoujo manga? Give it a rest.

The Summer of Judy

You know that Seinfeld episode where George loses his job at the Yankees and decides to spend the summer putzing around willy nilly?

Well, it's turning into a Summer of Judy for me. I had originally planned on having a nursing job by now and studying for the licensing exam in October, but due to some unfortunate circumstances (which I have droned on and on about to so many people that I can't even muster the energy to do it once more in writing), that ain't happenin'! The delay is so infuriating that I was getting flashbacks to the days of Science in Society class when I was threatening to bonk my brains out with the pointy end of a scanner while Linda laughed and laughed hysterically, both of our minds on the verge of crumbling like delicious cinnamon dusted graham crackers.

So I've been spending my energy taking Japanese classes and studying nursing stuff from time to time so that my brain doesn't completely rust. And, since I am a poor student and in need of money until a bunch of bureaucratic nitwits tell me when I can start working in my field, I've advertised myself as an English/French tutor on a Korean message board. Ahhh, it's like being back at U of T all over again. Except the fact that I refuse to teach chemistry and math now. Thank goodness.

Oh, and you know how in that same Seinfeld episode, George slips on an invitation and hurts his legs? Guess what I did last night. I slipped on Robert's floor and twisted my ankle. Yes, the same one that I always twist. Thanks to my nursing interventions, it is not as swollen as it would normally be. But yes, it hurt so much that I cried last night for 10 minutes or so. So we all know what's going first when I'm 70-something and have osteoporosis. Something to think about.

A letter in Japanese~

リンダちゃん、おげんきですか。
ロンドンはどうですか。先週、ここはＧ２０のかいぎでとてもさわがしかったです。
さいわいに私はしないに行きませんでした。いつトロントへ着ますか。
ここはあついですがおもしろいです。いっしょにおいしいたべものをたくさんたべましょう。
そしてジェンちゃんとヴィキちゃんといっしょにカラオケにいきましょう。

７月６日　ジュヂ


Linda, how are you?
How's London? Last week, it was very noisy here because of the G20 meeting.
Luckily, I didn't go downtown. When are you coming to Toronto?
It's hot here, but fun too. Let's eat lots of yummy things together.
And we can go with Jenn and Vicky to karaoke.

July 6. Judy.


Hahaha, really simple sentence structure, but I was still very proud of myself. Eeeeeee~

A declaration.

To: You people know who you are

Please, for the love of beans, stop over analysing stuff. Especially relationship-y stuff.
You make me oh so tired.

Yes, I am your friend. I consider myself a damn good empathetic willing-to-cry-with-you-if-something-bad-happens type of friend. But I am only willing to do so if there is truly something to empathize about.

If you believe that the guy you rejected but now have feelings for but he was seeing someone but then you have reason to believe from the oh so reliable evidence from Facebook stalking that he isn't seeing that girl anymore so maybe you have a chance again- You see? I can no longer form sentences to describe your situation. And I used to be excellent at forming seemingly run-on sentences that were actually quite sensible.

The point is, if you do this to me, I will sit there with my smile-that-isn't-quite-a-smile and say, "Ah."

Maybe in the process of becoming a nurse, I have learned to differentiate between "hard evidence" and "you are analysing the way someone waved at you across a dark room?" level of foolishness.

Do me a favour. If you are interested, ask the person out. Do it. And no, a text message asking if the person is "free" sometime in the future to do "something" is not good enough. SMART goals, people.

Specific-Measurable-Attainable-Relevant-Time-bound

If you didn't include all these components into your significant discussions for plan making with someone, then I can't be bothered to listen to you whine when it falls through. And I don't believe in coddling anyone. You can find someone else to help you cling to false hopes or any sort of delusions by saying, "Oh yes, she will totally come back to you one day. TOTALLY.", because I don't do that.

I. Don't. Do. That.

So don't call me heartless and unsympathetic and wah wah wah. Because it's not just one person who is filling a balloon with honey-coloured daydreams that aren't at all realistic. It's MANY people, each with their own individual balloons and it is SUFFOCATING me.

At one point, I had to resort to scream-praying to God, okay? I haven't prayed since grade 6, okay? I don't even believe in God. I did that because of you. And your yammering. And believe me, I'm not trying to burst your bubble. I'm trying to deflate it as gently as I can.

So please, help me preserve my sanity. By doing so, you will be helping to create a sarcastic and fun Judy. Someone you can truly rely on to congratulate or comfort you when something significant happens.

Help me help you.
Help me help you.

Love and hugs, your friend.

"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives..."

Into the second year of Harvest Moon now. Relationships becoming more soap opera-like by day.

Year Two: Spring
Denny, that rat bastard, didn't do anything for Spring Harmony Day, which is when boys are supposed to give girls sweets. Sigh. Didn't get anything from Vaughn either, but that was expected seeing as how I only get to see him two days out of the week.
Decided to put all my efforts into my ranch to deal with the disappointment and was rewarded with the first prize at the potato festival. Mirabelle also gifted me with a white horse. I named her Winnie and brush her everyday.
Denny asked me out, but it was only to Chen's general store. Chen kept teasing us about how he should take me out to a nicer place on our next date. Denny kept insisting that we were just hanging out. I'm starting to get annoyed with his vacillations. Also, if he tells me one more time that I should start getting up earlier because the early bird catches the worm, I'm going to sock him. If he had to renovate his house just to fit another bed for a future spouse and figure out how to raise an island so that a church can be built for the wedding, he wouldn't be able to get up at 6am either.


Year Two: Summer
Spent summer trying to figure out how to upgrade my damn equipment so that I don't have to do all my farm chores one square at a time. I also raised up Rice Island out of the sea, which was a bad idea in retrospect, because I just don't have the time or the necessary equipment right now to grow rice. Dammit, should have raised Mushroom Island instead so I can forage for mushrooms, which is easy money.
Denny organized a fishing contest. I only got fourth place, because I'm still only catching small fish. Lanna, a former pop star, won first place. Now that I think about it, she's always hanging around the beach just down the street from Denny's shack. And I see them sitting together all the time in the Café. She better not try anything or I will cut someone.
My worries were later assuaged when I attended the Fireworks Festival. Denny asked me if I wanted to watch the fireworks with him. Ha! Take that, Lanna!


Year Two: Autumn
I walked into Mirabelle's store to buy some feed and was unexpectedly asked to help Vaughn take care of some farm animals. He was reticent at first, but accepted my help and told me that I wasn't completely useless. As heartwarming as his praise was, unfortunately I spied him a few days later talking to Sabrina, the meganekko daughter of the mine owner. He fixed the chain on her necklace for her. Damn them! I've got to either raise up Mushroom Island so I can start giving him mushrooms as presents or buy a cow so that I can get some milk and cook some porridge. ARGH, my brain!
As I still have many things to do before I can propose to Denny with the certainty of being accepted, I have decided to start up a friendship with the new guy in town, Will. He showed up on his yacht after I raised up Volcano Island. He's Sabrina's rich cousin, who's out to see the world. He's a bit of a playboy and I saw him talking up Lily the treasure hunter a few days into our acquaintance, which annoys me. But he has a yacht, dammit!


Year Two: Winter
Mining the depths of Volcano Island is the primary source of income for me in winter. As I am but a beginner miner, most of my finds are amethysts and topaz, but it should be sufficient to get me through the winter. How is it that you get a plate of gelatin when you pour water on little pools of lava? Perhaps it makes sense to a Harvest Moon geologist.
Gave chocolates to Denny and Will for Winter Harmony Day, but Vaughn wasn't around since it wasn't a Monday or Tuesday. I must say that the challenge of courting Vaughn is making him more desirable than Denny. Relationship with Will is coming along nicely. I'm keeping my eye on Lily, that treasure-hunting hussy, to make sure that she doesn't get her claws into Will.
Went to the Starry Night Festival with Denny like last year. Not close enough to Will yet and Vaughn is (AGAIN!) nowhere to be found. At this rate, I think I'll just end up marrying Will with his yacht and mining heir money. It's not mercenary if I find him genuinely likable.


*meganekko: "glasses(-wearing) girl" in Japanese, a term used in anime and manga to refer to females wearing glasses , which is considered their most attractive trait

So Robert gave me Harvest Moon for Christmas...

...and so began the adventures of Jutea, owner of Moopie Ranch.

Year One: Spring
So I started working on my new ranch. It wasn't as run down as Taro and Mirabelle intimated, seeing as how I have a huge island all to myself, with a dinky house, stable, supply shed and a large field. Started farming a few plots of turnips and potatoes and cleaning up my field of stones and branches. Turns out clearing away the rocks and branches was a bad idea, seeing as how they can be turned into material stone and lumber by using the sledgehammer and axe. Huh. There are also these huge boulders in the field that I just have no idea how to get rid of. It's still okay, because my stamina runs out at an alarming rate and I don't know how I would water all the crops if I had more planted than I do right now.
Wandered around town, saying hello. Everyone was welcoming, if slightly repetitive. Started scouting for eligible bachelors and found three that seem even remotely interesting. Denny is the fisherman who lives in the purple fishing shack on the east coast. He's super nice and friendly. Vaughn is the animal wrangler who lives...well, actually, I don't think he even owns a house. He's also standoffish, but he has an awesome black hat and has that mysterious vibe thing going on. Pierre is a well off gourmet who's on the main island to study ingredients and develop new recipes. Tried to give him some curry as a present, but he wouldn't take it, the snooty bastard.
There was a turnip festival at the end of the month, but alas, I had sold all my turnips accidentally and couldn't enter the contest. I won't make that mistake again.

Year One: Summer
Finally saved up enough money and lumber to expand my house. Sadly, the renovation doesn't include a kitchen, which seems silly to me. Also bought a chicken coop and Mirabelle was kind enough to give me a chick. Named it Cheepy. Can't wait for it to grow up and start giving me some eggs. Bought another chicken and named it Lauren to keep Cheepy company.
Growing tomatoes and corn this summer. There's a tomato festival at the end of the month, so I'm going to enter it. Experimenting with watering and ripening times to get the grade A tomatoes I need.
Bought a fishing pole and started testing out the waters. Caught some dinky fish! Gave one to Denny and he was really happy about it. Gonna start giving him one everyday from now on. Figured out that Vaughn (the mysterious one in the cowboy hat) likes eggs. Excellent. Going to give him a fresh egg whenever I happen to see him.
My tomato got second place in the festival! It should help me in my hunt for a husband!

Year One: Autumn
Finally built myself a kitchen, but so far I can only make chestnut rice, normal rice and bread. Gotta get more recipes somehow. Oh! I got myself another chicken and named it Kko Kko. And the brand new incubator lets me hatch new chicks every 3 days. Time to sell me some chickens! Going to keep the original three and sell the rest. Mirabelle also gave me a little dark brown puppy! I have named him Poopy.
Took an eggplant to the island potluck to add to the stew. Everyone said it was delicious. Of course it was. After all, my eggplant got first place at the festival!
Gave Denny a fish for his birthday. He was really happy and we have progressed to 4 hearts. Vaughn continues to be taciturn, but still accepts the occasional egg. Sometimes, I think he's just using me for the eggs.

Year One: Winter
There's no farming to do in winter, so focusing on my animals and gathering stone and lumber. Went to the snow festival and built a snowman with Gannon the carpenter, because no one else would help me. Apparently, I haven't been paying enough attention to them all. Well, of course not, I've been focusing on Denny and Vaughn!
Gave chocolate to Denny on Winter Harmony Day. Was going to give some to Vaughn, but as usual, he can't be found when you want him. So I ate the chocolates for stamina. Denny's showing more interest now. He invited me to watch the ocean with him and then guess what? He asked me to go to the Starry Night Festival with him! He invited me over for dinner (some fish stew and burnt chestnut rice) and then we went to the festival together. Now whenever I talk to him to give him his daily fish present, he hints at having a wife and children to go fishing with him. As much as our relationship has progressed in the past year, I'll continue giving presents to Vaughn until I can be sure of Denny's affections. Also, I've got my ranch to run. Hope next year will be more profitable so I can build a barn and get myself some sheep!

시

읽을수록 머리 안이 하얘지네.
이주동안 까맣게 탄 나의 가슴
어디 누가 주스로 달랠텐가.

The more I read, the whiter my inner mind becomes
My heart has turned into black ash in a fortnight,
Who will soothe it with a glass of juice?

Less than 3 weeks left.

I can do itsssssssssssssssssss.

The past 2 months have been nervewracking. I hate the sight of calendars now, as mine have scribbles all over the place with colour-coded due dates and notes on what I want to finish by when. Plus this flame of hatred that I feel whenever I look at certain bits written in fire engine red.

But it's okay. I'll be home soon. Granted, the rest of my family's gone ladidah-ing to Korea, so I'm going back to an empty apartment with probably no food. Yes. They're gone! My parents are gone until April to visit with relatives and look at some investment opportunities and my brother is staying there for...a year? two years? to teach English. I envy them mainly for the food. I was dreaming of a duck stew specialty in my hometown, but my mother's latest e-mail tells me that it's all gone to hell. It makes me mad. My brother started a blog of his own. There's a link to it on the right.

But I'll be in Toronto. That's the point. I'm going to stuff myself with food and meet friends and putz around watching the Food Network and playing video games. The last part will have to be at Robert's house, since I won't have cable or internet at the abandoned apartment. Le sigh.

I submitted my placement proposal for the final clinical course today. I'm applying to study at the PICU in SickKids next May. I'm hoping it will be a foot in the door for when I apply to work there as a real nurse. I want to work there SO BAD. It would help me oh so much. But can't think about it now. I gotta do readings. Then after readings, studying. Then after studying, exams. Possibly an interview with the head of the School of Nursing to discuss my placement at SickKids in between all of that.

I'll be home on the 19th. 17 days to go!

It's a work in progress.

I need somewhere to work out my course evaluation for a certain person at the end of this term. People seem to enjoy the bitterness and it never hurts to get feedback on one's compositions. This is only a draft. It will get updated as the bitterness accumulates and distills into the finest form of written cyanide. It's been awhile since I've written anything worth reading, so the purifying process may take awhile yet. But am I in a hurry? Not really. Whatever I have by December will be submitted. And then I have another 4 months to polish THAT draft and submit it again.

Subject: On the topic of course communication
The frequency of e-mails rivals that of the most virulent spambot in existence. The contents themselves, being so convoluted by length and pointless wordiness, are indecipherable to the point of making students shudder upon seeing the dreaded mail icon in WebCT. To actually understand the course itself, one must rely on those poor unfortunate souls who manage to navigate through the mazelike sentences through any combination of luck, sheer force of will and fear. If the tool that is supposed to enhance and facilitate understanding between individuals is simply ignored most of the time by the receiving party, then it is obviously not being used properly. One may be assured that after receiving up to five e-mails in one day that are marked as being important or urgent but say nothing, it should come as no surprise that students eventually end up ignoring them. Operant conditioning is a powerful thing.
A teacher must be professional at all times. If there are numerous questions on the WebCT discussion board regarding a certain issue, then there is a serious miscommunication from the teacher's end. As the provider of information, the teacher is responsible for answering questions in a manner that cannot be reproached for snarkiness or misdirected anger. If a question is answered directly, it must follow that students will be satisfied.

Subject: On the topic of a certain lecture
When one clearly loses one's voice and cannot be understood even with a microphone, it is an appropriate time to cancel class. Students learn nothing from a teacher who sounds as though she is on the threshold of death. It should be obvious that miming is not an effective communcation method. This is a university class and not a 3-hour game of charades.

Subject: On the topic of course organization
A syllabus should not be 50 pages long. The information within should be easy to find. The most important part of a syllabus is the list of assignments and their due dates. This should be the most prominent, instead of being buried under paragraphs of mindless text. This helps not only the students but also the preceptors, since one may be sure that clinical nurses will not read all 50 pages of the package, if they've opened it at all. If one wishes to publish a book, then one can easily do so online at various self-publishing websites and not foist their prose disguised as course material on defenseless students. If the faculty is confused about what the course entails, then this is an indication that the expectations of the course are too much. The blind leading the blind will not end well.


Like I said, this is but a beginning draft. You can expect much more from me if I start having blood-drenched nightmares again.

My last day as a summer extern

Today was my last day working at the Children's Hospital as a nursing extern. While I might not have learned much about new ailments, medications and procedures, I learned lots of other things. Working in a small unit also meant that I got to see the same patients for a long period of time and follow their progress and development. When I first arrived back in June, none of the three toddlers could walk on their own, but now they're zipping down the hallway as soon as your back is turned and you have to chase them down before they lick the wheels of a baby carriage or something. There's a routine there and sometimes it did get a bit tedious, but it helps you become super efficient.

Anyway, you know how I love lists. So here we go...

Things that I learned

1) How to feed toddlers: I learned distraction methods, ways to disguise certain foods in other foods, hiding dessert until the main meal had been consumed, techniques to maneuver the spoon around scrambling hands to the mouth and ever so much more. Got a kid who likes to spit stuff out in order to see your reaction? Oh, my "I'm ignoring you for the next 30 seconds" face is positively stony.

2) How to stop tantrums: My brother used to fling himself backwards onto the floor from a sitting position when he was a toddler. I was about 7, but I learned to strike my hand out lightning fast to cushion his head centimetres above the floor. Oh he would continue to whine, but at least there was no danger of a head injury. I found that the best method to deal with a tantrum is to pay attention but don't. One kid likes to fling herself backwards (from a standing position, no less). Of course I grab her arms so she doesn't get hurt, but then I lower her onto the floor gently and she can writhe around all she wants. Meanwhile, I stand above her with my arms crossed. "What drama for nothing at all. Let's stop the nonsense, " I say in a bored voice. She cries and wriggles for a minute or so and when she gets up and stops sniffling, then she gets properly comforted with a hug.

3) How to give report: Report is passing pertinent information to the nurse who is taking over for during your break or the next shift. I still need some work on this. Usually my thoughts are so jumbled at the end of the day that I need a minute just to figure out where to get started. Of course, everything is charted, but it's faster for the nurse to hear the info directly from you and be able to ask questions. Lately, I've been writing down a short list of issues I want to mention as I write the chart, like "Sprint, Splints, Genetics, Nystatin" and these help jog my memory when it's fried from a 12-hour shift.

4) I don't like 12-hour shifts: They have 12-hour shifts at this hospital, because they say that it's less hectic and confusing for the patients to have 2 different nurses throughout the day than 3. But it's very tiring and rather unfair, as the day nurses pretty much do a huge chunk of the paperwork and follow-ups while the night nurses are doing vitals or something. I hope that my hopeful working place when I'm a nurse (Sick Kids? Pretty please?) has 8-hour shifts. During the summer, I would start work at 7am, take a 30-minute break around 11am, take an hour lunch around 3pm and then go home at 7pm. I had lunch when most people would be going home. Guh. From now on, I shall never feel that 8 hours is a long time to work. NUH UH.

5) How to be patient: Let's face it. People are dumb. Children can be frustrating as heck. For heaven's sake, I'm trying to give you banana-flavoured medicine. BANANA-FLAVOURED MEDICINE! Do you really want something up your bum instead? Because that's the alternative: suppository up the bum. But no, you must never lose your composure. If you can't manage a smile, at least have a really good placid mask. It'll keep the patient from being startled at the sudden murderous flash in your eyes when she bites your arm. Which actually happened once, I'm sorry to say.

6) Never get married to a relative: I of course knew this long before I started working at the hospital, but this summer, it's been pretty much hammered into my brain. If you can trace a common ancestor somewhere in your family records, then it's too close. Even if they're your fourth cousin twice removed (whatever that means), it's too close. Don't bother arguing with me. IT'S JUST TOO CLOSE. Now stop it. *shudder*

7) I'm okay with all bodily fluids except for mucous (from nose, mouth, trach) and earwax: Feces? Fine. Urine? Fine. Blood? I LOVE blood. Blood is the best thing on this list. Snot? It's not fine. It's especially not fine when you're suctioning the nose and your Yankauer just keeps sucking out an enormous amount of [stuff] (edited for sake of reader comfort). And have you seen the way peroxide solution fizzes when it meets earwax? *deep breath in and out*

8) But even when you're disgusted, don't show it: You're a professional, goddammit. If you need to silently scream because of the [stuff] that's shooting out from the trach when your patient coughs, put on a damn mask.


All in all, it was a very good learning experience, wouldn't you say?

It's all for the children... *shifty eyes*

As a gift to the unit in my last days as a nursing extern, I've made a CD of cutesy songs from the Katamari Damacy video game series for the children here. They're here for so long, they might as well have something new to listen once in awhile.

It has nothing to do with the fact that I just want to listen to the awesome music while I'm changing diapers and feeding formula. No...how ridiculous would that be? I mean, it's not like I've snuck Korean hip hop in ther-

Well, alright, I did do that. But it's a mellow song that blends in seemlessly with Katamari's funky melodies. The lyrics are about breaking up, but how many people know Korean nowadays, right? I also put in an anime song and some clips from Viva Pinata. It's totally kid friendly!

So no one accuse me when I appear to enjoy the CDs just as much as the children, if not more. I'm moments away from singing along to the Katamari Que Sera Sera.

It's FRIGGING SWEET.

Is this the explanation for all those Twilight readers?

Ah, Zetsubou sensei, you are wise. あ、ぜつぼう先生は賢いですね。
Well, I don't suppose everyone can have a childhood rich in literature. *snicker*

New Japanese word today: 賢い　（かしこい）　－　adj. Wise

Live blog: Overnight shift at the hospital

Believe me when I say that this will probably be more interesting due to my various antics to stay awake and keep busy than it will be for the things that go on at the hospital during the night. Especially, since I'm back on the chronic care unit. I was on the surgical unit unexpectedly last night and it was so drag-yourself-on-the-floor fatiguing.

8:45pm - Patients 1 and 2 are asleep in their cribs. They will stay asleep until I leave at 7:00am tomorrow morning (my gods willing). Patient 3 has a personal caregiver 24/7, so all I have to do is give him his feeds and his meds. I am now starting my Japanese exercises. Having mastered hiragana, I will now practice katakana. Kanji that's more complicated than "person", "big" and "I" can go straight to hell.

9:10pm - Okay, I lied. I actually haven't started studying Japanese yet. First I had to eat my delicious sammich (egg bread and spicy sausage slices - hell yes!) while browsing websites about terrible celebrity fashion. Now that my delicious sammich is all gone, I worry that I will be hypoglycemic later in the night. Thankfully, I also have a peach. But I'm no good at picking out peaches and fear that it won't be ripe enough and that I will be sorely disappointed as I have been so many times before with this particular fruit. Alas. Also, I have just tried out an anime site. It isn't blocked, BUT! this computer doesn't have flash player which pretty much makes it impossible to watch any videos on it. Victory snatched away!

9:15pm - But apparently it has a DVD player. Fate is kicking me in the butt, because of course, I don't HAVE any DVDs with me. Unless I want to watch Dora the Explorer or other kiddy stuff we have on the unit. And that's a no. What will I do when I have kids and I have to buy them crappy DVDs? Will I have to actually WATCH with them? I'd much rather read books with them or play with toys or make up imaginary play. Maybe it will be a "Mommy's naptime" activity. "Here kids, go watch this blue dog count to five ad nauseam while mommy honkshus for 2 hours. ZZZZZZZZ." Oh yeah, that will totally work. *thumbs up*

10:40pm - Slowly getting through the different types of verbs and how to conjugate them. It's easy enough once you have the rules down, but it's a matter of knowing enough verbs. Ever so slowly getting there.

11:30pm - There are sleep studies being performed in the room opposite ours. Which means the alarm rings whenever the heart rate, respiration rate or oxygen saturation drops below a certain limit. The alarm's so loud that I thought it was a fire alarm or something. One kid keeps ringing so often that it's waking up the other kid who's getting the study done. Which means that the other kid will probably have to do the study again tomorrow night, since the results from tonight won't be accurate. Finally, we've put tape over the speaker portion of the monitor and it's been quiet ever since.

12:30am - My preceptor's gone for her 2.5 hour nap. I usually sleep later than her, because 1) I have trouble falling asleep during work unless I'm tired out and 2) the later I take my nap, the less hours I have left to work when I wake up. Plus, I'm really into my studies now. 2 more chapters in this book and I should have the means to say basic sentences in Japanese. I think, I will now take a short break, however, to do some charting. Since I love making lists and crossing stuff off...
- do charting [done]
- finish off 2 more chapters [done]
- turn off the feeding pump and flush the gastric tube for patient 3 [done]
- take nap [done]
- wake up [done]
- do meds and more feedings [done]
- read Aishiteruze Baby online

4:15am - Back from my own nap. I've been taking my night shift naps on a spare cot that I drag into the conference room just next door. I put my eye mask on, zip up my hoody and huddle under the blankets. Even then, it takes me a good while to fall asleep. Tonight, I had an anime theme song running through my head. I have my cellphone alarm to wake me up, but I forgot to tell that to the PCA who scared the crap out of me by knocking on the door just ahead of the alarm. Ahhhh well.

5:00am - Well, I'm done everything on my list except reading Aishiteruze Baby and I don't feel like doing that just now. 2 hours left and I'm stuck for what to do? Should I study more? Read the news?

5:10am - What's this, what's this? I've been snooping around the computer, trying to see if anyone has copied a video worth watching onto it and found "Midnight Sun - partial draft", a PDF file. That sounds familiar, I thought. So I opened it up. And got through the middle of the second page and said, "Waaaaaaaaaait a minute." Title based on astronomical phenomenon? Character names taken from a smutty book in the 18th century, like Rosalie and Emmett? Pointless drivel that kept me completely uninterested? The name "Edward" hogging a whole line by itself AND italicized? This is a Twilight book! I closed the file with the speed of a hypochondriac shoving away a leper. (Digression: What a curious sentence.) But I find myself wondering, who was reading this at 6:30am on May 12th, 2009? Well, I do know that there were McGill students doing shifts here during that time. Bwahahahaha~
I don't know why I find this so amusing. A sense of gleeful superiority, I guess. I've been careful to avoid anything Twilight-related and am determined to keep it that way. Forever. Well! This has given me a second wind. I will fetch a glass of water and find something else to do!

5:40am - Found some tea biscuits in the kitchen. Sweeeeeeet. One of the sleep study kids are awake, thanks to the freaking alarm of the other kid. Now she's wandering up and down the hallway, practicing her recently acquired support-free ambulation. She's walking without holding onto anything, I mean. My kids better sleep until 6:50am at least. I mean it!

6:56am - Everyone woke up around 6:15am, just when I was trying to chart and tiptoeing around. Ah well. Kids are in playpens or walking around. It's great that some of these toddlers have started walking by themselves, but it makes it so tiring to chase them around and stop them from shoving electric plugs up their noses. No more night shifts until the end of the summer! Yatta!

Trying to stay awake as late as possible tonight.

The next five shifts for me are all overnight, so I need to change my sleep pattern. So let us see how much I can ramble on.

I've been reading Rousseau's Confessions over the summer. Just during my breaks at work, you understand. I tried reading it straight through back in high school and just couldn't do it. An autobiography can be so tiresome to read. Maybe my age also had something to do with the repugnance with which I abandoned it? Anyhoo, I'm past the middle point now and I honestly don't know what to think. I don't, or didn't know anything about Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I know nothing of philosophy except for that darn "Philosophy of Science" course I took in U of T and I hated it, to put it simply. I can't even be bothered to elaborate on what a waste of money and time that was.

The only other book of Rousseau's I have in my possession is La Nouvelle Héloïse and I haven't read it yet. I mean to, after Confessions and I hope I can get past the epistolary style. I know the first time I read "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", I was extremely confused about what was going on.

How do I find this autobiography of a man who describes himself as "too loving"? I suppose if he's being as truthful as he claims to be, then I can forgive his effusiveness. But here's the general feeling that I felt while reading:

Rousseau the child, clever but not thoroughly educated - Understandable.
Rousseau the teen, easily swayed by passions and whims - What a dumbass.
Rousseau the young adult, too full of dreams to be any useful - Still a dumbass.
Rousseau the somewhat successful adult, useful but still all over the place - Eh.

Reading the above, you can probably tell that I'm not too horribly impressed by his life. But maybe that's an indication that he really is trying to be honest about everything he's done. He's not trying to build himself up as anything more. All the impressions I got of his stages in life are what he thought of himself, I think. So that's good. Will it make the book very interesting for anyone but himself (and maybe his friends who are mentioned in it)? Probably not. I feel as though I'm reading it to be reading it. And that's never a good thing to say about a book, is it?

I have a feeling that once I'm done with it, it'll go back on my shelf and stay there for a long looooong time. ^_^;;

What a day...

I worked 12 hour shifts on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday was alright, even though it WAS Canada Day. Thursday was admittedly more difficult. When you've been out of the house for 13.5 hours only to drag yourself back out early the next day, your brain is going to falter a bit.

I was okay until about 3:30pm on Thursday. That's when I got back from my lunch. I work in the tech-dependent unit, which is a room with 3 patients and a nurse's desk in the corner. The kids there are mostly toddlers with tracheostomies and require constant supervision and oxygen monitoring. One baby was out on day pass with his parents and the other two toddlers were napping. So I was free to drift along in my Elvish sleep. The 3.5 hours passed without incident and my shift was over.

There's a mini bus schedule that I made on a cue-card that has all the important times (when my shifts start and end) for the bus that conveniently connects the hospital and my apartment along a road without much traffic. I love that bus.

Yesterday, however, I left the building and realized that the bus wouldn't come for another 15 minutes. No problem, the hospital is right next to a subway station. What I didn't account for was the half-zombified state of my brain.

I went to Atwater métro station, paid my fare and went down to the platform. I remember looking across the tracks to the opposite platform and noting that it was heading towards Honoré-Beaugrand (which is kind of like Kennedy station on the Bloor-Danforth line). What I didn't note was that THAT was the direction I was supposed to be heading in. Believe me when I tell you that I am well acquainted with this particular station. Last fall, I did my clinical placement at this same hospital. I go down there to shop at the Korean market which is nearby. I know Atwater station damn well, is my point. Now why, on this particular day, I decided to go down the staircase on the left instead of the right is a mystery. Maybe my brain was angry with me for subjecting it to the smell of chlorhexidine all day, I don't know. But there I was, placidly looking up at the TV screen and wondering what the weather would be like in the evening for 5 minutes straight without even thinking about whether I was on the right platform or not.

The train arrived and I got on. Now, my station, Place des Arts, is 5 stops east from Atwater. So one doesn't want to zonk out completely during the subway ride. Zonking out partially is okay, though. While I was in this haze, I heard the announcement, "Attention. Attention. Charlevoix station is closed. Buses are available from..." I thought to myself, "That's strange. They don't do that announcement unless you're going west on the green line." Then came the announcement, "Next station, Lionel-Groulx." It took 2 seconds to sink in. That's right. I was heading west. Thankfully, it was only one station in the wrong direction, so I got off.

Lionel-Groulx is like Bloor, where you can transfer between the green and orange lines. But unlike Bloor where you change floors to change lines, here you change floor to change your direction. Nonsense, you cry! I tell you, it's true. My brain apparently wasn't done screwing with me, so I mindlessly walked across the platform and got on the train, thinking that my misadventures were at an end.

I wouldn't be posting this if that was the end. Oh no. Being squishy of brain, I had changed to the orange line. When they announced, "Next station, Place St. Henri", I actually said aloud, "Bloody hell!" By this time, I would have been better off just sitting on the bench in front of the hospital and waiting for the damn bus. With a supreme burst of effort, I forced myself to stay alert and made it back to Place des Arts without making any more blunders.

All that was left was to take a bus for a short distance to my apartment. Imagine what I discovered when I exited the station! It's Internation Jazz Festival time here in Montreal and all the streets in the area were closed off for the concerts. This was the last straw. I was hungry, I was tired, it was bloody hot and sticky. If I were a child of less principles, I would have thrown a screaming tantrum right then and there. (Fact: My parents swear that I have never thrown tantrums, just death glares which is infinitely more endurable.)

Grumbling, I walked to my apartment. It was only a 10 minute walk, but I let myself wear the cranky pants that had been collecting dust in the closet of mind. Once I was home though, a shower and some food fixed EVERYTHING. Ahhhh~ Then I passed out on the bed and slept the night away. ^_^

Later in the month, I have to work three 12-hour NIGHT shifts in a row. I'll be happy if I don't somehow end up in Ottawa after that.

*blink blink*

That is correct. I am up at 2am on a Friday night, figuring out how to install and use the Japanese IME on my computer instead of sleeping like a normal person.

그렇소. 새벽 2시에 자기는 커녕 컴퓨터로 일어 쓰는 방법을 궁리하고 있소이다.

そうです。にじ、きんようび、にほんご、　バソコン、something something. I'm working on it.

One year left.

I came back from Toronto last night after a blissful vacation of 10 days and found a one-year lease renewal form stuck on my door. My lease is up at the end of July and even though my original plan back in 2007 was to work in Montreal for awhile after graduation, I've been feeling rather homesick of late. Therefore, I'm planning on applying to a hospital in Toronto for my final internship next May. So I asked my landlady what I have to do if I want to leave before my lease is up next year and she told me that I shouldn't have too much trouble finding a tenant to sublet. That's fine with me.

I like my life in Montreal. My tiny studio apartment is crammed with my own stuff. Not quite perfect, given the small amount of space and lack of counters in the kitchen, but it's MINE. I cook when I want to, I leave the door open to the balcony and there's no one around to poke around my stuff. I find that I'm a lot neater now that I don't live with anyone. When I leave, I'll probably leave a lot of stuff behind, like the kitchen table where I usually toss books and keys and knick knacks rather than actually eat something. I'll leave behind my old crappy Ikea desk and dresser for sure. I'm kind of excited about the prospect of getting rid of this stuff, actually. Like shedding off the old things and becoming a more grown-up version of me. It's quite nice to think about.

I'll have to buy a new desk and everything else when I get back to Toronto, but it'll be okay. I'll get the ginormous dark-coloured desk of my dreams so I can spread books and papers all over it. It'll be freaking sweet.

My Ultimate Sacrifice...

...for people thinking about reading, watching or having anything whatsoever to do with "Hana Yori Dango" (Flowers over Boys).

I have read/watched many a stupid thing. After all, I am the person who actively sought out the animated LOTR movie, bought the DVD and watched it. TWICE. I've also read quite a few of Anne Rice's novels, which everyone will admit are not the pinnacle of literature.

But no, this cannot go on. I cannot understand the popularity of this terrible terrible series and to prevent poor innocents from stumbling across it like I did and suffering as a consequence, I will hereby write a synopsis.

First, an introduction: Hana Yori Dango is a Japanese manga which has been turned into an anime series and live action shows in Japan, Taiwan and Korea most recently. Apparently, it's horribly popular. Now, I've only read 4 complete manga series: Rose of Versailles, Kindaichi Case Files, Fruits Basket and this thing. So I'm not the greatest connoisseur of manga or anything like that, but I know what I like. And I don't like this. I hate it. I hate it SO MUCH.

Characters:
Girl in the middle (aka. Bloody Idiot): Main character of Hana Yori Dango. EVERYONE falls in love with her. EVERYONE. Why? What are her redeeming qualities? I know this is a shoujo, so girls are supposed to be able to insert themselves easily into the main character, but this girl has NOTHING going on. She punches and kicks people a lot, I guess. YEAH.

Guy on left with short blonde hair (aka. Aspergers Doofus): One of the F4, a group of 4 supposedly hot rich guys. Bloody Idiot falls in love with him in the beginning. Apparently, it's hinted that he has Aspergers syndrome? Whatever. I don't care enough to find out.

Guy on right with ridiculour reggae hair (aka. Sociopath): Leader of the F4. He's the main guy, who falls in love with Bloody Idiot and gets together with her at the end. Yeah, I ruined it for you. If you couldn't tell from the particular expression he has up there, then you need to read more manga.

Guys in the back (Mimbo 1 and Mimbo 2): Other two members of F4. They're rich playboys, yadda yadda, they're useless, flavourless and wholly uninteresting.

Synopsis:

Bloody Idiot goes to a rich kids' high school, even though her family's dirt poor. One day, she accidentally falls down the staircase and stomps on Sociopath's face. As payback, Sociopath puts a red tag in her locker, a declaration of war against her from the entire school (apparently being filthy rich gives you the right to do this).

So Bloody Idiot leads a miserable life getting egged and beaten up, but is determined to win. Meanwhile, she falls in love with Aspergers Doofus, who is in love with a childhood friend, who is not in love with anyone. Sociopath sees how plucky Bloody Idiot is and starts being interested in her (there's some sort of weird crush on his older sister that he's projecting onto Bloody Idiot or something). Random Girl 1 spreads around a rumour that Bloody Idiot is a hussy and Sociopath believes it for a bit, but then decides to rescue Bloody Idiot from a mob of students who is dragging her behind a car?

Seriously, what is this crap?

Anyhoo, Bloody Idiot gets rescued, Sociopath declares his love for the first time. And his hair's all straight, because he declares his love after a shower. The author of this sensational bit of retardedness tries to imply that he's at his most vulnerable when his hair is straight.

If I snorted any harder, my brain would shoot out of my nostrils.

Bloody Idiot can't decide whether she likes him or not, because if you remember, she's got a thing going for Aspergers Doofus. But Aspergers Doofus decides to fly to France to chase after the girl that he loves. So Bloody Idiot decides, hey, he's gone, might as well string Sociopath along.

Sociopath, contrary to his name, starts being ridiculously charming to Bloody Idiot and she starts to fall for him. But then Aspergers Doofus comes back from France because things didn't work out with his girl! They (Bloody Idiot and F4) go to Sociopath's vacation house by a beach someplace. Late at night, Bloody Idiot ends up kissing Aspergers Doofus on the beach. Sociopath gets super mad.

When they return home, Sociopath tries to get Bloody Idiot and Aspergers Doofus expelled from school by threatening to cut off his family's yearly donation. Sociopath's older sister stops this scheme and instead suggests a 3-on-3 basketball game to decide who wins.

[INSERT PEAL OF DERISIVE LAUGHTER HERE]

The night before the game, Sociopath declares his love for the second time. She hesitates, so he slams her into the wall and tries to kiss her. This is not the only incident of sexual assault in this manga. I was starting to think that this manga was specifically written for people who're into that kind of thing. Or the author has some major issues.

The next day, just as Sociopath's team is about to win, he decides that the game is stupid and leaves for New York. Meanwhile, Bloody Idiot and Aspergers Doofus break up because they decide that they'd rather be friends anyway. Sociopath discovers this when he's in New York and returns promptly. Once he returns, Sociopath and Bloody Idiot start going out. Or something. It's very vague, supposedly to add "tension" to the romance.

Sociopath decides that he's going to enter her into the Miss Teen Japan contest so that she can rise to his social status or something.

I...I'm just gonna sigh and continue writing. By the way, I'm at chapter 63 out of 241.

BLAH BLAH BLAH, by a total fluke, Bloody Idiot becomes Runner-up at the Miss Teen Japan contest. What a way to just skip over 10 chapters.

Sociopath decides that he wants to go to Canada and forces the rest of F4 and Bloody Idiot to come. Some spiteful girls tag along, because they don't want the F4 to be tainted by the poor people mannerisms of Bloody Idiot. I would have just disliked her because she's so dumb, not because she's poor.

For the love of heaven, Bloody Idiot, stop pointing out how fabulously rich Sociopath is! "Wow, look at this mansion! I guess he's that rich, huh." You've seen two of his other mansions, his yacht and his private island. SHUT UP.

They go to a chalet on the Rockies someplace and the spiteful cows trick Bloody Idiot into wandering out into a snowstorm at night. Sociopath goes out looking for her and carries her hypothermic ass into some abandoned cabin. After some ridiculous number of pages depicting manga-style sexual tension, they fall asleep.

They return to the chalet in the morning. Spiteful cows are kicked out. They all return home. Bloody Idiot is approached by the younger brother of an old school friend. He's a model? Anyway, it turns out that he was using her as bait to get to Sociopath, who beat up his friend in the past. Sociopath ends up in the hospital. That's what you get when you're a violent sociopath who constantly escapes justice because of your wealth, my friend.

Bloody Idiot is trying to decide whether she really likes Sociopath or not. Sociopath invites her to his birthday party where she meets his mother (Evil Bitch) for the first time. Evil Bitch insults her and Sociopath escapes from the party with Bloody Idiot.

Evil Bitch forces a surprise engagement on Sociopath with a girl from a super rich family (Random Girl 2). Random Girl 2 claims to have fallen in love with Sociopath and because he's all frustrated by the dumbassery of Bloody Idiot, he agrees to go out with her. Then he decides that no, he's really REALLY in love with Bloody Idiot, so he dumps Random Girl 2 and they break off their engagement. Bloody Idiot decides to fight against Evil Bitch, not because she has real feelings for Sociopath, but because she feels insulted and wants to win.

God...why...

Bloody Idiot's family becomes destitute and they go to the countryside, leaving her behind to finish school. Bloody Idiot has nowhere to stay, so she becomes a maid in Sociopath's mansion while Evil Bitch is away on business. His personal servant.

GOD. WHY...

Bloody Idiot tells him that she wants to go out with him. Happiness doesn't last long, obviously, because there are still 118 chapters left in this godawful piece of work. Evil Bitch decides to ruin the companies of Bloody Idiot's friends. Bloody Idiot says that she will stay away from Sociopath and Evil Bitch makes everything back the way it was. Bloody Idiot breaks up with Sociopath outside on the street in a thunderstorm (naturally the ideal setting for a manga breakup). But she doesn't tell him WHY she's doing it.

What a friggin' idiot.

Bloody Idiot runs away to her family in the countryside who's been mooching off their neighbours by telling them that Bloody Idiot was engaged to Sociopath. The idiocy runs in their whole family, evidently. She starts to work in a stand by the beach that sells corn on the cob. Aspergers Doofus happens to see her on TV after she's been missing for a week. He convinces Sociopath to come to the countryside with him and rescue Bloody Idiot from the squalor.

Sociopath and Aspergers Doofus help Bloody Idiot's family move back to Tokyo. The family is more grating than every other character in this fricking thing.

Sociopath is still mad at Bloody Idiot, so she goes for a set-up party with her friends. She meets a Sociopath lookalike (Creepy Bugger), who says that he's Sociopath's cousin. It turns out that Creepy Bugger was just some random guy who was hired by Evil Bitch to seduce Bloody Idiot away from Sociopath. In the end, Crazy Bugger helps Bloody Idiot by pretending to Evil Bitch that he succeeded. Bloody Idiot and Sociopath get back together.

Evil Bitch eventually finds out and forces Sociopath to move to New York. Bloody Idiot chases after Sociopath and finds his house with some random people's help. Evil Bitch invites her in. Bloody idiot declares her love for him (after almost 200 chapters), but Sociopath rejects her coldly. Bloody Idiot leaves and finds Aspergers Doofus who came to New York to help her just in case. While wandering around New York, Bloody Idiot helps out a man who turns out to be in the middle of a business deal with Evil Bitch. Bloody Idiot saves Evil Bitch's business deal. To pay her back, Evil Bitch allows Sociopath to meet Bloody Idiot at the airport before she flies back to Japan with Aspergers Doofus. Aspergers Doofus punches Sociopath.

Bloody Idiot returns to Japan with Aspergers Doofus. Sociopath shows up randomly at her house. It's revealed that Evil Bitch granted Sociopath complete freedom for 2 years if he dumps Bloody Idiot. That makes a whole ton of sense, alright. They are kidnapped by some shady men and put on a deserted yacht that's on autopilot. They end up on a deserted island but find out the next day that Mimbo 1 and Mimbo 2 planned it all along and it's actually an island that's being developed as a resort. Bloody Idiot and Sociopath reaffirm their love.

Okay, only 30 chapters left.

As they're getting off the boat on their way back home, some random guy stabs Sociopath. He ends up in the hospital and almost dies on the operating table. When he wakes up, he has no memory of Bloody Idiot.

Amnesia? HONESTLY? This is the height of retardation, right here.

Another patient at the hospital (Random Girl 3) moves in on him and tries to convince him that there's no point trying to remember the past. Instead of kicking her ass, as is her normal reaction to things, Bloody Idiot becomes depressed and decides to give up on Sociopath. She visits Sociopath's house and throws a baseball (a souvenir from a date) at his head in frustration. A few days later, Sociopath shows up at her house because the baseball restored his memory.

Woopdewoop, they're in love.

When Sociopath's father falls ill, he has to take responsibility for the family business so he decides that he has to go to New York. For FOUR GODDAMN YEARS. He promises to come back for her.

They go off to an island resort by themselves. Bloody Idiot falls into the pool. She has a bath afterwards. Later during an intimate moment, Bloody Idiot develops a fever (manga characters are genetically predisposed to developing fevers at the drop of a hat) and the two bleeding bloody idiot characters remain chaste.

Sociopath flies to New York after prom and Bloody Idiot will wait for him for the next four years. I don't understand what the big deal is. He's super rich. He has a private plane. It's not like he can't fly back once in awhile or fly her to New York once in awhile.

Did I mention that all of this happens when she's in grade 11 and he's in grade 12? They're high school kids. They're idiots! Everyone is at that age!

DUMBEST MANGA EVER. So don't read it.

I'm not yet in my late 20s!

Birthdays are not a big deal with my family. I mean, look at my parents. They left for Panama early this morning for two weeks. Yes, they called last night to wish me a happy birthday and then they were off to warmer climes! Lucky lucky bums.

My 26th birthday began with the alarm ringing at 7 in the morning to wake me up for my first day at the Montreal Neurological Institute. Awesome. I must say that I'm feeling very lucky in all of my clinical placements so far (well, except for Maimonides). They're always easy to access (again, except for Maimonides) and they're very pleasant places to work once you become familiar with the environment. The MNI is about a 15-minute walk from my apartment, which is SO nice. It's a bit uphill, but it means I can sleep in a bit more on these cold cold mornings.

Do you remember the Heritage Minute commercials on TV? I don't think they play them on TV much anymore, but I loved watching them. Especially the one about the first female doctors in Canada. Mrs. Trout (what a name!) ripping the piece of paper from the anatomical drawing of naked male and throwing it to the ground.
Anyway, I mention them, because Dr. Penfield, who built the MNI, has his own Heritage Minute.

I was able to watch a brain surgery for 45 minutes in the very same operating room theatre where Dr. Penfield did his seizure surgeries. Hundreds of doctors from all over the world watched him work in that theatre! It was great. We arrived in the OR theatre just as they were pulling off the scalp after a bifrontal incision (from ear to ear above the forehead). We could see the skull! The surgeon started drilling two holes down to the dura layer. Bits of bone started flying everywhere and the surgeon started putting something called bone wax into the holes using his fingers. This is when I started to clutch my face in awe. I'm not very squeamish and then only time I ever felt faint was when I cut my finger with a serrated knife. Then the surgeon started using a punch to chip away at the hole to make it bigger. Hooah.

I'll be starting my clinical course on the surgical floor on Wednesday and I'll get a chance later in the term to see a surgery from start to finish in the OR. I'm very excited.

The nursing girls in my group kept asking what I was going to do for my birthday, which was kind of embarrassing, considering that I don't like to make a big deal out of it. It's not because I am no longer 22 (what I have randomly decided to be the best age in young adulthood) and slowly feel the grip of adult responsibilities on my shoulder. It's just a day! I have also just remembered that Koreans turn a year older automatically on New Year's. So when Koreans ask each other how old they are, the age they give is usually one more than their real age. Then they also give their real age ("mahn"). So right now, my New Year age and my real age match up. But my brother is 22 and mahn 21. Get it? That was a bit of digression.

So what did I do on my birthday?

I came home, took a nap, had some lovely mangoes to celebrate and got nice phone calls from friends and Facebook congratulations. ^_^

Also, happy 26th birthday to my Birthday Buddy, Brenda!