after reading my friend's, sirinya, blog i'm reminding once again another fun filled CTY summer is on it's way. extremely excited and a bit sad that none of the old doheny crew will be there with me. this year though, i'll be taking some of my UCSD peeps to work with me so i won't be as lonely... anywho, reading sirinya's blog i was again reminded of the wonderful "A Factor" developed by myself, ted, and sam... here's a reblogging of the that old entry.

*while dining in LA me and a couple of friends came upon the secret factor in all asian restaraunts which determines the level of service you receive... we're still working on the full blown theory of the Asian Factor... it theory it works like this... the more asians you have in your group the better the service you'll receive in an asian restaraunt... you don't necessarialy need to be of that asian heritage to get good service... for all they know you could just be american born and never learned how to speak korean, japanese, chinese, tagalog, etc... the factor can also be affected positively if you can speak that particular language, conversely you can lower your A Factor by asking for a fork or doing other cultural no-no's... how to figure out your A Factor? just divide the total number in your dining party by the number of asians in your group... the closer your number is to 1 the better your chances are of getting great service... but there are always exceptions to the A Factor like if you go to a shitty place with shitty service your A Factor maybe unable to compensate for it although decreasing it may make your meal even worse.. (ie. Hodori in Koreatown...) like i said before this theory is still in the testing stages...

keep thinking that i took the mcat yesterday... didn't realize that my scores will be coming in the mail in about a month... yikes! that means i should get started on all my application stuff now... ie. letter of intent, letters of rec, get my transcripts sent out, actually pick the 10 schools i'll be sending out my application to. so far i have earmarked 13 schools... this week i'll be doing my research and talking to my admissions advisor to see which schools would be best for me...

anywho, right now i'm really scared about this whole application process... what if i don't even get one single interview? scary to think about... worked so hard and poured so much of my parent's money into this endeavor... just thinking about it gives me high blood pressure... serious, as i type this i can feel the tightness in my chest... sucks... everything around me is just liable to piss the fuck out of me... anywho, the plan is to get to bed before 2 tonight and wake up early to get started...

that ever present and inane question

"Why do you want to be a doctor?"

such a simple qusetion with so many answers that can be counteracted with responses to reasons why i shouldn't be a doctor. ever since my sunday volunteering stint i've been agonizing over my answer to this question. why the hell do i want to be a doctor? i can go the very popular altruism route and say it's "because i like and want to help ppl..." but i can help people by becoming a policeman, a lawyer, a dentist, or even become a nurse. which in fact, bring me to my next response. "because i like working with ppl..." nurses in fact, run the hospital. they do the majority of the work that goes on in the hospital. it's nurses that helped my dad after his heartattack. i'm sure his cardiologist spent at most 3 hours with him during his one week stay in the hospital. while his nurses monitered him 24 hours a day... but does that mean i want to be a nurse. not really. =/... is it "because i want to be make tons of money..." honestly, to say i want to become a doctor out of the kindness of my heart would be a lie. let's be frank, the world revolves around money and although money can't buy happiness it sure can facilitate it... but, get this, if i was really all about making bank then it would probably be better if i just started working now as a plumber than as a doctor because in reality... it is going to be a while before i even start to make anything as a doctor... first, i have school for about 4-6 more years which means i'll be poor for 4-6 more years. also that doesn't include any debt i will undoubtedly aquire. besides, once i do start working who says i'll have any time to enjoy any material wealth? as a resident i'll probably be working in excess of 100 hours a week. i'll be too tired to even watch anything on my high definition big screen.

so many answers to this deceivingly simply question. like i said, ever since volunteering this weekend i've been just thinking about the reasons i want to become a doctor. not to say being a doctor isn't rewarding in itself. the graditude from one patient is enough to last for weeks, but yet there's that stark reality that saving lives is exception and not the rule. not saying that doctors kill ppl (which they do by accident), but life in the ER is extremely different from the world you see on NBC's ER. for the most part, it's stitches and stomach aches.

for now the only thing i can concretely come to a conclusion about why i want to become a doctor is that i can't... anywho, i have about a month to figure out the answer before it's committed to pen and ink.

not quite a dog

say hello to Puppy.. me and david have adopted yet another pet to our apartment.... hopefully we don't accidently crush him during our move to the new apartment.

Where is my Mind?

You're smart, shy, and often nonsensical. You have dreams of being famous, and you're quirky enough that you just might pull them off. Some would call you a genius, others would call you insane, but in reality you're pretty well-adjusted. Take a vacation once in a while- it'll help take your mind off of your troubles.

Which Pixies song are you?

quite believably... for those who know me this description fits me quite well...

gained a better appreciation for my friends and family after tonight... i love you all and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it!

new look


seems like i change my template as often as i change my cell phone... hahahaha... anywho, after a bit of frustration... the archives are back up...

this is why i go through it...

as much as i bitch and moan about how hard it is to study and prepare for med school i always tell myself that in the end it'll all be worth it... today i got a glimpse of what it is i'm working toward... it's hard to define the i feeling i got today while volunteering in the ER... at this point volunteering has become less of a duty and more of something i look forward to... i really think it's because i'm working so late and not many volunteers have ventured beyond what i've done so i get a lot of attention... the staff i work with is awesome... esp. the ER doctor on call... Dr. Morikado is the exactly the type of doctor i like'd to become... caring, compassionate, smart, sense of humor, and is always supportive of her staff and volunteers...

the moment i walked into the ER it was literally just buzzing with activity... haven't seen that much activity in a while... 3 trauma cases... it was awesome... just like ER on tv... =) but the best part of the night was when it started to slow down... this is when i'm given a chance to just walk around the ER and observe and learn... tonight i learned how to do a 12 lead EKG and Dr. Morikado taught me how to do stitches... she even let me practice! no, not on a patient... but on a folded piece of gauze... nevertheless it was enough to whet my appetite for the field of medicine... it was really cool learning how to do the stitches... in a sense it was like kindergarten and learning how to color... when i was done i told the doctor i was going to put my very first stitches on the fridge for my roomies to see and admire... =) or maybe i'll save it and give it to my parents... hahaha... either way I'm extremely proud of the fact that my pressence in the ER is taking shape... anywho, here's what my very first stitches look it...

Here's my top 5 choices for med school...

1) University of Southern California
1.5) University of California San Francisco... (drool... not even going to apply to this one... too competetive...)
2) University of Washington
3) New York University
4) Columbia University
5) University of California San Diego

As you can see I'm leaning toward the west coast if possible... but if i do have to leave i'd rather be in new york where at least ppl seem to be a bit cultured and worldly... don't know how i'd survive living in the urban jungle though... so much of my life is in southern california... well, a bit premature to even make plans yet... still need to send out my applications... ahh yes, my med school stress level is on the rise again... =)

big comfy couch + asian snacks + tv = total contentment...

do you remember when you were a little kid and would tag along with your parents when they went grocery shopping? and you'd ask if you could get a little something... like candy, chips, or any other asian snack? i wonder at what point we grow out of wanting to buy all that junk food... today i went grocery shopping and although i'm pretty good at getting what i need i still find myself spending 10 mins in the snack aisle deciding what i want... then when i go to check out i always have to buy a box of rice candy... does anyone remember when botan rice candy used to come with a toy and not a lame sticker? after i worked out i just plopped on the couch turned on the tv, opened with the box of candy and bag of shrimp chips and found myself quite content with life... someone should capture that moment and sell it in a bottle...

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY MAYRIN!!!!

my kids are growing up so fast... in less than 5 weeks they'll have graduated... someone please press the pause button so i can spend more time with my family...
almost forgot... HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY RANDY!!!... so strange my little bro is now 17... thought he'd be 10 years old forever... now he's all semi-grown with friends of his own and a more exciting social life than mine =P... hahahaha...

long long APSA meeting today... at first i wasn't sure if i wanted to run again for a position on the board, but after tonight's meeting I'm again excited and thrilled about a possible extra year with apsa... i think it's mainly because of the people running for exec. positions that is getting me motivated. looks to be a very dynamic group full of awesome ideas for the new school year.

got my first midterm back and wasn't really surprised at the score i got... i got the mean as i had suspected i would get... argh... stupid prof. doesn't know how to teach at all... but then again makes me wonder.. would i rather he be my progessor or my doctor? tough call to make.. it's deciding between the lesser of two evils... went out to eat after the meeting and had some pretty funny dining conversation... ahh yes, phil and his philip-logic... hahahahaha... something i've really missed being so busy with academics... feeling good though... back in the groove although it's not going to last very long... 5 weeks till graduation.

yet another successful night in the ER... the more time i spend in the hospital the more i see that this is really what i want to do with my life... just find it so amazing that the human body can indure so much and still come back kicking... right now i'm fascinated with stitches... tonight must have been the night for stitches... i got to see it done about 3 times tonight... i wonder at what point in my career will i stop wincing at the sight of that needle penetrating the skin... even when the doctor injects the lidocaine is seems like nothing... in fact she would inject the drug pretty liberally... poke the needle in here... then in here... and then deep in the cut... the last patient she applied stitches to she must have injected him about 10+ times during the procedure because the patient would go through the stuff like candy for some odd reason... watched in awe as the doctor took a big open gash and turned it into a nice little cut shut closed with 12 neat stitches... very very cool =)

how sad roomie's not home... =/... just wanted to say that my roomie, david, did an awesome job at VCN... played a very concvincing "traditional" vietnamese man.. although i still say they didn't wear abercrombie jeans and sweaters back in the 1950's... seriously though, all your hardwork paid off and i think you did an awesome job =) "that's my roomie!"...

finally! i'm really done...

can't believe it's only been a week since i finished my mcat... feels so long ago because right after mcats i started studying for my 3 midterms... i'm glad to report that i kick major ass on the last midterm... overall i think i scored well on 2 of the 3... that damn professor! now that i'm done hardcore studying for a while i can relax and play... woo hoo... roller coaster tycoon baby =)

two midterms down... one more to go... after reviewing my answers to my last midterm i think i went into the exam a bit over zealous, but i'm hoping for the best... if anything, i got my roomie to actually study more than 5 hours in advance of a test... so anywho, i was studying in the bio med library because it's just so much more conducive to studying.. and usually when i need to talk on the phone i go outside, but for some reason i thought i could be descrete enough to talk on my phone for a bit while in the library... some bobo head tried to shhhhh me... fuck off bitch i'm talking on the phone! such a hypocrite i am... i get all pissy when people talk on the phone in the library but when i do it it's alright... =P... but i'm special...

3 days

it's been 3 days post mcat and yet i'm still stuck in the library studying.. i envisioned being able to get out... have some fun.. play at the beach with the kids, stay up late, and just relax... none of that this week... 3 midterms in a row... it was such a beautiful day today too... end of the quarter barreling forward and yet the time i've managed to spend with my dear family has been steadily decreasing... in fact, feeling a bit dettached right now... =/... my eye twitch has some how returned to me too... definitely in need of a break... more than just one night... too bad we're out of 3 day weekends...

after i was done washing my car and changing it's oil i decided it might be nice to change the light bulbs as well... turns out when i put them back in i didn't align them correctly and so i have one headlight pointing to the extreme right of my car and another pointing to the upper left of my car... so basically i'm running on my foglights until i can either fix it myself or just head over to the toyota dealership so they can do it... stupid me.. =P

the after party

just finished my MCAT.. nothing i haven't seen before, in fact some of the material seemed a bit easier than i was expecting... right now my head is just reeling with the fact i'm done with it... don't need to be studying for it every night. what i'm i going to do now with all my free time? the weight of preparation has finally been lifted... all i have left to worry about now is the rest of my classes at UCSD and the results of the test which i won't get until the end of June... basically now I'll just be worrying about the result for the next 3 months... and preparing my med school apps... however, i will say i felt pretty confindent taking it... nothing new was discussed and pretty much everything i was asked i knew something about so at the least i was able to eliminate 2 of the answer choices... the essay portion was pretty dry as well... felt like i've written that essay about 50 times now... the only section i'm worried about if the physical sciences section because in the end i was literally just flying through the last questions to finish on time... wow... can't believe it's done. 6 months of studying came down to one test... a test, i might add, that will determine which school i plan to apply to... just hoping i won't have to take the test over again in august... but, i won't think about that because i'm done... plus i just know it's my destiny to become a doctor so that means only one thing right? a kick ass score... well... enough venting about about the test... it's over with and i won't think about it for another 3 months... going out for some celebratory drinking with the princeton review peeps... woo hoo... I'M DONE!!!!!!

Game Day

first step in becoming a docotor... the MCATs! nervous as hell... in fact, i don't know if its because the room is a bit chilly but i'm shivering... going to kick ass on this test though... finished doing a couple of passages and i'm now in the zone ... pray for blessings everyone... i'll be back to post my results after the exam..

status check

well, a bit late on stopping my study session... didn't stop until 1:30a... but managed to cover everything i deemed as important... i'm officially ready to battle the mcat... the first thing i did when i got home was to pack up all my books and notes for the test into a box and put it into the back of my closet... i wish i had a camera to take a picture of it all... if you've seen my study material you know what i'm talking about... so many books and notes i've taken... great feeling though when i put everything away... not scared, but nervous... although i've taken about 7 practice tests i'm just worried that there is something i missed... but then again can't totally be 100% prepared for it as well... just wanted to thank everyone for the love and support... it was so great to come home from studying and see the IMs... even got a card from Cat which was incredibly sweet... the kids are excited to for me to be done with mcats... awaiting my "triumphant" return to the family =) plan for tomorrow is just to relax and not stress over anything... planning to go out to eat, get some rest and then kick some major ass on this exam... it's the first step in many on my way to becoming a doctor... good times =)

the end is finally within view...

the first part of my journey into medicine is close at hand... mcats are this saturday and i plan to stop all my mcat studying by thursday midnight... only 2 days left =) i turned in a practice test today to be graded and when i got it back i got this overwhelming sense of satisfaction and confidence... finally after 5 practice exams i broke the double digit mark... just about close to my goal of 32 points... definitely not feeling stressed or even worried... just taking everything at my own pace and reviewing everything i need to brush up on...just trying to remain focused and not worry too much about the fact this test will decide my med school fate... like my instructor told me tonight... "feel confident in everything you've done thus far... nothing will be a surprise on the test... in fact, you'll be one of the most prepared students to take the test.." really excited actually about taking the test and getting it over with... more interested in getting my med school applications finished... definitely been a long and year of studying for this test... but in the end it'll be all worth it... incidently, studying for the test has really screwed up my sleeping patterns... i don't get to sleep till around 4, wake up around 9, crash and burn around 4, and then wake up again only to stay up till 4 the next morning... after this is all done; mcats and midterms... i'm going to reset my circadian rhythms with some melatonin...

first night in the ER turns out to be quite interesting... can't really go into details since there is that whole confidentiality thing going on... interestingly enough my first night in the ER coincided with the fact that Janet almost had her pinky toe severed and david, the roomie, had to get stitches because he bit through his bottom lip all the way through... well... mcat in less than a week.. actually more scared about my other classes than this test... don't want to fall behind in any of my classes... anywho, for everyone reading this... i'm officially disappearing from the world until thursday midnight... that's when i'll call off all my studying efforts for the mcat... so if anyone wants to grab a midnight boba on thursday call me up otherwise consider me missing... good luck with midterms everyone!

mcats in one week... moving into the new apartment in a little over a month... summer is but a mere 8 weeks away... someone must have put the world on fast foward... not going to finish studying for this test... not going to get into med school here... going to disappoint everyone and their mom... need some reprise... one more week... one more week... one more week... then med school apps... =/...

sitting on my wall are a pair of swords that i used during kendo practice... haven't been back to the dojo in 2 years... today i picked up the bokuoto, it's a heavy wooden sword used to practice kata, felt engerized just practicing some of the techniques... i miss going to the dojo to practice... i always felt so good after practice... such an awesome workout... i'm considering going back this fall... it'll be nice to actually start practicing kendo again... why did i stop in the first place? the first reason was because i had to leave for LA to work.. but when i got back it just became an inconvienence to go to practice every friday night... that was probably the killer... if they had practice any other night i'm sure i would have made the time, but friday nights are prime playtime for college students... just got that adrenaline rush when i picked up that sword... it was an amazing feeling... =) i feel like a little kid sometimes when it comes to the activities i pursue... i'll go all out for the first couple of weeks and then i'll hit a plataeu and say "that's enough"... need to just get over the hump... okie.. see, this is what happnes when you need to be studying, but instead you're blogging... ahhhhhh...

mcat next week... consider me missing in action until then... =)

xxstapeler68xx: here's some cool stuff u might want to read... (btw, nice buddy icon)
xxstapeler68xx: Medicine, the only profession that labors incessantly to destroy the reason for its own existance.
--James Bryce
xxstapeler68xx: Medicine makes people ill, mathematics makes them sad, theology makes them sinful.
--Martin Luther (1483-1546)
xxstapeler68xx: Medical scientists are nice people, but you should not let them treat you.
--August Bier (1861-1949) German surgeon
xxstapeler68xx: Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing.
--Voltaire [Fran‡ois Marie Arouet (1694-1778)]
xxstapeler68xx: ok
xxstapeler68xx: :-P
xxstapeler68xx: GOOD LUCK ON UR MCAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (in 11 days... ;-))

-from one of my former residents at CTY

here's something funny... my roomie david writes on his away message the other night "more and more marshmallows are becoming a suitable dinner..." or something to that effect... aside from the fact that's just gross does he not realize i live with him? it's like living with the nsync and not getting backstage passes or being best friends with bill gates and having to pay for a copy of windows... hahaha...

the tide quickly changes...


with only 12 days left till mcats and midterms my stress level is slowly climbing up .. in fact, it's the little tiny things that are beginning to bug me... that's when you know you're getting stressed out... honestly, don't want to bother with the shit of finding a new place... but it's really not the biggest issue on my plate... merely decoration, the parsley if you will... and if i don't get it done then it's not getting done... on the brightside it's only 12 more days... after mcats, definitely going to go out and have a great big dinner with my family... can't wait to see my wife and kids again around the dinner table like ol' times =) definitely one more year of school is what i need... i need a real senior year.. one where i can slack off and play every night because i'm graduating... none of this studying till 3 crap... we'll see though... my plans tend to change whenever my mood does...

something wierd in the air

i dunno... just feels different... in a good way... wish i had a hammock so i could just soak it all in. =)

here's something i found on someone's AIM profile... just a little story for all you engineering majors...

An engineer was crossing a road one day when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess."
He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket.
The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week."
The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket.
The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back I'll stay with you for one week and do anything you want!"
Again the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket.
Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, that I'll stay with you for a week and do anything you want!"
The engineer said, "Look I'm an engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that's cool!"
-from Anson

bleh... feel like shit right now... have aches, fever, and all stuffed up... i had to take my practice mcat like this... i was literally dying while i was taking the test... but now marks the final 2 week stretch... time to get cracking and really work my ass off to finish everything on time... still need to finish up the course material and stay on top of my regular classes... bleh... i hate when i'm sick and get the chills... if i take off my blanket i'll be freezing, but at the same time i'm just sweating underneath it all... not feeling well at all... feeling all ill and shit... not at all feeling like the normal me... too lazy to even cook for myself... i actually stayed on the couch, watched tv, and ordered a pizza... to quote steph ng "that is very unlike you..." yes indeed... could have been nicer to have the friends over, but alone time is nice too... i just one year from now i'll look back at all the the trivialities of my life right now and see that they were all worth it... really rethinking what i want to do with my life... is not sleeping, studying hardcore, and living off my parents for 4-6 more years something i really want to do? times like i this i'm really scared to think that all this stuff was a waste... that i could just as easily say fuck it and go straight into working for some biotech or research lab... i could easily just drop everything, graduate, and work and be happy... then again, i think about all the potential that i have and has yet to realized... there really is so much more i want to do... at first i thought medical research was out of the question, but now i'm seeing it as a possibility... quite interesting the changes that are occuring in my life right now as everything transitions... friends are graduating, my cousin getting married, people going to grad school, and so many other new and exciting things it's really amazing to think about... okie, i think i'm going to collapse on the keyboard now.. my left eye twitch has gotten progressively worse...got so worse during my practice mcat i had to hold it shut with my left hand while i was writing my essay... it may be some neurological disorder or could just be stress induced... great, just what i need... could my life get anymore complicated?

only 16 days left till the mcats... i'm not nervous, yet... we'll see how i am one week before the test... looks to be a pretty solid 3 weeks of studying not only for the test but for my other classes that have midterms right after the mcat... looks like i'll be dropping one of my classes since i don't think i can hang... i literally fell asleep 2 minutes into the class... plus if i can manage to pull at least a 3.5 this quarter i should be in good standings for med school...


decisions decisions decisions... should i take part in this year's grad banquet as a grad? or should i wait another year... or perhaps be in two grad banquets? i'm also debating whether or not i want to walk in this year's ceremony... hmmm... also, this weekend need to balance my time wisely... saturday i have a practice mcat then volunteering at the hospital from12a to 4a... a couple hours later i have my cousin's wedding reception and then i'm speeding back to campus to watch phil emcee fusion... when the heck i'm i going to find the time to study or sleep?

while taking a break i managed to discover that mary kate and ashley olsen have their very own game boy game... here is the synposis of it...

Rock the party right with Mary-Kate and Ashley
It's girls night out so hit the town dancin' with Mary-Kate and Ashley. You've got your fave friends and a packed dance floor waiting just for you. Look your finest in the freshest fashions. Select from different hairstyles, shirts, pants, shoes and accessories for the hippest look on the dance floor. Keep your dancer rockin' all night long by creating and saving your own mixes. Work the turntables old school style.

what i want to know is, how the hell do they know anything about working the turntables old school style? it's not like these girls are even old enough to go clubbing... watch out america, if we're not careful the olsen twins will someday rule the world... best now to crush them to save humanity!

this morning was my first stint as a volunteer in the ER... my orientation leader said that while i was volunteering i'd would go through many revelations about going into medicine... definitely considering my options after today... not to say that i still don't want to become a doctor... just now so many more things to consider than where i'll be going to med school... the practice of medicine isn't as romantic as i had anticipated, but definitely looking forward to seeing everything and learning... feeling kinda sick... so i'm going to lay down for a bit...

first day of school went without any hitches... really happy i only need to buy one book for this quarter... looks like i get to use some of my money that was supposed to be for books...anywho, time for a new phone... who would have thought my poor phone would've been forced to swim twice?

now is the calm before the storm... the day before spring quarter starts... trying to soak it up as much as possible... i've decided to forgo mcat studying for the rest of the night in lieu of the fact i'll be studying my ass off for the rest of the quarter... i told me parents about the possibility of going to the philippines for med school and to say they were excited would be an understatement... in fact, they went short of calling up a contractor to draft blue prints for my parent's new home in manila... actually, the prospect of going to school in the philippines doesn't seem too bad and in fact might be kinda cool... i'd get to live in a pretty phat house and have a maid and a driver. we'll see how things turn out this next quarter before i start making plans... *sigh* the last spring quarter is upon me... looks like the family is about ready to leave the nest too... mayrin and phil are just about to start working...the wifey is still waiting and i just had an interview with a biotech company just down the block from my last job.. if this lab assistant position goes through i may have to cancel on johns hopkins for greener pastures here in SD...

can't believe it... it's spring quarter already... what the heck do i have to show for it?

so much for turning spring break into a week long study jam... to date i have only covered one chapter from my verbal mcat book... not too good... trust me, before the quarter begins i WILL be ahead of schedule... errr... let's just hope...

had a job interview today which threatens to change a couple of plans i had for summer... however, the more i think about it... the better this opprotunity looks... we'll have to see how everything plays out though in the end... did get to spend some quality time with my kids which is always fun... who would've thought that mayrin would actually like video games? afterwards chilled in the jacuzzi for a bit... after that me and hai went out to get to drunk... ha... didn't take very long... sadly i couldn't even finish my drink... we also managed to catch the last showing of the time machine which was an alright movie... okie...

tomorrow i will study.... otherwise i'll cancel snowboarding for myself...

with so much free time i feel guilty not having anything... i lounged around the house today i was restless just watching tv or even playing on the computer... must be sick or something...

argh... it's been two weeks and i still haven't received word from the MCAT people about where i'll be taking my test... =/ kinda worried since it only took them a week to send back my incomplete application... kinda funny i'm actually worried i may not be able to take this test in april.. actually no it's not that funny because that would just fuck everything up... i'm planning to apply in june so i need to take this test... aiyo... where is that damn test admission ticket?!?

take a shit or get off the toilet

haven't used that piece of advice in a while... the family will best know where this little beauty applies...

dropped off steph ng at the airport this morning which now signifies the start of spring break... time to play and study... sound familiar? it should because that's all i ever do... ha. turns out i may have a lab job this spring quarter... so check this out... this is why i'm so spoiled... here is the conversation i had with my mom yesterday when i told her i was going to find a lab job

me: i'm applying for a couple of lab jobs for this quarter...
mom: why? aren't you working in la this summer?
me: yeah, but, i need some research experience... plus, you and dad give me so much money already. i figure i should get a job...
mom: oh that's okay... you don't need to...

aren't parents the greatest? if i didn't need the research experience i probably would have just given up the idea of working this quarter... plus, a little extra money doesn't hurt either...

celebrated the end of finals family style at outback followed by boba and blockbuster... definately had a wonderful night just hanging out with my family... exciting, scary, sad, and bitter sweet to think in 10 weeks they'll be taking their final finals... but don't really want to talk about that now... it's still a long ways away and still have lots of adventures to go on before we call it the end...

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY to my ROOMIE, David! i can't believe i stayed up till 6am to help you edit your paper... it's all good though... if you get an A on them you can buy me boba... spring break is finally here... as for my plans this spring breack they are pretty much nondescript... all i know for sure is that i'll be studying for the mcats, going to disneyland on monday, and snowboarding with the family on friday... can't wait! =)

yeah! i'm done i'm done!!! it hasn't really hit me yet that i've actually finished this quarter... hopefully i'll be rewarded with all the hard work i put into the quarter... seriously, i'm scared the that the little times i went out to play will bite me in the ass...

not studying... decided to change the template once again... ha... i'll fill in the missing links once i'm done...

less than 5 hours away from spring break... just have to kick ass on my last final of the quarter...

"what a bitch! she tried to trick me!!! i'm going to take her final and shove it in her face with my A+"

finals week

killed off 2 finals today! woo hoo! don't you hate it when you misjudge the diificulty of the finals you're going to take? you study all night for the "hard" one only to find it a piece of cake and you put relatively little time into your "easy/fun" class... aiyo... i honestly don't know what more i could've have done... i'm just hoping everyone else in the class is a dumbass =/... hahahaha one more left and then it's spring break!

MouseNg22: no practice mcat tomorrow right?
mochicamry: nope... no class for 2 weeks
MouseNg22: ahhh
MouseNg22: kinda nice
mochicamry: perfect oppro to finish the class ahead of schedule
MouseNg22: nerdy:-)
mochicamry: yes very
mochicamry: hahaha
MouseNg22: i like it
MouseNg22: hahah
mochicamry: =)
mochicamry: yeah i need to find a nerdy girlfriend
MouseNg22: we shall find you one:-)
mochicamry: hahaha
mochicamry: yeah!
MouseNg22: surprisingly you havent met one yet at your second home
mochicamry: no i'm kinda picky
mochicamry: they have to be cute too
MouseNg22: of course!
MouseNg22: duh
mochicamry: yeah duh
MouseNg22: haha
MouseNg22: either that or she'll have to be a med student
mochicamry: oh yeah... hopefully i'll find someone by the time i go to med school
mochicamry: i have this really stupid idea
MouseNg22: whats that
mochicamry: i'll meet the girl while i'm at my med school interviews...
mochicamry: i'll decide to go to that school and it'll be perfect
mochicamry: hahaha
mochicamry: such a damn romantic...
MouseNg22: hahahaah!!!
MouseNg22: thats so cute!!!
MouseNg22: you follow her there
MouseNg22: PERFECT
mochicamry: yeah... we'll be part of the same interview group that day
mochicamry: oh yes... it'll be perfect
mochicamry: hahaha
MouseNg22: then have lunch afterwards:-)
mochicamry: exactly... that's when we'll realize we're a perfect fit
MouseNg22: hahaha
MouseNg22: i love it
mochicamry: so do i...
mochicamry: now i can't wait med school even more
mochicamry: =)
MouseNg22: hahah so silly!!!
MouseNg22: so cute
mochicamry: okie... so that's the plan steph
MouseNg22: but i have to approve first
mochicamry: right...if not, backup plan if you haven't found anyone either...
MouseNg22: yes
MouseNg22: see
MouseNg22: its perfect!
mochicamry: yes!

it's only during finals do i find the weird stuff on the net... check out this page squirrel fishing

actually looks kinda fun.. wonder if it would work with a duck or maybe the rabbits on the warren campus. i guess it's all fun and games until someone gets rabies... ah yes, it is definitely finals week... "the most wonderful time of the year"... it's about 3 in the morning and i'm still wide awake... it's raining right now and it is definitely nice and quiet in the apartment... perfect atmosphere for studying =) so nerdy.. i just e-mailed my prof to tell her that after watching the animations on my book's cd-rom i have a "greater appreciation for the mechanisms for DNA replication and the proteins involved...." hahaha... definitely need to find a girlfriend as nerd as i...

HA! i stayed up to finish reading molecular bio.... woo hoo... even woke up before my roomie who slept earlier than me...

3 days left till my finals marathon, 2 finals in a row... i still have ~100 pages to read for molecular bio and a couple of chapters of mammalian physiology to reread... after that, 48 hours of comparative physiology... then i get to sleep for a bit and it's MCAT prep! yeah for me =) my motivation for all this? USC med school and the 4.0 i need to get into the school...

so check this out... my highlight of the day... skipping my study session to eat lunch with phil... =) it was such a great throw back to when i would skip class at the mere words of "are you hungry?"

my old bio lab is hiring lab assistants... should i go back? i would, but i know that in a couple of months i'll be leaving for LA... well, wouldn't hurt to e-mail them i guess and find out... maybe i won't be as bored as i was when i was there last year... of course i dunno what their policy is on rehiring lazy lab assistants...

When things get bad they get really bad... =/... not going to elaborate anymore since i should be studying... anywho, just wanted to give me props out to Phil and Big Pat who did an awesome job on their senior research projects! =)

goal of the year: become fluent in one language... i seem to have this amazing grasp of languages, yet only only get so far with them... really need to focus my attention on one and become a fluent speaker of one... like my wifey steph says i'm "worldly"... i have this dabbling of international language...my mom allows manages to point out that other kids my age came speak tagalog... well can they speak mandarin, japanese, and spanish? well not totally... hahaha... kinda bugging me since i can't totally express my ideas in another language besides english... case in point... i was playing mah jong one night and when i lost i wasn't allowed to speak in english for the remainder of the game... with my knowledge of tagalog, spanish, mandarin, and japanese i managed to get by and make a couple of jokes, but still it would have been much more satisfying if i had been able to speak in just one language... enough randomness... must study!

feel as if my finals week is starting a week early since 2/3 of my finals are on monday... only problem is that i have the added stress of learning new material on top of the stuff i'm trying to review... =/... looks like a week of very little sleep... today we revealed out secret pals and this quarter i made out slightly better than the first time around since i actually got two things from my secret pal... hahahaha... kinda funny since it turned out to be my roomie jas... now if either one of us gets david it'll be perfect... really happy that she got me the roller coaster tycoon expansion pack =) thanks roomie! i played a little bit of it today, but i'm going to stay strong and wait for spring break to come before i really get to play with my new toy...

Congrats to Janet for getting into the Masters program for teaching at UCSD! looks like all the graduating people are getting ready for the next phases of their lives... mayrin is waiting on acceptance letters and philip found a job (although it follows the loosest interpretations of the meaning of the word)... steph ng has been job hunting like mad and i've been getting my shit together for med school and a possible job in research this january...

my blogger break is over and i'm going to take a 45 min nap before i finish up the rest of my homework...

counting down

it's finally 10th week... which means that in less that 2 weeks this quarter will be finished! i'm calling upon all my reserved strength to pull through this week and next to ensure that elusive 4.0! i'm actually looking forward to finals week... i find it amazing that i can cram 10 weeks worth of information from all my classes into only a couple of days... in theory i could finish my whole undergraduate career in less that a year... hahahaha... anywho, APSA talent show was amazing and the dance routine was quite fun. i'm really glad i decided to be a part of it =) steph and phil were also very good in their own special way... i'll have the video posted for your viewing pleasure in the near future. with finals coming up that means that spring break is just around the corner... although another grand adventure with my partner in crime is tempting it looks like career plans win out. *sigh* really wanted to go on a road trip too... coincidently while we were eating at Keiths we ran into Eunice, one of Rosie's friends that we met while we were in Canada for spring break...

for your reading pleasure here is a rerun of a blog i posted 2nd week of school... luckily i was able to fix the problem...

yes folks it's official... reggie has been studying so hard he gave himself an ulcer... i'm actually kinda relieved because i thought that maybe i had given myself food poisoning from the pad thai i had made... anywho, the diagnosis isn't official but i'm pretty sure it's an ulcer... i have to go to the doctor tomorrow to make sure... hopefully she'll give me something that'll make the pain go away because i can't take aspirin, it'll just make it worse... waaaaaahhh... if you've never had an ulcer before... trust me it hurts... the pain comes and goes but when it strikes you it feels like someone is stabbing you in the stomach... basically my stomach has a hole in it... great... hopefully some relaxation will help ease my stress... i'm going to go crawl into the fetal position now... it huuuuuuuurts.... feels like burning...

although i didn't get much studying done at CLICS i'm so happy that i had a chance to talk to my friend steph... it's been way too long since i've seen the girl... honestly, this is the first time since my 4 years in college i'm truly content with my life. despite the fact i hardly have much of a social life, i'm happy. according to steph i'm "glowing"... it's true though... i'm in the middle of applications for med school and despite the stress and hard work i'm so unbelievably happy. =) the truth that i'm heading off to med school is fast approaching and although i don't know where yet i'm confident that where ever i end up i'll be happy nevertheless... perhaps the only downside to this is the fact that i hardly see my friends so they don't really know how happy i am... but to all of you i only see once in a blue moon know that i'm happy and content with where i am in life...

i was reading my blog from a year ago to date and i definitely had a totally different mind set back then... things will never stay the same as much as we want them to, unfortunately... but i think it's all for the best... i've gone from play mode to super pre-med student mode and from the sounds of it philip may soon be leaving never never land as well as mayrin who has gone into study mode. as for the wifey she's always had her priorities straight which is why i love her so much =) *contented sigh* =)

spent the weekend with APSA which was a wonderful way to take a break... best part was getting to spend some time with my roomie since i hardly ever get the chance to just play around and be silly... med school apps are fast appraoching and i'm hoping to get all my ish done by june 1st so i can submit an app as soon as i can... it'll help maximize my chances of getting in. =) as nerdy as it sounds, i get all giddy when i think about med school and whole application process... but yes, looks like as soon as MCATs are done i'll still be busy hammering out my application. so freakin expensive... if any of you have extra frequent flyer miles that you'd like to donate to me, i'd love you forever... looks like the chances of me staying on the west coast are diminishing... i guess come interview time i'll be shuttling across the country selling myself to the admission boards...

finished with midterms! yeah!!!! looks like i get to catch up with my mcat homework! woo hoo... seriously, need to get back on the ball.. only a little less than 2 months left before the big day... this weekend is going to suck time wise... i have 7 chapters of mcat homework to finish, a med school info session, apsa retreat saturday and sunday, and i must find the time to take another practice test... oh yeah, did i mention that i also have homework that i need to finish... surprisingly though i'm quite content with my present situation... i'm very grateful to be given this opprotunity to just study, play, and not worry about anything but school... =) dude, doesn't seem like i had class this afternoon at all... good luck with the midterms if any of you still have them..

here's the latest in my quest for med school...

as every pre-med student knows volunteering is the best way to know if medicine is the right career choice... i had my volunteer interview today and despite the fact i'm incredibly busy with other obligations i made the choice to work in the ER... definitely the place to get the maximum exposure to medicine and emergency medicine at that since i'm looking into it... so what's the catch? well, since ER is such a populat volunteer distination i ended up with a pretty bad shift... i have the saturday midnight to 4 am shift... but you know what? i'm excited to be working in the ER and despite what anyone tells me i think i'm going to enjoy the rush and exposure to emergency medicine... seriously, i can't wait to get started... =)

talk about changes for the week... the weather has been crazy as well as my mood... things are never as bad as the seem or as good seems to be the mantra of the week... the midterm i thought would be easy ended up kicking my ass as well as everyone else who took it. the midterm i was dreading and spent the least amount of constructive studying ended up being quite bearable and "enjoyable" as my prof says... as for my cell it's back in order after a nite in the operating room...

well, for those of you who haven't heard the story of my cell phone drowning in the toilet here it is... monday night i'm about to use the bathroom when i check to see if i still have my phone on me... i pat the outside pocket of my sweatshirt to confirm that it's there... i lift up my sweater slightly and the little bugger pops out of my pocket and straight into the toilet... without thinking i plunge my hand into the toilet to get the phone... i look at the screen and see it's off... i begin my life saving techniques by removing the cover and the battery... i dry off the insides the best i could and take my phone to my desk to operate...almost like it was straight from ER... i'm seriously moving as i remove the screws and take out all the little bits and parts and dry them off... i lay them out on a tray and put them under a lamp to dry... after about 20 minutes of drying i put the phone back together again... i put the battery in and still nothing... time to defibrulate the sucker... so i plug my phone into the wall charger... still nothing... i try for a couple of miutes and realize it's no use... *sigh* pronounced time of death 1:38a... i took off the carbon fiber cover and replaced all the original equipment on it because i was planning on replacing it... kinda like when you die and they put you in your best suit or dress.. i guess i pronounced death a little prematurely though.. more like it was in a coma, when i got home from school my little phone was on... awwwww... i'm guessing this is what it feels like when you save someone's life... very nice feeling indeed =)

more and more i've noticed that my blogs have become a place for me to bitch and moan vs. anything really substantial... =/...

today has definitely not been a good day... =/ don't bother calling my cell it outta comission for the time being.. shit.

getting into med school is a biznitch... i read one thing and i think i actually have a shot... i read another thing and i feel as if i should start looking for a new career... so many times i think about whether i should've done things differently... but i definitely believe in fate and that if i wasn't intended to be a doctor God would've have stopped me long ago or at least sent me a sign... anywho, i've never been one to take rejection lightly and being the spoiled child that i am... i'm usually pretty persistant about getting the things that i want... this time though... i know all my whining and complaining won't do any good unless i get up and start working my ass off not that i haven't been already... my wife and kids can tell you that i've been pretty busy working on mcats and classes... *sigh* next week when the midterms have died down i'm going to pay another visit to my pre-med advisor and see what he has to say about my options...

"there are always back doors into med school"... hey, as long as i can get in, right?

the scratchy throat, the phelm, the cough... all signs that i may be coming down with a cold... worst time to get one... starting up the second wave of midterms this week... the AIM fast is going pretty well... i honestly don't have the urge to chat it up... the results may have been different if i decided to give it up for lent a couple of years back... should i sleep or finish studying? choices, choices, choices... as yes... the call of med school out shines my desire to rest... for all you non pre-med people be thankful for your sanity... special thanks to the family who alway manage to melt my stress away... =)

week 7

today is the official start of week 7.. can't believe this year is flying by so fast... it's only more of the same for me though... studying for mcats and midterms... i have 2 next week on the same day... i really don't know when i'll find the time to finish the newsletter either... however, it's one of the things in my life that i don't feel good until it's done... an issue of pride mostly.

the more and more i research med schools the more and more i find that perhaps the UC system isn't for me... their focus is on research where as my focus lies in clinical studies...but really beggers can't be choosers and right now i'm a begger... in the end it all boils down to cost... go to a UC med school which is very affordable or attend a private school which will end up costing me and my parents on the order of $100,000... ahhh yes... "it takes money to make money..." so very true philip.

xin nian kuai le

yesterday me and the family went to Jasmine to celebrate chinese new year along with (it seemed like) every other chinese family in san diego along with their white friends... =P me and kids managed to spot people we knew in the crowded restaurant during the lion dancers... one of the people working with the lion dancers looked really familiar and i thought he looked just like one of my favorite kids from CTY but only taller... as the lion dancers were making their way out of jasmine it turned out to be Alex! =) he's gotten so tall... it's funny just because you assume kids will stay the same size you late saw them... really nice to see that he's doing well... i was worried for a bit he had turned into some wannabe azn thug since his AIM profile is always claiming "AzN pRyDe!!!!" but luckily he's turned out alright... ended up getting a table with mayrin's mom and her thai girl friends... it was an overwhelming experience to eat with all these thai women... they had the table literally overflowing with food... everything was brought onto the table in pairs, like a noah's ark of dim sum! very nice though to spend time with family since i so rarely get the time to relax... this weekend has been all about relaxing... today i had a family party to celebrate my cousin's 17th b-day and later tonight i celebrated with my high school friend's 22nd b-day... *yawn* it's only 10 but i'm feeling so tired... maybe having that Corona wasn't such a good idea... i'm such a light weight most alcohol puts me right to sleep... aiya... still need to finish up an mcat chapter before i go to sleep... =/

while watching the opening ceremony of the olympics last friday they came to a point where they had native americans as part of the ceremony... they had 5 of the tribes native to utah perform... it was special in the fact that this was the first time ever these tribes have ever come together to perform and also it was symbolic of the nations of the world coming together for the olympics... what bugged me the most about the whole thing was the fact that it seemed like inviting them to perform was almost like commidifying them... to me, it seemed like an empty gesture... "we raped your women, took your land, and tried to get rid of your people by introducing disease... but please won't you perform your nifty native dances for us?" honestly what have we done to help these people? nothing really...in america we take special measures to ensure that racism, in theory, is non-exsistant and that our schools are an accurate representation of the population... although these native americans want to remain autonomous it's funny to see the US doing so little about the fact that so many native americans lack higher education... this is coming from a nation that prides itself on its foreign aid policies and yet can't seem to help it's own citizens... it's really quite sad the fact that the people who inhabited what is known as america have been reduced to casinos and tourists attractions... i was going through my medical college guide and while looking through the minority numbers i saw that it wasn't uncommon to see zeros for both native americans and blacks enrolled.. quite sad indeed...

feeling a bit detached from the rest of the world since i logged off AIM, but at the same time i feel quite at peace with myself... today i went home and instead of looking through everyone's away msgs i managed to finish up all my homework... actually as much as i miss the contact provided by AIM i've managed to rethink my plans for the future... hahahaha... kinda funny since it's really only been a day since i've logged off...

ash wednesday

traditionally for lent you give up something you enjoy for 40 days. this year i was going to do something really easy like candy or maybe video games, but i considered the fact that so many people in the world lack what i've been given and that it would be selfish of me to give up something i could easily forget... instead, thanks in great part to darrell's decision, i will be giving up AIM. honestly one of the toughest things i've given up for lent in a while. back in high school i was addicted to chatting and i remember after dinners the first thing i would do was log on and stay up talking to friends and strangers on IRC, AIM, and ICQ. although now AIM has become more of a study distraction for me it's still a central facet of my digitized life. looks like i'll be studying more at home since i won't be tempted to check who's on-line or read everyone's witty away msgs...

ever since i took my mol bio midterm i've been feeling really tired and uninspired to do any academic work... in one of physcology classes we learned that after performing any type of work there is usually a down time when the person wants to rest and not to anything... there is also a proportional relationship to the amount of work and amount of rest... looks like i did a shit load of work because i really don't feel studying at all... can't wait for the 3 day weekend though... get to sleep in, catch up with homework, play, and possibly go to disneyland... =)

just finished my mol bio midterm around noon time which now seems like it happened days ago... while i was at the bio department i decided to do some research on being a TA and realized that i had all the qualifications so i submitted an application... i'll find out around 8th week if i'll be a TA for one of the lower division bio classes... should be an interesting quarter if i make it as a TA... johns hopkins e-mailed me the other day and offered me a position as the health assistant for the summer... =) actually quite happy that i got the position... now i don't need to look for an internship for the summer... kinda scared though since this job i think requires a bit more responsibility on my behalf and i'll be on-call 24 hours a day in case of emergencies... either way it'll look great on my resume and show that i have clinic experience for med school... really sad that the ol' doheny crew won't be back... =( going to miss big fat american, ted-san, samsung, neena, alison, craig, mars, katrina, sirinya, the rest of the young student staff... i wonder what it's going to be like as an adminstrator this summer? won't be totally alone though a few notables will be returning with me which i know includes my fellow disneyland crewmember ian!... looks like it's turning out to be a pretty good week... can't wait for the weekend! anyone down for disneyland?

i know i always say i'm poor and that i don't have money... then i came to the realization that my outstanding debts are sucking me dry... it's crazy that i have credit card debt and i don't even work anymore... that's what happens when you lose the fear of charging things... when i first got my credit card i was afraid to use it becuase of the high interest rate... but afterwards it just became all too easy... aiyo... my resolution for the year is to wipe out all my credit card bills... problem is, when do i have the time to work? =/... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah =( okie time for me to file my taxes...

today we had a substitute teacher for out ochem section... hardly old enough to be a teacher though since he is only about as old as i am... but apparently he knows what he's talking about... he disclosed to us that he scored an awesome 42T on his mcat... the verbal, physical sciences, and biology sections of the test are 15 points each which means he scored perfect on two sections... the T is his essay score which is scored i believe on a scale of L to T with T being the highest... i didn't know if i should be enamoured with the guy for if i should hate him for being so smart... in addition to his high mcat score he also managed to pull a 4.0 from UCBerkeley... talk about over acheiver... he's now a first year at UCSD med which happens to be one of my top choices for med school... after class i was just compelled to work my ass of to get all my ish done... that includes the 4.0 for this quarter, possible internships for the summer, and of course a 36 on the mcat... competition is a great motivater. =)

thanks to physiology i can now explain to you how pain works... i actually learned there were 2 types of pain recepters... number 1 issues an almost immediate signal of pain to your brain.. ie. when you first stub your toe... number 2 sends lower intensity pain signals to your brain after the fact... ie. the throbbing pain you feel minutes after you stub your toe... or in my case, the thobbing pain is caused after you burn yourself with hot oil... .i was cooking dinner when i guess some condensation from my pan lid went into the hot oil causing it to splatter... actually got burned in two places on my arm... =/... i need some aloe vera now...

i told my parents today that i was going to stay another year... the response in general was good... further enforcing the fact that my parents trust my own judgement... however, i'm feeling a bit guilty now because my dad quit school in search of a job to pay for med school thinking i was going to go to med school this fall.. =/ i thought my parents knew that if anything i was staying one more quarter... *sigh* i feel horrible... guess it shows you can never not communicate enough with the parental units... if i wasn't feeling the pressure to get accepted into a UC med school before, now it's officially here... time to hit up my mcat books once again tonight...

i should be taking my practice mcat, but i woke up late.. =/ check out apparently this is who i would be if i were a final fantasy character.... i'm smart and hot! =P




Take the Final Fantasy X personality test here! by

enough of the melodramatics...

"It is strange that the anxiety that you are experiencing at this time is of your own makings simply because of your desire to be respected by your fellow man and with those whom you work with. You are not satisfied. The normal congenial "you" is becoming quite introverted. This is becoming increasingly more obvious because you seem to shy away from participating in everyday activities ... You are refusing to allow yourself to become involved, or to participate with others and it is the reluctance to communicate that is the inherent cause of your problems. "

decided it was time for a change... nothing big just something to change my scenery around... i rearranged my computer desk once again... this will make it the 3rd time since i've moved in... can't seem to maximize the amount of desk space so i can't study and work on my computer... seems like such a waste since the desk is so big... my alterior motive for rearranging my desk was to clean it up and to hopefully find 2 things i've discovered have gone missing... number one is my book to US med schools... it was my bible and now i can't seem to find it... =/ also medical school related, i can't seem to find my mcat practice test... this one is important because it is the actual mcat that was adminstered in 1993... otherwise i'm going to have to shell out somemore money to replace those things... sorry to keep updating this blog about the inane details of my life, but really like is all about the details, isn't it? i'd like to think so...

i feel as if i'm on the edge of a great big cliff and i'm unsure of whether or not i should take the plunge... everyone else seems ready... they all are jumping off with their arms spread open... but for some reason something is holding me back... maybe i need that reassurance it's okie to step back and not jump... or maybe i just need someone to push me off... either way i'm stuck on the edge of this cliff...=/... confused? talk to me and i'll enlighten you...

it's back

every couple of weeks i begin to question how the decisions i'm making now will effect my future... happens about every 3 weeks... the desire to stay a fifth year has come back...so many benefits and yet i still feel like there is more to be desired... most likely due to the fact this wasn't my original "perfect" plan... anywho, really need to talk it over with friends and family though... this time i'm either going to act on it or leave it be...

decided to see what the colorgenics site had to say this time around... this thing is creepy...


You have exaggerated demands on life but you are cautious enough to try to hide these beliefs from the outside world. You are covert enough to try to impress other people around you with your achievements and at the same time able to put on an act of pretending to be "humble"- being the same as everyone else.. It would appear however that whatever you are doing.. seems to be working out O.K.

Most people are conditioned by their environment and you are no exception .. You are an extremely emotional person - so much so that "the wrong word" can lead you to tears . You feel other peoples pain.You feel the need of sympathetic relationships and a pleasant work environment in order to develop and grow. You are an impulsive, loving individual with a great deal of inherent feeling.

Conditions are rather confusing at this time. You would like to involved with a particular person or a particular situation..... butyou are holding back. You find it difficult to make a decision...

You are trying to prove yourself .. not only to yourself.. but also to everyone around you...There is much that you would like to say and do .. but the situation warrants self-restraint .. and that is the last thing that you have on your mind..It would seem that you have an unsatisfied need to ally yourself with others whose standards are as high as your own. You want to be different - to stand out from the crowd. This is subjecting you to considerable stress but you tend to stick to your attitudes despite lack of appreciation. Of course, you are finding the situation uncomfortable and would like nothing better but to break away from it. But you don't like the idea of compromise. Your main problem is that you are unable to resolve the situation because you continually postpone making the necessary decisions ... You feel that if you make the wrong choice this would lead to such opposition that you would not be able to command the esteem of others. It is essential that those around you are prepared to comply with your wishes and respect your opinions. Only when this compliance is established, will you feel at ease and secure.

It is strange that the anxiety that you are experiencing at this time is of your own makings simply because of your desire to be respected by your fellow man and with those whom you work with. You are not satisfied. The normal congenial "you" is becoming quite introverted. This is becoming increasingly more obvious because you seem to shy away from participating in everyday activities ... You are refusing to allow yourself to become involved, or to participate with others and it is the reluctance to communicate that is the inherent cause of your problems.

i finished off the newsletter... now that leaves but 2 midterms and job interview... not too worried about the job interview because right now my summer could go so many ways... there's the possibility of staying in san diego with david and taking the EMT class with him... there are also two internships i'm applying to and of course there is always the possibility of traveling... so my options are pretty open... aiyo.. i keep putting off seeing my biology advisor... okie okie i promise i'll make an appointment to see her...after my meeting with my marshall advisor and pre-med advisor last quarter i haven't been too keen to seeing anymore advisors... a guy can only hear too much bad news... =/ i do believe this is about the least amount of studying i've done before going into a midterm... actually let me reword that... this is the least amount of studying i've ever done the night before a midterm... you can credit that to all the reading i've been doing to keep up with my classes... professors always say you should keep up with the readings... seriously it helps more than you'll ever know! look at me, now i have time to waste blogging about the insignificant details of my inane life.. =)

the turtles finally got a bit of sun today when we put to use the reptile light Cat bought for the turtles... last night david thought it would be a good idea to shine the light on the turtle at 2 in the morning the time when they should be sleeping to see if it would make them more active... unfortunately, david is the slumlord of turtleville and he has yet to buy them a proper lamp for the bulb... instead the turtles just bask in the glow of their turtle light in a regular table lamp that is put on its side.... david isn't quite ready for kids quite yet... i feel like a mother demanding the deadbeat dad pay child support... "david, those turtles need a heat lamp... david, they need the light to be in a proper lamp!... these turtle are like babies you can't just half-ass it david ...the big one's shell isn't healing.. i think the little one is about to die..." anywho, hopefully if i've gotten anything through to david he'll shell out the $10 to buy the turtles the lamp they need... otherwise i'm going to have my lawyer increase his alimony payments...

week 4

brand new week... 2 midterms, a job interview, and a newsletter all slated to be done by wednesday... right now of all things my biggest concern is getting a haircut...

i went home with the full intention of getting a good night's rest... but call it my competitive drive... or maybe it's stupidity, but as i was walking out of clics i spotted someone i knew from my mcat prep class... and he was doing the homework that was assigned today... that bastard! he's trying to beat me on the mcat! argh... so anyways... here i am studying someone when i should be sleeping... honestly, though if i could forego sleep for this quarter i would because it really is an unneccesary break... i could be almost 50% more effecient in my study habits if i could use that time to study some more... so yeah,i'm sure you've all realized that i've managed to turn myself in jesse spano... luckily i'm smart enough to know that caffeine pills are bad for me...

taking that practice mcat wasn't too bad... i think maybe it was the fact i didn't get to take a nap afterwards that was making me cranky... an 8 hour test will usually do that to you... it was a taste of bitter irony when i got home how the most busy person in the apartment ended up washing the big pile of dishes in the sink and then ended up cleaning the kitchen afterwards... and perhaps to add insult to injury i find that my roomie wasn't even out of his pajamas... =/... as much as i love my roomie it's really hard not being able to share the same kind of stress...as much as i talk about how stressed or busy i am... i really don't think you can understand until you've actually taken my classes or study like i do...

anywho, i took steph ng's little fruit test and it turns out i'm a banana...

mmmm... i want some chinese food...

clics isn't neccessarily evil... just the computers... i hate not being able to find a desk because then i'm forced to work on a computer station... that basically means i end up typing away on my blog (as i'm doing now), IM people, and just find means to distract myself from school work... okie okie okie... i'll get back to work...

frustrated, tired, pissed, and motivated all at the same time... just finished my practice mcat... nothing much to say... it's one long ass test...

off to study... or kill myself.. whichever comes first...

i just loaded up my palm pilot and i'm getting ready to hit the hay... tomorrow looks to be a killer... if eating and sleeping didn't get in the way i'd probably be able to get everything done... anywho, despite how busy i am i decided to skip CLICs for the night and instead kicked it with roomie steph one last time before she flies off to the other side of the world... i'm going to miss you lots!

right now my stress is just about to reach critical mass... on top of school drama, med school ish, money issues... i am now dealing with some very sensitive roomie drama... growing up i was always taught to accept unpleasantness and just roll with the punchs... normally these type of problems i contain within the walls of my apt and to the ears of my closest friends, but now the strain is building and i'm about ready to start throwing punches... which begs the question of what's right and what's polite... anywho, when i can find the time i'm just going to have to face the music and finally say everything that's been bottled up... should've have dealt with this a lot sooner...

anywho, the agenda for tomorrow is simple... try to finish all my mcat homework so i can study for midterms... i have two this wednesday... luckily though i've been keeping up with the readings and so it shouldn't be too much to study for the tests... yes, my nerdy ways are finally paying off! =) i can't really complain about my situation schoolwork wise because i know that some people would sell their arms just to have the possibility of applying to med school... for this i'm extremely grateful to my mommy and daddy for paying for my classes, rent, and everything else that makes such a spoiled boy... =) don't worry though, my parents will soon be repaid in full and then some when i'm a doctor... honestly, i dream about the day when i'll be able to go down to the benz dealership and buy my parents the SLK they've been eyeing... i really can't wait... =)

times like this i wonder if all my efforts will really pay off in the end... just about pushed myself as far as i can go and now my brain is beginning to shut down... i usually don't do all nighters until finals week rolls around and tonight is no exception... despite my efforts my body wants/needs to sleep... i really still more homework to finish even though i'm caught up with pretty mush all my classes... this will only make me stronger right? the structure is deinitely good for me... i really wish i could go fast forward in time to see where i'll end up... okie, my thoughts are going crazy... i need to sleep...

blog before bed

today was just about the best day i could've asked for... a break i've sorely needed... i spent the day at disneyland with friends, spent time with the family, and even finished my homework! so nice and refreshing to spend with family again tonight... baby's whining, pointless arguements, the silliness of the kids, and the fact me and my wifey know how to get our study on... =) and of course you can't forgot the fact that disneyland just melted the stress and ulcer away... on top of that i was able to get homework done! very satisfied with the day... managed to relax, have fun, and get some work done...

i finally was able to see my doctor today, but not after having experienced a horrible night of pain and suffering... could not get to sleep even if you had placed me into a cloud attended by singing cherubs... it was that bad... but now the worse seems to be over and i thank my mommy for getting making my doctor's appointment for me... anywho, despite feeling like poop i managed to drag myself outta bed to, of all things, to clean the kitchen and wash the dishes... you know how when your mom/dad is sick but they still have to get up to do their ish that's what i felt like... i'm a navy brat so i should be used to a little hard work... time to hit the books again if i want to play tomorrow at disneyland...

yes folks it's official... reggie has been studying so hard he gave himself an ulcer... i'm actually kinda relieved because i thought that maybe i had given myself food poisoning from the pad thai i had made... anywho, the diagnosis isn't official but i'm pretty sure it's an ulcer... i have to go to the doctor tomorrow to make sure... hopefully she'll give me something that'll make the pain go away because i can't take aspirin, it'll just make it worse... waaaaaahhh... if you've never had an ulcer before... trust me it hurts... the pain comes and goes but when it strikes you it feels like someone is stabbing you in the stomach... basically my stomach has a hole in it... great... hopefully some relaxation will help ease my stress... i'm going to go crawl into the fetal position now... it huuuuuuuurts.... feels like burning...

running at full steam you can't expect to last forever... today i finally crashed....not so much crashed and burned, but just crashed... i think the non-stop studying has finally caught up with me and throughout the day my body was begging for me to give it a nap... after lunch i complied and yup i ended up sleeping not for 30 minutes, but for 2 hours... my not seem like much but realize i can't get 2 classes of homework outta the way with that much time... i'm really looking forward to tonight... i really want to get a full 8 hours of rest...

overture

so this is how it's going to be for the next quarter? basically my schedule is more packed than it is during finals week... its class, then studying, then class, the studying, and if i'm lucky i get to see some friends... my time is up and i'm off to my mcat class which i truly enjoy and then it's off to CLICS to finish off some homework...

prelude

school is now officially here with the start of week 2 and my MCAT prep course... looks like the little tid bits of free time i had will be spent trying to study and sleep. after class tonight i went straight to CLICS to write up flash cards and to read for the week. getting home around 1 i just had that wonderful feeling of accomplishment that comes from a good hard day of studying... actually something i've been missing for awhile now... i really think i strive off structure and being busy... i'm starting to feel good again about med school... enough about school...

yes, i'm a disneyland addict and i just can't get away from it... after my prep course orientation on saturday i realized among other things that this would be my last free saturday for a while... it was such a beautiful day too! it was just beckoning me to go outside and play one last time... as soon as i got back home me and my roomie were literally on our way to the happiest place on earth. we decided to spend the day at California Adventure to see what it's like...definitely a fun place to be! the grizzly river run was one of my favorite rides... maybe because it managed to soak david more than me... =P... the new park definitely has a different vibe than disneyland... even more so at the section of the park that's modeled after the santa monica pier... i dunno, but something about the way it's designed makes it seem cheap... it just doesn't feel like disney to see carnival games or carnival type rides... when i think of disney i think of innovative rides that you can't find anywhere else.. (ie. indiana jones, the haunted mansion, space mountain.. ) i dunno if that's what they wanted to do or if disney was just being cheap... anywho at first i wasn't really expecting all too much, but everything we experienced pretty much passed my expectations. granted i wouldn't pay full price to visit it is still a fun place to hang out and play. we even got to watch the electical parade which is still fun to watch after all these years. after the parade we headed over to disneyland and played there for the rest of the night which was capped off with fireworks and one final ride on indiana jones... i find it funny how disney never likes to use the word roller coaster to describe any of their thrill rides... the always term it "roller coaster-type" in order to ease their guests i suppose... in all it was just so nice to spend time with my roomie chillin and playing =)

week 1

week one of school has passed and it's definitely been pretty easy. much easier than i had anticipated... but then again i haven't started my other two clasess... schoolwise i'm on top of things and i've read ahead in all my classes... yes, i'm a big nerd =P strange though, the material i'm learning now seems a lot easier compared to the stuff i was learning (trying to learn) the past two quarters... it must be due to the fact i'm no longer taking any sort of chem/ochem/biochem.. i'm finally taking classes i actually enjoy...

i went home today and as usual i was updated on the drama that had transcribed since my last visit. well, a little background info... over winter break my lola was admitted into the hospital because she was having a hard time breathing and they found that fluid was collecting in her lungs... not so good... luckily my lola is a tough woman and she was able to leave a couple of days after new years... anywho, usually when she's back at her home she's taking care of my lolo who has been confined to a wheelchair ever since his heartattack two years ago... well, apparently my family on my dad's side decided it would be best to put my lola into a nursing home because the stress of trying to care for my lolo 24/7 was making her sick constantly (it's been the 3rd time she's been admitted into the hospital)... now, the logics of my family's decision really don't sit well with me... if anything my lolo who is a in wheelchair is the one who is in need of the nursing home... doesn't really make any sense... in general though, the thought of even placing any of my relatives into a nursing home is a foreign concept to me... luckily the nursing home isn't permanant and that as soon as she's better she'll be going to to live with my uncle... as for my lolo my dad's family has been taking shifts taking care of him. but it looks like my grandparents are being separated for the time being since taking care of my sick lolo is making my lola sick... didja get all that?

so check this out my philip li hong kong superstar collection has grown with a new addition... i now have a mold of his teeth! even got it signed =) hahahahaha... i'm planning on letting the teeth mature in value before i do anything with them, like auction them off at Sotherby's...

i finished my homework early and so i decided to play around...

i decided to run an experiment to see if some crazy and weird AIM screennames have been taken... the following names have already been claimed

nastyhoe
smelly
bigbutt
bunghole
pubic
skank
poop
turd
numberone & number1
fatbastard
skanky
fart
imabighoe
tastypoop
yourmomma
ipoopedmypants
mysisterishot
hairyback
hairynipples
goldenshowers
furlover
fudgepacker
ihavenofingers (which makes me wonder how he/she types...)
smallpenis
loveyoulongtime

the screenname armandoabanilla however was free so i decided to snatch it up... might come in handy one day... no real conclusions to draw from my experiment, just something for your enjoyment

"get ready for the most fun-filled 12 weeks of your life. well, not really, but we'll try to make it as interesting as possible!" taken directly from my mcat prep course confirmation letter...

actually, i'm kinda looking forward to the coming weeks... in a sick nerdy kind of way... i was inspired after watching a special on PBS covering the lives of recent high school graduates... they all had such high hopes and aspirations... "people think i'm smart and they expect me to be the best..." my sentiments exactly =)

mochicamry: i could take the hip-hop class on saturday after emt stuff but that would be pushing it
MouseNg22: are we forgetting something?
MouseNg22: like time for sleep?
mochicamry: i feel like jesse spano
mochicamry: never enough time!
MouseNg22: hahahhaah
MouseNg22: there's never enuff time!! wahhh hahahah
mochicamry: i'll never get into med school! i'm sooo excited!
MouseNg22: what!?
MouseNg22: you can go to medical college:-)
mochicamry: yeah in the bahamas
mochicamry: waaaaaaahhhhhh
MouseNg22: oh stop
MouseNg22: you're gonna be just fine
mochicamry: just promise me when i'm stuck in the middle of america you'll come to visit or at least send me care packages with asian food
MouseNg22: i PROMISE
MouseNg22: ill even send mochi in a dry ice package
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

shellshocking22: isn't your schedule like super packed?
mochicamry: yeah.. shit i feel like jesse spano
mochicamry: if i start teking caffeine pills you may punch me
shellshocking22: hahaha
shellshocking22: sure
shellshocking22: where?
shellshocking22: below the waste?
shellshocking22: oops
mochicamry: ouch
shellshocking22: waist
mochicamry: preferably somewhere where it'll knock some sense into me
shellshocking22: your head?
shellshocking22: your computer?
mochicamry: don't hurt my computer!
mochicamry: take me instead!
mochicamry: hahahaha

many more levels of profound thought to blog but i'm pooped and getting sick....

i'm scared...

*cough* *sniff*... looks like i'm getting sick.. can't figure if i caught it from phil or mayrin since both are sick too... even more so than me...

new year's resolution: decrease my spending... waaahhh! =( and i wanted to go shopping for new clothes too...

okie, okie... yeah i know yesterday i said i was looking forward to school... it was a partial truth... now i'm scared... doesn't look to be like a fun quarter... anywho, went home to get some money from my mommy for books... everyone knows i'm a spoiled child, but whenever i ask for money i always feel this pain of guilt knowing that my parents work so hard for their money and i just go up and take it... yes i know my parents aren't complaining and considering the money is going toward books it's a valid reason to ask for it... right now i feel like a cheesy after school special... "i just have to make all this money my parents spending worth it!" i really feel helpless right now since now i really don't have any time to work.. i need a rich girlfriend or at least find a wallet stuffed with cash, whichever comes sooner... =P

back in the groove

spent some quality time with the kids today which is something i'm trying to relish as long as i can... school is fast approaching and i can't wait for it to start... need to see my roomies once again =) here's an excerpt from my other blog...

"the past few days at home i've been absorbing as much cable tv as possible since all we have now only have the basic channels in the apt. during one of my late night posts in front of the television i managed to watch TLC for about 5 hours... i was watched Life in the ER and a couple episodes of maternity ward. during that time i came to the very scary realization that i'm very ill equipped to deal with death on the job. although i know death will be an integral part of practicing medicine i really only looked at the aspect of saving lives and healing the sick... it only sends my mind drifting to thoughts that this soon will be a common sight in my line of work. dealing with pain, suffering, and death will definitely be something i'll need to deal with... i've read and heard it's really tough to separate the two worlds; your work and home... yeah, i can see it's going to be tough... "

wifey on the news

on a news report about ppl going to tahoe for new years...

reporter : "how do you plan to spend your new years?"
stephanie: "with lots of alcohol..."

geez steph, i didn't realize you loved alcohol so much... hahahaha... why is it you never drink with the family, huh? anywho, Happy New Years everybody and be sure to live it up stephanie style "with lots of alcohol" or not... peace on earth and good will toward men...

Happy New Year's Eve

originally the plan for new years was going up to irvine to celebrate with hai, but apparently her roommates had a different plan in mind. instead of staying in irvine they've decided to head down in my direction to party in the gaslamp quarter in downtown san diego. guess it works out for the best considering that sonnier told me tonight he didn't think he would be able to make it up with me. in addition to all my cousins were giving me a hard time for apparently trying to ditch them again at another family function. like mayrin allows says "everything happens for a reason"... the fates must be telling me that this new years i should spend it with family.

just finished watching Harry Potter and now i'm really interested in reading the books... if the movie is similar to book, as i've heard from the critics, i can see why the books are so popular amongst kids. hopefully i'll get to finish it before school starts up again. unlike my dear friend angeline to who managed to get hooked on the series right in the middle of finals week. =P hahaha...

last night i went clubbing at E Street Alley with my good friends Hazel, Sonnier, Hai, and Wendy... it's been the first time i've been clubbing since turning 21 in october. the atmoshpere and club in general was better than i was expecting considering the clubs i've been to in san diego were all pretty ghetto and booty... so it was ncie to be in a club was as actually a club versus to some of the holes-in-the-walls i've been to. one thing i noticed immediately while dancing is that it sucks being a guy in a club without anyone to dance with... further emphasizes the fact that i really don't have the balls to go up to girls and just ask them to dance. case in point, my friend hazel and wendy seemed to be attracting these fobby guys throughout the night. there was one in particular that seemed to not get the hint they weren't interested in dancing with him. at first he was standing off to the side just scanning the floor to see if there were any single girls dancing and then spotting hazel and wendy dancing together he decided to make his move. which is one thing i really don't get... do girls really like it when a stranger comes up behind them and starts freaking them? because apparently a lot of guys assume so. so yeah, this fobby girl in a red silk shirt decides to start dancing behind wendy. my friend hazel starts laughing out loud and pulls wendy away from this guy and they try dancing a little farther away from the guy. this obviously means my friend hazel wanted to dance with him so he decided to start freaking her as well... being the polite girl she is hazel decided to make a run for the bathroom... anywho, if i were that guy i think that would be my clue to leave them alone... however, that guy just would not leave them alone throughout the night... about every 30 minutes he would find our group and try to dance with one of the single girls... i have to give that guy some credit for being persistant... but yeah, definitely the clubbing scene isn't for me unless i have someone to dance with... just made me realize i have this insane fear of rejection...hmmmm... maybe i should look into an arranged marriage =)

just finished rendering my trip to disneyland from the summer... the editting to film ratio is crazy... i worked for about 4 hours to to produce less than 10 minutes of footage... it was worth it though, now that it's digital it will never fade in quality... *yawn*... should i go clubbing tonight still or what? i'm in need of a power nap...

where's school?

sitting at my desk i've come to realize i really want school to be here already... granted having this break is great, but without a job or anything else constructive to do for the time being i'm stuck being a bum at home. i have finally gotten around to being the filipino spielburg with my video camera and i have a couple of projects i'm working... so much for shooting my mah jong movie over winter break... argh... anywho, calling all screenwriters, actors, and actresses! i'm currently looking for people to help me put together a short, around 10 min, film about mah jong... i'm looking for it to be pretty funny so if any of you have ideas pls feel free to submit them... i was thinking of maybe doing a spoof on the E! True Hollywood Stories and do one on my mah jong crew, the Triple K... still need script ideas though... hopefully i can get this project done before i graduate...

morning everybody! actually it's noon time and i'm finally up... who's in the mood for dim sum? mmmmmmm... well, heading back home home to finish up some errands and get the rest of my clothes...

well, i finally finished a couple of things i've been meaning to do over break... i finally finished editting my CTY videos from the summer... i just installed the new windows xp and so now it's a lot easier to work with the editting software... the computer doesn't crash every 15 minutes like it used to. watching the video brought back such wonderful memories of the summer... i was motivated enough to fill out the returner application for this summer although it's unlikely i'll have to time to come back. it's really about time i leave the never never land of CTY. really hard to explain what goes on during the summer... something you just have to experience because it honestly goes beyond just being a camp counselor...

while i was christmas shopping i ran into one of my good friends from high school... turns out he's transferring over to a school in kansas to play football... perhaps the funniest part about running into him was seeing where he works. where do you think you'd find a guy with a scholarship to play football work? at sport chalet, GNC, or maybe 24 hour fitness? he actually works in sephora... yeah that's right... the perfume, colonge, and make-up store... nevertheless, he is still the tall and dorky guy i remember from high school... best of luck to you Andrew!

anywho, trying to live it up for the rest of vacation... needless to say this coming year is really going to test me... the cable guy finally cut the cable while i was out... i already miss not having the extended cable, but considering i'll hardly be home to watch it next quarter i could really care less about it... besides i can always go over to either of my family's homes to watch some tv if i desired... *yawn* i shouldn't have taken that nap...i'm finally getting sleepy at 3 in the morning... need to work on this sleep cycle thing... going clubbing tomorrow which should be lots of fun! woo hoo! =)

back at home

back in the apartment to finally sleep in my own bed. when i moved out of the house my little brother moved into my room thus leaving me with no bed when i come home to spend the night...but it's all good... it's nice to fall asleep in front of the tv... a leisurely activity i don't get to do during the quarter all too often...christmas night i stayed up late in front of the the big screen tv and just watched tv till the early morning hours... even got to watch some episodes of i love lucy which i haven't watched since the summer... tonight i'll be sleeping my own bed... decided to come back to the apartment to finish some stuff with the computer and get a little bit of mcat stuff outta the way... unfortunately, i left my mcat books and tooth brush at home... =/ had to brush my teeth with my finger and ended up just playing around in the apartment... despite the relaxing atmosphere of being by myself in the apartment, it's soooooo lonely without anyone to talk to... come home now roomies! i miss you!!!! luckily for me though i'll always have phil and mayrin around to keep me company. in fact, when i was about to call it a night, phil called and stopped by the apartment on his way back from his family trip to las vegas...

while i was thinking about how shitty this coming quarter is going to be i decided to start documenting my madness as a pre-med student... i've started a new blog totally devoted to my academic struggles, accomplishments and the craziness which will consume my life... check out my 5 year plan..

anywho, tomorrow going off to julian to play in the snow, eat apple pies, and just relax with friends... =)