Saturday, May 10, 2008
Just a picture
I took this picture a while back, but I just recently got around to finishing it up in Adobe Lightroom. I kinda like it, so thought I'd post it. It's from Ft. Louis, in Marigot.
Daily Entertainment
Gotta love 'em...quite a production actually. If you want another...youtube search for "telegu" Enjoy!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Pineapple Pete's...eat there!
Eat at Pineapple Pete's....now....do it...do it now. Five, four, three, two, one...do it now...three, two, one...do it, right now. [you'll only get that if you're obsessed with The Office]
A bunch of the first semesters apparently took my suggestion and visited Aldywan for shawarma. Fortunately, they enjoyed it as much as I do. But, they've asked for me to keep up the suggestions. So, I think I will. For this installment of where to eat...I'm gonna recommend Pineapple Pete's (somewhere that I'm pretty sure I've recommended in the past). I'll get a picture of the place next time I go out.
The service is among the best on the island, the atmosphere is nice and relaxed, and the food is consistently very good. It's not as cheap as some other places, but I think it's very reasonable for lunch. If you do go for dinner, especially during the tourist season, make sure you have a reservation. The conch fritters are the best on the island, stuffed shrimp is great, and they have great jerk seasoning (it's spicy). Really, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. The seafood pasta is also very good, and loaded with all kinds of seafood. For dessert, definitely get the coconut bien mi sabe (I may or may not have spelled that correctly). Assuming you like coconut, things that are sweet, and things that are delicious, it is absurdly good.
Maybe the best thing about Pineapple Pete's...when you ask the waitress to refill your water glass (if you even have to ask, which you usually don't), they don't act like you've just killed their dog or otherwise ruined their day. From now on, I'll try to give you somewhere else to go every couple of days.
The Pineapples
A bunch of the first semesters apparently took my suggestion and visited Aldywan for shawarma. Fortunately, they enjoyed it as much as I do. But, they've asked for me to keep up the suggestions. So, I think I will. For this installment of where to eat...I'm gonna recommend Pineapple Pete's (somewhere that I'm pretty sure I've recommended in the past). I'll get a picture of the place next time I go out.
The service is among the best on the island, the atmosphere is nice and relaxed, and the food is consistently very good. It's not as cheap as some other places, but I think it's very reasonable for lunch. If you do go for dinner, especially during the tourist season, make sure you have a reservation. The conch fritters are the best on the island, stuffed shrimp is great, and they have great jerk seasoning (it's spicy). Really, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. The seafood pasta is also very good, and loaded with all kinds of seafood. For dessert, definitely get the coconut bien mi sabe (I may or may not have spelled that correctly). Assuming you like coconut, things that are sweet, and things that are delicious, it is absurdly good.
Maybe the best thing about Pineapple Pete's...when you ask the waitress to refill your water glass (if you even have to ask, which you usually don't), they don't act like you've just killed their dog or otherwise ruined their day. From now on, I'll try to give you somewhere else to go every couple of days.
The Pineapples
status quo
Sorry that I haven't been writing much again lately, but there's really not that much to write going on here. Path and Physio continue to be pretty interesting, especially path, but med micro has been incredibly boring. I still think that it will wind up being interesting soon, but we've been doing epidemiology for the past couple days, which is painful at best. Dr. Shupe even told us before she started the epidemiology stuff that it was "fluff." I'm not exactly sure why we're learning "fluff," but whatever. I think that today was the last day of it. From now on should be actual med micro, which I'm looking forward to learning.
Tomorrow is the Phi Chi / AMSA Welcome Back Beach Party. It's probably been months since I've been to the beach, so it'll be nice to get out. Maybe I'll get a little tan (finally) while I'm at it. I think I'm also going SCUBA diving Wednesday, so should have some pictures to put up soon.
Clinton continues to amuse me with her "campaign," which is just getting extraordinarily painful to watch at this point. After the failure of her recent pandering, she's realized that about the only chance she has remaining, which still doesn't even give her a chance, is to re-seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan. Keep in mind that when her campaign didn't yet depend on it, she agreed that their votes should not be counted. Although Obama followed the rules and wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan, nor did he campaign in Florida (as they had both agreed not to), she thinks the votes should still be valid and she should win those states. Michigan came up with a compromise to re-seat their delegates, that would give her 69 delegates and give Obama 59. Although this was way more than she deserves or will ultimately wind up getting, she denied it because it wasn't good enough for her! I guess this is what happens when you become truly desperate....it's kinda sad, really. I guess she never heard of quitting while you're ahead...or in this case, not too too too too far behind.
Tomorrow is the Phi Chi / AMSA Welcome Back Beach Party. It's probably been months since I've been to the beach, so it'll be nice to get out. Maybe I'll get a little tan (finally) while I'm at it. I think I'm also going SCUBA diving Wednesday, so should have some pictures to put up soon.
Clinton continues to amuse me with her "campaign," which is just getting extraordinarily painful to watch at this point. After the failure of her recent pandering, she's realized that about the only chance she has remaining, which still doesn't even give her a chance, is to re-seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan. Keep in mind that when her campaign didn't yet depend on it, she agreed that their votes should not be counted. Although Obama followed the rules and wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan, nor did he campaign in Florida (as they had both agreed not to), she thinks the votes should still be valid and she should win those states. Michigan came up with a compromise to re-seat their delegates, that would give her 69 delegates and give Obama 59. Although this was way more than she deserves or will ultimately wind up getting, she denied it because it wasn't good enough for her! I guess this is what happens when you become truly desperate....it's kinda sad, really. I guess she never heard of quitting while you're ahead...or in this case, not too too too too far behind.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Please just go away...now
I will admit that I can be a pretty stubborn person at times, but I've got nothing on Hillary Clinton. The direction that her campaign has headed, and continues to head, is really just pathetic. She's already lost this race, and everyone knows it. She should have quit long ago, but decided to keep going, hoping that things might change. However, last night proved that if anything, things have just gotten worse for her. She lost NC by a full 14 points and barely won Indiana, a state that was made up primarily of people who usually support her (her primary support is from white, poorly educated people, over the age of 65). She has to lend her campaign money (to the tune of over 6 million dollars) because she can't raise enough to compete, her political and personal friends are switching to support Obama, and she's behind in every single metric of the campaign. This includes being behind in popular vote, pledged delegates, and states won. Even if she were to win every remaining state by 60%, and win 60% of the super delegates (something that she cannot possibly do), she'd still lose to Obama! So what it comes down to is this...she has almost no more experience than Obama, has a worse senate record for passing bills, is a proven liar, cannot raise money, and offers temporary solutions that are bad in the long run (like her gas tax repeal), which are clearly just poor moves to increase her votes. Her strategy is atrocious at best, and it's clearly not working. And even worse, she obviously does not care about the Democratic party at all, which will certainly suffer in the general election because of her foolishness.Personally, I'm voting republican, so it actually benefits me if she stays in the race. Like it or not, especially at this point, neither one of them has much of a shot against McCain in the general. But, I'm really just getting tired of hearing her voice. It is sort of amusing though, to hear her say that she's steaming forward on the road to the White House, after being pounded in the most recent primaries and losing in every way possible, with practically no statistical chance of recovery.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
For the first semesters...
On the bus tour, I heard from an awful lot of very concerned first semester students, and rightfully so. Apparently, they had talked to a few upper semester students who scared the crap out of them. Unfortunately, while some of what the upper semesters said may have been true (and only some of it), they did not really provide the whole picture. So, here's what first semesters ought to know right now, in the beginning of the semester (imo):
1. Don't be scared that you're in medical school, because of whatever rumors you may have heard. Be excited, because YOU'RE FINALLY IN MEDICAL SCHOOL!!! Hopefully, you're finally in the place that you've been dreaming of being at for years!
2. Medical school is not really that difficult! Yes, you read that right. Nothing that we learn is difficult. The only potential problem is the sheer volume of information that we're given. You will cover far more anatomy here in 3 and a half months than you would cover in an entire year of college anatomy with lab. But, if you want to succeed, all you have to do is keep on top of things, leading to...
3. YOU MUST KEEP ON TOP OF THINGS! This means that you should study every day, or at least almost every day. The information is not hard, but if you get behind, it is nearly impossible to catch back up. And, getting behind may be just a day or two. 4-6 hours a day should be sufficient.
4. This may not be true in absolutely every situation, but in general, if you're studying 8 hours a day, every day, you're probably doing something wrong and should seek the help of an academic skills counselor (which AUC does provide). You can absolutely have a life in medical school, albeit probably not quite what you're used to at home. During my short time here, I've been to the beach plenty of times, gone SCUBA diving a bunch of times, flown home 4 or 5 times, gone out to eat a ton of times, and kept up with all my TV shows (of which there are a lot). You just need to develop good study habits, which I'm honestly still working on, and balance your time effectively
5. This may be the biggest one, but a lot of people apparently need to hear it. If you want to do well here, you work hard, and use the available resources, you will become an MD in 4 years. Yes, there are a lot of people that fail here. But, with very few exceptions, it was no one's fault but their own. Like I said, there are a very very small number of exceptions, but your performance is directly proportional to your effort. If you slack off, go to the bars, and spend your money at the casino, you may very well fail. If you don't keep up and study the week before an exam, you will likely fail. But, if you really want to be here, study, and keep up, you're going to pass. Don't let the people who failed get you down. Some (but again, not all) people at AUC seem to think that their failures are everyone's fault but their own. They'll tell you how they failed a class because the teacher was awful, the exam was awful, or whatever else they can come up with. The sad truth though is that it was not the exam's fault, or the teacher's fault...it was probably their fault. Lots of people fail, but MOST people don't.
6. Don't forget where you are...sometimes it's easy to lose sight. If you read my blog regularly, you know that, for various reasons, I am not a fan of the island. However, I am a big fan of actually being in medical school. Despite the minor (or sometimes, seemingly major) hiccups that you may experience at AUC, most of the students are great, most of the faculty is great, and the school will get you to where you want to be. It may not seem like it during 1st or 2nd semester, but this is what you've been counting down every day for. Get your head in the books from day one, but don't forget to have a little fun too.
OK, rant -- off
1. Don't be scared that you're in medical school, because of whatever rumors you may have heard. Be excited, because YOU'RE FINALLY IN MEDICAL SCHOOL!!! Hopefully, you're finally in the place that you've been dreaming of being at for years!
2. Medical school is not really that difficult! Yes, you read that right. Nothing that we learn is difficult. The only potential problem is the sheer volume of information that we're given. You will cover far more anatomy here in 3 and a half months than you would cover in an entire year of college anatomy with lab. But, if you want to succeed, all you have to do is keep on top of things, leading to...
3. YOU MUST KEEP ON TOP OF THINGS! This means that you should study every day, or at least almost every day. The information is not hard, but if you get behind, it is nearly impossible to catch back up. And, getting behind may be just a day or two. 4-6 hours a day should be sufficient.
4. This may not be true in absolutely every situation, but in general, if you're studying 8 hours a day, every day, you're probably doing something wrong and should seek the help of an academic skills counselor (which AUC does provide). You can absolutely have a life in medical school, albeit probably not quite what you're used to at home. During my short time here, I've been to the beach plenty of times, gone SCUBA diving a bunch of times, flown home 4 or 5 times, gone out to eat a ton of times, and kept up with all my TV shows (of which there are a lot). You just need to develop good study habits, which I'm honestly still working on, and balance your time effectively
5. This may be the biggest one, but a lot of people apparently need to hear it. If you want to do well here, you work hard, and use the available resources, you will become an MD in 4 years. Yes, there are a lot of people that fail here. But, with very few exceptions, it was no one's fault but their own. Like I said, there are a very very small number of exceptions, but your performance is directly proportional to your effort. If you slack off, go to the bars, and spend your money at the casino, you may very well fail. If you don't keep up and study the week before an exam, you will likely fail. But, if you really want to be here, study, and keep up, you're going to pass. Don't let the people who failed get you down. Some (but again, not all) people at AUC seem to think that their failures are everyone's fault but their own. They'll tell you how they failed a class because the teacher was awful, the exam was awful, or whatever else they can come up with. The sad truth though is that it was not the exam's fault, or the teacher's fault...it was probably their fault. Lots of people fail, but MOST people don't.
6. Don't forget where you are...sometimes it's easy to lose sight. If you read my blog regularly, you know that, for various reasons, I am not a fan of the island. However, I am a big fan of actually being in medical school. Despite the minor (or sometimes, seemingly major) hiccups that you may experience at AUC, most of the students are great, most of the faculty is great, and the school will get you to where you want to be. It may not seem like it during 1st or 2nd semester, but this is what you've been counting down every day for. Get your head in the books from day one, but don't forget to have a little fun too.
OK, rant -- off
Monday, May 5, 2008
back to school
Today was the first day of 3rd semester at AUC. From our first day, it seems like this semester will be a lot of work, but also very interesting. I'm ok with a lot of work, as long as I like it. I'm actually pretty excited for this semester. Every other semester, there was at least one class that I couldn't wait to end. This semester, although there will be a least favorite, I think I'll like them all. Also, I was very happy to see that path is being taught entirely by MD's (not PhD's). Some of the PhD's are very good, but it seems that while they cover everything, they could spend a lot more time on the big clinically relevant topics, and less on the minor details. Also, it's just nice to be taught by the people who have already been through exactly what we're going through, have actually seen the stuff they're teaching us in practice, and know first hand what we have to know, and why we have to know it. The 5 pathologists that teach path also had some very impressive resumes.
After class, I spent the rest of the day doing orientation advisor stuff with the first semesters. We had a bus tour that took up most of the afternoon, and then the student mixer this evening. Of course, I already know my way around the island, but the bus tour was pretty enjoyable. We spent a little time in Marigot and on Orient Beach. I have no idea why I didn't think to take pictures of the trip, but now it's bothering me that I didn't! I was also pleasantly surprised to find out how many of them read my blog. Again, sorry for the infrequent updates, but you'll see a lot more now that the semester has started again.
Now, off to sleep to prepare for the second day of second year, tomorrow!
After class, I spent the rest of the day doing orientation advisor stuff with the first semesters. We had a bus tour that took up most of the afternoon, and then the student mixer this evening. Of course, I already know my way around the island, but the bus tour was pretty enjoyable. We spent a little time in Marigot and on Orient Beach. I have no idea why I didn't think to take pictures of the trip, but now it's bothering me that I didn't! I was also pleasantly surprised to find out how many of them read my blog. Again, sorry for the infrequent updates, but you'll see a lot more now that the semester has started again.
Now, off to sleep to prepare for the second day of second year, tomorrow!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Wheelchair Bling
I've been on a few thousand medic calls in the past 9 or so years I've been riding, and I sometimes think I've seen everything. But, this was something new to me. We responded to a car accident, and the driver of one of the cars involved was a paraplegic. When I took off his sweater to take his blood pressure, I noticed his wheelchair bling (the name is mine, by the way, not his, but he liked it). So, I asked if I could take a picture, he laughed and said ok, and now it's on my blog. So, feast your eyes on the first diamond studded handicapped symbol.
My crazy girlfriend
She's great, but also a little crazy. Currently, she's obsessed with getting a puppy, specifically a puggle. So, when we stopped by the pet store in the mall (just to look), and they happened to have a puggle, she went crazy. She spent probably a half hour playing with him, while I picked up a few things with my dad. He is kinda cute, but I haven't decided yet if he's really cute, or just cute because he's ugly.
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