Board studying update

Done with Cardio/Respiratory pathophys, path. Need to go over pharm today. Studying for boards is probably one of the hardest things I have to do in my life. Studying is such a solitary activity, and I feel like I should be out there connecting with people. I went to Barnes and Nobles and saw a bunch of medical students studying. That was pretty cool, unfortunately there was a Star Wars convention book signing thing. That definitely reduced the cool factor of the store by 50%. Oh well ...

I looked at some pharm that night, but I'm easily distracted in a bookstore. I ended up perusing books by Marcus Borg (really liberal theologian), Bill Frist (first Dr. in the senate since the 20's), and Lee Strobel. I'll write more when I have some free time.

Good News

I just got into the sheep lab. Learn to intubate, start IV lines, interosseous line, and other cool stuff.


John

Rededicating myself to medicine (Rated R: For explicitly Religious Content)

I've got a confession to make, this year I feel like I've been running on anaerobic glycolysis all year long. To all the nonbiologists out there, ie: been very inefficient in working up to my potential. I can certainly make a ton of excuses, but some of the reasons are

1. procrastination
2. stopped dreaming big dreams
3. fear

This year, I learned early on that I could do just fine in exams no matter how late I started studying for exams. Unfortunately this isn't the case for boards, since there is just way too much information to cram in a week. It's actually fairly scary, since I've not been able to study 8-10 hours consistently for more than several days this year. With the boards coming up, I really need to find a way to study consistently for an entire month. This month is an amazing opportunity for me to synthesize everything that I've learned in medical school. I need to be sure that I don't waste this tremendous opportunity.

Although doing well in the boards is certainly a worthy reason to rededicate myself to medicine, the real reason I'm rededicating my life is that I've had the opportunity to get to know the Goodwin and Helenihi family. This past week, I learned that Kacie has just returned home to Jesus. Her parents have spent almost every single waking moment with her in the hospital for the past 200 days. What would I do if I were her doctor? her parent? her friend? It's true that medicine is not about knowing all the answers, in fact I'm wrestling to see God's goodness in all of this. Yet her parents could still say to me that it is important to love God, even more than Kacie. Where does their faith come from? In her brief life, Kacie has touched thousands of lives from the nursing staff in the hospital to individuals praying for her on the other side of the world. Her story has touched me, someone she has never met. It made me realize how precious life is, even though it is fleeting like a blade of grass. There are stories of triumph as well. I've gotten to know Rob and Evan. These 2 guys are such a bundle of joy, and yet they are so incredibly mature for their age. I just heard back from Kelly and Joe that the test results are better than they expected. Praise God! There are times when I wonder why I'm learning all this minutiae in medical school, but then you have a face, a family instead of a line in a textbook.

In a way, I've broken the cardinal rule of medicine. I've grown attached to these kids -- you start to care too much. I've certainly asked the question,"What can I do?" Hmmm ... I guess the best answer is to care for the patient and become the best doctor I could possibly be. As the author Hebrews wrote, I need to cast every weight and sin (procrastination, fear, you name it) that clings so tightly and look to Jesus the author and finisher of my faith.

Needing to be transformed,


John

The ABC’s of Love

Compiled by Emily Susan Ward


Abide
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”
John 15:9


Bears
“Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:7


Compassion
“And He said, ‘I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.’”
Exodus 33:19


Desire
“I am my Beloved's, And His desire is for me.”
Song of Solomon 1:7


Eternal
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
Jude 1: 20-21


Faithful
“And I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord.”
Hosea 2:19-20


Glance
“You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, With a single strand of your necklace.”
Song of Solomon 4:9


Holy
“But as for me, by Thine abundant lovingkindness I will enter Thy house, At Thy holy temple I will bow in reverence for Thee. O Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness because of my foes; Make Thy way straight before me.”
Psalm 5:7-8


Irresistible
“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners. ‘Turn your eyes away from me, For they have confused me...’”
Song of Solomon 6:4


Jealous
“Then the word of the Lord of hosts came saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’’ ‘Thus says the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’’”
Zechariah 8:1


Kind
“And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…”
Colossians 3:12


Love
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39


Merciful
“But Thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.”
Psalm 86:15


New
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
John 13:34


Openhearted
“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; The righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to Thee, for Thou hast answered me; And Thou hast become my salvation.”
Psalm 118: 19-21


Perfect
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”
1 John 4:18


Quiet
“The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
Zephaniah 3:17


Righteous
“My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
1 John 2:1-2


Strong
“And he answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’”
Luke 10: 27


Truth
“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”
1 John 3:18


Understanding
“May their hearts be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself…”
Colosians 2:2

ferVent
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8


Wisdom
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”
Psalm 111:10


eXalted
“My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.”
Psalm 34:2-3


Yearn
“Because of the proof given by this ministry they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.”
2 Corinthains 9:13-14


Zeal
“I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent.”
Revalations 3:18-19

Bowling

I had fun bowling with the people in the Internal Medicine Interest Group. I had no idea that doctors can be so competitive :) Anyway, I was in the group with Bobbi Daniels, Wes Miller, and Jonathan Ravdin. Either Ravdin or Miller is the head of the internal medicine department at the U. Since Laura T. was also bowling with us, we decided to split into teams (Ravdin and me vs. Laura and Bobbi) -- Boys against the Girls. The boys won, but Ravdin had to suffer the indignity of losing to Bobbi. I didn't do to bad, I got a 90 but I was really hoping to bowl 100. Still, it was only my 4th time bowling.

OSCE

I loved the OSCE!!!! Technically it was an exam of our physical examination skills, but I spent a lot of time chatting with my third year friends who volunteered for the OSCE. It was relaxing and also a confidence booster for the wards. I'm almost there!


John

Scheduling

Praise God for this whole scheduling business. In an earlier blog, I wrote about how screwed I was in the lottery. Believe it or not, my schedule turned out to be much better than I expected. Here goes:

Neurology -- FUMC (closed it)
Urology -- VA
Neurosurgery -- HCMC
Surgery -- FUMC
Pediatrics -- St. Paul Childrens (closed it)
Med I -- Abbot (closed it)
Med II -- HCMC (closed it)
Ob/Gyn -- Unity (closed it)
Family Practice/ Medicine -- ?

As you see, I got the last spot at 5 sites! A big sigh of relief :)


John
P.S.: I got pretty much all the sites that I wanted except for surgery. Still, rumor has it that I will be working with Dr. Dunn who is probably one of the best surgeons at the U :) My only concern is if I have the stamina to work 100 hour weeks :)

Stuff to do this week

1. Resolve parking
2. Bowling
3. OSCE
4. Work on scheduling years 3 and 4

John
P.S.: I'm feeling a lot better today. This has been one of the faster turnarounds, yayy!!! My red nose is pretty cute, too!

It's been awhile since I've blogged.

The highlight this week was going iceskating for the first time in my life at Mariucci arena with Roseann. At first I was really tentative, because I was really afraid of falling. Believe it or not I didn't fall at all that day. (It also helps that Roseann sent me an email with a tagline from Psalms -- something about the Lord doesn't let the righteous fall :)

I've also been studying really hard for the boards. This past couple of weeks I've been trying to finish BRS Pathology. It's quite a chore but I'm almost done with it. The bad news is that I just got sick :( AAARGGH .....

Going back home to rest,


John

I am Vanilla Flavoured. I am one of the most popular flavours in the world. Subtle and smooth, I go reasonably with anyone, and rarely do anything to offend. What Flavour Are You?

Hmmm .... Ice, Ice, Icecream, baby?

04/10/02

I wish that I spend more time learning in clinic. So far we havn't done much except hear a few cool murmurs.

Update on Board Studying

I'm beginning to feel a little bit more comfortable in biochem, however there is a ton of material that I still need to relearn for microbiology.


John

We ARE the Champions (April 6, 2002)

Minnesota's hockey team just won the championships. I find it interesting that whenever a team wins, I prefer the pronoun "we". If "they" had lost, see I probably would have said that "they" always choke. I would have felt really bad for Adam Hauser, because he is a genuinely good guy but he let in two soft goals. The turning point for me was seeing Matt Koalska score with 52.5 seconds left. I just knew that Minnesota would win the game. You could just tell that the Maine players were really tired in overtime and they never seriously challenged Adam. My favorite moments was when he tripped and elbowed a few Maine players. I'm just glad that the game wasn't decided on a dumb penalty. Wait a sec .... it was Schutte tripped my man Koalska again that lead to the powerplay goal by Grant "I score garbage goals" Potulny. If there is anything good that comes out of No Dak, it's Potulny.

Stupid Undergrads

I can't believe that there was a riot in Dinkytown. I went out to celebrate with a couple of friends in downtown St. Paul and the St. Paulites were they were their normal genteel yet exuberant selves. The undergrads are an embarrassment to the state of Minnesota. What is the point in throwing beer cans to the police? Hmmm .... Let's see how much mace we can tolerate?

Celebration at Mariucci

My favorite quote comes from #1, Adam Hauser:"Thank God for creating the game of hockey." Hockey is truly a divine game, despite being popularized by the Canadiens :)


John

If I lived in Middle-Earth, it would be in: The Shire The rolling green hills, the springtime weather, and especially being surrounded by the ones you love makes the Shire a comfortable area for you. You love being surrounded only by the ones you care about, and you only desire this in an environment that is vast and open to nature, unlike in the cities or the caves. Take the "Where in Middle-Earth Would I Live?" Quiz by skepticism

Upcoming blogs

1. Word Freak
2. Why I want to go to Provence
3. The connection between 1 and 2

John

Downtown Minneapolis (March 30, 2002)

S, T, and I (I mean J) decided to go downtown right after our pharm exam. We decided to go to try to find food. By magic we ended up in the IDS tower's food court. S had mashed potato, T had a Phillly Cheese Steak, and J had a tempura bowl from Little Tokyo. Next we decided to go to the flower show at MF's. I've already waxed eloquently (or rambled on and on and on and on) about gardens so I'm not gonna repeat myself. Next we decided to go to the 51 floor of the IDS building. Why? It's there :) T peeked into one of the offices to get a glimpse of downtown. Out of the blue we meet one of T's acquaintances, Mr. B. he let us see the view from his office. Isn't that cool or what! The only downside from working there is having your ears pop as you go up the elevator. Then we also did some window shopping at NM & S5A. Never been in those stores before. Who could blame me? The prices are outrageous! I felt more at home at B&N and Bull's Eye Place aka T, MF's hip little sister.

Downtown was fun!

J


Buxtehude

Last year I got to listen to St. John's passion over at the House of Hope, and I really wanted to listen to St. Matthew's this year. Alas, it was not to be and I got to listen to Buxtehude instead. What I liked most about the concert were the verses he chose to illustrate the 7 parts. My favorite verse has got to be Song of Songs 2:14. However, the high point for me is to sing the great hymn "O Sacred Head" by Bach. I love that song!

Good Friday it was,

John

Downtown St. Paul

T's sister T had free parking next to the Fitz, so we decided to check out M's beloved Curmudgeon Garrison Keillor. Unfortunately it was already sold out when we got there. Next I wanted to go to Northwestern bookstore to see if there were any Third Day tickets. Aack, the store just closed. We ended up watching MJ on TV. Since the blogs are getting progressively shorter (I'm getting tired of writing), it's time to study biochem.

John

Spring is Here? (04/04/02)

Minnesota right now is its cold and ornery self. The weather has been really mild until we got the biggest snowfall on April 1 in 18 years. I'm sure someone up there must be playing an April Fool's joke on us :) I'm slightly regretting not going back to California for spring break, but I definitely had an Easter to Remember.


John

KTIS/KLOVE Addiction

What do you do when you are bored and have lots of free time. Give up? Call KTIS/KLOVE to win cool free prizes. However for the life of me, I could never get through. I'm beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with my phone or my fingers :) The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that they are sending subliminal messages over the airway. In any case it worked! I'm changing my board dates so I can go to Northwestern/KTIS grand celebration on June 8. I'm even going to volunteer for the event.

Note to reader: John loves food. John will work at food concession stand. John loves Sara Groves. John is past the wishing.

The word is out!

John


An Easter to Remember

Mount Olivet

Out of all the holidays in the Christian calendar, Easter has got to be my favorite. This year I decided that I want to go visit a big church for the Easter services. My church meets at night, so I can check out some of the other local churches in the area. Before I went, I prayed that God would lead me to the church. I felt compelled to go downtown, but somehow I couldn't find any churches. Next I ended up on 394, then somehow I ended up on Theodore Wirth. Decided to shadow a car, since I figured that they must be going to church. Car moves to driveway. Ok, person got back from church :) Went around Cedar Lake, still see no churches. Went down to Harriet Lake, no churches yet. Somehow I ended up on 50th, decided hmmm ... wait a sec. Wow, Mount Olivet was the first church that I saw all morning! You see, I've always wanted to go to that church since I heard that it is the biggest Lutheran church in the country. Time: 10:30. No worries, that church has services at 6,7,8,9,10,11,12,1. I feel kinda sorry for Pastor Youngdahl. What a day! Decided to pray at Lake Harriet. Lasted 10 minutes. Why? I felt a cold wind blowing accross my shoulders. Read Jesus' last recorded prayer John 17 in the car, then headed back to Mount Olivet. Some observations:

1. Lots of people go to church on Easter
2. The greeters seem genuinely surprised when you bring a bible to church
3. Lutherans have a quiet strength about them (ie: they don't talk that much :)
4. Really awesome choir
5. People sing softly
6. Short services! This was the shortest service that I've ever been to. 35 minutes!!!!! My dad preaches longer than that (just kidding dad :)
7. A lot of people where funny robes

Park Avenue

I felt that God certainly did not lead me to a church that just met for 35 minutes, so God led me to Park Avenue Methodist. This is not your typical methodist church, because it is truly the most integrated church that I've ever been in. Before the service, pastor Mark greeted me by saying Happy Easter. How many other pastors take the time to do that? On Easter no less. I came during the 12 o'clock service which is the bilingual service. I don't sing Spanish, but I enjoy praising God in different tongues! Although there were fewer people there than at Mount Olivet, it was definitely a more dynamic service. I felt HIS presence there, and I couldn't help but break down in tears. After Efrem preached he invited people to go to the Altar -- those who want to partake in the power of Jesus' resurrection. I decided that I needed to go up there. While I was up there, I felt a hand touch my shoulder and someone begin to pray for me. Whoever that angel was, thank you.

Stadium Village

Normally I arrive at Stadium Village about half an hour before services start, but since I overslept I barely got there 10 minutes before the services started. Before Easter, I prayed that I could have the opportunity to sing Christ is Risen Today. Did God really answer prayers! At Mount Olivet I sang 2 stanzas of the song. At Park Ave, I sang 6 stanzas. Finally tonight we sang 4 stanzas. At Stadium Village we have a more contemporary service, but I felt so blessed by the hymns we sang last week. This past month pastor John Sanny has been preaching a really powerful series on Jesus' blood. What if Jesus was your defense lawyer? Wouldn't that be the most awesome thing? Through Jesus, God sees us as His precious children not the objects of His wrath.

Christ is risen indeed!


John

Outline for some upcoming blogs

1. KTIS/KLOVE addiction
2. Downtown (Marshall Fields, IDS, Neiman Marcus, Sachs Fifth Avenue)
3. Buxtehude
4. Garrison Keillor
5. Dumb Jokes

Stay tuned, Don't turn away from your blog channel. Same place, same time.

Ever procrastinatingly yours,

John

Seder Meal (March 26, 2002)

Ok, I was debating all week last week whether to finally start studying for pharm or participate in the Seder. I decided to do both. Unfortunately I've already eaten a big meal before the seder, so I missed out on all the good cooking :( It was a very meaningful service for me, because I started to see the connections between passover and the last communion (stories of redemption). I'm not feeling very philosophical right now, so I won't go into depth into soteriology and semiotics. What event that happened about 2000 years ago is the most important things ever to happen in this world? Go to church tomorrow to find out :) BTW: Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!

The main thing that left me confused was the 13 attributes of God. I counted and recounted and even asked Keith to help me cout, but I could only count 11 attributes of God. I'm pretty good at math, so that left me kinda baffled until I finally realized that the authors of the song came up with Lord, and Lord God as 2 separate attributes.

I liked all the songs that the cantors (Jess and Amy) selected, but I couldn't help but smile when I heard the pentatonic unaccompanied spoken progression.

Makes me wonder what I will be singing in eternity,


John

Monday (March 25, 2002)

Sorry for getting my blogs out of order. The blog down below detailed my hurting thumb on Tuesday. We're stepping back in time to Monday.
Read Blog on Da Afghan for intro details.

I was hungry and getting desperate for food. At this point, I even ran out of cereal. Time to go to the grocery.

My new favorite grocery store is the one in Har Mar Mall in Roseville. Why?
1. It is brand new.
2. It is next to my favorite bookstore. Northwestern.

I was hungry, but I decided to get tickets to the Ginny Owens or Third Day concert first. Bad news. They sold out of Third Day and they didn't have Ginny Owens. I thought to myself that should be ok, since I could listen to Ginny's new CD on their listening stations. Even worse news! Their listening stations were down. I did get to listen to Fernando Ortega's latest release, though. So even though I'm not going to his concert (sob, sob, sob), I still heard some of his newest stuff.

Went shopping. Gave in to my craving for fruit: oranges, bananas, and apples for now. Finally found out what my favorite fruit is. Try this experiment out for yourself:

Step 1: Fasting
Step 2: Buy all assortment of fruits.
Step 3: See what fruit you eat

Answer: My favorite fruit is the orange!!!!!!

It is about 3 o'clock now, and I still havn't studied for my exam. Decided that it was a good time to take a nap. Then I visited people at Nu Sigma and saw how stressed they were :( Probably wasn't a good idea to delay studying for the exam (6 o'clock now). Studied for a little bit. Watched movies.

Thumb still good,


John

Latest Test News

Thank goodness that I finally completed this hectic test schedule. It will slow down considerably for the next month or so, when I finally recover for the boards. I did ok on my tests, but not nearly as well as I did on the first two. I'm just glad it's over .... Hooray for Spring Break!!!!!!!!

Thumb's Importance in the Grand Scheme of Things

Do you ever recall the passage in the bible about the unity of the body? Each part actually has a unique function including the thumb. Sometimes when you are in medical school you overemphasize your gray matter and the corpus callosum. But did you know, that when you take a test the thumb is just as important :) I found this out the hard way when I had a pretty nasty papercut over my thumb right before the test. I went out to the test proctor to see if she had any bandaids, but she didn't have any. All I could do was think ... thumb hurts ... need to suck on thumb ... are my platelets working? thank goodness I didn't take aspirin before the test ... BT normal ...

Just imagine if you didn't have a thumb. Would you be able to grip a #2 pencil and bubble in the answers? No you couldn't. Fortunately I still had a thumb, but it hurts so bad to bubble my exam. I couldn't think straight.

I did fine on the exam, but I might have been a wee bit overconfident in preparing for it. You see, I decided to watch History of the World Part I and VS right before the test. I also put in less on that exam than I have for any of my other pathophys exams.

Note to self:
1. Don't ever watch HOTWP1 right before a Seder meal. I could even generalize it to: Don't watch any movies by Mel Brooks right before the seder :) I swear you can't listen to the cantor without grinning :)
2. Don't watch VS. I mean I do love Kirsten Dunst, but even she can't save the movie.


John

ACP News

Unfortunately I just found out that I didn't get elected to the ACP-Student Council. I really like this organization, and I highly recommend it over AMSA or AMA. Those other organizations are way too political for my tastes. The president for the AMSA chapter here at the U is a pretty cool person, though :)


John

Know Name Records

Did I know that place? I figured since I was lucky to get 50 minutes on my parking meter for free, I might as well wander around dinkytown. Went into the store, looked at a lot of no name records until I went to the CD section. Whaddya know ... I found 2 used Tori Amos CDs.

From the Choir Girl Hotel
To Venus and Back

Making out like a bandit,


John
P.S.: Tori likes gardens, too! Hint: She wrote a song called Datura.

Da Afghan (March 23, 2002)

Just like old times ... My cupboard is bare, all food gone ... Thinking about food ... What will I eat???

Got some money in my pocket ...

Mickey D's? Just ate 2 big macs 2 days ago.
Arby's? Just ate there last night.
Dragon Court? Ate there during lunch yesterday.
Big 10? The sub is not filling enough for dinner.
Chipotle? Waiting to use my bag for later.
Booger King? Craving for veggies.
Hong Kong Noodles? That's for my lunch and dinner on Sunday.
Pizza? Yuck! After all these lunch lectures with pizza, no thanks!!!!
Supermarket? Too lazy to get food.
Fine dining? I'm hungry, man ... Gotta eat quick!
Porky's? Didn't feel like driving.
Matt's Bar? Jucy Lucy's are fabulous, but the wait is too long.
Nu Sigma Nu? Leftover lasagna. Ummm ... no.

As you can see, I'm quickly running out of options. Then I remembered about Da Afghan Express. Never been there, but that should satisfy my craving for something different.

The food was decent, I got chicken curry in case you were wondering. However, they watered it down to cater it to the American public. I like my curries hot and spicy, just like MTV (just kidding!). MTV has some rather insipid programming of late -- they also recycle programs over and over. After awhile, you think that there could be nothing more lame than HIG (check what the acronym means at www.paulinia.blogspot.com. Be forwarned it isn't a pretty site.

I'm going to post a review of their shiskabab once I get back there, but what I really want most is their baklava.

Sweet!

John

Done with Pathology!!!!!!!!!!

Hallelujah! Done with two exams so far!

Even though I've studied less than I've ever had in medical school for these set of exams, I'm fortunate that I havn't really done that poorly. My mind is really on other things at the moment. In case you were wondering Pauline, this is what I got. (Note to sister: I probably won't post my bad grades on the internet :-)

Lab Medicine: 67/68
Pathology: 54/55

Please pray for me, because two of my hardest tests are coming up: hematology pathophysiology and pharmacology.


John

Suturing

I got to practic my suturing skills on Tuesday (March 19, 2002). Pigs' feet are really tough to suture, and I feel like I need a lot of practice with suturing. The good news is that with lots of practice (ex: foosball), I think I could get pretty good at it. Maybe, I'm going to practice suturing during my summer break before my surgery rotation.

Will be insanely busy next week. Lots of fun ahead,


John

Relationship Lunch Lecture

We had a lunch lecture on relationships today by a marriage counselor in the medical school. It was a very good and encouraging talk for me. Did you know that doctors have a 22% less divorce rate than the general population. Lawyers and dentists have a much higher divorce rate ... I wonder why? The profession with the lowest divorce rates are the clergy and farmers. Taxi cab drivers and bartenders have the highest divorce rates, Yada, yada, yada ....

I actually took notes about the talk on intentional couples. Here are a few things I jotted down:

Nurturing couple rituals. For example leaving and returning home, talk times, having a date night, bedtime, etc ...
Negotiating roles and responsibilities.
What to accept vs. what to keep struggling over.

I have the serenity prayer (ok, the Zits cartoon version) posted on my locker. I'm being random again, which means that it's time to actually get back to work.


John

Welcome to the Garden

The synopsis below does a much better job writing about Amelie than me. Here are my favorite scenes.

1. Telescope
2. Childhood
3. Riding on the motorcycle (Look ma, no hands!) The Mudders out there would totally get the reference :)

The movie reminded me about the special innocence that we have in all of us. There are so many simple pleasures that we can partake in our daily lives. Right after seeing the movie, I went to see Marshall Field's Spring Flower Show. The theme this year is recreating Christian Tortu's garden in Provence, France. Although the theme of this website is about a garden, honestly I havn't visited a garden in such a long time. Back in the good old days in Egypt (um, I mean college), I frequented an enclosed garden in Scripps almost every day. It was a place of extraordinary beauty and solitude. A place where I can smell the roses and hear the rustling water. Tucked away is a small chapel where I tried to listen to that ethereal, small, still voice. It was also there that I challenged God to make the rains come. To be honest, it was a pretty stupid request because I didn't bring an umbrella :) Nope, God didn't pour out the heavens that day but it did rain at night. You might say that it was coincidence, but after that point I never asked God to prove His existence again.

The eighth floor of Marshall Fields was visually stunning. I had no idea that they could recreate a garden inside a building. Like a kid reborn, I twirled around with the music and listened to the birds chirping (through the sound system), and smelled the flowers again. I also found out that a horse can move its ears. Yes, there was a live horse there! My favorite moment has to be watching little kids squeal in delight over the gold catfish. They then took a penny and made a wish. In fact, those kids inspired me to make a wish of my own. Here's are a few hints:

Matthew 6:21, What have I been praying about lately?

Actually, I heard a song by Sting this morning. Hmmm ....

Set them free,


John
P.S.: I wish I could go to Paris for Spring Break. Roseann and Eric are the luckiest couple in the whole wide world :)

Waiting to see Amelie
Here's the synopsis from Twincities.sidewalk.com

The Setup
Raised by stifling, unemotional parents, little Amélie grows up into
a dreamy young Parisian (Audrey Tautou) who lives alone, works in
a restaurant and tries to bring joy into the lives of others. In
between mooning about Paris, taking revenge on the local meanie
and matching two lonely hearts in her restaurant, Amélie herself
falls for a strange young man (Matthieu Kassovitz) who collects
discarded photographs. Always eager to encourage love in others,
she finds herself too afraid to do the same for herself.

The Breakdown
After the monstrous letdown of his Hollywood sojurn ("Alien:
Resurrection"), Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Delicatessen") has concocted
a fanciful little treat out of Audrey Tautou's girlish smile and witty
fairytale interludes. After one of the most hilarious opening title
sequences ever made, "Amélie" lets us into a world much lighter
and happier than we're used to from Jeunet but still lit with flashes
of his mordant wit. While the machinations used to keep the young
lovers apart grow somewhat ridiculous, Tautou's sublime
performance and the film's unshakable devotion to her make for a
deeply satisfying experience.

Shelf Exam

I did better than average for the shelf exam, but there is still a lot of studying left to do. Right now, I've just purchased QBANK for 90 days as preparation for the boards. I've got all my study materials now. For everyone who's interested, here is how I'm studying for boards.

Before May 3. Cover all of the traditional disciplines (Read First Aid for the Boards at least 3 times from cover to cover)

Micro -- Reread Clinical Micro made Ridiculously Simple. Do the Comprehensive Final on one of the books I have. Do BSS.
Embryo -- High Yield Embryo (all). Selected passages from BRS.
Biochemistry -- Lippincott (all) Spring break. BSS.
Pharm -- Lippincott (all).
Neuro -- Reread High Yield.
Physiology -- Do all questions in BRS. Read Kaplan books.
Gross Anatomy -- High Yield Gross (all). Read all the Case Studies in Moore and Daley.
Genetics -- ? First Aid for Boards. Pathology BRS
Pathology -- Read Pathology BRS cover to cover. Look at all the pictures in Robbins. Work on Robbins Question Book.

After May 3. Systems + Questions

Goal do 3500 questions by June 10. Reread First Aid at least 4 times (total of 7 times). Read books on internal medicine for the wards. Memorize all of Buzzwords.
Go through my systems review books (Kaplan).

June 1
Jars of Clay.
Jennifer Knapp
June 10 Boards
June 11 Flying Back to So. Cal.
June 23
Justin's Wedding

Wow 7 J's in a row!

John

Just posted two songs that captured my mood for the evening.

Gracefully falling back to the arms of grace,

John

Painting Pictures of Egypt

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I've learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

-- Sara Groves

Breathing

I'm finding my way back to sanity again
Though I don't really know what i'm gonna do when i get there
I take a breath and hold on tight
Spin around one more time
And gracefully fall back to the arms of grace

-- Lifehouse

Hair update. I'm getting used to it. It's pretty cool!


John

Fun Ideas (ranked in the probability that I will do it)

1. Amelie
2. Marshall Fields' Spring in Provence (some place in France)
3. Prairie Home Companion
4. Buxtehude
5. Third Day
6. Ice skating
7. Cosmic Bowling
8. Fernando Ortega

John Hartono

No skiing

I have but one excuse: MARCH MADNESS has arrived!

John

The Ice Storm

You've never really lived until you've experienced an ice storm. Ok, I just made that up however we just had the most incredible sturm and drang this weekend. My poor car, all alone on the street suffered through the freezing rain and sleet. I had a craving for pancakes this Saturday, and I thought it would be cool to test my car to see how much damage the storm inflicted on her psyche. Well, my car wouldn't open up to me. I did everything I could until I finally bodyslammed the doors in frustration. The ice was broken. Anyways ... I couldn't see through her because of all the ice on the windshield. It took me a good half an hour to scrape all the ice off my windows. The roads were very slick, and I got to use my new favorite phrase. Ooof Duh. Key to Minnesota driving ... drive slow, real slow.

Were the pancakes worth it? Absolutely! I had mango and strawberry pancakes topped with Maria's secret recipe. The place also had live Latin American music. Pretty cool if you realized that this was in Phillips' neighborhood. Just proving a point that you find beauty in unexpected places.


John

Shelf

The shelf was a very draining exam. I was falling asleep when I took it, fortunately the exam doesn't count. After taking the test, I know that I still have a lot to review for the boards. Hmm .... shelf, boards? Was the original doctor a carpenter?


John

Knee Hurts

I really wanted to go cross-country skiing this weekend, but right now I'm having doubts if I could make it or not. The funny thing is that my knee started to hurt right after I told Caitlin that I wanted to go skiing. Go figure .... Just thinking about skiing made my knee hurt.

John


Last Day with Dr. Miller

I was really sad to leave Brooklyn Park Clinic. There is still a lot that I could learn from him. Anyway, the best compliment I received so far is from Julie who said that I was the nicest medical student that she has met. However based on an informal poll that Abby took, I think that Nate Groebner probably tops the list. He is in one of my small groups, and he is one of the nicest people I've met.

John

Plan for the Weekend

1. Study
2. Cross-country skiing
3. Good Earth
4. Shelf


John

Gophers Game (03/03/02)

I just figured out why I felt so bad over the weekend :) The Gophers just blew a 4 point lead with 30 seconds to play. Unbelievable!

NIT, here we come!


John

Delirious Concert (March 2, 2002)

I love Delirious -- IMHO they are the best Christian rock band around. My favorite moment of the night was during the introductions when Martin introduced the guy as someone who is not fit to tie his Master's sandals. His name was John the Bassist (Ok, horrible pun but I love it!)

My favorite song of the evening was "Do You Feel the Mountains Tremble" since the song brings me back memories of my time at Catalina Island. That was a very special time for me. Changed lives, Changed paradigms.

John

Deliriously Happy

In about an hour, I will be going to Northwestern College to listen to Delirious in Concert! Last year I went by myself to listen to Ginny Owens perform with her labelmates over at Rocketown records. I'm really glad that Rinde (a first year at Nu Sigma Nu) is coming along to the concert with me. He has heard Delirious on KTIS, but he has no idea what he is in for.

John

Ok, I'm not feeling very original lately. I guess I'll start copying music lyrics that fit my mood for the day.

By the way, I just heard an awesome recording of Vladimir Horowitz's return to Carnegie Hall. Bach always makes me feel better.


John

Ocean

Lately I’ve been thinkin’ about You
And lately I’ve been dreaming of You
And lately I can’t get You out of my head
Get You out of my head

Something about the ocean
Makes me rise up and praise
Something about the heavens
Makes me stand in awe again
Something about the sunrise
Reminds me of Your faithfulness
Something about the ocean
And I’m lost in love again

I’ll sing until I sense a smile
Upon Your great and lovely face
And till I know Your glory’s in this place
Your glory’s in this place

Something about the ocean
Makes me rise up and praise
Something about the heavens
Makes me stand in awe again
Something about the sunrise
Reminds me of Your faithfulness
Something about Your presence
And I’m lost in love again

--Ten Shekel Shirt

Waiting Again (March 1, 2002)

I called my parents up last night, because I was feeling kinda down. My dad, the amazing guy that he is read me this poem by Rudyard Kipling (Actually my equally amazing sister wanted to read it to me).

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!


--Rudyard Kipling

AAArghhh. Lost the Lottery

Bummer, I'm in group 12 for the class registration lottery. This means that I'll have the last choice for all of my rotations.

To be continued,


John

Random Blogs (Free writing to see where my mind leads me)

Blogs are cathartic. They are my golytely for the soul. Bad pun. Did you know a girl named Holly written by a guy named Truman Capote? Whatever happened to Breakfast at Tiffany's? I used to sing that song a lot. Back in the days in college. I think Dave knew the guitar chords. Sometimes I want to go to New York. To touch the sorrow, angst, pain. Where is the humanity in this post-modern age? Relationships. Distance. The world may be getting smaller, but people may actually be moving further apart. Building walls. Pink Floyd. Revolution. Beatles. Instant Karma is going to get you. John Lennon once imagined a world. I too think of a world. A place where time ceases to exist. Where we would all dwell in the radiance of the source of all goodness and love. A place where I will finally converse with Bach and ask him how he got to be so smart. Chris Rice, you finally have all your answers now. But how would it feel like if you finally have the answers to all your questions? Where does that leave me? Do I want to know all of the answers? Am I strong enough to handle the truth? The truth shall indeed set me free. There will be neither tears nor sadness. Questions, questions, questions. Many things keep me hanging. Never forget that fateful day in college. Chicken. Chirps. Love to. No. Unintended consequences. Questions. Grief. Love. Acceptance. Prayers. Requests. Answers? No. Yes. Maybe. 1 out of 3 ain't bad. Remember 245, the passion. If you read this far, you've begun to know the randomness of my mind. I keep going in circles. I'm missing Najarian for this? Let everything that has breath ....

Let the games begin,


John

Misunderstood Songs

Launch has been totally awesome and the service has introduced me to a bunch of new songs that I havn't heard before. One of the songs I heard is Kody by Matchbox 20. At first, I was excited to hear that Rob Thomas was singing about the bible. However, instead he was mangling the word bottle. These are the actual lyrics:

So please hand me the bottle, I think I'm lonely now
And please give me direction, I think the hurt set in
And I don't feel nothing

There's a squeak hinge down on the back gate
It lets us know if he comes around
I don't sleep that good anyway
If you've never heard the silence, it's a God awful sound


John

Devil's Hair Cut

Ok, I never liked that Beck song. However, I have just gone from having the longest shag of my life to the shortest hair cut ever!
Note to self: Don't get a haircut from someone who doesn't have hair. Shortness is subjective.

Anyway, I'm getting used to my haircut and I have actually gotten quite a number of compliments from my classmates. It just takes a lot of time to get used to this style. Steve said that I look like Jet Li, but I definitely need to incorporate more martial arts moves.


John

The Ides of March

March is a crazy to time for medical students. The rationale is that April will be the time when we could start to review for boards, so they are trying to pack all the info in March. I have a shelf exam next week (simulated boards) and then finals starting on March 15 or 16 and then continuing until March 29.

March 29 will be a Good Friday indeed!

The good news is that I'm really excited about the blood/cancer segment in contrast to the Gut/Bones from the last period.


John

Plans for the weekend

1. Delirious Concert
2. Gophers Game
3. Studying
4. Studying
5. Studying

Looking forward to my most exciting weekend of the year!


John

Party at My Place

I invited a bunch of people from my church to come over to my apartment in lieu of core group. I actually tried to get enough prizes for everyone, but I was a little bit short because there were more people than I expected :) You find out really interesting stuff about people such as that Chris is actually friends with Pierce Brosnan aka the other James Bond :) I also figured that you can trade a computer game for a car. Just ask Tom :) He is going to be my agent when I finally graduate from medical school. Since it was supposed to be core group, all of us shared our favorite bible verses. It is really neat to see which verses touch everyone's lives. FYI: My verses are Isaiah 40:31 (got an extra point on the Chemistry final with it) and Hebrews 11:1-2. really glad that God has placed a strong group of Christians in my life.


John

Values Debate

Ok, I had a debate with Norma over at the fraternity. It really shouldn't have been a debate, but she was just trying to harrass me :) Norma's a huge sci-fi fan, and I made the impolitic remark that all the resources used for the making of Time Machine could have been spent for better use. My contention is that if people put more of their energies into fighting poverty, disease, and starvation instead of making dumb TV shows the world would be a better place. I do believe that their is a place for art and beauty, but I see no reason why NBC just spent 100 million dollars renewing Friends. Oh well ....


John

La Bodega (February 25, 2002)

In honor of Kirk's birthday, we went to go to La Bodega, a hip little joint at the corner of Lyndale and Lake. Their specialty is Tapas -- or model food in English. Model food is basically dainty, pretty, small dishes that models eat. It was very tasty, but you can't really satisfy your appetites in one serving. According to Roseann, you could get really cheap Tapas in Spain and the reason they make it tiny is because Tapas are generally served at night (their smallest meal of the day). To me, it is the Chinese version of dim sum. I shared my dish with Joe Lee, so we ate chicken honey mustard and halibut. The funnest part of the night was to see Kirk and Michael L. dance the flamenco. Like I told them, it takes two to flamenco.

Still need sleep,


John

Valentine's Day (February 14,2002)

Did you know St. Valentine was a Christian physician? As the legend goes, he helped restore the sight of a blind woman. I'm not sure how that has anything to do with Valentine's day, but I find it interesting that he is a real historical figure instead of a make believe person invented by Hallmark.

That evening we had our core group meeting at the basement of the church. Diana, Becka, Jess, and Amy did all the beautiful decorations and food. All the guys did was to help eat. We did help clean up :) It was also the first time that I heard of the band Ten Shekel Shirt.

My brain is turning to mush,


John
P.S.: Christianity Today's website has a bunch of cool e-cards

Getting Lost in Wisconsin (February 12, 2002)

Where is the worst place to get lost at night? I gotta say Wisconsin, since at least there are a lot of nice people when I got lost in Iowa. Here I was trying to figure out why there are no more lights on the highway when I finally saw a building. Before I went in, I noticed that it was a strip club! Out in the middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin. I quickly bolted as fast as I could.

I found a gas station where I asked for directions instead. She wasn't that nice and she gave me unclear directions. I got lost again until I finally read Amy's directions again. Finally I made it to Houlton elementary with -7 minutes to spare (7 minutes late for all the non-math people out there :). It was really neat to see the second and third graders sing about what they want to be. I'm really happy that one of them sang about wanting to be a doctor. That made my day! However, if I weren't going to be a doctor I would have to say that teachers probably have the most important and toughest profession.


John

Boundary Waters Trip (February 8-10, 2002)

That was one of the most amazings weekend that I've had in medical school. It was a time of many firsts: cross-country skiing, broomball, sauna, dipping into an ice hole, getting the 50 point bonus in scrabble, snow-shoeing.

I didn't know that the boundary waters is so far away. We stopped by Duluth and I thought that we were almost there. Ummm ... I was wrong. Although there wasn't any snow on the side of the roads, pastor Sanny was telling all of us to keep faith that there was actually a lot of snow up there. Our next stop was at Grand Marais. Still no snow, but I still had faith :) John and Diana also pointed out the hotel where they went for their honeymoon. The North Shore is really pretty, but I'm not really sure that I would want to honeymoon there during winter. We went up the gunflint trail and saw two meese. Actually JR, our resident hunter, saw them. After 6 or 7 hours from Minneapolis, we finally reached Adventurous Christian retreat.

I didn't go last year, but according to Connie (our guide for the weekend) we were legends. Note to self: long-johns and fire do not mix.

We were playing with Amy and Jess' magic ball when we got the fan's cord tangled up. One of the coolest pictures I have is of Chris trying to fix the fan. Anyway, I had some time to think about giving a bible bullet. Somehow, Jeremiah 29:11-13 came to mind. Awesome bible verse!

I woke up at 6:30 the next morning and had some quiet time for myself. The first thing I tried to do was to run in the snow. I felt like a kid again -- running and tumbling across the snow. JR thought I was nuts, but it must have been the Canadian air.

At 9:30 all of us got ready to do some cross-country skiing. It was a little bit nerve racking, because I was the only one who has never cross-country skiied before. However Kathy was an excellent and patient teacher. I did fall numerous times, but I actually enjoyed it. After a while, I was looking forward to zooming down the little hills. The moment that I finally found the groove was when I stopped paying attention to my form and started to enjoy the woods, trees, and nature. I have another amazing picture of the whole group waiting for me. It was an amazing accomplishment! To top it off, I still feel like I have enough energy to do another loop. Hmmm ... after a couple of weeks, I sorta forgot about the pain. My right knee was killing me, and I found out from class that my femur and patella was not in exact alignment. Gotta work on my VMOs .... Still I would go cross-country skiing in a heart beat!

We were tired, but we felt like we should go snow-shoeing. That was a blast too, but then I realized that I did get tired after a couple of hours of skiing. I didn't have boots so I borrowed Russ'. That mean that I could use his special snow shoes. Unfortunately I broke it while trying to chase the girls (just kidding!). I actually have no idea why it broke, but the straps on those snow shoes were pretty messed up before I put them on.

The evening was spent watching people do some rock climbing. Oh, before that Tim Anderson and I were the dish-washing crew. We made it our mission to be the fastest dishwashers this side of the Mississippi. Unfortunately, while washing the dishes I missed Amy's ascent to the summit. Even though we had a ballayer, it was still pretty scary when you fall off (I did that :) but it was a really big high to go all the way to the top.

Saunas are Hot

My friends say that I like to point out the obvious, and obviously they are right (just wanted to point that out). How hot was it ... 200 degrees fahrenheit. People say that I'm crazing for jumping into the water hole, but you can't help but jump in there after spending 15 minutes in the sauna. This is further proof to me that the Finns are the hardiest people on earth.

The best part of the evening was when JR lost his sandal in the ice hole. He wasn't able to retrieve it, because it sunk down to the bottom. I suggested half-jokingly that we should pray about it. Right after we prayed for his sandal, it floated up. You might say that this is a coincidence, but God answers way too many prayers for me to claim it to be a coincidence. Wow, He even cares about JR's sandals!

Broomball

I was in no shape for more punishment, but I agreed to play broomball anyway. I don't remember much about it anymore, except that I kept falling on my right rear end.

Scrabble

The entries are getting shorter and shorter, because I'm getting tired of typing. Here is my 78 point word: JASMINE.

Gooseberry Falls

A frozen waterfall? I can't believe that I was actually walking on the river bed. Still, there were others in the group who did far more adventurous things there. Believe it or not, while we were up there someone came up to John and said "Are you John Sanny." He is famous!

Trip Home

We made a gentlemanly's wager among the guys on who could predict our arrival time. I was the closest, but all of us went a little bit over. What a weekend!

Good times,


John

Done with Tests for Now! (February 25, 2002) (Warning: Rated R for Religiously Explicit Content)

Moral of the story: Don't procrastinate by studying 34 lectures in a day. Although it is humanly possible, it is very stupid. I know ...
It probably is a sin, although I don't see that expressly printed in the bible.

The wisest man on earth once wrote
But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

Ecclesiastes 12:12

Like all the athletes out there (such as my hero Kurt Warner), I have to praise the Lord for letting me do alright on the exams even though I procrastinated big time this weekend. I didn't do as well as I normally do on exams (108/122) but I'm just glad that I passed with a comfortable margin. I've made a promise to myself that I would never, ever do this again.

What I need to do is have some quiet time and meditate on where my life is going. No, I'm not talking about what kind of doctor I want to be (I've already thought about that). What really matters is what I'll be doing outside of medicine. Yesterday, pastor Harry Maghakian preached about the dash (1976-?). Although it is a measly dash, it is far more important than the numbers that bookend it. I know what life isn't ... life isn't just studying, eating, and sleeping.

Thoughts on _Just Like Jesus_ by Max Lucado.

Just imagine somehow that Jesus had complete possession of my heart. Everything else about me would still be the same ... my life, my studies, my profession, my family.

One of my biggest blessings this year was to receive an email from Kelly Helenihi. I became friends with her family when she came to Minnesota for her son's bone marrow transplant. Sometimes you wonder why there is so much injustice and suffering in this world. Yet she taught me so much about being totally dependent on God's grace. It is so amazing to be able to cry together and pray. I didn't have any answers that night, but I did feel like Christ placed me in that very moment.

I know that there are a lot more people in my apartment complex who need prayer, yet somehow I've not taken the time to get to know them. If Jesus had complete control of my heart he would take away the fear and self-doubt.


John

Finally got the pictures back from the boundary waters trip. My favorite pic has got to be the one with me using a snowshoe as a crutch :)

Still praying for more snow, but thankful that the weather has been awesome!


John

Tests coming up this Saturday and Monday

Next week after my pathophys test on Monday, I will write massive blogs.

Plans:

1. Make Chinese Chicken Fried Rice for the fraternity
2. Study
3. Sleep
4. Study

John

Fewer Blogs until February 25 (Outline for upcoming blogs)
1. Boundary Waters
a. trip up
b. cross-country skiing
c. devotional (_Just like Jesus_, Max Lucado)
d. sauna
e. running into ice hole
f. broomball
g. devotional (Phillipians)
h. random thoughts on the other devotional
i. Gooseberry Falls
j. KFC
2. Bell-ringer
3. Amy's concert
4. Valentine's day

Tired of Typing

Sometimes I wish that I were a more selfish fella and not be such a nice guy :) Just kidding ... the thing is that I volunteered to do some help for neuroscience knowledge coop. I got snuckered into rewriting one of the reviews, and it takes way too much time! I wouldn't mind if I learned the material again, but all I'm doing is just retyping notes that the third years wrote last year.

Oh well,


John

It's 39 degrees outside and I'm in Shorts!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How long will this great weather last? I'm starting to think that I'm in California again :)

I'll get my reality check when I go up North :) It was -40 sans windchill last year.


John

Good Earth

No, it's not the title of a book but instead it is a really nice "organic" healthy-fusion restaurant in Roseville. My good friend Jon Gully just turned 27 or 28 (I lost count, he's just old) and we all went there to celebrate his birthday. The best part of the evening of course was the dessert ummm .... I mean having everyone sing happy birthday. The dessert was the cheesecake with multiberries as decoration. It was really yummy and it was complimentary of the restaurant. My theory about desserts is that I almost never eat them, so I keep thinking about them. We also had a very good time embarrassing Jon by making him wear a crown and hold balloons in front of all the other patrons in the restaurant. At least he didn't have to dance with a belly dancer :)

Dr. Gary Miller

If I have to choose a role-model on who the ideal doctor would be it would have to be a mix between Dr. Gary Miller and Dr. Dye. Dr. Miller is my current preceptor and Dr. Dye was one of my other preceptors last year. Dr. Miller is one of the nicest and funniest people that I've encountered. Everytime he enters a patient's waiting room, you could already see the patients smile in anticipation of his corny jokes. He also cares so much for all of his patients. Unlike some other doctors, he takes his time and is never hurried. The downside is that he is sometimes late with his patients. On the other side, we have Dr. Dye who is extremely efficient and super smart. He can dictate really fast. The common denominator is that both of their patients love them. Oh, Dr. Dye also has some of the corniest jokes too. Hmmm .... I wonder whether the reason I like these two is because they have corny jokes :) Here's my goal:

1. Be as caring as possible without becoming jaded by human nature
2. Enjoy my patients as much as possible
3. Have a stock of corny (not tomato) jokes
4. To be comfortable with the latest technology and be able to do a complete dictation super fast.
5. Be the best possible doctor I can be

Shuang Chen

Going out two nights in the same week? You might wonder what is going on. The problem you see is that I have too many friends. Just kidding!!!!!!! This time I went out with Roseann and Eric Ekstrom and Steve Chao. Roseann is such a cutie and she is one of the nicest people in medical school. I keep teasing her for being older than me (she can't help that), but in fact she is just like a big sis to me. I'm probably her bratty little brother :) Her husband is a PMNR doc who was the chief resident at Hennepin (One of my goals is to be chief resident in internal medicine, but that is still a long ways away). Steve Chao is my compadre in crime. We are organizing a triad based on the movie Oceans 11. Ok, so that isn't entirely accurate. He and I are study buddies for the USMLE Step 1 for the boards. Probably the hardest test that I will ever take in my life :) The dinner was awesome: we had lobster, walleye, chicken almonding, and black and pepper shrimp. That was one of the best dinners that I've ever had in a long time. Roseann knows all the good places to eat, so I probably have to invite her and Eric out more often :)

Venipuncture

I drew Stanley Iyadurai's blood, Stanley drew John Asleson's blood, John Asleson drew Caitlin Anderson's blood, and Caitlin drew my blood.

The circle is complete.


John

Winter Carnival

Did you know that it has been one of the warmest recorded winters in Minnesota history? Fortunately it has cooled down enough this week for the ice sculptures to stabilize. I didn't get a chance to go on the giant slide, because I missed the exit sign and headed south to downtown St. Paul instead. It was quite nice to spend some time with Amy and Jessica around downtown St. Paul. Hmmm ... Let's see. There was some eagles, humpty dumpty (intact and crashed), the statue of liberty, firefighters, biplane, and a really cool-looking red/pale yellow/blue decorated pine tree. Then we went to a candy store and got some orange-flavored white chocolates. Yummy ...

Skyway experience

Skyways are a uniquely Minnesotan thing. It is sorta like an above-ground maze that connects all the buildings to one another. We went in the World Trade center and saw Charlie and Snoop Dogg (oops ... I mean Snoopy). Long-live St. Paul.

Ok, I'm getting delirious right now ...

Signing off,


John
P.S.: Will complete the set of blogs later

The Gophers won again!

It was soooo loud over in Williams Arena. The house was jumpin' and Rick Rickert was totally unbelievable. That guy is tall, but he still looks like a freshman -- I can't wait till he can hold his own agains the big bad bruisers of the big 10. At first, it looked like Indiana would totally dominate the game but somehow the gophers got the energy to come back in the second half. Boy was that an awesome game.

Wisconsin is coming up next. If they win, I can't wait to rub it in ....

John

Short Blogs

I'm gonna be really busy over the next couple of weeks, so the blogs will be short and sweet.

Highlights

Good Earth, Dr. Miller, Shuang Chen, Venipuncture

Bye,

John

More Dumb Tests

I'm not linking it to this site, because it was a really dumb test. 99%. For all you Mudders out there, fill in the blank

Dr. Myhre (Organic Chemistry Guru) --> Heart --> Blank --> Strength

Key to New Year's Resolutions

I believe that the key to New Year's Resolutions is to have two mutually exclusive resolutions. For example:

1. Be more spontaneous
2. Plan more

Yet Another One

1. Study
2. Relax

Isn't my plan ingenious? By doing whatever I'm doing, I'm fulfilling my New Year's resolutions. Now I don't have the pressure associated with it. Hmmmm ....


John

Big Win for the Gophers!!!!!

I was at the Gopher-Ohio State Basketball game today. For those who don't follow college basketball, Ohio State was the #1 team in the Big 10 and their stifling defense has limited opponents to a mere 56 points. Today the Gophers won in dominating fashion, beating them 89-71. That was the most points Ohio State has given up this season. Chant with me M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A, Minnesota, Minnesota, YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY GOPHERS!

Sitting next to me was Dave Quayle, a buddy of mine from Nu Sig. It was just amazing to be cheering in the student section. I'm sure I'll be in for another treat for the game against Indiana. After Ohio State's loss, Indiana is tied for the top spot in the Big 10.

John

Change of Plans

It is simply too warm to go cross country skiing, but I did try out the nordic track equipment at school. I'm definitely out of shape since I was feeling a little bit pooped after just 10 minutes. I'm surprised that I could still swim after my nordic track workout. I'm pretty sure it is more fun to do it outside, though.

As for Sunday, I might just do a little bit of preview for my GI/musculoskeletal segment. I'll save Como Park for next week.


John

Impulse Buy 01/26/02

I woke up this morning thinking that it would be neat to bike to the recreation center every day, since I've been too lazy to walk there. (Read my new year's resolution about working out). Out of impulse, I went and bought a bike at Varsity Bike Shop. My wallet is not quite as thick, but that's ok I'm really excited about my new bike. I'm normally not extravagant about buying stuff, but I decided to buy myself a belated birthday gift (actually, my aunt Janice helped to subsidize this purchase :) Plus, the weather is really nice for biking and the bike was on sale.


John

P.S.: The best time to buy a bike is during the winter season. However it feels more like spring right now.

Life is Beautiful

It is so gorgeous out here in Minnesota. Right now, I'm stunned that it is in the 40s in the middle of January, who woulda thunk it? I'm planning on going cross country skiing this Sunday at Como Park and then partake in the festivities of St. Paul's Winter Carnival. The snow is melting as we speak, so I might have a change of plans and do some ice skating either. Ok, I've never gone ice-skating or cross-country skiing but I figure that it could be a self-taught kinda thing. I mean do you have to teach your child to walk? I think that he or she would pick it up automatically, but then God didn't create human beings with skates or skis on them :)


John

Done with Tests!

Sometimes you wonder why you study for these exams :) I took one of the renal practice tests before studying for it, and I got everything right. Then I read my notes and got a question wrong because I misread my notes. If I hadn't read my notes, I probably would have guessed the right answer.

Ah, I'm becoming a whiner. I missed 3 questions out of 76 for my combined renal-endocrine pathophys/pharm exam, and I probably missed a point on the essay. As for pathology, I missed 2 question on lab and I got everything right on the lecture portion. Overall, I guess I did alright. The point that I'm making is that medical school warps your mindset about grades. Back in Mudd, I don't think that I cared that much about my grades. The cruel irony is that in Minnesota, the first two years of medical school is honors/pass/fail so theoretically no one should care about grades. However, compared to my classmates I'm a lot less warped about it than they are. After every single test, you would find a stack of challenge forms from my classmates. They resort to going on medline to get an obscure medical journal reference (which I bet they didn't read before the test :) to get a single extra point on the test. After the test, I'm done, through and through ... I don't spend my lunch hour in a bar talking about questions that I missed :)

I guess I shouldn't be writing this when I'm exhausted from test week. I went to medical school because I really believed that I would make a difference in people's lives, not to be a state-of-the-art test taking machine. That is how I felt this week. I could regurgitate facts backwards, forwards until the second after the exam when I begin the slow purge of data. Of course there is the test that begat all tests that is coming up in May (step 1 of the boards). What has kept me going is rereading Sharon's advice on how she loved studying in her kitchen table and in the park. It is also the one time of the year that you get to synthesize all of the information you learn during your first two years. It is a really daunting challenge, but the fun starts when I finally go into the wards. My biggest fear in writing all of this is to convey the wrong impression about school. Like I've written before, there is nothing out there that I would rather do than be in medical school. I love learning the material, and I even like taking the tests :) I like the adrenaline rush I get when I am bubbling at full speed. The downside is the day after ... then you feel the mind-numbing effects of studying 10 hours a day for three days straight. Yup ... time to decompress. Time to give thanks.

Ora et labora (that is what school is all about),


John

Plans for the Week

1. Take tests
2. Set up a root-beer float party for the medical school class
3. Organize my notes for the semester
4. Go cross-country skiing in Como Park
5. Go to the conservatory
6. Dream

John

Perspective

The problem with problems is that it forces you to deal with the present, yet you lose sight of eternity. These are just temporary afflictions according to the apostle Paul, if we hold on to the hope of glory.

Dreams

No time to write something coherent. Letting my mind wander through the stream of consciousness along the river Seine onto the Cathedral in Roen taking a picture, click, click, getting out a postcard of Monet. Enters the church, hears the heavenly father say je t'aime, gazes through the prism of the stain glass windows, wakes up to see 7:30 am on the alarm clock ... needs to go but lets Chris Rice sing hallelujahs for the day shall come.


John

Renal Pathologists are NERDS

Don't get me wrong, I love nephrology but my teachers seem to delight in testing us on the most obscure facts imaginable. I thought that I knew the kidney pretty well, but the old tests are hard, really hard. One of my biggest concerns is that I won't have enough time to study for my other final on Thursday. This too shall pass ....

I don't know why, but I feel like I'm a little bit more stressed this year. It is probably a cumulative effect of not having enough vacation time in the winter :) Anyway, John's sermon really helped me out yesterday. The key word that he stressed is perspective.

Sometimes our problems seem like that they are the biggest problems in the entire world, but compared to what other people go through my problem is actually very trivial. Just think, I have the good fortune of studying medicine and having great time (aside from this week). Sometimes I feel like I need to slow down and dream. Yup, that's it.

Writing more about dreams in the next blog,

John

More Norm

I truly am a _Norm_addict. Even though I have finals coming up, I just spent the last hour perusing the archives of Norm. Aaargh!!!!!

Why is it when I finally feel like I'm getting back into my studying groove that I find all of these diversions? Oh well .... Reading the back archives for Norm is definitely worth it. From the website, I think I know what to get myself after these next series of tests :)

More Craziness

I just joined the Norm club on Yahoo.

Last Pediatrics Session (01/16/02)

Today was a very special day, since it was the last day for my pediatrics session in Shakopee. I've been waiting all year to see a bunch of newborns, and I was really blessed to see 3 of them. It was really exciting for me to see young couples come in with their baby. I will really miss pediatrics ...

Tests are coming up next week, so I'll be decreasing the frequency of my blogs.

Until then,


John

As Time Goes By

What does a medical student do on a Saturday Night?

A. Study
B. Nothing
C. Watch Casablanca
D. I hate multiple choice tests

The answer of course is study until midnight (I'm not the only one. There were 2 other medical students in the study lounge!)

Anyway, as I walked back home saw Ben Casillas walking down the hall. I thought he just finished studying too, but instead he wanted to watch Casablanca at midnight. My mind was mush ... I said sure I'll watch Casablanca, but only for 15 minutes. We snuck into the first year classroom and then watched the movie on a giant screen projector (why didn't I think of this?). A security guard actually came in, but he smiled when he saw us watching Casablanca.

Needless to say I stayed for the entire movie. The worse part of this experience was that I had difficulty sleeping. I mean I must have spent half an hour debating whether I would have done the same thing as Bogart. In the end, I decided that I would have done the same thing, but then I felt really bad because I realized that I would spend my time alone away from the woman I love, stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of Nazis chasing me around.

Still in need for wisdom,


John

The Norm

Recently I have found myself to be addicted to the cartoon strip _The Norm_ by Michael Jantze. The original premise of this cartoon strip was to document the single life of the main character, Norm. I began following the strip when Norm finally asked out his best friend Reine on a date. Anyway, this weekend I found a link to the website (thenorm.com) and began following the story line today. Unlike _9 chickweed lane_ which is favorite all-time strip, there is a lot more character development. The best part of the website was looking at the old story lines. My favorite one was the one with Norm and one of his EGF, Bronte. She travelled 200 miles just to be with Norm at a Star Wars I premiere, but she brought along her Star Trek shirt instead :) You can guess what happened ...

Can't wait for the Sunday installments of Norm,


John

Elrond If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Elrond, Elf, ruler of Rivendell and father of Arwen. In the movie, I am played by Hugo Weaving. Who would you be? Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software

Missin' You

Finally they played a Chris Rice song on launch.com! Yayyyyy!!!!

Somewhere behind those stars, is someone who belongs to me
And I know in my deepest heart
There's a place for you
Until I find a place you've made for me
Still I'm missin' you

Ok, I was just just testing if I could type as fast as the song.

Although that song is about God, sometimes it reminds me of the book _The Little Prince_. Sometimes I wish I can read in French like Amy, so I can read it in its original version.

Voici mon secret. Il est très simple : on ne
voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

John

Party at the Sanny's

I love spending time over with the Sanny's. They are really cool in a 70s kinda way (just kidding) ... John is one of my role models even if he listens to Bread and John Denver. Hey, when I was younger, I listened to them too (not that I remember ...). I was only 2 or 3, so I had no idea that good music even existed. Some of our core group people couldn't make it unfortunately, but it was still pretty cool watching them on the Adventurous Christian Video.

I'm so looking forward to going to AC in the boundary waters in February. First I need to get cross-country skiing lessons from Kelly Rood. Yesterday, I found out that Chris was on the nordic skiing team on Mounds View just like Kelly. My goal for February is to not get left behind with J.R. Just kidding! I'm just glad that he's not reading my blogs. Unfortunately, knowing me I probably can't resist telling him about it.

We played a few games (nerf gun, blow darts, you know ...) and a game which brings out the best Charlie Chaplin in you. It is sorta like Taboo, but you can't talk. I mean how can you guess the word "love" without talking? Hmmm ... isn't this an interesting conundrum. It is much easier to say I love you, but it is much harder to demonstrate that you love someone.

John

Hero????

Ok, my plans for launch has a few flaws. On the Chris Rice fan station, they did play a lot of cool Christian music. But, "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias???????
What was he or she thinking when the person programmed the Chris Rice fan station? I could understand Lifehouse ... I love Lifehouse ... They were originally worship leaders at Vineyard church. Enrique? I'm just glad that they don't have the simulcast music video with Jennifer Love Hewitt :)

Confession time ... I'm an ex-Party of Five watcher. Sad but true.

John

Studying for Boards

Courtesy of Sharon Smith, I received a very comprehensive plan for studying for boards. What's are boards? No, J.R. they are not made of wood! You can't buy them at Menards. For step 1, they are $405.00 with no discount price. Alright, I'm being facetious ... boards are what second year medical students have to take before going on rotations. It is a comprehensive 8 hour exam covering all of two years of medical school!

I can't thank Sharon enough for spending the time to tell me her preparation. She will make an outstanding doctor after she graduates, but more than that she is an even better person. One of my regrets is that I'm not able to spend more time with third year medical students. All of them are quite busy in their rotations, and it is really hard to stay in touch with most of them.

In the upcoming weeks, I will keep you updated on my board studying.

Bon voyage,

John

Launch

I was really disappointed that radio.sonicnet.com went out of business. They had a premise where you can program your own radio station. So I had this awesome setup of all the contemporary Christian artists that I liked Chris Rice, Ginny Owens, DC Talk, etc ... + Bach, Tori Amos, Elliot Smith, Ani DiFranco, Collective Soul. Ok, so my music tastes are rather eclectic, but there aren't any radio stations out there that plays everything that I like. It was probably an 80:20 ratio between Christian:Secular music.

Today, I just found out that I can do the same thing on launch.com, a subsidiary of yahoo.com. It has most of the same features as radio.sonicnet.com, and it has less commercial advertising! My problem is that I couldn't find ways to program a Christian station. Ahhh ... I'm still quite the resourceful (albeit lazy fellow), so I just went out and hopped on to a Chris Rice fan station. Problem solved.

Bye now,

John

Random Anagrams

A bit more on wasting time. Do you know that you can rearrange Britney Spears' name to presbyterians?

Who woulda thunk it?

I do not dislike Britney, but I don't care for her music either (double negatives are cool). She is actually a baptist (NOT presbyterian) which might explain the fire in her belly. Just kidding :) As a presbyterian, I think that this anagram better suits us even though we pride ourselves in humility (just kidding once again :).

Best in prayer.

Someone is definitely smiling up there,

John

Wednesday clinic (01/09/02)

My preceptor in clinic has been letting me do some interveiws with the pediatrics patients. I've kinda gotten the hang of doing histories on cold and earaches, and I've become a lot more comfortable in doing well-child checkups :)

Thursday

Sleep is getting to be a precious commodity in medical school. I am almost caught up with my classes, but I'm also forgetting the stuff I just learned a week ago :) I probably could get enough sleep if I stop surfing the web.

Here is what I've accomplished by procrastination today

1. Read poems by Rabindranath Tagore
2. Read the merits on Kurt Warner as NFL's MVP
3. Discovered SARK. A little bit too new agey for me
4. Read Thophilus' column
5. Listened to an example of Shepard's scale. A musical illusion, where you hear the scales get progressively higher when in fact you're not going up at all. Then I heard a canon by Bach that illustrated the principle
6. Read updates on the Presbyterian church
7. Read my sister's blog. www.paulinia.blogspot.com
8. Read an article comparing Star Wars Vs. Lord of the Rings
9. Read the Minnesota's arboretum website

John

January 1, 2002

Council of Student Members
c/o Patty Moore, Medical Student Coordinator
ACP-ASIM
190 N. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Dear Council of Student Members:

I am interested in serving on the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine's (ACP-ASIM) Council of Student Members (CSM), because I would like to further develop the relationship between the internal medicine interest group (IMIG) at the University of Minnesota with other student chapters across the country and physicians in ACP-ASIM. I have been privileged to be a part of IMIG for the past two years. Through my experiences with this group, I have learned that internists have a strong commitment to patients, continuing education, teaching, and collegiality.
Although IMIG is a relatively new group, it has been successful in promoting internal medicine through events such as a golf tournament, "meet the internists party", journal club, mini-morbidity and mortality (mini-M&M) conferences, opportunities in medical research seminar, bowling with the residents, and blood drive. For me, it has bridged the basic science curriculum with the clinical practice of internal medicine.
At the IMIG annual pizza party and golf tournament, internists from nearly every specialty mingle with the students. The students also have the opportunity to interact with the residents from the various internal medicine residency programs during bowling night. I have been impressed by the physicians' willingness to reach out to the next generation of doctors. By joining the CSM, I hope to further the relationship between doctors in ACP-ASIM with the medical students at large.
As the co-chair of IMIG, I have the responsibility for organizing the journal club and mini-M&M series. In our mini-M&M conferences the medical students review the pathophysiology of an organ system by going over an actual case. It has enabled medical students to gain insight into the internist's thought processes. I have been impressed by ACP-ASIM commitment to life-long learning by publishing MKSAP and organizing many continuing medical education seminars. However many of the great resources from ACP-ASIM remain underutilized by medical students at my school. By becoming part of CSM, I would like to increase the awareness of ACP-ASIM's resources for medical students. I am also excited by CSM's e-learning initiative and I would like to be involved in its implementation.
From reading the IMpact newsletter, our group has received many group activity ideas from across the country. I would like to foster cooperation between IMIG at the University of Minnesota with other ACP-ASIM student chapters. I am greatly appreciative of the support ACP-ASIM has given to our student group, and I would like to give back to the ACP-ASIM by joining CSM.

Sincerely,



John Hartono

Eleventh day of Christmas

Apparently, I had this brilliant idea on going to an Afghan restaurant for dinner. You see, I was really curious about the food since it probably is a mix of Persian and Indian cuisines. Oh, the war over there also piqued my interest in what they had.

The atmosphere was nice (groovy afghan music, dim lights, the usual), and the waiter was really understanding when my party increased from 7 to 12. It was a little bit cramped, but I was able to get the alpha chair of the table with Jon Parkhurst :) The food was made fresh in the kitchen, but we had to wait for about an hour to be served. The wait was almost worth it, but I would recommend going there when the restaurant isn't full. I had this dish (can't pronounce or spell the name) that consisted of meatballs, chutney, rice, and tortilla-looking bread. The Indians call it nan, but I'm not really sure what it is in Afghani. For dessert, I was going to get the everybody's favorite, Baklava but they ran out.

The best part about the evening was talking about different events that we could pull off on the talent show. It was fun imagining things, me as chief resident for example, but Kris Kimber scheduled the talent show on my planned Northern Exposure trip. I'm sure there are a plenty of people out there who are more daring than me :)

Twelfth Day of Christmas

Finished my CV

Thirteenth Day of Christmas

Finished my personal statement.

John

IQ tests

After taking the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, I proceeded to take the IQ test on advisorteam.com

According to the website, my general IQ score is 155. I'm not really sure what it means, but since it's on the internet you can take it for what it's worth.

Here's my Keirsey Temperament Sorter Results

The Guardian Portrait
All Guardians (SJs) share the following core characteristics:

Guardians pride themselves on being dependable, helpful, and hard-working.
Guardians make loyal mates, responsible parents, and stabilizing leaders.
Guardians tend to be dutiful, cautious, humble, and focused on credentials and traditions.
Guardians are concerned citizens who trust authority, join groups, seek security, prize gratitude, and dream of meting out justice.
Guardians are the cornerstone of society, for they are the temperament given to serving and preserving our most important social institutions. Guardians have natural talent in managing goods and services--from supervision to maintenance and supply--and they use all their skills to keep things running smoothly in their families, communities, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses.

Guardians make up as much as 40 to 45 percent of the population.

Darn, I can't resist procrastinating on the internet. Here is another internet personality test -- I find them to be addictive. In fact, when I took one of those tests on the internet, I got "most likely to take an internet test" :) There are two more internet tests that are referenced in my archives.

Ok, here's the skinny. I am easy going and spiritual. No, I'm not a liberal. Yes, I do look good in sea green.

What am I supposed to be doing? Yes, I remember ... I have to write a CV and a personal statement for my candidacy on the student council of the America College of Physicians. If elected, I will be representing medical students from the midwest region. So if you're a medical student, vote for JOHN for student council!!! Alas, I think the students won't have a say, and the voting would be done by the board of trustees instead.

The last time I was on the internet, I was surfing for U2. Sis, birthday gift .... U2 CD 4 ME? Just kidding ... Do you know what is on Bono's reading list? _The Message_ by Peterson. Isn't that amazing! Before he was in U2, Bono was actually part of a christian rock group if you could believe that or not. If you read between the lines, you could see a ton of spiritual overtones in his songs. For example, the song "One" in _Achtung Baby_ is on the third track. Get it? One is Three, Three is One. Father, Spirit, and Son are One. Sarah Hinlicky has written an insightful article in boundless.org (amazing webzine) about the spiritual nature of U2. Achtung Baby is the first album that turned me on to U2, in fact _One_ is probably my favorite song of all time. Alas, I don't have any U2 CDs yet although I have made some illegal bootlegs of the radio for my own personal enjoyment. Shhh ....

Gotta get back to work,


John

This quiz says absolutely nothing about your personality. Take it!

Sixth Day of Christmas

Played a wicked game of ping-pong with Dave. I really need to step up my game, since everytime I see him he keeps getting better. Unfortunately, I don't get that much time playing ping-pong with school starting again. The good news is that pastor John said that the church will be getting a ping-pong table. Yayy!!!

Everyone who's been keeping up with my blogs know of my devotion for In N' Out burgers. Well, Dave gave me an In N Out shirt (size large, I think he might be telling me something :) I have gained quite a big of weight over the break, but everyone just tells me that I'm hallucinating. Maybe I'm just getting denser.

Seventh Day of Christmas

I spent some time with my auntie at where else, In N Out. We met this woman who began telling us about her family, especially her daughter. Her daughter married someone who was 18 years older than her but who has a ton of money. It is really interesting what money can buy, but I don't think that it can buy happiness.

Eighth Day of Christmas

Flew back to Minnesota via Denver. I'm very lucky that John was able to pick me up from the airport. He is a very fun guy to be around, and it is amazing how many people know him. I had a wonderful dinner at his house -- Diana is an amazing cook. I can still picture it in my mind chicken, sweet potatoes, salad, and homemade muffins. By the way, Northwest has much better food and snacks than United. They also have better flight attendants, but I would probably pick the cheaper airline if I had to travel to California. Happy New Year everyone!

New Year Resolutions

1. Plan to exercise (done!!!!!)
2. Exercise (Umm ... once I get free time)
3a. Wake up early (8 o'clock classes are a motivating factor)
3b. On weekends (We'll see ...)
4. Be more organized (So far, so good)
5. Send cards early

Ninth Day of Christmas

My doctor called in sick, so I wasted an hour traveling roundtrip from the clinic. Thankfully, I was able to do some shopping and some errands. I can't believe that I'm back in school!

Tenth Day of Christmas

Here I am blogging away when I should be preparing my personal statement to be on the American College of Physician's student council. Ok. I'll stop blogging now.

John

Christmas Cards

I feel terribly guilty since I havn't sent Christmas cards. One of my new year's resolutions is to send them out really early this year.

Here's a quote from a card that I got from Jessie G.

"To doctors. Yours is not only a profession, but a vocation - the vocation to be God's love, God's compassion, God's healing power to the suffering. God has chosen you for a special mission. Being a doctor means going out and touching Dod in each of the suffering, whether it be the rich or the poor, for sickness strikes all."

Mother Teresa