THE SIMPLE LIFE

QUIZ TIME AGAIN!

How You Live Your Life

You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside. You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think. You prefer a variety of friends and tend to change friends quickly. Some of your past dreams have disappointed you, but you don't let it get you down.

What Your Face Says

At first glance, people see you as warm and well-balanced. Overall, your true self is passionate and physical. With friends, you seem logical, detached, and a bit manipulative. In love, you seem mysterious and interesting. In stressful situations, you seem cheerful and optimistic.

You Are a Lazy Cook

Technically, you're a cook... in that you do cook the occasional frozen burrito in the microwave. Get a little adventurous. Sprinkle some fresh cheese on that frozen pizza next time!

*GASP*

I'm in shock...again.

So another person has gotten engaged. This one's even a little closer to home since we knew each other better than some of the other people I know that have gotten engaged so far. Can't say that I didn't see it coming...just didn't expect it cuz you never even hinted at it over Christmas!! =P

Congrats to Dennis & Selene!

Dennis, I'm so happy for you. Even though we haven't kept as close of a contact recently, you're one of the few people I can think of that's encouraged me throughout high school in terms of academics & faith. God bless the both of you as you begin the rest of your lives together.

Here are the 2 lovebirds - hee, hee.


















I stole it off your imagestation, hope you don't mind. It's such a sweet picture...I love action shots!

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

L: "I'm not whooped...I'm just practicing how to be a good man"

If only all men had such a 'positive' mentality. *laughs*



Prof: "Describe this hemorrhage"
Student: "It's a hickey-shaped hemorrhage"

...And we're seeing our first patient how many weeks??

UPDATE CONTINUED…

5. Seasonal Allergies.
I’ve never had them prior to coming down to Chicago so when I was sneezing and tearing like crazy last year, I told myself to just tough it out cuz to buy drugs would be admitting that I did have allergies (I am so stubborn about stupid things). I probably shouldn’t self-diagnose but given that it’s spring and the general malaise I feel...I finally bought Claritin. I seem to sneeze less but the whole runny nose thing isn’t giving up. So future docs/pharm ppl – any new recommendations to alleviate my symptoms? Can I ever get rid of allergies? And why did I start getting them now? These are all answers that I should know from my own classes but I don’t pay attention cuz I find immunology confusing.

6. Crunch Time
So only 4 more weeks until I come home!! I’m so excited and yet at the same time, I’ve never dreaded coming back more. I want to see everyone – but realizing that I won’t get to. I want to spend time with family – but realizing that means that they’re leaving soon. I want to lounge around at home – but realizing that I won’t have a home after this visit. Getting to be an emotional basket case again. I need a hug…someone just hold me and tell me everything’s going to be okay.

7. Thankful
Was reminded once again just how much I need to be thankful for. I had a conversation with someone over the weekend that just totally amazed me. They were only a few years older than I was and yet, seemed to have lived a lifetime more than me already. I am so glad that they were willing to be so open with all their tough times…especially since some of them haven’t even passed. And yet, this person is filled with such hope and is able to have such a positive outlook; to be so thankful. Sometimes I look at our lives and I think just how comfortable we really are. We’re all in the same bubble…family who loves us, parents who work hard, good education, etc., etc. We have nothing to complain and be upset about. Honestly now. So why be frustrated or bitter?

8. Lost Boys of Sudan
It was through my conversation with this person that I first heard of the Lost Boys. How even though there are organizations to help send refugees over, these kids have no clue how to use a can opener to open the food that’s been donated. The things that they have witnessed and experienced themselves. Just hearing about this scares me…to think that at this moment, there is so much pain, hate and loss in other parts of the world. I was reading about this woman who got beaten to death in China for handing out Christian literature. She left behind a 4 yr old son. I mean, she can’t be much older than I am…if anything, she’s probably younger.

How can I justify living here so contently when there is so much more going on around me? How can I say that I believe in certain things when I do not put them into action? How much can I do...or rather, how much am I willing to do? These thoughts are so uncomfortable that I’d rather take the easy way out and just not think about it. Maybe if I ignore them enough, I can go back to the mentality that all other countries are similar to how we are and not real people; with real personalities and real feelings being lost.

“When you visit me in Sudan, I will buy you a cow”

And so the disparity continues to grow… Funny how the simplest things hold the most value. Kind of makes me wonder what I consider most valuable.

UPDATE

Okay…so it’s been a while since I’ve lasted posted. It was pretty busy after coming back from Vancouver because I had to make up for the 2 days that I missed, not to mention the tests just keep coming as well. Since we had a long weekend, I’ve had some time to reflect on a lot of things and although not everything is clear yet, I’ll try to articulate some current musings:


1. Lent
Now that my 40 days are over, I can finally surf blogs again. Man…the comments are just priceless. My suitemates think that I’m going crazy cuz I’d be alone in my room but laughing up a storm. Did what I just say sound sad?

Any way, I just realized that you guys head off to Europe the day after I get back. =( Which means:
a) I won’t get a chance to see y’all until…who knows when I’ll be back next
b) you guys will have to have the goodbye dinner with my parents without me. Unless you want to get together on the 13th after I get off the plane (which will literally be a midnight snack since I arrive at 11:30pm)

So this whole no reading blogs thing worked out pretty well. I still have a ton to reading to catch up on; goodness…I’ve already spent 2 hours and there’s still so much more.

I DID get to use various forms of communication to find out what’s going in people’s lives. Phone was the most popular, followed by e-mail. Which completely took me by surprise since I usually try to avoid e-mailing. But I think it’s cuz I’ve been so busy with school. It seemed like each time I tried to go on, I couldn’t stay on long enough for a decent conversation. But yea to keeping promises!


2. Response to comments on Ivan’s blog
I believe you can choose who to love. When you look at love, what it represents; commitment, trust, patience, etc. you as an individual will have to choose to do these things. It will not come naturally all the time. I do not consider these things acceptance. If I did these things simply because I accepted them, then they would’ve be done out of duty. But love means that I do these things because I place the other person well-being ahead of my own desires. I think that’s why so many relationships in our generation don’t work out – because we’re all so busy thinking about ourselves.

Anyways, the ‘love’ that you can’t choose; I actually consider initial attraction. You’re either initially attracted to them or you’re not. But that initial attraction doesn’t last and that’s why some arranged marriages can actually grow into love. At least that’s what I’d like to think.


3. Ethics & Temptation
Ever borrowed someone’s homework to double-check answers? Copied a lab assignment? Asked upper years what questions are on tests/exams/boards?

I remember when I was preparing for the optometry interview at Waterloo, one of the questions that was often asked was what would you do if your classmate fudged lab results. I also remember laughing because it’s something that happened all the time in undergrad. When I first came to Chicago, I commented on how ethics was being stressed (see Aug. 18th). I guess I never really thought about it again or the reprercussions until recently.

Administration has been coming down hard on the first years because there’s been evidence of plagiarism/cheating/falsifying records whatever you want to call it. I’m not going to lie – I’ve cheated throughout my academic career ever since I was kid without morose. Looking back, it makes my skin crawl to think of the things that I have done…and also to question my own integrity. I’d say that only within the last 2-3 years have I really tried to be more conscious about my actions. And you’d think that things would get easier the less you do them but it’s not.

When someone presents you with last years’ answers to double-check your assignment or suggest working together on on-line quizzes, I feel like it’s a constant battle between what’s easy and what’s right. Sometimes I am able to resist the temptation and sometimes I fail. But my decisions have more implications now because of my future profession. Sure, sharing answers don't seem like such a big deal - we're encouraged to help our colleagues. But if you don't have the moral backbone, how can people trust what you write on the medical records after graduation? Argh. Now I feel like I need to 'fess up on all the awful things I've done since I was little. Feeling nauseous cuz there's so many.


4. That lovin’ feeling
I was just thinking about the guys in my life…the ones you feel as though you have a pretty good understanding of – those whom you’ve known all your life and those whom you’ve only known in past little while. It’s funny how your image of them can change in a split second by something that they say in passing about someone they care about in that ‘special’ way. It brings a smile to my face when I see my friends so happy…just slightly odd because you’ve also never seen them act this way before. I’m so glad that people are willing to share with me, especially when they’re males. It’s reassuring to me as a female to know that men will react to women in the way that we’ve always desired them to respond. All it takes is the right woman! =P


This isn't even half of it...more thoughts to come.

GRANDPAS

Saw grandpa today. Really could see that he loved grandma and treated her well although he’s not the type to show his emotions. No crying. But he caressed her cheek and chin as she laid there while he placed a rose between her hands and just before they closed the casket, he bent over to give her a kiss farewell. There’s something about seeing the simple acts of love of a man for his wife expressed by my 91 year old grandpa that just breaks my heart.

Honestly, after 60 some-odd years of marriage, how will he handle being alone?

He can’t remember any details like what we just ate and yet, when we bring him back to the nursing home, he remembers which way the double room is that they stayed in prior to my grandma passing away and where the single room is he has to stay in now. He also remembers what day she died and the exact time too. And they say that Alzheimer patients don’t have short-term memory. I don’t believe that he forgot for a single second that she’s gone.

He even asked us for 20 dollars for entertainment because he doesn’t know where grandma placed all their savings.

I’m trying to hold on to every minute detail that I can about our time together. How soft his hands are. And how cold they are unless I warm them in my own hands. How when I kissed his hand, he kissed mine back. How he kissed me on the cheek when I asked for it in return for the 20 dollars and how he giggled like a schoolboy afterwards.

How as we walked to the car holding hands, he said that we were on a date and how he commented on us being 2 couples when he saw my parents up ahead holding hands too.
I’m trying to burn into my memory a picture of how his face lights up when I give him a kiss on the cheek and all the advice that he was willing to impart to me.

Everyone’s concerned about him now that my grandma’s gone. I’d like to think of him as the fighter that he’s always been; that he’d surprise us all. But a part of me can’t help but wonder as I see his shoulder droop lower and his spirited personality becoming more subdued as we return him back to the nursing home. Will this be the last time I get to interact with him? I hope not. He’s the only grandpa I have left. I miss my other grandpa so much right now…hard to believe it’s already been more than 5 years.