My favorite news this week:

My favorite news this week:

Chewing gum may cause extreme, undesired weightloss.

Vending machines in LA now dispense medical marijuana! From USA Today:

“ This is how the AVMs — Anytime Vending Machines — work:
• Customers bring their prescriptions for approval at the AVMs, housed in enclosed room guarded 24/7.
• They are fingerprinted and photographed.
• They receive a pre-paid credit carded loaded with their individual profiles.
• They choose their dosage (3.5 grams or 7 grams) and one of five strains of marijuana.
• The marijuana is in capsule form and dispensed in vacuum-sealed packages.
• They can buy no more than 1 ounce a week.

Anticipated future vending: Viagra, Vicodin, Propecia and anti-depressants. (Seriously.)"

USA Today article: http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/01/hot-button-medi.html?loc=interstitialskip


LOST starts up again tomorrow night. Girls night with pizza and beer, and 8 episodes (instead of 16 because of the writer’s strike) to last me through the winter.


I'm getting excited to go to Chicago this weekend to see Hot Water Music! I'll be sure to post pictures of this momentous occasion.

Beerluck V

Beerluck V:
Rules: Bring a 6-pack of beer, wrapped. People are arranged in a non-specific order and they unwrap a 6-pack in said order. If one type of beer shows up twice, a shot of nasty liquor is the consequence. If you are thoughtless and bring a gross beer, the committee votes and consequently you may have to take a shot of nasty liquor.

To those of you who may be unaware, a beerluck is a wonderful opportunity to explore and exchange some of the best beers in the country. California, Oregon, and Colorado beers frequent the beerlucks because, well, the fine people of these states just know how to make good beer! Other countries* (Phuket from Thailand and Imperial from Costa Rica) may try but they all end up tasting more or less the same.

Beerluck V welcomed a smaller crowd, a wonderful selection (minus the aforementioned Thai and Costa Rican beers), and no talk of jenkem. We turned the exchange into a white elephant, but there weren’t too many swaps. The 2 losers became “Edward 40-hands” – forced to drink the watered down domestic beers of Miller and Bud. The 2 winners were rewarded/punished in a similar fashion but with good beers – Rogue Shakespeare Stout and Russian River Damnation.

I brought El Toro Poppy Jasper Amber. I received Deschutes Obsidian Stout. A fair exchange!

Highlights included: Bear Republic Red Rocket, Rogue Mocha Porter, and Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale

Needless to say, drunken-ness ensued, beer-pong was played, hips were harassed and events of the night became blurry. Very blurry, in my case.



*Sorry for the generalization. I am a big fan of some international beers. Guiness and Stella probably make the top of the list.


!Oh and prior to the event, Igor and friends tried to get Beerluck listed on Wikipedia. The motion was declined and marked for a speedy deletion. They were accused of such harsh crimes as sock-puppetry and single-purpose accounts by the hounds that protect Wikipedia. Check out the ridiculous argument here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Beerluck

hand-made iPhone case

I was checking out Etsy.com for a hand-made iPhone case. No one had come up with one yet, and there was one inspirational hit when I googled the idea.

So, this morning, I set off to make my own iPhone case. The problem with me and sewing is that I like to have this wonderful picture of the final product in my mind before I figure out the logistics of the project. It seemed so simple - the only thing that I thought would be difficult was avoiding the "looseness" of the fabric around the touch screen.

Basically, I just wrapped the fabric over the phone to measure the correct size.....and an hour later, wha-la! Below is the final product. It was my first attempt at the idea - so there are some obvious flaws and steps I would change the next time I make one. It's not very protective, but it adds a nice personal touch to the boring cases and skins that are mass-produced.

My roommate Fabiola suggested that I sell them.

Suggestions? Comments? Glad to hear 'em.

Holiday Pics

Amita and Rahul's Wedding

The weekend before the holidays began brought enjoyment with friends and strangers alike. We went to an Indian wedding, which included a Sangeet on Friday night, the ceremony on Saturday, and the reception on Sunday. Amita (the bride) wanted to make sure the money that they paid to rent the various halls went to good causes, such as the Latin American Museum in Long Beach, as well as CalState LA. Bless her heart for her thoughtfulness, but Eric and I had to rent a stupid car to get around all weekend (I dislike LA with a passion).

Bungra and delicious food aside, the most memorable part of the weekend was the wedding ceremony itself. And by memorable, I mean it was the most interesting and beautiful ceremony I have seen. It's beauty astounded me so much, mostly because I had no idea what was happening for the 2 hour long arrangement! I am pretty certain that over half the people in the hall were in the same boat as me - together we sat there, happy for the new couple, content to watch this cultural phenomenom without any clue about its social context. By the looks on their faces, Amita and Rahul were confused/surprised/intrigued just as much as everyone else.

To make matters more interesting, about 30 minutes into the ceremony, some commotion started in the front of the seating area. It looked as though men were fighting over something - pulling and pushing each other, forming alliances in order to win a prize of some sort....it turned out that they were fighting for possession of the groom's shoes! I'm not sure who proved to be victorious, but it was entertaining enough.

If you care to read about Indian wedding ceremonies, go here: http://weddings.iloveindia.com/gujarati-wedding/index.html

Christmas in Georgia with my Family







My Favorites

Portland, here I come!!

Right before the whirlwind of holiday break, I received an acceptance letter from OHSU - that's Oregon Health Science University. The most exciting part about getting this letter is that the school told us that the earliest we applicants would hear from them is MAY. They said that possibly (read: highly unlikely) one person out of the group of interviewees (there were 8 of us that day) would hear back sooner.

That person was me!!!

Wooohooooo!!!

Out of the places that I have interviewed for medical school, including Temple, Drexel, UC San Diego, and OHSU, OHSU is by far my first choice. I was accepted at Temple and Drexel, waitlisted at UCSD. UCSD was sort of lackluster: the students seemed busy, the curriculum needs to be restructured, La Jolla is beautiful but it doesn't seem quite real to me.

But Portland excites me. Granted, Philadelphia would have been an adventure - I have a handful of friends from High School that I still keep in touch with....great public transportation....good weather.....close to NYC.....diverse patient population....delicious cheesesteaks!! - but Portland is right up my alley and it's close to California, close to Seattle, close to most of the people I love and care about.

A view from the top of Marquam Hill, the campus of OHSU - just south of downtown Portland.

I was offered an interview at University of Colorado, and though I already purchased a flight and planned to see my cousin and her blossoming family, I think I am going to skip out on the trip. I think if I was accepted at UCo, I would still choose OHSU. So there's the first big decision I've had to make.

I also have an interview for the Berkeley/UCSF Joint Medical Program this month. It's a Masters/M.D. 5 year program with a class size of 16. 16 people!!! You spend your first 3 years at Cal doing the required coursework for both the M.S. and the M.D., writing your thesis, etc, and then you do the rotations at UCSF in the final 2 years. This program really excites me but I am also slightly intimidated - I think it will be extremely challenging but perhaps also the most beneficial for my future career path. So I need to get prepared for that interview.

I'd like to give a few shoutouts to my friends and family for supporting me throughout this whole application process. Eric has been extremely patient and supportive. My Mom has helped me financially with the cost of apps and interviews. My aunt Tosh and uncle David probably had a hand in scoring me the Cal/UCSF interview and I am glad that they live so close to us here in the Bay Area. My coworker/mentor Peter wrote me a really kickass letter of recommendation and I think he has really helped me get my foot in the door of these competitive medical schools. And to my friends and family, in general, thanks for your love and support - it means a lot.

I am so happy that I have been given this opportunity. I am so excited about going to medical school and becoming a physician. It has truly been a dream come true and I am sorry my dad isn't around to experience my achievement. May he rest in peace.

Lots of love,

Jade