Rocket Man - Elton John

I normally don't do this, but I found the greatest short film of all time. That is, if you have a sense of humor like mine. Thanks CBC for introducing me to Backshift (:

Link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl_3R4sFG3s

Sorry to my friends (AKA Jordan) who reads this occasionally, I'm basically spamming you.

Lately, life has been pretty monotonous. Class, volunteer, eat, study, tutor, LKS, & when there's time, sleep. Not a bad cycle though. We've been learning a lot about drugs that mimic the parasympathetic & sympathetic responses, how they affect other systems, & their mechanisms of action. In other classes, we've gone through skin disorders, complementary & alternative medicine, started another PPS, current pharmaceutical issues pertaining to finance, and the extremities and skin exam. No time like the present to start processing everything.

Busy week coming up- tutoring, flu clinics, class, & exam. See you on the other side, have a great weekend everyone!

Float On - Modest Mouse

Today marks the halfway point of modules! Week #4 of P2 year can finally be put in the books. A very boring week, though by pharmacy school standards, quite eventful. First OTC & second drug action exam Wednesday & today respectively. I'm still alive, floating along the pharmacy river though I've found out the hard way that I'm incapable of pulling all nighters anymore. I'm sure my health is cheering considering I pulled three in a row last year.

Outside of class, it was the beginning of IM ultimate & soccer! After such a long hiatus from the latter, it's great to be back playing the game (playa playa!...alright I know I'm lame). Of course, within the first two minutes that I'm on the field I get completely obliterated- I contested possession against a much taller & heavier guy & ended up getting an elbow to the back on the way down. It'll hurt tomorrow but it's the kind that makes you feel alive so I don't mind it at all. Battle wounds?

Excited to spend the weekend catching up on everything I've been neglecting- sleep, cleaning, other assignments, & seeing friends outside of pharmacy. Here's to one of the most chill weekends ever (:

Sandwiches - Detroit Grand Pubahs

Song of this post was chosen solely for the title, it's actually quite a disturbing music video/weird song but if you want to check it out, feel free to. I heard it last year at the techno stage during winter blast last year. Detroit, represent?

Breakfast this morning:

This might look unappetizing in photo form, but if everything vegetarian was this tasty, I totally would switch teams. Trader Joe's veggie patties is the main feature- it's a little dry, but full of such wonderfully good & healthy ingredients. On whole wheat bread + shredded asiago cheese. Yum.

Since we're on the topic of sandwiches, here's one I made last week:

Open face sandwich consisting of: homemade bread + mozarella + parmesan + homegrown basil + shredded chicken breast + homegrown tomato

Thanks Mom for the bread, basil, chicken, & tomato (:

Hahah that's the majority of the ingredients, win?

Petal to the metal for the next 24 hours, exam one of two this week coming up.

Flavor of the Weak - American Hi-Fi

Wow. What a weekend of all play & no work (can you tell that I'm regretting that now?).

My entire Saturday was pretty much taken up by Dally even though I did manage to make a handful of notecards while waiting for everyone else to wake up. The weather cleared up beautifully for Dally; it was still pouring at 5am but by noon the rain stopped & the sun even came out for the rest of the day! Lots of fun walking around, hanging out, having people over at the apartment, & dallying in the alley. It seems to be becoming more of a hipster event as there's lots of custom made & thrift store vendors but not many African or weird/unique/cheap stuff that there used to be in years past (that I've been to). However, still a great time. They brought the electronic stage back & that was pretty cool. I think I really just enjoyed Dally a lot more this year because we had a great group, the weather was a lot better, & I was a lot more sober.

Sunday I stopped by Fairlane w/ Sarah & bargain shopped. First total purchase amount was $6.66...weird. Then, I went to the 89X birthday bash concert- Matt&Kim, My Chemical Romance, & most importantly, Blink182. In true Jo fashion, I somehow lost my ticket between getting it scanned in, going to the bathroom, & getting to our pavilion seats (where you have to show the ticket to gain access). Oops. But at least it all worked out in the end, they still let me through. Yay! Anyways, we didn't see the first band, MCR was substantially better than what I expected though my hopes were extremely low. They had great stage presence & I actually liked a song they played (whenever I think of them, I remember listening to one or two of their songs in high school & feeling depressed after haha). Blink was awesome, totally will go deaf sooner because of this concert but it was worth it. We were maybe 28 or so rows from the stage at DTE & in the center, good stuff. After being forced to watch videos of them playing live by Zach, I was expecting my eardrums to be bleeding from terrible singing. Luckily, they were on pitch & even though Tom lost his voice, good shoe. They have a really fun energy around them & it was awesome to watch them perform. It took us maybe 2.5 hours to get back to Tony's though w/ traffic & a taco bell stop.

Ironically, in OTC (over the counter) medications module, we talked about the eye & ear indications & drugs today. Guess what the leading cause of deafness is? Concerts. Rock on.

U Got it Bad - Usher

True to crazy Michigan weather, we had an unimaginably hot first few days of September that made it feel like I was in Malaysia (AKA sauna status). Thankfully, the heat wave broke & led to...65F high days. Crazy. Anyways, it's leveled out & today is beautiful outside! Lately I've heard a lot of people saying, "yeah I like this weather but you know what comes after this...(winter)". Maybe it's just me, but I don't even think about snow; when I step outside & take a breath, I think of bonfires, cider mills, & the Arb. Hopefully all three happen but I love fall when the leaves change. It's breathtaking to drive down a road adorned w/ tall oak trees as auburn and yellow leaves gracefully float down & brush your car. Or the crunch your steps make when you're at Yates Cider Mill walking along the trail eating freshly made doughnuts, carrying a jug of cider w/ a few cups. How about the haunted houses? ....that's where I will draw the line. I hate haunted houses, I'll probably die if I ever go to one. Anyways, just took m

y first exam of P2 year & I'm pretty sure I passed! The answer key was posted but no individual scores so we'll see but nevertheless, I should have passed. Of course, it wasn't w/ as high of a grade as I would have liked (forever in the C range) but considering just under half the class failed, I'll take it & work harder. The fire is burning.

Anyways, pre-exam morning studying:

Bet you don't have a cat curled up next to you! Cutest thing ever.

Other than that, Vanya & Amy are visiting! Great day after classes- sushi& hanging out at Rich's, lots of laughs. Super pumped for Dally tomorrow! Can't wait to see what's going to be there, hopefully it won't rain too much.

Sail - AWOLNATION

So I decided to look at all of my stats just now. Not going to lie, I wasn't expecting 'green seagull poop' to be a search phrase. Hahaha. Whoever did that, you're extremely strange but it made my day.

Today is meant to be productive day but I just found out that the 3rd season of LXD is out. Must...resist.....

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

I recently rediscovered the song of this post. Love everything about it from the feel of the song, his voice, & though the title makes it sound like it'd be wimpy, it's more of a jam session w/ some lyrics thrown in there so it sounds more like longing than whining. Good stuff.

Taking a study break, feeling restless. Since I have some time, let's do another letter.

Day 3 (technically) - To the parents.

Mom & Dad,

What a journey it's been w/ both of you by my side. I'm so thankful for the both of you, the lessons I've learned have been immeasurable- how to take care of myself, treat others, cook, clean, be responsible for myself, patience, the preciousness of life and health, keeping an open mind, & how to smile/look at the positives in spite of everything that may be going on. Not going to lie, my childhood was probably a little shorter than most but I wouldn't have it any other way. All of our experiences together has shaped me into a stronger individual capable of so much more than what I think I would've been had it been any other way. But enough of me & more about you two. When Andrew & I were younger, all we knew was that times were hard after the moving to America, Mom grew up in the country on a farm as the youngest of 12, & Dad used to live in Brunei but ended up in a one room apartment w/ his four other siblings & two parents. Only recently have the rosy edges been taken off & I'm simply amazed by the resiliency you two possess. Admittedly it's hard to imagine my own parents as kids working on a tobacco farm or riding every day to the lumber yard to strip as much bark as possible for a crappy stove, having to run up logs as they tumble into the river. You two embody the beauty of the human spirit & I don't say that just because you're my parents. All the stories that I've heard in the last year or two show so much character & spirit that runs in the veins of our family. Though of course we haven't had our bumps in the road & yeah we still don't quite see eye to eye, I'd like to think that we understand this to some degree. Hopefully in the future we can heal a few wounds but in the mean time, it's time to keep moving forward. Anyways, I love you guys, thanks for looking out for me w/ the best intentions (:

EDIT: I should be French, I love eating bread & cheese. All day, er'meal.

Pinch Me - Barenaked Ladies

Walking to a party earlier tonight, I was waiting for a car to pass by before crossing myself (if you want to be technical, jay walking). Obviously this is supposed to be an insignificant event so I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when the car starts to slow down & flash its lights at me. Consequently, I'm caught off guard when the guy driving leans out the window to say, "I love asian girls" only to speed off after this. Hahahah wtf, why do these things happen to me?

Party itself was as I expected...which wasn't much. It was fun though because I ended up messing around w/ a bunch of drunk people. Some one forgot my actual name but remembered 'it was a guy's name...is it Ben?" to which I responded as a yes. Eventually, my friend & I also said that I'm well hung like a tree branch, twigs & all. (Sadly, other than seeing some good friends, this was the highlight of the party)

Best part of the night though must have been when Lance & I played super smash after leaving & were able to catch up. He's such a great guy & I think it's awesome that he's so devoted to his girlfriend, it's pretty rare from what I've seen.

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Random anecdote that happened just under two years ago now that I almost forgot about:

One day in orgo lab I'm talking to an acquaintance about our weekend & I ask him first what he did. At this point, I don't remember what he said but that's not important. After his response I cut in & told him, "oh, I know. I was watching you this entire weekend from your driveway." He kinda just stared at me & feeling a little awkward I told him I was definitely joking around. Then, he said "oh..can I take you out sometime?" Hahah, reaaally awkward.

I've Got the World on a String - Frank Sinatra

Today was the first time I've ridden in a convertible w/ the top down & I must say, I'm in love.

Loving that class is basically an orgo1/orgo2 review. I actually know this stuff, it's definitely weird to know the mechanisms behind all the reactions my professor is talking about. Awesome.