last night, victoria invited me out to discovery park for a bonfire. i was kind of not into doing anything that involved me wearing anything other than pajamas, but i said yes anyways, and agreed to meet her around 6:45-7ish. we met up and drove to pick up morgan from downtown, and then we drove to discovery park, watching the last vestiges of the sunset along the way. we parked and met up with sam and george (victoria's couchsurfer from amsterdam) who had been there all day. the sky was that perfect twilight/dusk color as we were walking. we all went for a beer run, and picked up some munchies and supplies along the way, crucial things like hot dogs, marshmallows, skewers, and jiffy pop.
we got back to the park, and started the trek to the hangout spot that they had been prepping all day. the guys kept telling us about this "little bluff" that we had to climb down, and victoria and i kept joking about building up the bluff in our minds to be a sheer 90 degree cliff, so that when we got there, it wouldn't be as bad as we imagined. it wasn't too bad, but still took a good while of clambering, trudging, and sliding down to get to the beach, lugging the provisions, the victuals, what have you. the only thing was that it was super dark, and even though the moonlight was fairly strong, it was mostly covered by the surrounding foliage. we forgot to bring a flashlight, so we used morgan's bike light and mary shelley to help us navigate. i am truly, truly grateful for mary shelley...who knew that her power LED light and quacking would come in so handy?? :D
we finally made it down to the beach, and the guys showed us their handiwork - a chair, two benches, a table, and a windwall, all constructed of driftwood, a little cave/hut, and of course, a firepit. it was PERFECT. the tide was out, revealing this huge stretch of round, wave-polished rocks peppering the shore. the guys had already collected a pile of huge shells, but i picked one big, smooth, white clam shell up just for good measure. george started the fire up with an unfortunate copy of the stranger, and soon enough, we had a good crackling fire, open beers, and hot dogs on skewers. halfway through, we spotted the rope swing hanging from a nearby tree, and i hopped on with great enthusiasm. victoria pushed me a little, and it didn't take too long before the swing was going high and fast...towards the tree trunk! luckily, i only had one beer and one hot dog...otherwise, that swing would have been a terrible idea.
the park was closing at 11, so we decided to leave around then...after we'd eaten/drank our fill of hot dogs, popcorn, beer, and marshmallows, the fire put out with sand and piss, we packed our crap up, and made our way back up the "bluff". we didn't get out of the park until about 11:30, but luckily, we caught the guard just as they were closing the gate, so we didn't have to scale anything. we left the park and drove out to a point near the seattle center so that george could take pictures of the city, and then we drove back.
i think i'll never forget that night, something i almost missed out on. plowing through the sand, the reverberating quack of mary shelley, the sound of the water, the crunch of broken shells under my feet, the smell of the night, the stars, victoria's fluorescent legs, george's glasses glinting in the firelight, morgan coughing/hacking up something nearby, and sam's amused, half-lidded stare. i want to keep the memory of it all behind my eyelids.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
time to binge blog
sorry for the hiatus...but here's hoping my 4 consecutive blogs will make up for it. 8P
my first clinical day was quite dramatic! my shift started at 7 in the morning, and i was assigned to a nurse and a patient. my patient had been in labor since 2:50 am, but was only about 2-3 cm, and her water hadn't broken yet. she was doing a natural, normal vaginal birth, and was only taking half doses of the usual routine pain meds, but she had a history of rapid deliveries (her last delivery only took two hours of labor!) so we were expecting her to progress pretty quickly...but NO. she took my entire shift to dilate up to 9 cm! it took much longer than any of us, her included, were expecting. but then again, when you're expecting, i guess nothing really goes as expected.
she asked for an epidural around 5 cm, and she took 3 boluses after that, and we had to send for another anesthetic order because she was still complaining of pain. pretty soon after her epidural, her contractions became much less effective, and she was only dilating half a cm an hour. the doctor decided to artifically rupture her membranes, since her water hadn't broken yet. we hoped that would move her along, and it did, but she was still only dilating about a cm an hour. my whole shift was basically watching her dilate! finally, we gave her some pitocin (labor inducing hormone) and she got up to 9.5 cm around 2:40. my shift was supposed to end at 3, and then i was supposed to go to a post clinical conference, so i thought i was going to have to miss her deliver entirely. luckily, she kept telling us that she even though she was trying to control the urge to push, her body was involuntarily pushing, and the baby was coming!
we quickly prepared all the things for delivery, and it literally took her only 2 pushes (it took her longer to push out the placenta afterwards, can you believe it?) and her baby practically shot out, at exactly 2:54 pm. it was a girl, and perfect! her eyes were open, and she was 6.9 lbs, very pink and healthy. i actually got a little choked up, which i hope no one saw, but you have to understand, i had spent all day with my patient and her family, and gotten to know them, and they were so excited when they heard that this was my first day and first birth. they kept asking me to ask my professor if i could stay longer to watch her deliver, and my professor was so cool about it, she suggested i stay even before i brought it up!
so it was all very exciting and emotional, but the thing that really got me was that the patient's husband started crying when his daughter was born. anyways, mostly, i just observed the procedures, watched the fetal heart monitor, and took the patient's vital signs. but it was awesome to get to see a normal vaginal birth, since most of my classmates had been watching c-sections or stayed in postpartum or NICU. i know, how lame to be excited about having a front row seat for a vaginal delivery! probably too much information for you too (i promise, i tried my best to leave out the gory details)...but i was really glad i had a good first clinical. :)
my first clinical day was quite dramatic! my shift started at 7 in the morning, and i was assigned to a nurse and a patient. my patient had been in labor since 2:50 am, but was only about 2-3 cm, and her water hadn't broken yet. she was doing a natural, normal vaginal birth, and was only taking half doses of the usual routine pain meds, but she had a history of rapid deliveries (her last delivery only took two hours of labor!) so we were expecting her to progress pretty quickly...but NO. she took my entire shift to dilate up to 9 cm! it took much longer than any of us, her included, were expecting. but then again, when you're expecting, i guess nothing really goes as expected.
she asked for an epidural around 5 cm, and she took 3 boluses after that, and we had to send for another anesthetic order because she was still complaining of pain. pretty soon after her epidural, her contractions became much less effective, and she was only dilating half a cm an hour. the doctor decided to artifically rupture her membranes, since her water hadn't broken yet. we hoped that would move her along, and it did, but she was still only dilating about a cm an hour. my whole shift was basically watching her dilate! finally, we gave her some pitocin (labor inducing hormone) and she got up to 9.5 cm around 2:40. my shift was supposed to end at 3, and then i was supposed to go to a post clinical conference, so i thought i was going to have to miss her deliver entirely. luckily, she kept telling us that she even though she was trying to control the urge to push, her body was involuntarily pushing, and the baby was coming!
we quickly prepared all the things for delivery, and it literally took her only 2 pushes (it took her longer to push out the placenta afterwards, can you believe it?) and her baby practically shot out, at exactly 2:54 pm. it was a girl, and perfect! her eyes were open, and she was 6.9 lbs, very pink and healthy. i actually got a little choked up, which i hope no one saw, but you have to understand, i had spent all day with my patient and her family, and gotten to know them, and they were so excited when they heard that this was my first day and first birth. they kept asking me to ask my professor if i could stay longer to watch her deliver, and my professor was so cool about it, she suggested i stay even before i brought it up!
so it was all very exciting and emotional, but the thing that really got me was that the patient's husband started crying when his daughter was born. anyways, mostly, i just observed the procedures, watched the fetal heart monitor, and took the patient's vital signs. but it was awesome to get to see a normal vaginal birth, since most of my classmates had been watching c-sections or stayed in postpartum or NICU. i know, how lame to be excited about having a front row seat for a vaginal delivery! probably too much information for you too (i promise, i tried my best to leave out the gory details)...but i was really glad i had a good first clinical. :)
Friday, September 26, 2008
do the kegel!
i watched this video in the middle of my postpartum workshop...this was essentially the greatest 57 seconds of my life.
apart from the very inspiring nursing convocation (which i almost didn't go to), this made me all the more excited about being a nurse.
oh, and just for kicks, here's the song: do the kegel and the lyrics, complete with annotations
yes, i know, i have a strange fascination with stuffed parts of human anatomy. but really...don't you want your own victoria, the "unusually vocal velvet vulva" puppet?
apart from the very inspiring nursing convocation (which i almost didn't go to), this made me all the more excited about being a nurse.
oh, and just for kicks, here's the song: do the kegel and the lyrics, complete with annotations
yes, i know, i have a strange fascination with stuffed parts of human anatomy. but really...don't you want your own victoria, the "unusually vocal velvet vulva" puppet?
Friday, September 19, 2008
apology to anthony...now we're even?
wrote this a while ago, but posting it today, 9/26
to be honest, i had a completely different experience. move-in was so exciting and liberating! i was sad to leave home, but i couldn't wait to start fresh, live the college life, and be on my own. after so much pressure from both family and friends to stay in california, actually getting to seattle with all my crap was like the feeling in your lungs as your face bursts into fresh air after holding your breath under water...adrenaline pumping, relief, exhilaration! as for friends, i think it helped so much that i already knew someone who was going through the same experiences, a familiar face there along for the ride. i've forgotten along the way what a valuable person he was to me then...things were much less lonely, and we were always together.
the most depressing part of it all was when my parents actually left, and as we said goodbye in front of the dorm, both of them cried. i've never seen my parents cry...and it was horrible. they also said i love you, and they didn't really need to; but they said it, out loud, it was tangible at last. (all through high school, i laughed it off whenever i listened to friends say those three words so casually to their parents on a cell phone or on the way out of a car because it was so unfamiliar. my parents never said i love you). right then, i wanted to go back home with them. just the other day, my mom was joking about how she basically just ate all the free food at that whole orientation, and didn't pay any attention to the workshops they had about "letting go" and how to handle the "separation". i had no idea that those workshops even existed! but whatever they managed to take away from those talks, i'm so grateful that i was "let go" of. everything i had worked so hard for had finally come together. i was finally in a college, a legit university, where i felt at home. of course, my dad told me later about how if i hadn't kept my grades up that fall quarter, they would have made me come home. but my parents had trusted me enough to let me leave california, move a thousand miles away, and make my own choices. and that gave me the confidence to plow through the depressing parts, the awkward and anxious parts, and to make the most out of my new environment.
and of course, where would i be without everyone i met along the way? they say that the friends you make in college become your second family, and nothing could be more true with the friends i made in xavier. not to be sappy...but no matter how much time has passed, no matter how long we haven't talked, i'll never forget you, and my thoughts and best wishes go with you always. i love you guys...really. ^___^
i helped my darling friend anna move out of her mother's house today, the house that she's lived in for all the 7, almost 8 years that i've known her. it took about 4 hours, mostly spent driving, to haul anna's bed, a chest of drawers, her drafting table, and some cleaning supplies over to her new place. i met her new roommate, an graduate student in astrophysics (i know!) and her boyfriend, andrew (finally!) helping anna completely reminded me of xavier move-in day, two whole years ago. it seems like fate that anthony just posted about this very subject.
to be honest, i had a completely different experience. move-in was so exciting and liberating! i was sad to leave home, but i couldn't wait to start fresh, live the college life, and be on my own. after so much pressure from both family and friends to stay in california, actually getting to seattle with all my crap was like the feeling in your lungs as your face bursts into fresh air after holding your breath under water...adrenaline pumping, relief, exhilaration! as for friends, i think it helped so much that i already knew someone who was going through the same experiences, a familiar face there along for the ride. i've forgotten along the way what a valuable person he was to me then...things were much less lonely, and we were always together.
the most depressing part of it all was when my parents actually left, and as we said goodbye in front of the dorm, both of them cried. i've never seen my parents cry...and it was horrible. they also said i love you, and they didn't really need to; but they said it, out loud, it was tangible at last. (all through high school, i laughed it off whenever i listened to friends say those three words so casually to their parents on a cell phone or on the way out of a car because it was so unfamiliar. my parents never said i love you). right then, i wanted to go back home with them. just the other day, my mom was joking about how she basically just ate all the free food at that whole orientation, and didn't pay any attention to the workshops they had about "letting go" and how to handle the "separation". i had no idea that those workshops even existed! but whatever they managed to take away from those talks, i'm so grateful that i was "let go" of. everything i had worked so hard for had finally come together. i was finally in a college, a legit university, where i felt at home. of course, my dad told me later about how if i hadn't kept my grades up that fall quarter, they would have made me come home. but my parents had trusted me enough to let me leave california, move a thousand miles away, and make my own choices. and that gave me the confidence to plow through the depressing parts, the awkward and anxious parts, and to make the most out of my new environment.
and of course, where would i be without everyone i met along the way? they say that the friends you make in college become your second family, and nothing could be more true with the friends i made in xavier. not to be sappy...but no matter how much time has passed, no matter how long we haven't talked, i'll never forget you, and my thoughts and best wishes go with you always. i love you guys...really. ^___^
Sunday, September 14, 2008
salsa!
i was supposed to go to a drag show at the queen mary. we ended up going to a salsa party. salsa party you ask? were there enough tortilla chips?
no, no. this was a hardcore, two dance floors, flowing corona and margaritas, hips swaying, people spinning, salsa danceathon. anna is in the salsa club at PCC, and they learn salsa at lunch, do a couple of performances, and also occasionally get invited to cool stuff like this.
i learned the basics of salsa from anna and her friends eric and alexis on the emptier floor. but for most of the party, i watched wistfully as most everyone, including anna, partner up and dance like they were pros. i loved watching people who, if i ever saw them in any other circumstance, i would have never guessed them to be such amazing dancers! i was also surprised at the mix of people there, there were mexican, cuban, chinese, filipino, white, black, all sorts of people. and everyone was there to dance. but my real salsa lesson came when this middle aged guy, jaime, asked me to dance. i said yes, but i warned him that i sucked, and he laughed and said he would take his chances. he took my hand, led me out to the dance floor, and proceeded to laugh as i tried to keep up to the thundering beat, stepped on his toes, and repeatedly turned the wrong way (you're only supposed to make right turns, like zoolander). after the song finished, i was about to flee, when he pulled me back and informed me he was keeping me out for another couple of dances, and sooner or later, he was going to get me to turn the right way. i also learned a little merengue, and bachata.
and so with more explicit directions and a lot more coaching, i was able to salsa kind of decent. and had SO much fun! this was by far one of the coolest parties i've ever been to; everyone was completely gracious, and so nice, and they were all there to dance and have fun. and salsa, as a whole...it's so subtle and precise, but so sensual at the same time...i want to learn more! and not just salsa, but i've always wanted to learn proper dance styles, like tango, rumba, swing, waltz, etc. at least the basics! i'm putting it on my to do list. :)
no, no. this was a hardcore, two dance floors, flowing corona and margaritas, hips swaying, people spinning, salsa danceathon. anna is in the salsa club at PCC, and they learn salsa at lunch, do a couple of performances, and also occasionally get invited to cool stuff like this.
i learned the basics of salsa from anna and her friends eric and alexis on the emptier floor. but for most of the party, i watched wistfully as most everyone, including anna, partner up and dance like they were pros. i loved watching people who, if i ever saw them in any other circumstance, i would have never guessed them to be such amazing dancers! i was also surprised at the mix of people there, there were mexican, cuban, chinese, filipino, white, black, all sorts of people. and everyone was there to dance. but my real salsa lesson came when this middle aged guy, jaime, asked me to dance. i said yes, but i warned him that i sucked, and he laughed and said he would take his chances. he took my hand, led me out to the dance floor, and proceeded to laugh as i tried to keep up to the thundering beat, stepped on his toes, and repeatedly turned the wrong way (you're only supposed to make right turns, like zoolander). after the song finished, i was about to flee, when he pulled me back and informed me he was keeping me out for another couple of dances, and sooner or later, he was going to get me to turn the right way. i also learned a little merengue, and bachata.
and so with more explicit directions and a lot more coaching, i was able to salsa kind of decent. and had SO much fun! this was by far one of the coolest parties i've ever been to; everyone was completely gracious, and so nice, and they were all there to dance and have fun. and salsa, as a whole...it's so subtle and precise, but so sensual at the same time...i want to learn more! and not just salsa, but i've always wanted to learn proper dance styles, like tango, rumba, swing, waltz, etc. at least the basics! i'm putting it on my to do list. :)
Friday, September 12, 2008
this is why i can never be vegetarian.
today, i went to a ridiculously good (and so cheap!) vietnamese restaurant with my dad and my brother for dinner. i was kind of feeling like pho, but i decided to flip through the whole menu and see what they had. i was so excited when i saw that they had the 7 courses of beef for $12, i slammed the menu shut and ordered it right away! the waiter was like, whoa, can you finish that? and i was like, HELL yes!
since i am camera-less, i couldn't fulfill the asian/blogger duty of taking pictures of my food, but it was absolutely delicious! the first course was raw slices of beef to cook in broth, and then there were little meatballs, grilled beef and ginger rolls, beef wrapped with grape leaves, and this enormous meatball that had peas in it. then came beef salad, and finally, beef soup. and of course, spring roll fixins with everything. i really did finish it all...while my dad and brother sat and watched and refused to help. oh, except for the giant meatball, which had whole peppercorns in it...eating it was like trying to navigate a minefield.
did you know that the 7 courses of beef is supposed to be just for weddings? oh well...
since i am camera-less, i couldn't fulfill the asian/blogger duty of taking pictures of my food, but it was absolutely delicious! the first course was raw slices of beef to cook in broth, and then there were little meatballs, grilled beef and ginger rolls, beef wrapped with grape leaves, and this enormous meatball that had peas in it. then came beef salad, and finally, beef soup. and of course, spring roll fixins with everything. i really did finish it all...while my dad and brother sat and watched and refused to help. oh, except for the giant meatball, which had whole peppercorns in it...eating it was like trying to navigate a minefield.
did you know that the 7 courses of beef is supposed to be just for weddings? oh well...
Monday, September 8, 2008
there's just too little of.
i went to church today, it's been a while. i felt more heathen-ish than usual, saying all those familiar things that i don't quite mean.
i think i did mean them at some point. maybe i didn't mean them ever. maybe i do mean them... or want to mean them, somewhere deep down.
anyways, the homily had just started, and i was preparing to zone out when the priest (our new pastor) said something so profound that i was instantly snapped forward to the moment i was in, and frantically eyed the pews for one of those stubby, dull-ended pencils meant for writing on the offertory envelopes (you know, the kind you used to draw with on those offertory envelopes when you were bored out of your skull at mass) to write what he said down. i managed to remember it, i hope i always will.
he said, "where love reigns, law becomes unnecessary."
i think i did mean them at some point. maybe i didn't mean them ever. maybe i do mean them... or want to mean them, somewhere deep down.
anyways, the homily had just started, and i was preparing to zone out when the priest (our new pastor) said something so profound that i was instantly snapped forward to the moment i was in, and frantically eyed the pews for one of those stubby, dull-ended pencils meant for writing on the offertory envelopes (you know, the kind you used to draw with on those offertory envelopes when you were bored out of your skull at mass) to write what he said down. i managed to remember it, i hope i always will.
he said, "where love reigns, law becomes unnecessary."
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