| April 16th, [2:38pm] - ICM #10 & the Damn French Nothing much. Sitting at school. Woke up late. My ENTIRE icm group failed to show up to all the lectures today. We are really a piece of work. Three of us (Scott, Sonia, Ean) went snowboarding in Big Bear. Roxy doesn't do Wednesdays. And Nidhi and I just gave up on coming to class. Amazing. I love my group. Also, I would like to say that the French are composed of some damn ignorant and racist bastards. Not ALL of them, mind you, just the ones that run the hotels in Paris. Why do I say this? Well, my mother and sister had been planning on a France trip with a group of their friends for almost a year now. Everything was in order, and they were set to leave this coming Saturday. Then two days ago, their tour agency calls them and tells them that EVERYTHING is cancelled. Why? Because the French hotels are refusing ALL Asian customers. They literally went down their lists of future guests and scratched off all names that sounded remotely Asian. This was all done out of fear of SARS. Wtf !?!? If anything like this happened in America, there would be a lawsuit the size of (insert clever analogy) here. It didn't matter to the French hotels where their customers were from. I would understand if they had fears of Hong Kong or China customers, but to generalize ALL Asians as being potential SARS carriers is just ridiculous. There are approximately 4000 reported cases of SARS thus far, but there are almost 3+ billion Asians in the world!!! The hotels also claim that these "cancellations" still entitle them to a $250 cancellation fee. Fuck them. Damn the French hotels. April 15th, [2:42pm] Hiyao Miyazaki is truly a genius of the cinema. Up till now, I had only seen a few of his works, to be perfectly honest. Some people may be surprised, seeing just how important Miyazaki is to the Japanese anime culture....but truth be told, I never felt compelled to watch or read his works when other more "exciting" anime like Bebop or comedic anime like Azumanga-Daioh was lying around. Boy, was I wrong. In just the past week, I re-watched Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away (my two main Miyazaki staples). But more importantly, I watched (for the first time) one of his crucial earlier works, My Neighbor Totoro. Gahd, that is a good film. It's amazing how American cinema (and Asian cinema as well) has almost forgotten what a "story" really is. So many of us have been taught that there is always a "protagonist", and a necessary "antagonist", of course. But Miyazaki throws that concept away, if indeed he ever held it in the first place. A story is simply a telling of another's experiences, the meetings, the events, the decisions that individual (or group) makes. In Miyazaki's films, each scene is crafted as a story in itself, serving as a passing window that might give us (the viewer) another peek into the characters he creates. He successfully employs the key strength of animation (its ability to portray complete fiction), and strengthens its greatest weakness (its unbelievability and childish stigmas). The result is simple. He makes great films. Wow. What a weird rant. I'm gonna go back and study some more. April 8th, [9:02pm] More updates under Character Bios. Check for Roxy Sadri and Nidhi Gupta in particular. Another Tuesday, another ICM. Before I begin tonight's soliloquy, I must admit that if given the choice between SLEEP or ICM, I would clearly choose SLEEP. Now that we've put the brutal truth behind us, I would like to say that every ICM Tuesday is a great experience for me (what's that sucking sound?). I listen to other groups talk aobut their ICM experiences, and I can only feel pity for those poor souls who actually have to listen to long-ass boring lectures on Doctoring! Oooooh......like THAT'S important. HA! No thanks! Our ICM group is different because we have a particularly unusual specimen of an ICM instructor. Some call him a brash young surgeon, others call him a goofball.....I call him 'My Inspiration" (what's that sucking sound?). Every Tuesday morning, we let loose our stories regarding our weekend activities, dates, immoral acts, extreme adventures, etc. Hardly a word of doctoring is spoken, and I prefer it that way. We stay awake (most of the time). We make jokes (always). We have a good time (depends on your definition). You may be wondering "But Eric, how are you supposed to recieve a proper education in doctoring if you spend so much time trading stories about your female conquests?" The answer is simple. ICM has taught me that it's okay to have fun in the medical setting. Trading stories about your weirder patients may be frowned upon by hospital regulations......but everyone does it anyway. We're human, and the stuffy world of medical professionalism can only go so far before it takes the form of a humorous conversation topic. April 4th, [11:28pm] Hmmm, let's begin tonight's rant with my 2nd favorite topic....which is the subject of ME (my #1 favorite topic is either neuroanatomy or anime, I can't decide). Since we're on the subject of ME, I was hoping to free up some confusion and worries that I have going on in my life right now. Recently, I've been thinking a lot about what kind of a person I really am. You may be thinkin "Eric is being silly, he's obviously the greatest guy that has ever lived!". But alas, I do not believe that this is so. I have many shortcomings, including: 1) a tendency to be overly dramatic 2) forgetfulness 3) a cowlick on the left-backside of my head that won't quit 4) worrisome 5) easily annoyed at annoying things Of all these problems listed (and there are obviously many more, some more serious), I would sat that the most troubling to me right now is #4 & 5. Yet, I find it difficult at best to correct these qualities in me, because they are not merely bad habits, they are hardwired into my consciousness thru genes and years of personal experience. Maybe it's something that's best left untouched. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much? Probably. But I have always tried to grow as a person, though doing it in a self-conscious manner may not be the best way of going about it. Too much thinking. Not enough studying. Back to Lab 4. Talk to ya guys later. April 3rd, [12:34am] Was up late last night....to put it bluntly. Hangin' out with some friends, drove around and got lost, went to Saddle Ranch. Watched people get bucked. Drove around and got lost some more. Saw a dead possum. Evaded some Private Security Forces. Almost gots BOMBED because Anne was wearing camouflage pants. All that AND I took a Neuroanatomy midterm that same morning. Like it says above.....I am one fine piece of man. Small updates. Added two new character bios, Scott Furlan and Ean Wu. Both members of my ICM group. Both got arm-wrestled into submission by Sonia. (shrug) I suppose I'm the one that has to step up to the plate for all of MANkind again. C'mon Sonia, let's wrestle! Btw, Albert Tsai found this interesting link.....what the heck?!? www.ericcheung.net. March 30th, [7:46pm] Zero hour is getting close....again. So, in another misguided effort to distract myself (and others) ,here's a link to an excellent study on the female psyche! The Female Psyche. It's very likely that I may recieve some unhappy feedback in regards to the article's content. I just want to say that....hmmm.....I totally agree with the author! If it weren't for girls, I would be happy to live out my life helping the poor and needy, risking my life for the sake of endangered species, and writing poetry for my mommy all the time. But now, bitter and angry, my eyes glow with a flame of hatred that cannot be extinguished by love, caring, or even excessive amounts of water. Only the Otohime can help........but she's not real. (loser sigh) Sorry, it's just the boba in me that's talking. Three milk teas in under four hours has a tendency to raise your heart rate to 150+. WHOO WHEE!!! March 29th, [8:24pm] Evidently, I really don't feel like studying. So, without further ado, I give you....the Ode to Judy G! Ode to Judy G !!! March 29th, [2:32pm] What are we going to do tonight? Same thing every f*ing night!. We're gonna have a party in the MDLs and get trashed baby! Btw, added a profile. Sonia Johnsen, and many more coming after exams are over. Also, a fascinating link, quite relevant to the events happening in our world today. Link to My Conversation w/ a WarMongering Idiot. Love it, hate it. I'm just a messenger (but for your info, I love it). March 27th, [4:53 pm] Sorry about the small drought in the past few weeks. Neuro block is kicking my ass. Or, as the Germans would say "Mein Arse". It's comforting to know that if this whole medicine thing doesn't work out, I can always get a job as a translator. This update is dedicated to Scott Takano. Since his accident, he has undergone surgery on his left hand. Enchancements include: 1) Titanium exoskeleton covering the bones of his left arm and hand. 2) 2nd finger - 20 gigawatt DS-Tech green laser cannon. 3) Middle finger - Daimond enhanced steel cutter 4) 4th finger - PPC 5) 5th finger - Tear gas launcher 6) Thumb - plastic flowers will pop out upon will. 7) Head - helicopter blades will pop out from skull, allowing him to fly. Ask him to do the DS-Tech laser trick with the cat. It's a damned riot! Also, they won't let him on another damn plane for the rest of his life. |
| Updates March 27th 2003 - April 16th 2003 |