This is the first of probably many capitulations I'm going to make to fad pop culture. It seems like everyone and his or her mother has a web page these days; so I said, "Why the heck not?"
(I also thought that I would never be one of those people who has like five million ways to reach him: home phone, email, cell phone, beeper, snail mail, etc. But just look at me now! Hmm...I think that last sentence works better if you could see my facial expression...)
My real name is John Cheng. Why did I call this Finn's homepage? Well, I just like the name. I got it from Ethan Hawke's character in the movie Great Expectations. His name is Pip in the book, by the by. Anyway, I was born in Houston, Texas (No, I don't own a cowboy hat or boots. And for some reason, I never developed a Texan accent. My sister has one, though. Go figure.) to Drs. Jose and Le-Beng Cheng. I have one older sister, Lavinia, who just moved to Austin (Yay for her!); she's a pharmacist. Beyond that, I have a huge extended family spread throughout the US, Canada, the Phillippines, and China.
I went to elementary shcool at St. Thomas Episcopal School in the Meyerland area. It was...interesting. At least in retrospect, it was. I think the thing that sticks out most is the fact that I learned French and Latin as a child, and that the only history I was taught was the Bible and ancient history. Oh, and let's not forget the Scottish highland dancing, the soprano recorder, and the hymns! But, all in all, I have to admit, I ended up loving all these unconventional subjects.
In seventh grade, I transferred to St. John's School. Some of you may know it as the school they used in the movie Rushmore. (There's a pretty good article by Laura Moser on it in the New York Press, vol. 13, no. 16.) You know, A lot of people talk about high school as a painful time in their lives. At least that's the way it's portrayed in pop culture. And, well, a lot of my friends would rather forget their high school years. Not me. I actually enjoyed high school. I think this may have been because I felt safe there. I'm the first to admit it--I was and still am, to a certain extent, a geek and a nerd. But you know, most of the people in my class were into a variety of things and activities and were smart; so no one really poked fun at each of the other cliques in our class because chances are, they were part of them too. Well, they didn't make fun of each openly if they did. I think my high school years can be summed up as honors classes, academic and Latin tournaments (certamen), music (orchestra, choir and madrigal group, handbells), malls, movies, and Doctor Who. I told you I was a geeky nerd.
In 1992, I graduated high school and set off for the east coast, for Harvard University--my first time away from home. It was freaky at first; but once I got settled and got to know people, I grew to love it there. Suddenly, there were all these things i could see and experience that I never could before. College was definitely one of the best times in my life. It allowed me to grow as a person, specifically relaxing my personality and just becoming more laid back. (Thank God!) Other than studying (I was pre-med.) and just hanging out with my friends, my life was taken over by two things--singing and crushes.
In my sophomore year, I got into the a cappella group the Harvard-Radcliffe Opportunes. I had a blast. It was so much fun singing (and getting into trouble) in a group, making beautiful and awesome music together, entertaining both ourselves and hundreds of other people. We made some great music back then; and the group in its current incarnation is doing better than ever! The group actually just had its 20th anniversary (3/11/2000). I was completely blown away by the people that came both before and after the group I was in. Check out their site. You won't regret it.
As for the crushes, well, let's just ay they were just a sample of what was to come.
After four years, in 1996, I finally graduated. It was time to move onto the next phase of my life: medical school. (Cue foreboding music...) That fall, I moved to New York City to attend New York University School of Medicine. It's been quite a trip, going to school here and living in the Big Apple. I've made new friends, seen more of the world, and discovered more about myself over the past four years than at any other time in my life. You know, sometimes it shocks me just how sheltered my life has been andhow sheltered (but less so than before) it is now.
I graduated in May. May 11, 2000 to be exact. In Madison Square Garden. Yeah. MSG. (Don't get me started on THAT one!) Right after that lovely ceremony in the MSG, I began to pack for my new home for the next three years of my life: Baltimore, more specificallyJohns Hopkins for my pediatrics residency. I have to admit that it was very strange to have my future life, or at least these three years of it, be dictated by a computer somewhere in the US. It's like you've been entered in this huge dating service, only you'd better like whatever date they match you with because that's the only one you're getting. Well, it's not THAT bad, but it's close... But, like I said, I was pretty happy about this match!
Since moving to Baltimore, my life has become a series of three things: work, sleep, and attempt to hang out with friends. Eating and being hungry have become sort of an evanescent sort of thing: here one minute, gone the next. I've just finished my intern year. Boy, was that a trial in and of itself! Thank god I like my co-interns. Things would be unbearable if I didn't get to laugh and complain with my friends. And, curiously enough Baltimore has grown on me. Imagine that! Right now, I'm actually pretty happy. I just moved and got myself a roommate, so things are sort of in flux right now; but it's a fun sort of flux.
If you have any comments, please feel free to email me!