It's the thought that counts...

... and I had a lot of blog pieces floating around my head, but none of them seemed to make it out into cyberspace. Maybe I was too busy studying my chemisty and cell biology (exams today and tomorrow) or maybe I was too busy indulging in birthday fun (yes, I'm 24 now), but most likely I was just too busy living my life to write about it.

So, instead, the highlights...

There was a patient in the ER with a 108 degree fever suffering from heat stoke, I had my first positive domestic violence screening, a man with a cable through his eye, a boy whose father brought him in after beating him, a 28 year old boy rejecting his second stem cell transplant for Hodgkin's lymphoma, and my first baby ultrasound.

I had a whole post planned on the new Treasury secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry M Paulson, and how his new job is nothing more than PR. I was intending to put the short version here, but it's still a good post so maybe I'll still write that one. It will just be a tad less timely.

Rough day in the ER

Last night I got my first taste of the thick skin I assume to you need to survive medical school and life in a hospital. It's emotionally tumultuous and on a bad day it's hard to remember that (hopefully) in the end you do more good than bad.
Before my shift we had a 4 hour orientation to the research studies going on in the ER at the moment. Three of them we were already trained on, so it was a complete waste of everyone's time. The fourth was announced as a go-live today, so basically myself and the other associate on duty were expected to march into the ER with the (unedited) forms and just start enrolling. It wouldn't have been a problem if the forms had been designed for a hospital site (as opposed to outpatient clinic) and the PI knew that cardiac patients (her most interesting population) were off-limits because the coronary studies would get priority.
Confusing and draining.
Ok, so paperwork isn't that bad and it can all be figured out. And you can catch up when the board is messy, even if you do feel a little disorganised. And you can eat enough graham crackers to stop feeling like you're going to keel over. But what's rough is when your patients keep telling you they don't want to talk to you, or enrolling and then withdrawing... or the nurse loses/throws out the blood you need.
Frustrating.
But then you lose a patient because they walk out of the ER against medical advice and your standing there with the EKG and you know that person really shouldn't have left. Or you do a domestic violence screening and the woman breaks down and tells you all about her monster of a husband and how she's trying to divorce him, but he's lying to the courts about her. Or your neurocog patient who doesn't finish the tests because they are in head CT and on their way up for neurosurgery. Or the kid who fell off his bike and can't stop crying because he can't remember anything. He looks at his hands if they're unfamiliar and his face is splotched with the bright pink of skin that's been torn off.
Heartbreaking.
Just as your finishing all the paperwork and spinning last bloods two doctors come up to you. One gives you a lecture on not approaching the patients too early and potentially causing double sticks. The other looks at your forms and says "What are you still doing here? What? What... you want extra credit or something for staying late?" No. No, I don't. I just want you to fill out the damn form so I can go home.
Maddening.
The next morning you wake up and find an email waiting for you... be sure to approach the patients early so as to get the bloods you need... copied to the whole damn world.
And we're back to frustrating.

Despite the whining... I love it there. Thursday nights are the best part of my week. If I could stay until 2:30 am every week, I would.

Bowel Programs

This week on the surgical rehab floor I learned a little about bowel programs, something you've probably not thought of if you've never spent time in a hospital. The nurses spend a fair amount of time monitoring how often and how much you urinate and empty your bowels. There are even special chairs for this. Nice white plastic contraptions.
Almost as soon as I arrived for my shift a nurse called me into a patient room and asked if I would sit with the patient while he moved his bowels as it was taking some time and he had meds to attend too. So I sat there on the bed and tried, really tried, to have a conversation with this (not so lucid) patient between his gripping the chair sides and squeezing his eyes shut... wow, he kept saying, oh wow.
When the nurse returned I was informed the patient was severely impacted and had just been administered a supository (a butt pill). Apparently this wasn't sufficient because despite the groaning nothing was actually leaving patient's colon. Out came the maximum strength enema and another 20 minutes of sitting. Nothing.
At this point the nurse gave the patient a shower and decided to just put a diaper on him and call it a night. Problem is, the patient can't stand unaided, so I was recruited to pull the diaper up over his butt while the nurse held him up. It was this moment that the patient experienced some anal leakage (and bleeding). Nevertheless the patient was transferred to bed and the nurse and I cleaned up.
About an hour later the patient was caught trying to get out of bed (a no no since he can't walk). When questioned what he needed he expressed the need to "take a crap." The nurse was called in and the patient examined, but he was still unable to expell the impacted feces. At this point the nurse asked me to fetch some lubricant (can anyone guess where this is going?) which I brought back with some extra pairs of gloves. The nurse then proceeded to lubricate the rectum of the patient and break up the large, very solid mass lodged in his colon. Thankfully I was called out of the room by the other nurse on duty...
... only to find I had been called to another bowl issue. the first patient's neighbor was experiencing an unexpected bowl movement and needed to be placed on his toilet and washed (a process I assisted more than carried out since I am not a nurse). When I took the used toilet to be disposed and cleaned I saw what looked like a large orange hairball inside. This of course had to be brought to the nurse's attention.
By the end of the shift all bowels had been sucessfully moved and the smell on the ward confirmed it. As did the stack of brown gloves in the trash. Eew.

Tagged again: oddities

Tagged and I'm it. Apparently the idea is to mention 6 odd things about yourself so here we go, six strange things you (probably) don't know about me:

1. I change into my pajamas when I'm at home, even if it's the middle of the day. It's a habit from a college roommate, but seriously, what's more comfy than PJ's?

2. I'd rather buy books than borrow them from a library; I just like owning them.

3. I'll put things into my agenda even after they've happened. That way I can look back and recall the night I went spontaneously went to drinks with so and so was Wednesday, not Thursday, for example.

4. I don't like ice cream cones. Give me a cup anyday. Or better, yet, the carton.

5. I sing in my car, when I'm alone. The top-of-my lungs, Carnegie Hall performance kind of singing, even though I couldn't carry a tune if you put a gun to my head.

6. I find it incredibly uncomfortable and nearly impossible to sit properly in a chair. I need to have one leg folded under me, be crosslegged, something.

16 hours in the hospital: week 1

And we have come to the end of the first week of summer session: all 4 classes, two tutoring shifts, and 16 hours in the hospital. And it was fun! I'm not being sarcastic here, I've definately taken on too much (par for the course) and I simply won't drop anything because I can't bear to give any of it up. Some highlights...
- In NeuroChem when the professor went over the finer points of cocaine delivery via snorting vs. freebasing and the resulting bioavailability curves.
- In Chem lab when the professor spent 20 minutes belittling post bacs and then mentioned that we'd likely have the highest grades in the class by the end.
- In tutoring (my job) when one of the students (veterans) told the head of the program I was inspiring and he wanted me to be his math teacher.
- In the post-surgery rehab ward when I had to take a patient (in a wheelchair) down to the front to smoke. Do you have any idea the looks you get when you ask a stranger for a lighter for the old man in the gown in the wheelchair while wearing a hospital ID and jacket?
- Realising I cannot get consistant readings on an electronic scale. Seriously, how did my crucible spontaneouly lose 2g?
- Watching the Emergency Room doctors treat a quadruple gunshot victim and then being sent to pick up their chinese food.
- Showing up to cell bio/biochem and realising everyone (practically) I know is in the class... and that it's moving to the coldest room on campus. I'm going to be wearing wool sweaters every Wednesday in the Philly humidity to avoid hypothermia.
- Having friends over Friday night for a cozy dinner and being able to congratulate Audra on getting into GW... way to go chica!
- Two lazy weekend mornings. Sleeping in, eating pancakes...
- Making to the movies... MI III is entertaining, Da Vinci code not so much.

Inpatient Post-Surgery

It was my first night on the ward I am volunteering on in the hosptial and to my surprise, I actually managed to remember the CNA, RN, etc names! The patients were really interesting, some of them have been there for quite some time and I don't think there was a single one under the age of 50. A couple of guys in one room were rooting for opposing teams in the basketball team, which made for some fun conversations and light hearted smack talking. A woman with a leg injury was hell bent on seeing the baseball game (Mets -Philles) but it wasn't on any channels in the hosptial so we went searching everywhere for a radio.. more fun that it probably sounds.

On the unusual side there was a woman in a helmet whose brain was exposed. She had an edema and they couldn't close the wound (thus the helmet). She was rather large and immobile too so it made everything from changing into fresh gowns to serving dinner and changing bedpans a challenge. There was the 70 year old man with a penile implant... who couldn't keep it in his gown! and the man with a colostomy bag... we had to change it, well ok, the CNA had to change it, and it ended up spurting everywhere! Ick... guess who got to help clean ; )

Between Spring and Summer

Monday brings the beginning of summer classes and my job, both of which are exciting, but the 12 days in between have been really relaxing. First I had orientation for my job and it was one of the more inspiring few hours I've ever witnessed. I tutor veterans who want to try and go to college and one of them talked about how he wanted this so his kids would be proud of their dad and would know that they could go to college too.

After orientation was Audra's BBQ, which was a fun and relaxing outdoor yumfest. Best moment, Taner scooping ice cream for us all :) Or maybe Abi, Taner's HUGE dog, farting in the car!



I spent a few days in NYC where I saw David Blaine underwater - he was living in a human fishbowl for eight days. I saw the Natural History Museum for the first time too... and recognised all the words laid into the marble floor: gnathosomes, tetrapods, amniotes...



Back in Philly was a fun trip to Ikea to pick up furniture... I'm still a little weirded out by owning furniture. They had a big tub of blue balls to play in, which made everything better... that and the ice cream cones :)



And now... my fridge isn't working and I need to go and buy my textbooks. Yup, I smell summer session approaching.

Bio Exam III and Final

I just took two exams; you get 10 questions. As per a reader's request, I will not post the answers in the comments, you can :)

Q1. What is anhydrobiosys?
Q2. What is parthenogenesis? (hint: check a previous post)
Q3. What is necessary for the activation of a cytotoxic T cell?
Q4. Name the three phases of the uterine cycle and the corresponding phases of the ovarian cycle.
Q5. What are Leydig cells and what stimulate them/ do they secrete?
Q6. Name, in order, the regions of the stomach, small intestine, large intestine and their sphincters.
Q7. What is the common name for Nematoda? Nemertea? Which is segmented?
Q8. Name one difference between bacteria and archea. Which is more closely related to eukaryotes?
Q9. Name, in order, the parts of a nephron.
Q10. What hormones does the adrenal medulla secrete? The adrenal cortex?

Extra Credit: Write the bicarb buffer equation.

Sunday funnies...

... on Tuesday.

As the elevator car left our floor
Big Sue caught her tits in the door
She yelled a good deal
But had they been real
She'd have yelled considerably more

Nymphomanaic Alice
Used a dynamite stick for a phallus
They found her vagina
In North Carolina
And her asshole in Buckingham Palace

Proof that girls are evil

A gem I found while cleaning my desk... procrastinating during chemistry revision...

Proof that Girls are Evil

Girls = Time x Money
but... Time = Money
so... Girls = Money ^2
but... Money = rt(evil)
and... Money ^2 = [ rt(evil) ]^2
substitute and reduce to get...
Girls = Evil

Lab Practical

The lab exam was not nearly as fearsome as I had, well, feared. Two questions per station (some with four parts), 20 stations, with a mixture of anatomy and theory. Rather than describe what was going though my head... here's your very own, mini lab quiz:



Q1. The two organs clearly visible in the above dissected shark are...?



Q2. Name the phylum of the animal above and two shared derived characters of that phyla.



Q3. The red tube above the white globules in the above dissected rat are? Is this rat male or female?

Q4. Mitochondrial DNA IS/IS NOT highly conserved and is this useful for exploring evolutionary relationships between RECENTLY/DISTANTLY diverging species?



Q5. The dull blue feather looking organ in the squid above is the ______? What phylum is this animal and what kind of circulatory system does it have?

Q6. If ANF was being released in your system, you would have (choose as many as apply):
a. highly concentrated urine
b. inhibited ADH
c. increaed urine volume
d. increased Cl- in the urine

If you want the answers, check the comments.

Finals

Yes, we've hit that wonderful time in the semester when the sun is finally out and the whole school is holed up in the library cramming as much information into their heads as possible. I am reasonably lucky, no back to back exams this time through... but there are a lot of points in the air and well, I could use them all.

We have a bio lab practical this Saturday, which involved such ridiculousness as looking at a 16 hour old frog embryo and naming the number of cells and their configuration. Or looking at a dissected fetal pig and finding the salivary glands (harder than you might think). A week later is the third exam and final (together)... Why are the antibodies passed through breast milk (IgA) temporary? What's the difference between Nemertea and Nematoda? Anyone... anyone?

I'm not even thinking about chem yet (which may or may not prove harmful)...

I got my starting date (May 9) for the weekly hospital gig though... hopefully that will provide some amusing anecdotes.

Dissection VI & Urine

This was a quickie dissection, a kidney, done in the midst of a renal function lab. What this entailed was urinating at 30 minute intervals and measuring the chloride concentration, specific gravity, and volume at each urination. Groups of five people each participated in a different "treatment" condition (salt, caffiene, 1000mL water) and the idea was to see what different effects these would have against a control (200mL water). Unfortunately our control group (myself included) was a complete mess so our results were essentially "we knew what should have happened..."

If anyone should be under the impression that "oh, you did something remotely medical", well, you're wrong. What we did was play with our own urine for three hours in a warm room next to preserved kidneys that reek of formalin having not eaten for several hours (requirement for the lab) while watching a beautiful sunny Saturday float by our lab room window. There was no diagnosis, no puzzle to solve, and I'm pretty sure we violated HIPAA (lab results being considered protected health information).

Normally I love lab, but this is one of those things that sounded better in someone's head than in real life.

Desert Hydration

Our most recent biology lecture was on the always thrilling topic of renal function, which means kidneys and peeing. Now, our professor is welll-known for her eccentric stories; the one about catching frogs to feed the ducks was a gem. So was the frozen snakes for curtain rods. Well, during renal function she discussed potty training and how she made a bet with her husband that she could have their son trained by his first birthday. That didn't quite happen. Since she lost the bet, she had to drink urine, not only that, but drink it in front of her class. So yes, my biology professor whipped out a bottle of yellow fluid, told us she lost the bet, and took a few sips. If it was anyone else I would assume it was apple juice, but no, with Dr. W, it was definately urine. Wow. I mean ick.

Procrastination II

Oompa Loompa Doompety Doo
Here comes neutralization part deux
Oompa Loompa Doompety Dee
A chapter about soluability...

What do you get when you stir in a salt?
At K s p dissociation halts
Use the a + b root to find the s
Get K e q with help from Hess
It's just another M R A...

Oompa Loompa Doompety Da
Use M R A and you will go far
Now you can find the I P too
Like the Oompa Loompa Doompety Doo!

Procrastination

Oompa Loompa Doompety Do
I've got a neutralization for you.
Oompa Loompa Doompety Dee
If you like chemistry listen to me...

What's the p H mixing acid and base?
How much H F reacts with the O H?
Neutralize half, it's a buffer you'll get
Now p H is pretty much set
Oh! But it's still basic...

Oompa Loompa Doompety Da
Strong acid strong base with moles on par
It will have p H seven too
Like the Oompa Loompa Doompety Do!

The originals.

Exhibit A

Lord Melvyn Bragg has written a book entitled Twelve Books that Changed the World and the BBC now was a forum asking readers what their selections would have been. The criteria loosely translates to: books that changed the world to that in which we now live. He included selections from Charles Darwin, George Orwell, and Adam Smith, among others.

Many of the public responded with the Bible, a few with Albert Camus, several with Ann Rand, and many concurred with Orwell, but one notable member of the public, Mark Keen from Swindon, submitted the DaVinci Code. He has got to be kidding. I mean seriously. I like my insubstantial fiction now and then just as much as the next person, but what exactly is true about the post-DaVinci Code world that was not true of the pre-DaVinci Code world? Upsetting the religous community and constantly being in the press are not world changing qualities, or else we would have to include TomKat and Lindsay Lohan as world-altering figures. Please.

On the American side of the pond the New York Times magazine has an interview this week with Bonnie Fuller, the editorial director of American Media. I won't even go into the appalling book she's recently written titled The Joys of Much too Much but instead will mention the transcribed statement "I guess I am registered as a Democrat. I guess, because you have to register?" How exactly did this woman become editor of some of the most widely read women's magazines? Granted, Glamour isn't exactly a hot bed of political debate, but even they put "register to vote" as a "Do!" And shame on the New York Times for called Ms. Fuller "a symbol of female accomplishment." We can do so much better.

Hosptial Training III

All I can say is... brilliant fun! There is a team in the hospital responsible for transporting inpatients between their rooms and various tests (ie xray, ultrasound) and back or discharging them. For my last five hours of training I shadowed this team and ended up spending lots of time with several really interesting patients.

Easily the most interesting was a man who had heart problems and a severe buildup of fluid in his legs (preventing him from voluntary movement). He was a very nice man and we chatted for nearly two hours while we got him to xray and had four chest films taken ( they blew the tube in the xray machine due to the high dose of radiation) - he told me all about his godsons, whom apparently I would quite like as they are footballers (read: soccer) and are 6'3'' and 6'4'' and very handsome ;) After we finished he wanted to stand up and re-adjust his gown and his placement on the bed so we helped him stand up (he farted) and as soon as he was up ... "did you bring the bedpan? I really need to pee!" Of course, we hadn't brought the bedpan. By the time we made is out of xray this man had three radiologic nurses and three transporters attending to him.

The first transport of the day was a woman who had come in through the ER and needed an ultrasound. We arrive with a stretcher and the doctor stopped us in the hallway, "she's not going to fit on that." Apparently there are oversized beds we can use for, well, oversize patients, but they are a huge pain in the butt because finding one in the hospital is tough and you have to dissassemble the arms to get them through doorways. "you can try, she must have been on one in the ER, but... good luck." Try we did, and managed it too. Luckily she was mobile and could walk over to it herself (it would have taken a 4 horse team to lift her) - this woman was EASILY the largest human I've ever seen in person. Her boobs were at her belly button, her arms were bigger than my hips and her ankles were the size of my head.

The whole experience has made me quite excited for my time there. Maybe after the summer (I'm registered for far more courses than is advisable) I'll see if I can get a job in the hospital. One that pays.

Dissection V: Fetal Pig & Rat

This dissection was the toughest yet: finding the neck glands of the pig was next to impossible. It was also slightly disturbing to crack the ribs when we folded the sternum back to poke around the pericardial space. The anatomy was incredibky similar to what we learn in human physiology though, so it was also intensely interesting.

The liver was noticably less fatty than in the shark, but most of the organs were the same colour in the pig, making it harder to differentiate. There were also many more peritoneal membranes so the dissection technique was understandably more prolonged, involved, and cautious. In fact, my partner and I were the last ones to finish and we didn't quite get our eye done correctly, but we'll be doing another eye later in the semester, so I'm not worried. I will say, that what we did manage to complete was quite well done (if I may say so myself) and we destroyed none of the organs in the process. We were even able to differentiate some of the major musculature in the pectoral region.

We had an exam and a lab quiz immediately prior to dissection, both of which went well. I think I managed to keep my special connective tissues and my stratified squamous epithelia straight :)

Dissection IV: Dogfish Shark

Without a doubt the coolest dissection yet, especially because our TA returned (there was a sub last time) and there was no lab quiz. We dissected the dogfish shark, right down to cutting open the skull and stomach. The stench was, well, it was powerfull and there was definately some projectile sperm while examining the male reproductive organs, but for the first time you could really see the homology between the dissection subject and well, our future patients.



The liver was stunning. Not because it was elegant, but because it was huge and so luxuriously slimy. Since it's largely lipids it has this sleek sheeny texture. The kidneys were unusual since they are on the abdominal wall surface and run the length of the shark. Even more interesting is that the vas deferns (sperm transport ducts) are on the surface of the kidneys. Sperm travels though the kidneys and then the vas deferns to the seminal vesicles which leave the shark throught he cloaca (think: anus) and travel into the female on one of the two claspers.

Ah... and here's the good bit. The male shark has TWO claspers. What do they do? Well, one of them penetrates the female cloaca, hooks itself in there, delivers the sperm, and then releases. What this means is... the shark has TWO penises. Call me 15, but I think that is... unusually well endowed?

The brain was also the most developed we've seen to date... in three distinct sections. Carving off the skull piece by piece was quite the task though - it took us about 20 mins, but we managed to keep the brain in tact, including all the olfactory bulbs. I did finish the afternoon with rather a long shower though because formaline is such a cloying perfume.

PPD tests

PPD tests are those little bubbles they put in your arm and check two days later to see if you have been exposed to Tuberculosis (TB). Most people in the US test negative, that is, nothing happens to your arm. Well, here's a positive PPD result:



Unfortunately the photo doesn't do it justice. Essentially it's a red, swollen mass of significant diameter (the above is 15mm) that may be within a larger red area (as the above is). If you were to see the arm in profile, you would see that the mass is raised about 5mm from the normal skin surface and they can be sore and sensitive to touch. If you're positive, you'll have a bump like this within 48-72 hours of your skin test placement. Most likely you'll need a chest x-ray.

Just a little medical factoid for everyone.

Hosptial Training II

My two hours today were spent learning my way around the hospital (please don't ask me directions!) - thank god it's colour coded. Then we went over proper wheelchair technique (this involved some highly frowned upon racing), discharge procedures (including mock senarios involving lost dentures), and using the cell phone system (which is linked to the patient management software). It's absolutely mind-boggling to think of the logistics of running a hospital and just as mind-boggling to realise just how much I don't know about medicene. Put another way, I can't believe it's only four years of school before you get the initials M.D. But man, I can't wait for the white coat (volunteers wear navy).

Today's trainer was really cool (read: competent) and the remaining 5 hours under her care are spent actually working alongside hospital staff transporters (people employeed by the hospital who manage and execute the movement of patients around the facility). Someone even mistook me for a nurse today - at least I look medical!

I'm also officially signed up to work 12 hours a week in ER research - yes! This means (for those keeping track) I'm now up to 16 hours a week in the hospital (beginning May 15).

Hosptial Training I

I had my first day of training to be a pre-med volunteer in the hospital. This is supposedly different from being an "adult volunteer" in that after the first 12 weeks we might get to shadow a doctor (resident) or observe surgery. It doesn't matter what the program consists of, I'm just excited to be doing something medical, or close to medical, or at least in the presense of things medical.

Training consisted of 4 hours of: paperwork, learning how to wash my hands, learning to read signs, and learning the topics to be covered in the next three training sessions. The businesswoman in me thinks this could have been accomplished more efficiently.

Thursday I will spend 2 hours learning to use a wheelchair. It should be noted I have worked in two hospitals already. Can't I test out of this? Liability insurance says no. Oh well, it's only another 7-9 hours. Just please, please don't let me end up on maternity. I am one of the few women who wants nothing to do with ob/gyn, pediatrics, or maternity. Unless maybe it was pediatric brain surgery. Or pediatric oncolocy.

Spring break wrap up

Spring break was last week and I spent the first half studying and the latter half in NYC. Lots of good food and good company and now back to the regularly scheduled programming.

On a different note, I've been tagged by TWM (I'm flattered)...

My nicknames: Most recently Little Doktor (in Thailand), most affectionately Mouse.

My hometown: ... in what year? I do love NYC...

My teams: Go Broncos, go Collingwood, go Arsenal.

My theme song: Bigger than my Body by John Mayer & Geek in the Pink by Jason Mraz

My drinks: Vodka cranberry or a good cup of tea

My occupations: Currently: student (again). Was: a banker. Will Be: a doctor. And in the off-season... scuba instructor.

Spare time: Reading, writing, running, goofing off and netflixing (oh yes, it's a verb now).

Guilty pleasure: Pop music while running, Ben&Jerrys in the freezer, dancing around my apartment.

Hiding place: Bookstores. My journal. Libraries. Turning off my cell phone.

My books: Oh, there are so many! A Prayer for Owen Meany [J. Irving], Contact [C. Sagan], A Good Man is Hard to Find [F. O'Connor], Veronika Decides to Die [P. Coehlo]...

My hero:: Angelina Jolie because she doesn't apologise for who she is. My dad because I want to be successful like him, my mom because I want to be able to love like her and my brother because I'd love to always know the right words.

My tags: Miss Akay, Chendaddy, Fabrice ... you're it!

Nostalgia for fall '05

I was sent some more travel photos from my Asia trip by some friends abroad. Two favourites:

Dissection III: artifical insemination

Rather than complete another dissection, per say, we did embyonic development this week. A large portion of lab was spent peering through microscopes at 4,8,16,32, and 64 cell frog/chick embryos and sketching what we saw (not nearly as cool as it sounds, and it doesn't even sound all that cool).

BUT, we did get to artifically inseminate sea anenomes! This involved injected acid into the male and female sea anenomes to make them release their gametes. We put some eggs on a slide, then added some sperm (which we activated first) and peered down through 100X magnification as those hyperactive little buggers went worming their way in.

Now, for those of you who are not familiar with sea anenome fertilisation, once the sperm manage to fuse their plasma membrane with that of the egg, the cortical reaction takes place (otherwise known as the slow block to polyspermy). This reaction cultimates with the vitalline layer moving away from the plasma membrane (due to osmotic gradients caused by calcium induced vesicle fusion), a process you can actually see happening. Since I cannot photograph through the microscope, here's a drawing (done by someone in Wisconsin) of what happens:

Am I (are you) a racist?

There is some really interesting research being done on people's unconscious associations between various topics. The most famous is the Harvard race study, but there are lots of them out there (some on less controversial topics). If you want to take any tests that indicate your level of implicit association (racial or otherwise), go here.

The race study involves putting images and words into catagories such as "pleasant" and "unpleasant" as quickly as possible. Much to my chagrin, I found it easier to place positive words into the positive catagory when it was "positive or European American" than when it was "positive or African American". Though, this could also be attributed to that being the last test and so I was getting better at the game itself (but probably more to do with sub-conscious filters). The more interesting question is why do I have these associations? Because I am white? Because of my experiences? Because of some cultural imprint?

It should be noted, however, than humans are the only animal known to be able to override these instinctual responses. My conscious mind can choose not to let these associations govern my interactions or be the basis for my decision making.

dominance and contempt

Recently I've been listening to Blink, the second book by Malcom Gladwell, on my IPOD. His idea is that the sub-conscious forms some pretty accurate conclusions amazingly quickly and that these surface as our gut instinct, our first reaction. Some of his more specific examples have been fun to meditate on...

Letting people in your room is a bigger step than meeting your parents
The first was that spending 20 minutes in someone's living space tells you more about them on 3 of the 5 personality axes than conversing with them. Those three are measures of conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. Generally, I think this is about right. It's the same reason you get that flutter of nervousness the first time you let someone you don't know well into your apartment. Immediately, they will realise things about you that you've been able to conceal in public interaction. Are you slovenly? Are you obsessively neat? Do you have a hidden passion for sci-fi novels? Is your place full of mirrors?

Arguing will predict the future of your relationship
The second was the idea that you can predict the potential success of a relationship (the book deals with marriage, but I think this is somewhat generalisable) based on three emotions: critisism, defensiveness, and contempt. The first two aren't a death sentence, it really depends on the context and the ratio of positive to negative feelings in a given interaction. What kills it is contempt. Because contempt comes from a place of superiority and a state of finality. It's a loss of equality and respect; if your friend/partner/spouse tends to express contempt for you when you're arguing, you're doomed.

Being dominant = being sued
The last example was about doctors (nice and relevant) and which ones are more likely to get sued. It turns out, it's pretty simple: people don't sue doctor's they like. The key to being an insurable doctor, then, is to be an approachable and empathetic one, not a superior and dominant one. In fact, dominance was the single most correlated adjective. They took 40 second samples of doctors talking to their patients and erased the content (removed the high frequencies that signal word differentiation) and noted which doctors utilised a dominant tone. Yup, those were the ones who got sued. So, the lesson is, barring gross negligence, being an affable person will reduce the number of lawsuits on your record.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging

I'm doing a paper on Diffusion Tensor Imaging and the pathology of auditory hallucination in Schizophrenia (as well as a paper on the evolution of cognitive enhancement atypical anti-psychotics for Schizophrenic treatment, but that's something else altogether). I thought you might enjoy some of these excerpts from the research I'm combing through. (Recall the recent definition of screed...)

"...These connections can be catagorized in three principal classes -namely, associational, commissural, and projectional. Intrahemispheric associational corticocortical connectivity in particular is accomplished in general by short U fibers that constitute the local circuitry within a gyrus..."

"... This dephasing produces signal attenuation, which is related to the magnitude of diffusivity of the water along the direction and magnitude of the applied gradient in an exponential fashion. For anisotropic guassian diffusion, the SA is proportionate to e^ [-(H gyromagnetic ratio)^2(gradient duration)^2(gradient spacing - duration/3)(gradient amplitude)(diffusion coefficient)]...."

"...In contrast to more widespread echo planar method, this technique is less sensitive to suceptibility-related distortions and, as with single-shot echo planar imaging, it is fairly motion insensitive...in particular, after an eddy-current correction of the DTIs, which is based on cross-correlation with T2 weighted images. In the in line scan technique, patient motion does not lead to ringing artifacts in phase direction..."

Too bad babelfish doesn't translate for this kind of stuff :) Bonus points for any of you smarty-pants out there who recognised that the second excerpt was related to a mathmatical model for extrapolating diffusion gradients using matrix algebra and eigenvectors (thank god I took diff eq).

And with that, I think I'll leave the library. Word.

Dissection II

Another successful day of dissection - this time we cut open earthworms, squid, and crayfish. The crayfish and squid were preserved (read: smelled awful!) but the earthworms were fresh (read: alive). Yes, you are reading that correctly, we did NOT kill our worms before cutting them open so we could watch their (five) hearts beat. We did, however, anesthetize them in a beaker of 40% ethanaol (don't do this at home, by anesthetize I really mean kill slowly while it thrashes around).



It was actually really interesting and I can't wait for the sharks (our first vertebrates) we do this Saturday. If you're a curious and strong stomached type, you can follow along with the dissections on a special Flickr group Audra and I set up. We tag the anatomical structures on the photos as well (good practice for the lab practical exam in April) so you'll have some clue as to what you're looking at.

Something I've learned: A screed is a long, monotonous speech or piece of writing. I've also learned a lot lately on cognitive enhancement and preventing memory deterioration but that's a whole other post (or screed perhaps?).

Authentic web geek

I just bought my very own domain name! I'm so proud of myself :)

My digital camera will get it's first true test run tomorrow as I photograph our squid, crayfish, and earthworm dissections. I'm so excited about tomorrow's lab, it's unreal.

Joey T

This one goes out to Joey... the Beatles and juggling, can you think of a better 4min 25sec?

Curiousities

A great little ode to how hard it is to find those jeans you live in; by a fellow TWM alumnus.

Jon Stewert will host the Oscars and in a recent NYT article he was the only one who seemed to have any real perspective on the matter. Or rather, appropriate lack thereof. As he says "This is a reward. If I made my living hosting awards shows, then this would be a perilous track, I guess."

The new Mendelian genetics: ww = wizard.

Not just naming stars, now you can have your very own slime mould beetle species.

"I think right now we’re in an anti-intellectual period in the United States, but I think the pendulum will swing back in the other direction again." An interview with Alan Lightman, scientist and author of Einstein's Dreams.

The First Dissection

Ecology lab may have been a complete waste of time but invertebrate lab was brilliant. We did our first dissections and observations of sponges (Phylum Prorifera), Hydra (Cnideria), flatworms and tapeworms (Platyhelminthes), and sea anenomes (Cnideria). We watched some of them feed (carniverous) and as a result, here's what I learned (other than preservation fluid is about as sweet smelling as smoke in your hair):
- Planeria (flatworms) eat via an extrusable pharynx which is located in the middle of the body so it looks, well, it looks a tad phallic. Anyway, the worm grabs onto it's prey, pulls it close, and gets its digest on.
- Sea cucumbers eat by vomiting up their guts, which encase the prey, and then "eating" it all back in.
- Medusas (the jellyfish-looking stage of a Hydra) capture their prey with stinging nemotocysts (which ejacualte from the ends of the tenticles and look like sperm when stained on a slide) and then stuff it into their oral cavity. We fed our Hydra some little guys called Daphnia and when they are being consumed you can still see the little red Daphia eyes through the milky coloured Hydra.
It should be noted we were doing all this through microscopes (except for the sea anenome) as most of these animals are just milimeters in length. Seriously cool. Next week we're scheduled to do either squid or comparative embyology, I'm not sure. Either way, seriously cool.



Had a good night out last night, the first real one since... since the one with the pictures. A huge group of us converged on the Continental and had really yummy food after waiting 2.5 hours for a table (crab pad thai and lobster mac and cheese). The wait wasn't too bad - cocktails in the rooftop penthouse (glass enclosed) area... they had Pimms! Which was deliciously mixed with champagne and orange juice and oh, yum! We hit up Fado later in the night and I got to dance a bit, which I love to do. I think the hangover means pancakes for breakfast though.. yum.

Cheney II et al.

Granted, Cheney can't be charged because of hunting laws and it *might* have been an accident, but did Whittington really have to be hauled out of bed to express his sorrow for what the VP is going through? Excuse Me?! What the VP is going through? And why are people (Bush included) giving him kudos for calling it his fault and expressing regret? Duh, it was his fault (how many politicans does it take to pull a trigger?). And expressing reget is called taking responsibility and should be expected of all people over the age of 12, the VP included.

Cheney's is not the only baffling behavior of late though... yesterday I was in the ladies washroom and found a Frnech girl pacing around talking on her cell phone. Can she honestly not find a better place to hold her conversation than the bathroom? Whoever she was talking to doesn't mind the continual peeing/flushing noise?

You've got to love the subtelty with which we are parenting the Palestinians now... yes, go and democratically elect whomever you want, but... if it's Hamas we won't give you any aid. Because if we take all the money out and thereby increase the unemployment and destabilise (the already precarious) region, the forces of Democracy will surely coming shining though! Yeah, that's it!

I just finished an ecology lab and can honestly say that I learned exactly nothing, so I'll have to post again later.

Cheney, V-day, et al.

There's no way we can ignore this one... the VICE PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES SHOT a 78 year old attourney IN THE FACE, mistaking him FOR A QUAIL. And this WAS NOT HIS FIRST hunting accident. Yeah, and he's the one that takes over when the President, who chokes on snack food and waves to Stevie Wonder (the BLIND singer), needs another vacation. If you didn't see it, google it on the internet - the Daily Show segment that made fun of this (oh, it's too easy). Have a clean pair of unmentionables nearby because you will piss yourself.

And what was the outcome? Whittaker, the victim, has a heart attack, and Cheney is asked to update his hunting lisence; no charges are being filed. Hmm... unless the guy dies... so the lesson is: if you want to punish someone, take them hunting, shoot them, and say you thought it was a domesticated quail.

I'm sorry, but I can't let V-day slide. I would have, if this had been like all the others, but this is the first v-day I'm not single. so yeah, this time, for me, it was a thing. And he did good. I did come across this funny little ditty though: Roses are red and violets are blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you. But the Roses are wilting and the violets are dead. The sugar bowl's empty and so is your head. C'mon, it's a little bit funny.

Two quick shout outs, and then what I learned in school today...
To Mike O who was in town - it's always great seeing you.
To Audra K - we should have our names engraved on a table in Van Pelt.

What I learned... well, I learned that tenors make their money in their high and middle ranges (think opera), that free energy equilibrium constants are dimensionless (no points off for the wrong units!), and that snails have their anus directly over their head (blame embryonic torsion). Top notch.

Fingers: crossed.

Happy Birthday

I apologise for the belated best wishes...

Feb 1 - To the best brother a girl could ask for. A moderating influence, a kind soul who always has exactly the right words, a funnyman who always has wit up his sleeve. I am so proud of you and so grateful that we're such close friends.

Feb 8 - To one of the best teachers a girl could ask for. He taught me the superiority of all things Apple, the cultural importance of Say Anthing, and he tried, bless him, to convince me of the benefits of being succinct. I hope that one day I will inspire the same passion in my students as you do in yours (for those of you unfamiliar with TWM, just count the number of blogs wishing him happy birthday and you'll understand).

Why do this? & Rotifera reproduction

The sudden time off from posting should testify to my recent work ethic - I've had a chem exam, a BIBB paper, 3 labs, and a bio exam to get through. Actually, the bio exam is this Saturday (so wish me luck). Yes, that was a shameless plug for sympathy (when is the last time you memorised all the prokaryotic, protistan, and invertebrate phyla?).

Anyway, I had an interesting email recently from someone asking about post-bac programs and my decision to undertake this whole new direction considering the current state of the medical community (which was refered to as "rotten"). Good questions all, and they forced me to crystallise what was really just gut feeling when I applied here.

On post-bac programs in general
They are an interesting marriage of undergraduate and graduate school. The atmosphere is more schoolish than graduate work, but the competative atmosphere is a notch undergrad. There is plenty of social interaction, but you will never forget that everyone is here for one reason only: to get into medical school. Studying is the only priority.

You need to know what you're getting into
It's hard to get into a post-bac program without demonstrating that you know what you're in for. I imagine it's even harder to get into medical school without a clear idea of what you expect, what you want, and what you can contribute. Spend some time in hosptials, talk to doctors, read the research - if medicene is what you love, it's incredibly interesting.

The state of the US medical system
Yeah, it's not perfect. Yeah, you have to deal with insurance companies, but what job doesn't have paperwork people would rather not do? There is no perfect healthcare system out there, but if that's what's stopping you, then you're focusing on the wrong things. Look at the amazing things happening in medicene: face tansplants in France, artifical hearts, leukemia as a "livable" cancer... people's lives are really getting better. Or think about all the ways it helps you and the people you love. It saved my dad from cancer, it saved my grandmother after a stroke, it saved a family friend from breast cancer, it reinflated my mother's lung... it saves premature babies, it's the reason you don't have polio... talk about miracles every day.

On sacrificing my life for my career/patients
Anyone who knows me knows that this is not a problem. I probably wouldn't be happy unless I was in a job like that. I am my job, and what better profession to define yourself with than doctor?

Something I've learned...
In honour of the biology test, I feel like this one should come from biology... Rotifers (phylum Rotifera) reproduce through parthenogenesis, which comes in two forms. The most common form involves a female producing more females from unfertilized eggs. In the other form, males and females are produced, but the males are degenerate (can't even feed themselves) and live only long enough to produce sperm to fertilze some of the eggs, which form resistant (capable of dormancy in unfavourable conditions) zygotes.

Gene SLC6A4

Something cool that I learned recently...

The serotonin transporter gene SLC6A4 is polymorphic with three distict alleles (consisting of a 44bp insertion or deletion): s/L, s/s, L/L. People with an s allele (genotype s/s or s/L) tend to have lower functioning of the serotonin transporter, which is indirectly associated with depression. Essentially, having an s allele doesn't cause depression, but combined with specific environmental factors (nurture) it is significantly more likely to result in a depressive episode. Unfortunatley, this allele is also associated with poorer outcomes of SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) treatment; currently the most prevelant drug prescribed for depression.

Photos and Fungi

The first photos from Philadelphia are up on the photostream.

Here's what I learned today... genetically fungi are more closely related to animals than plants. I wonder how vegans feel about mushrooms then (yes, that was a bad joke)? Another surprise: crocodiles are more closely related to birds than lizards and snakes. Apparently this all falls under the lively and vigorous field of systematics (taxonomy using genetic rather than morphological characteristics).

And tomorrow I get to use both morphology and mitochondrial DNA sequencing to try and place my mystery insect into a phylogenic order. Granted, the fact that I get to send DNA out for sequencing is seriously cool, but I just can't wait until I get to start dissections (squid, shark, pig...etc).

Kidney Failure

Today's insight may not be quite the learning experience yesterday's was, but it's medical in nature and well... I'm sure I'll start seeing this kind of thing in medical school. There's a blog I read regularly by a current med student and this particular post considers a patient with renal failure. Basically, his kidneys stopped working and it had a rather unfortunate effect. The post contains a picture so I suggest you not be eating when you have a look...HERE.

You Learn Something Every Day

One of the great things about being in school again, especially in
such an exceptionally focused environment like mine, is that you are
constantly learning something new in a field for which you have a real
passion. In order to share some of that I'm going to try and report
one thing each day that I'm learning. I'm not talking about a physics
equation (hey, did you know that force is equal to mass times
acceleration?) or something else so banal, but instead I'll try to
touch on some tidbit at the frontier of what constitutes the
scientific realm. Let me know what you think of these...

Today's interesting thought comes from my recent research in
schizophrenia for my biological basis of psych disorders class (we
call it BIBB: Biological Basis of Behavior). Christos Davatzikos and
team have been completing full brain MRIs of patients with
schizophrenia and have found that there is a significant difference in
the brain volume of afflicted people, especially in the frontotemporal
region. Researchers at UCLA have come to similar conclusions both in
afflicted people and in their relatives (schizophrenia has a strong
inherited genetic componant) and the optimistic implication of all
this is (in the future) would be the ability to diagnose based on
imaging and, assuming the correct anti-psychotic drugs can be
developed, treatment for people at risk before their first
psychotic break (ie, before they become symptomatic).

Davatzikos' paper can be found in the Archives of General
Psychiatry/Vol 62 Nov 2005
The work at UCLA can be found at
http://www.loni.ucla.edu/Research/Projects/Schizophrenia.html

On a more personal, this-is-my-blog kind of note...
I had a real scare with my IPOD yesterday when I couldn't transfer
songs anymore. The same thing happened to Brad's and he couldn't fix
it, so he had to shell out for a new one. I took the radical step of
reformatting it (like wiping your hard drive and reinstalling the OS)
and it *seems* to be functioning now. Thank god.
I had my first chemistry quiz - on enthalpy and Hess's law - but the
grades aren't up yet. Fingers crossed. I also turned in my first
papers for BIBB - on schizophrenia, suicide, and neurogenesis (the
growth of new neurons, specifically in the adult brain). Again,
fingers crossed.

Two songs you should check out:
1. Jacques Lu Cont remix of A Pain that I'm Used to [Depeche Mode]
2. Struggle by Ringside

Life is good.

Weekend shifting

Since I have no class on Monday, but I do have Biology lecture and lab on Saturday, my weekends have shifted from Friday night through Sunday to Saturday night through Monday. Actually, let's be honest, I went out on Friday night as well...

Biology lab looks like it's going to be pretty interesting in about 4 or 5 weeks when we start dissections, but until then I'll just have to console myself that my eight person lab table is populated with the same people that sit around the bar tables we occupy practically every night for a beer or two.

Saturday night the girls went out for Burmease food before cocktails at the Walnut room and meeting up with the boys at Fado. It can safely be said that I exceeded my recommended alcohol limit, but apparently I was also pretty hilarious in the process. It is comforting to know I'm not a boring drunk.

Today Jo and I took a study break to head in town and stop at Trader Joes and decided to hang around and watch Match Point as well. It's not "Annie Hall" Woody Allen, but it's unexpected, direct, and very well executed. Two thumbs up.

I have my first quiz, in chemistry, on Tuesday and my first written assignments, in neural basis of psychiatric disorders, due on Wednesday, so it should be an interesting week.

First kiss in Philly

yeah... it happened in a cab after going out for beers with some friends. We shared a cab back and well, just before he got out... : ) It's scary how easily my life is coming together here and how stupidly happy I am.

Classes Finalised

I have rearranged my schedule and finalised my courseload for the semester. I will be taking three classes:
- Biology II with lab
- Chemistry II
- Biological Basis of Pyschiatric Disorder
Less exciting for you, but highly anticipated for me, is tomorrow morning's cable tv and internet installation. Yes, this will mean I can watch television and surf the internet right in my very own home, something I have had to visit the library to do thus far.
I also discovered the wonders of the university pool. I went lap swimming after my run yesterday but felt a little foolish because the only bathing suit I have with me is my bikini. There I am in a pool full of racing suit, rubber-capped, freestyle swimmers and I'm in a bikini with my hair loose and doing the breaststroke. The swimsuit I can change (as soon as mom sends it to me) but I will still do the breaststroke.
Hopefully I will have something more engaging to ruminate on soon.

Bump: a gay bar in Center City

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my first night out with the post-bac crowd was after a grueling 4.5 hours of thermochemistry lecture at a very orange, very fun gay bar in center city. The crowd was young, the music was perfect and the martinis were on special for $4. Yes, you read that right. NYC = $14, Philadelphia = $4. Brilliant. And these were good martinis too - mine had cranberry juice and champagne but you could get pretty much anything. There were 10 or so of us out and it was just low key and a really good time. We're doing it again on Thursday and early rumours have us going dancing on Saturday. If this stays it's course it's going to be the easiest transition I've ever had to make. I gotta say - right now - I'm loving life here - every moment, every class, every person and very definately, ever square inch of my apartment.

Welcome to my Post-bac

Right, so the Thailand/Tokyo adventure is complete and we're on to the post-baccalareaute, pre-medical journey. I've had my first full week of classes so far and here's what I'm taking: Chem II, Bio II, Bio II lab, Clinical Research in Emergency Medicene, and Medical Spanish I. Yes, it's quite a lot, especially since I'm also trying to get a job (so if you need a research assistant or a tutor, please let me know).
This week was spent living on the couch of a friend from undergrad since I can't move into my one-bedroom (that happens tomorrow actually). It's actually been really helpful because she's shown me around a bit and introduced me to a few people.
Also very helpful, the son of the neighbor of my ex-roommate's parents (you read that right), who works in the obesity research lab at Penn. He invited me out for Mad Mex margaritas with his colleagues and before you know it we were discussing the sexual habits of obese people (yes, that's a study) as well as whether exploitation is an inherent characteristic of industrialisation. Ah yes, welcome back to college life.
After doing four hours of thermochem homework (half a problem set) on Thursday night I was introduced to another lovely establishment that looks like a rennovated cottage but is, in fact, a lisenced alcohol-serving establishment. The specialty of the house was a rather nice old English hot toddy (apple cider with brandy) which proved to be a nice way to end the day.
Wednesday I got to catch up with another college friend who was in town for a consulting project and tomorrow I'm hoping to see yet another undergrad friend who's here on a PhD track - don't worry, I'm certain my social life will come to an abrrupt halt soon and you can hear more fascinating posts on population genetics and electroplating. Or maybe something really cool will come through the ER doors and get wheeled into the trauma bay and I'll have nothing better to do for five minutes than watch as the guy who fell 40 feet gets patched up by a team of no fewer than 5 doctors... I mean, it could happen.

Inspiration

Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes
But I can't live that way
[Natasha Bedingfield]

Thailand Photos are up

Photos have finally been uploaded to the photostream. I'll organise them all into sets when I get back to a high-speed connection.
Christmas at the neighbors was actually very pleasant as was, surprise surprise, getting my CA driver's lisence. Apparently I was still in the system from last time.
Now I just need to find a place to live in Philadelphia.

Back in the USA

Ah well, after two days of traveling I eventually landed in the US - extremely jet-lagged and truthfully wishing I was still in Thailand. The trip itself was uneventful except for the sheer number of crappy movies I was forced to watch on the bus and the boat. Props to Singapore airlines though - good food and movies/tv on demand for every passenger, even in economy class ;)
Not much has happened since I got home - I saw my brother for a few hours and I've been invited to the neighbor's house for Christmas dinner. Otherwise, I'm spending two weeks alone in my parent's house. I'm loving the warm showers and access to technology (and my whole wardrobe) but otherwise it's essentially two weeks of solitary. I did get the super-bleached hair fixed though, it looks almost natural now ;)
I also got a call from my nephew in Kuwait. I'm so glad he's become part of the family now, it's too bad I won't be here when he visits in February. He's only 20 but he's getting married in August before beginning a tour in Germany. He's got quite the plan for himself - it's very impressive.
My plan, or the plan I had when I graduated, is pretty much scrapped, but I'm happier for it. I'm just as ambitious as before, but all the hard work has given me options many others don't have. I'm pretty lucky that I can basically keep trying until I find something that makes me truely happy, something I'm passionate about.
Next big trip abroad: June 2007. Who wants to come?

Backpack is back!

Fantastic news! Apparently the person who took my backpack thought I had left the bar for the night and had left my things by mistake. He turned it in at another dive shop and because everyone knows everyone's business around here the instructors there knew there was a girl at BANS looking for a black backpack. He brought it around today so I have all my stuff back! YAY! Bloody brilliant.
Yesterday's afternoon boat was cancelled so none of us got to dive. Instead, we all hopped on motorbikes, bought some cases of beer (when you buy a case a 40oz bottle works out to be 23 baht or .52 USD) and headed up to James' bungalow where we sat on the porch and drank from 3pm to around 8. Then we went to Sao's for the best burgers on the island and popped by BANS for the first round of hard liquor. BANS was pretty quiet to we took off to Lotus, which is a bar on the beach with little mats on the sand and candles lit in little sand pits. There are guys there that twirl fire on ropes (they do this in Hawaii too) and let you try if you want a go. Luke and James gave it a shot and both of them ended up burning their arms (not badly). Well, one of the girls in our little gang knew the bartender (always good)so we got three rounds of free Kamamazee shots (god they are good). Sufficed to say it was not a sober night. I think tonight will be a little lower key though because tomorrow we head to the full moon party on Koh Phanngan.
The full moon parties happen (surprise surprise) every full moon and it consists of all the beach bars flinging open their doors and blasting their music all night long. We'll take the 7pm boat over, drink all night, and take the 7am boat back after which we will all doubtlessly fall fast asleep for the rest of the day. Everyone but me, that is, because I'll have to take a 1pm boat to Chumpon to get to Bangkok in time for the flight home on the 19th. I am honestly really sad to be leaving. I've hit that point now where I'm completely integrated into the life here - I'm one of the BANS DMs and even other dive shops recognise me (it's not a big island, 5km by 2km). Moving to NYC it took almost a year to hit a stride like this and here - a month. The only thing that pulls me back is the knowledge that after a year or so this life wouldn't be enough anymore. In some ways it's all fun with no substance and I know that eventually that would get boring for me - but damn, it's really fun for a while. And a while could certainly be longer than 6 weeks.
I also want to say thank you to everyone who has emailed me comments and things - it's great to hear from you and you make my day :) People are starting to send me links to photos so when I get home I'll post them and put up a link. There are some funny ones (like me with a card stuck to my head)!

F@%$

After managing to finish my skill circuit and pass my equipment exchange I had a pleasant evening with Keith, James, Rich, and Andy ordering pizza and watching movies. At about midnight we hit up the bar and I was there for about an hour (2 drinks). When getting up to leave I discover... my backpack has been snagged. Yes. Crap. It had my IPOD, bank card, credit card, house keys, and driver's lisence in it (but not my passport or much cash). Double crap. $%^#!
A skill circuit is basically all the things open water students have to learn, except we have to be able to do them demonstration quality. These are skills like taking your mask off underwater, taking your regulator out underwater, taking your scuba gear off underwater and surfacing with no air (there are 20 skills in all).
The equipment exchange is just plain scary. The idea is to trade all your gear with another person underwater - BCD, weight belt, fins, and mask. BUT, you have to do this while the two people share one regulator (the thing in your mouth that the air comes through) AND the instructor is purposely making your life hell by ripping your mask off and filling it with sand or undoing your weight belt and blowing air from his Octopus (the bright yellow back-up thingy for your mouth) in your face. It took three tries, but we managed it. Thank you lord. I will never have to do that again, not even to become an instructor.
Ah yes, and the tv at James/Rich's house... we watched Layer Cake.. good movie.. before switching over to the tv and channel surfing. Well, on Fashion tv we found "hot hour" which basically consisted of swimsuit models getting their picture taken on a beach for an hour. The boys were in heaven.
The bar was good fun (except for the whole all-my-stuff-was-stolen bit. We were dancing and downing Jack and Coke and the Greenpeace boat had left (good riddance. One of the Greenpeace guys came on land and offended a whole bunch of Thai guys. The Thai are actually quite violent and he received the beating of his life. He's laid up on his boat with two broken ribs, a broken nose and a concussion now) so we're all glad to have our bar back.
I was supposed to do the Nitrox course today but I had to withdraw. I *may* barely have enough cash to make it back to the US so I can't afford the 5000 baht course fee with all my stuff gone ;( I'm really bummed about that. Maybe I can do it in Cali over the holidays. Another thing to look into: surf camp. Apparently there's a really good one near my folks in SoCal - how cool would it be to learn to surf?!

Back in the water :)

Well, after two nights of great partying, the first sober and the second stoned, I am getting back in the water. My kidneys haven't been achy for two days and today is my last day of antibiotics. SO, today: skill circuit and equipment exchange, tomorrow: Nitrox specialty.
Nitrox, for the non-divers reading this, is a gas blend with a higher oxygen content than compressed air. Normally we dive with Aluminium tanks with regular air (21% O2 79% N2) compressed to 200 times sea level. This means a single standard size tank holds about 2400 L of air. Nitrox blends are either 32% or 36% O2 so you can remain underwater longer because your body is absorbing less nitrogen. However, the trade off is that you cannot go as deep because O2 is toxic at concentrations higher than 1.4. For example, on a normal air blend, .21, you would have to be just shy of 60m before the .21 x 7 (the density factor at that depth) = 1.47 which is toxic. Since 60m is well below recreational dive limits, we don't generally worry about O2 toxicity on compressed air. However, at .36 (a nitrox blend), you would hit O2 toxicity at about 30m (.36 x 4 = 1.44), which is well within recreational dive limits.
In other news, we've had the Greenpeace boat here the last two days as well as a Thai movie star. It's funny watching all the Thai's here crowd around asking for pictures, especially since the movie star himself looks exceptionally bored.
We found a new place to eat as well, fantastic little hut down past Sai Ree village that does the best burgers you've had since leaving the US. They taste homemade and for all the Europeans out there, everyone eats their fries with mayonaise here. And it's SO incredibly good.
Ok, I'm off for an ice cream before my skill circuit. It's sunny today and stupidly hot - the water will feel refreshing. Ah, and when I say stupidly hot, I mean it. 35.5 - 38 C. For the Americans, that's between 96 and 104 with a humidity around 70%. And the worst bit is, at night, when the sun is down it only hits about 25 C, I'm cold and I walk around in a jumper and long trousers.

I almost forgot...

Just in case you were wondering, it's a "chilly" 35.5 degrees Celcius here at the moment (that's 96 degrees Fahrenheit) and it's cloudy at the moment. Just imagine when the sun comes out again ;)

Koh Samui

I ended up making an overnight trip to the nearby island of Koh Samui to visit the hospital there. Now, before you all get worried, I'm fine. I promise. I woke up in the night with a searing pain in my lower left side through to my back. I tried to ignore it but it got steadily worse so I went down to the bar (it was 2:30am, it's still open then) and asked Kelley and Nando what time the nurse opened. Nando insisted I get on his bike with him and we go right now and Kelley came as well. The nurse was useless, both in English and at medicene so she gave me some painkillers and said if it didn't go away to go to the hospital. Well, it's not everyday you get pain bad enough you can't walk or stand up so I decided to go to the hospital the next afternoon regardless of how I felt. Nando gave me his raincoat and biked me back to my room in some absolutely pouring rain. He and Kelley really were champs that night. Well, those painkillers (I looked them up on the internet later) were morphine derivatives (opiates) and they knocked me sideways. Man, I don't think I would have felt it if you chopped my arm of with a butter knife. The doctor in the hospital said it was either 1) kidney stones or 2) a kidney infection. He gave me some antibiotics and told me to drink lots of water. I'm still a bit sore now, but I've stopped taking the painkillers and managed to do a confined session in the water today, so I think I'll be alright. Apparently the tests showed nothing worse than a high white blood cell count in my kidneys and urine (indicative of an infection, though I have no fever). While I was gone I missed one hell of a party at BANS too since all the IDC kids graduated (they are instructors now).
Samui as an island is not nearly as nice as Koh Tao. It's much more developed, more expensive, and lacks the island atmosphere. If you ever travel to this part of the world Samui is nice for shopping, but I think Koh Tao is a much nicer place to stay.
Hmm... what else, not much really. I have 5 things left to do to finish my DM: 3 exams, a skill circuit, an underwater equipment exchange, 2 swim tests, and a rescue assessment.
I've decided to come back to the US as previously planned because I just have too much to come back to at the moment, BUT... I'll have some free time again in 2007 so you may be hearing plans for another romp around the world. After all, there is so much I haven't seen yet!

Whale sharks

Whale sharks have been cruising around Chumpon lately and they are quite the sight to see. About 4-10m in length with little fish swimming around them and they will come right up to you and hang out even when there are 20 divers around. The waves have calmed enough that we're out at Chumpon every afternoon (easily my favourite dive site) but there's a wicked current for the first 18 metres.
I've been assiting on a rescue course and gotten my First Aid certification. Assiting a rescue course is great fun as it involves getting towed around, pretending to panic, and jumping in the water and yelling "pizza! pizza!" a lot (we can't yell help because other boats would think there is a real emergency). The instructor, Val, is really cool too - very bubbly and fun.
I got my hair bleached today to get the red out and it, well, it's not exactly what I thought it would turn out to be. It's a combination of platinum and orange... but John and Laura seem to think it will calm down and fade a little in the next few days. Whatever, I can get it fixed in the US and it doesn't look half as dreadful and Tom's new mowhawk. I guess that's what happens here when it rains and there's nothing else to do - you drink and shave/bleach people's heads.
The night dive tonight was nothing to write home about, so I'll spare you that one. I'm over 60 dives now though so I have enough to meet my divemaster requirements. I need to get to 100 for instructor... and you're 100th dive is supposed to be done naked.
It's 10pm so I'm off to the bar to chill out with the others. Tomorrow some of my friends will officially become instructors! 10 days and I'll be a Divemaster! Whoo hoo!

Leading Fun Divers

The visa run was, thankfully, uneventful. We slept on the night boat (11pm to 4:30am) before hopping into a minivan and driving from Chumpon to Ranang. From there it was a longtail boat to the pier across the way, which was part of Myanmar. A guy took all our passports and stamped them and we took the boat back to Ranang, the minibus back to Chumpon (where I had my first KFC ever) and the high-speed Lomprayah to Koh Tao; arrival 2:45pm.
Since I finished assisting Edwin I've just been signing up for dives, not helping another course. Since all fun divers here are sent out with a guide the DMT's frequently become the guides (once you've got at least 40 dives, I'm at 57). Today I led some people through Chumpon and White Rock and it was pretty cool. There was a wicked current at Chumpon but we did get down to 30m and at White Rock we saw two giant Titan Trigger Fish (they are aggressive and will bite).
Last night I led a night dive and it was honestly one of the best dives I've done here. It was with two friends (the Royal Navy pilots, Andy and Keith, that I spend 80% of my time with) and we watched barracuda eat small fish practically the whole 40 mins. When the torches were switvhed off the bioluminecense was phenomenal - it was like being in the matrix.
There's a new director of the DM program now, James, and I think it's going to be much better. There are more requirements now and it will be a bit harder, but we will all be far better divers for it.
Tomorrow is first aid, then hopefully I'll be assisting with a Rescue course for the two days following. The days when I'm not in the water are long, but the days when I'm in the sea (every day but two since Nov 8) are fantastic. I love being on boats and under the ocean - it just doesn't get old.
Got to take the night off tonight... had a bit too much rum last night, too bad too because the IDC guys are partying. Eh, the sleep will do me good ;)

Visa Run

I am about to board the night boat for a visa run to Burma. I will be in Burma for a total of..oh.. 10 minutes, before turning around and coming back. The whole trip will last from 11pm tonight to 3pm tomorrow and cost about 30 USD. Let us hope for calm seas.

A Little More Responsibility

I'm now assisting Edwin's OW course, with eight students. Edwin let me teach the skills to half of them (he still evaluated) and then I was put in charge of leading four of them on the first two dives (normally I follow). All went fine on the first dive, but I lost a buddy pair on the second. The one student was simply too floaty and she gave up and went back to the boat. When I went up to find her she burst out crying - apparently I'm technically a good diver and I handled the situation well, but my bedside manner needs work. It happens.
Yesterday after the confined session we took weights off the students and I had to swim them back to shore. 12kgs... even with my BCD fully inflated I sink with that much weight. 200m has never seemed so far. It happens.
Otherwise, the visability is getting better, my pool (the game played on a table) is getting worse, my connect four is getting better, and my Dutch is nicely polished. Yes, I teach in Dutch sometimes ;)
Judging by the emails I've been getting, the world is moving along and people's lives are continuing with some normal rate of change. The thing is, we're so isolated here on this island that it hits you suddenly, in waves. Whoa, so and so quit, so and so is interviewing, so and so is deployed... life proceeds in fits and starts.
I'm considering delaying my entrance to Penn until May and staying abroad for a while longer... anyone care to weigh in on the idea?

46 Dives and counting...

The storm got so bad here that all the boats were cancelled yesterday. Brendan, Jack, Keith, Andy, Pom and I took the opportunity to watch DVDs and eat chips with mayo all afternoon and just be completely lazy bums.
Last night brought far too many shots of black sambuca and damn, I felt it this morning. Poor Bruce woke up with writing all over him though.. sufficed to say we did so many shots we built a pyramid from the glasses and the bar had to ask for them back because they had run out.
Had a pair of decent dives on White Rock nonetheless before having a lazy afternoon logging dives and reading my book. Got to save my energy for tomorrow - confined (open water swimming pool dives) in the morning, a deep dive in the afternoon, and a costume party (cowboys and indians) tomorrow night. Then it's two more days of assisting and lectures before I take on a deep dive specialty.
I don't even want to talk about men (I've tried to avoid the subject in my posts) but I will say I'm a bit annoyed at them at the moment and I've gone off them a bit. I did end up punching one the other night (we're friends again) but honestly... what goes through their heads sometimes?
I need to make my visa run soon, which is basically 10 minutes spend on the Burmease border so you can get a new stamp in your passport. For each day you're late it's 200 baht (USD 5) so Jay, Jane, and I are going to head off around the 1st Dec (I'm due on the 4th).
My camera is half working... fingers crossed it gets better. Depending on an email I'm waiting for... there may be big news coming. Oh, I've got some wicked wetsuit tans now ;)

Tropical Storms

It's rainy and cold here. By cold I mean I'm in shorts and a light sweater with the sleeves pushed up. It's not bad when you're dry, but when you come out of the 30 degree celcius water from a 45 minute dive and stand in the wind and rain for an hour before you go down again, well, it gets a tad chilly. And yes, the ocean here at 35m depth is a lovely 29-30 degrees C. We're getting some huge swells too, 4-6m waves which make the boat trips great fun for those suceptible to sea sickness. We can't get out to some of the dive sites because the sea is too rough, but there has been some great visability in the nearby sites which more than makes up for it. We saw some turtles yesterday as well as some moray eels (they tend to swim in pairs). I might go and get my IPOD filled tomorrow (2 baht per song, that's 5 cents a song) at Switch - I gotta run though, my Open Water students and I have a boat to catch for their final two dives. I took it easy last night, had too, after the 4:30am bedtime the night before (Rugby, live music and dancing) ;)

35 Dives and Counting

It's hard to believe that 10 days ago I got to Koh Tao as an 18-dive Advanced Open Water (AOW) and now I'm a 35-dive Rescue Certified Dive Master Trainee (DMT). I spent the morning in the pool today doing confined with a new class of Open Water (OW) kids - that's three + hours in the pool for anyone counting - and then spent the afternoon on the last two dives for my AOW class. Yes, I'm assisting two classes at once! Anthony is giving me marks of 4/5 for the assists on his OW and AOW, which is really quite good for the first assists. The new OW class is with Rich, so I'm sure I'll have more to say on that later.
The AOW class was 6 or the 7 kids from that first OW class I was writing about before. Yesterday we took them out for three dives (deep, navagation, and night) and today for two (multi-level and naturalist). I got to play on my own on the multilevel so I was just swimming around Hing Pee Lee at 25 meters for 40 minutes alone - it was fantastic! It has gotten to the point now though where when I'm on land I feel like I'm on a boat and my hands are permenantly pruny.
It's a tropical storm at the moment so it's rainy and "cold", but of course you can dive through that. It's made the boat rides good fun though ;)
Last night we went out drinking and dancing at Choppers, a bar down the road in Sairee Village - really good fun. Tonight we might head out to Mae Haad and hit up Dirty Nellys. Tomorrow I'm on the morning boat though so I'll need to keep it somewhat under control. Island life as a DMT is actually busier than one might think.
I wish there was some way to really describe what this is like in words... even pictures wouldn't manage it. I really love diving and right now my whole life revolves around it - that's all I really need to worry about and it's just fantastic. Even when the dive sites have bad visability and it's rainy you just don't notice it - even washing the gear isn't much of a chore. I haven't even left, I'm not that close to leaving (1 month) and I can't wait to come back in 2007 and get my instructorship (IDC) and do an internship. Maybe work in Aus/NZ/Maldives, where ever will take me for a year... I don't know if I could do this with a kid and a partner, like Anthony, but for your twenties, what better way to live?

Loy Krathong

is the Thai festival for honouring the water spirits. It's November 16 (yesterday) so there was a festival here on Koh Tao. Lots of different people performed Thai dances and then all the dive shops hold an all island Miss Loy Krathong contest. Sam was the representative from our shop (BANS), but unfortunately she didn't win. Highlights include when they asked Gemma "What's your favourite place on Earth" and she answered, "I don't know, but in bed with my boyfriend is pretty good." After all the dancing and contests etc everyone lights floral arrangements and candles and floats them off to sea. It's beautiful, but it leads to a lot of crap in the ocean, which we saw all over the place when we went diving today.
Today was the final day for my open water students (the class I'm assisting) and they did really well. Luke and Anthony said I did a really good job assisting today and Anthony wants me to assist his advanced course starting tomorrow as well. In less than a week I'll be qualified to lead without supervision! Scary! I passed my physics exam, and now I'm tutoring some people in physics that had trouble. At least I'm good at something :) Judging by the way the DMT group has been gelling and hanging together I'm relatively well-liked so it feels nice to be a part of the staff here. I don't feel so lost anymore and I'm having a great time. My diving is improving rapidly and it helps that my confidence is coming along a bit too.
I don't think I'll make it to Cambodia and all that on this trip- just not enought time. I'll just have to come back after Penn and go through IDC, then travel, then maybe get a job for 3-6 months in Australia or the Maldives. How brilliant of a glide year would that be? If there was anyway for me to put Penn off for a while, I would. I am loving this life.

Officially a DMT!

Yesterday I finished my Rescue module, so now I am officially a DiveMaster Trainee (Rescue is a pre-req). In my practical exam I managed to find my lost diver in only 5 minutes and used a rope to haul him onto the boat before performing CPR. I immediately hopped onto the night boat and assisted (my first genuine DM duty) an Advanced Open Water team on their night dive. Normally this just means following them and making sure they don't get lost (the instructor is in front), but one guy ran out of air (50 bar) 20 mins in so I had to peel off from the group with him and surface to get him back to the boat. Anthony, the instuctor, was so pleased with me that he's asked me to assist his open water course (the whole course, all 5 dives). Before I finish the DM I'll have to assist a whole advanced and whole Rescue course as well, but I've got quite a good start here! Tonight I'll get my first three academic modules signed off (there are 9) and hopefully another 2 before the end of the week.
I took the day off from diving today because my throat hurts a bit, I'm tired, and I've been drinking every night. I need to be good, recuperate today, and I'll be in good shape again. I'm told by Lucas (another DMT) that it's a good idea to take a day off every 10 days at minimum - sound like good advice. I might do some swimming practice (got to pass those fitness tests!) but that will be all.
Yesterday I went into Mae Haad (the pier village, I'm in Sairee Beach, the next village over) and bought some board shorts (quick dry clothing is essential here)... for USD 25 I walked away with a cordoroy mini-skirt, board shorts, and two tank tops. I love how cheap this country is... I moved into my long term apt here too, and it's not USD 150 a month, it's USD 112.50/month ;) For those of you keeping score, beer is USD 1.50 a bottle, a bucket of rum/red bull/coke is USD 5, a plate full of curry is USD 4, a banana/nutella crepe is USD 0.80 and a can of coke is USD 0.50. Bangkok cost half as much, but compared to NYC, this is glorious.

Baby Steps to Divemaster

This is going to pretty tough - divemaster is going to be great fun, but also a pretty decent challenge. There are all kinds of academic modules, diving modules, fitness modules, and leadership work. I have my final rescue test tomorrow (the one in the water, I passed the academic already) and I passed physiology two days ago, so we're off to a good start. Rescue is pretty tough as we had to share a regulator while swapping all our gear under water, twice. Apparently next time there will be instructors swirling around us blowing air at us and ripping our masks off etc to "add stress." Yay.
I have done some fun diving too since I have to rack up a certain number of dives. The first day was pretty bad, but it was all new equipment so that's to be expected really. Since then it's been going much better and I've managed to drop a weight and was even asked to follow a fun dive group as an assistant. A DM will lead the group and we put a trainee in the back to make sure no one wanders off if the group is mostly inexperienced divers.
In two weeks I'm hoping I'll be ready to assist on courses and I'm hoping I'll have lots of the academic modules done. I'm working on my Emergency Assistance Plan tonight, so that will knock another thing off the list.
On the non-diving side there has been a rather gratuitous amount of alcohol ;) I did my homework last night on a bucket of rum, shots, and beer and the night before I did it after 5 shots of vodka. It's actually not a great idea because I dive the next day and it could make me sick, but, you're not supposed to smoke either and everyone here seems to have a pack a day habit.
Speaking of the people, they are really cool. If there was any way I could I would stay here and work at BANS for 8-9 months. You can get bartending shifts and once I got my instructorship I could take classes that way too. Rent is only USD 150 a months so it's not like life's particularly expensive.
Oh, haha, it's almost all guys here too so...college 70% male, banking, 75% male, koh tao DMT population 70 % male. Hehe, I know how to pick em ;)
I don't want to leave! The mosquitos and ants I could live without though.

Farang lands on beautiful Koh Tao

Indeed, I made it. First though, we saw the Imperial Palace with the jade Buddha in Bangkok on Monday before having foot massages. Yes, thai massages are everything they are cracked up to be and more. A one hour foot massage (6 USD) involves a knee, calf, ankle and foot massage and reflexology, followed by a neck, back, and shoulder rub down and some back cracking. It is simply glorious.
Evening found us on the night train, which was not so fun because it's bumpy, the lights don't go off, and there was an infant crying the whole way (10 hrs). I'm sure it was far better than the bus would have been though. Then there was an hour wait on the platform (at 5am) for the bus to take us to the pier, where we caught a 4 hour boat ride to the island. Lunch was of the higher priorities, as was finding somewhere to stay. For some reason we (Lucas, 4 people from the UK, and I) decided to trek the several kilometers from Mae Hat (the pier village) to Sai Ree (the diving beaches) with all our gear. We stopped for some lunch half way and then checked several places before settling with the dive resort I had researched and intended to go to anyway; BANS. The others will be doing their open water (4 days) before heading to Koh Phanngan for the full moon party (think Ibiza) while I remain at BANS for another 3 weeks working on my Divemaster. As of tomorrow, 10am I will be a DMT (Dive Master Trainee) and my monthly rent is a whopping USD 150.
After a quick banana smoothie snack Charlotte and I decided to get another massage (that's 2 in 48 hours) while the boys went looking for scooters. I might rent a scooter later in the month, so look out for a good story.
Unfortunately, my camera doesn't seem to be working yet. We're drying it out another day and praying. Since it's so humid I assume it takes longer to dry? Please, please let it be ok.

Farang gets caught in the rain

and gets her digital camera wet!
I really really hope our drying regimen and silica can save the camera or I really and truly will cry very very hard.
Lucas, Eva, Sean and I headed out to the weekend market yesterday and wandered around the 25,000 stalls for pretty much the entire morning. We smapled lots of different kinds of Thai food (I have no idea what it was) and it was fantastic. The food here is amazingly wonderously good and dirt cheap. 75 cents will get you a plateful of two curries and rice, so spicy your mouth hurt - brilliant!
In the afternoon we took a boat ride up to Kho San road and wandered around there (the Imperial Palace was already closed) when it started raining. We decided to just get wet and all four of us were soaked through - jumped in a swimming pool soaked - by the time it stopped. Everyone was staring at us from under awnings and jammed inside phone booths, but it was great fun. We stopped for more curry and cabbed it back to the hostel to dry off.
After a nice change of clothes we broke out a bottle of rum and started mixing rum, red bull, and coke with Yiska, Andre, and a Canadian girl. We played some strange dice game first, and then Newfoundland poker and poor Sean drank so much he got sick. The pictures are hilarious and as soon as Lucas posts them I'll put some links up. Lets just say we spent most of the evening with cards stuck to our foreheads.
Right, off to the Imperial Palace. I don't know when I'll next get internet, but I assume the island must have it (we take the overnight train there tonight).

Little Ganjin leaves Tokyo

and heads to Bangkok.
Me and my hangover took a late afternoon flight (six hours) to Bangkok and arrived late at night. I hopped a taxi and for 6 USD made it to Sukhumvit Road where I'm staying in a hostel. It rained that night and the roads where flooded with a foot of water which apparently, is normal. The taxis just keep driving and people just walk through it.
The hostel looks like a treehouse in the middle of the road and it's full of Canadians at the moment. There's a guy from Seattle here too and it looks like we'll be heading down to Koh Tao together if we can get a space on the overnight train. Apparently they book up quickly.
Since yesterday was a travel day, there's not much else to say. More tomorrow. And more pictures eventually.

Little Ganjin has a big night out.

It was a day of meeting people. In the morning I headed to Senso-ji in Asakusa, which is Tokyo's largest Bhuddist temple. It's surrounded by lots of smaller Shinto shrines and a buzzing market of small stalls selling pretty much everything. As I was leaving a very nice Japanese man approached me and struck up a conversation. He decided to spend the next hour being my tour guide before buying me some fried rice crackers (yummy - taste like soy sauce) and directing me to Kappabachi, a street where they sell the plastic food restaurants put in the windows here.
After spending the morning in Asakusa I headed to Ueno and the Tokyo National Museum in the middle of Ueno Park. It's an awe-inspiring collection of enamels, painting, swords and artifacts. There were Bhuddist scrolls from the 8th century! Unfortunately I ran out of time before I could get to the science museum or the zoo.
Shortly after returning from Ueno, the evening began. I think this is best described in a drink by drink...
1) Cranberry Vodka in the Grand Hyatt, Roppongi Hills. The first room here I was in where the dominant language was English.
2)Apple martini with dinner at Xen, which involved sushi, vegtables, beef, and tempura.
3) Vodka tonic at Geronimo, a shot bar on Roppongi Dori. On the way there we stopped in an arcade to play some shooting and drumming games (yes, drumming).
4-5) 2 x Cranberry Vodka at Burbon Street, where I met the Australian district managers of Toyota. They invited me out so...it would be rude to say no.
6) Cranberry Vodka at Heartland, back in the Roppongi Hills complex
7) Frangelica in the jazz bar of the Grand Hyatt
It was 5am by the end when I said goodnight to Leigh and the last ones standing, well, they went to sleep.
The flight to Bangkok takes of at 5:15 so I have to get cracking... you have to leave at least 4 hours before your flight here - Tokyo traffic is not happy stuff.

Little Ganjin gets lost again.

Yes, that's right. But first...
This morning started out well with toast and tea followed by a walk around the Akasaka Palace where the crown prince lives. This was followed by washing the car and taking it for a drive around the Imperial Palace. Please note this car was a Ferrari 360 Spider and yes, I drove. Yup, I DROVE. On the left hand side in a right hand drive car through Tokyo... a FERRARAI 360 SPIDER (convertable). Nice.
I then had my first experience with a Japanese supermarket ($60 for a melon?!) before heading off to Harajuku.
This is where little Ganjin gets lost... I ended up in Sendagaya by accident (by the National Stadium where the Olympics were held) before finding Harajuku and all the quirky, ritzy shopping on Omote Sando. And yes, people really do dress like those pictures - makeup, platforms, crazy hair, freakish. Makes for a really interesting walk. It's Tokyo design week so that made it all the more interesting with all kinds parading around.
The Meji-jingu is there as well (inner and outer gardens) which are really quite beautiful. Well, the outer garden is nothing special, but the inner garden is. For some reason they are a kilometer apart and seperated by normal streets.
I managed to crop and upload some pictures. There are more, but they take forever to compress because my software sucks. You'll see them sprinkled through the previous posts.
Or see them all HERE

Little Ganjin lost in big Tokyo.

Yes that's right, but before I got lost I did manage to successfully take the subway to Ginza and walk down to Tsukiji, the largest wholesale fish market in the world. I got a great picture of some red octopi and had my first Japanese omelette.
I then proceeded to Hama Rikyu, the shogun duck hunting garden where I rested in a teahouse on the pond and had matcha (Japanese bitter, frothy green tea with a sweet).
From there it was a waterbus ride to Odaiba, the reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, to visit MeSci, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. It's a very cool interactive museum, but what struck me most is that much of what's on display there is what we were learning at Carnegie Mellon: soccer playing robot dogs, robotic surgery, designer drugs, and advances in neural understanding. It gives you chills to realise that you and your friends are trained to expand the frontiers of what is known and possible. There's also a nifty science library there where I saw a film in double live donor lung transplantation.
From there is was a monorail ride (yes, we're on the third form of public transport - I'm very proud of myself) back to Shimbashi, from where I planned to walk back to Akasaka (where I'm staying). Unfortunately I wound up a little south of where I wanted to be in Shiba/Shiba Koen. I back-tracked to Tokyo tower (Click the links for photos) and caught a subway from Kamiyacho to Akasaka.
I feel I should also mention the public toilets here, which are squat-pee even for ladies. So if you come to Japan, learn to aim.