where everybody knows your name

I'm heading to Boston the evening after my last final on April 27. I'm glad I have something exciting to look forward to after such a looooong semester! And I'm definitely interested to finally see all the buzz about JetBlue's fabulous flight service. It'll be a breath of fresh air to be in Boston for a week before our summer semester starts full swing May 8.

My cousin lives in Boston. I'm quite impressed that she (finally) finished her PhD last year at Johns Hopkins and is now teaching/researching at Harvard. I've always looked up to her -- not just because she's stinkin' smart, but she's impressed on me the drive to constantly strive forward and be adventurous. She flew home before her graduation so we could celebrate. I was an absolute moron for falling asleep while she was giving her abridged dissertation presentation to our family; I'm not sure that she's forgiven me, but it sounds like she's still happy to receive me next month.

I've never been there before, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! I'm especially interested in places to eat and not-so-touristy places to check out.

TGIF

what do you think?

I was re-reading and thinking about my StrengthsQuest list of my top 5 strengths. Each person in my class took the assessment during our orientation last fall, and this is how I scored (1 being my biggest strength and so on).

1. Learner
2. Connectedness
3. Achiever
4. Harmony
5. Developer
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Learner
You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered--this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences--yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the "getting there."

Connectedness
Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The exact articles of your faith will depend on your upbringing and your culture, but your faith is strong. It sustains you and your close friends in the face of life's mysteries.

Achiever
Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by "every day" you mean every single day--workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.

Harmony
You look for areas of agreement. In your view there is little to be gained from conflict and friction, so you seek to hold them to a minimum. When you know that the people around you hold differing views, you try to find the common ground. You try to steer them away from confrontation and toward harmony. In fact, harmony is one of your guiding values. You can't quite believe how much time is wasted by people trying to impose their views on others. Wouldn't we all be more productive if we kept our opinions in check and instead looked for consensus and support? You believe we would, and you live by that belief. When others are sounding off about their goals, their claims, and their fervently held opinions, you hold your peace. When others strike out in a direction, you will willingly, in the service of harmony, modify your own objectives to merge with theirs (as long as their basic values do not clash with yours). When others start to argue about their pet theory or concept, you steer clear of the debate, preferring to talk about practical, down-to-earth matters on which you can all agree. In your view we are all in the same boat, and we need this boat to get where we are going. It is a good boat. There is no need to rock it just to show that you can.

Developer
You see the potential in others. Very often, in fact, potential is all you see. In your view no individual is fully formed. On the contrary, each individual is a work in progress, alive with possibilities. And you are drawn toward people for this very reason. When you interact with others, your goal is to help them experience success. You look for ways to challenge them. You devise interesting experiences that can stretch them and help them grow. And all the while you are on the lookout for the signs of growth--a new behavior learned or modified, a slight improvement in a skill, a glimpse of excellence or of "flow" where previously there were only halting steps. For you these small increments--invisible to some--are clear signs of potential being realized. These signs of growth in others are your fuel. They bring you strength and satisfaction. Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.

i made it through...

Another week of school
Just completed the 9th week of the semester. It is flying by. It really is a lot of fun, but certainly a lot of work. I'm grateful to have friends to enjoy the ride with and God to give me joy in the process... especially in waking up at 4am a few days a week. Who knew the moon could look so awesome that early in the morning? Haha.

Watching 2 surgeries
We're in our first Med-Surg rotation at Arcadia Methodist Hospital and it has been amazing to say the least. We rotate through the OR once this semester and last Monday was my day. In the OR, I saw a laparoscopic gastric bypass and a laparoscopic partial gastrectomy. Thankfully, it wasn't bloody at all because laparoscopic procedures just involve a few incision sites and a camera so you can visualize the inside of the abdomen. This gives you a pretty benign picture of what it entails. Google it if you want more interesting photos. Pretty cool.

...and hopefully the next few weeks will be just as swell.

it's true and here's evidence

Even the Journal of the American Medical Association says so. Caffeine is OK, at least, in relation to your blood pressure, that is.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/294/18/2330

caffeine is a CNS stimulant

At the beginning of last semester, we were asked to list all the drugs we knew for different categories (e.g. anti-hypertensives, anti-infectives, etc.). What topped my list under central nervous system stimulants was CAFFEINE. Now, at 2 AM, after 5 hours of studying, 1 cafe mocha, and 2 cups of green tea, I remembered I started this blog 4 months ago and I completely abandoned it in the midst of finals. I love caffeine. And from what I learned from studying today, caffeine is "not statistically linked to increased blood pressure." Thank God!

Today was a good day. I spent my morning enjoying breakfast with Maureen, Nicole, and Marianne at La Creperie Cafe in Belmont Shores. I love that place. I've been there 2 years in a row for my birthday, plus every month in between...no joke! I have the greatest friends -- Nicole emailed me the other week reminding me that we never got around to celebrating my birthday (which is in October), so we'd celebrate it today. Besides awesome food, we shared great conversation and laughs. I think I may have enlightened them with my profound knowledge of insulin, bedsores, and the like.

Aside from studying, I spent part of my evening at my aunt's celebrating her birthday. One of my uncles taped a few episodes of Dancing with the Stars . I admit, I enjoy the show and it makes me want to learn how to dance...and dance well! But after my family repeated the fact that Cheryl (one of the professional dancers) was Filipino about a dozen times and then busted out the karaoke, I knew it was time to jet. Studying sounded much more appealing.

God is good. Despite how crazy school can be, He always provides me with knowledge of how full and amazing my life is. I can't wait for service tomorrow morning -- new series! Oh, and Emily, my best friend from school, called me this evening saying that one of her friends in Cerritos has actually been going to Revolution on and off over the past month. She's hoping that I can figure out who he is and hopefully just chat it up. So we'll see!