So this girl and her little, white dog moved into the apartment facing mine (but in the next building).  So basically, if her shades are up, i can see directly into her place.  One day, i was washing dishes and i see her little dog standing on the window sill just looking at me.  and it is SOOOO cute.  So i started waving to it…and i  shouted, “HELLO……HELLO DOGGY” and whistled at it……I even did doggy barks at it.  So i did this for a few minutes….and then i see movement in the apartment…and i think UH OH…and a few seconds later, I see this girl’s face in the window.  I ducked, so i don’t think she saw me….but when i came back up, her shades were down.  OOPS!

Oh, and that dog barks ALL DAY…NON STOP.

Working at Children’s means standing all day….literally…except the half hour for lunch.  Even their IV techs make IV’s standing up.  Which means by the end of the day, my feet and legs are KILLING me (AND i wear sneakers).  I usually just turn my feet in and rest my knees against each other (so i look rather pigeon toed), which i know is just some sort joint injury waiting to happen.  What can i do to ease the pain? and why does no one else seem to be affected by it?  it is me and my old age…sigh.  oh, and insoles won’t really be a great solution because it’ll just take away space from the front of the shoe…which means my little toesies will also be screaming with pain.

Watching the track and field events on TV reminds me of the SCREWED UP tryouts the Stuy track team had.  Most of Stuy’s athletics teams held legitimate tryouts…selections were made based on time/skills.  But for some reason, the track team always had these bogus tryouts….IF there were tryouts at all.  Sometimes, there were no tryouts at all.  But the year I decided to try out for outdoor track, they decided to have tryouts….after years of not having them. 

And so, coach had us divided into two groups…sprinters and long distance runners.  The thought of running a mile made me want to vomit, so i joined the sprinters group.  We got split up into groups of 3 or 4 and we were told to run the 400m.  The other girls in my group were “veterans” ( I use that term VERY loosely, since they never had to tryout to get on the eam).  I was on the inside lane….and as soon as the start whistle blew, all the other girls shifted over one lane, essentially cutting me off.  FIRST OF ALL, who switches lanes on a short distance race?!  The coach said nothing…and i spent the first 100m trying to figure out whether or not it would be worth it to run all the way out to the 5th lane and go around them.  So i just waited until the first turn…and I squeezed by the girl who cut me off and i ran ahead (they were MAD SLOW).  So my time was a minute and 5 seconds, which includes the entire time i was stuck behind those girls….the other girls didn’t finish for at least a good 5 seconds after me (which is a LOT of time in track).  I had time to finish, ask for my time and watch them finish.

We had other races…like down the block, in front of Stuy…by the grassy knoll (back when there was a grassy knoll).  And coach assigned one person in each group that was racing to start the race (usually, the one assigned was a “veteran”).  So in my group, the girl went “on your marks….get set….” and she took off without saying GO.  And coach said nothing…so the rest of us just started running, even tho she had a HUMONGOUS head start.  At the end, i beat her anyway.

OK…so after a few weeks of this (and btw, i won every group race i was in), coach announces who made the team.  I was not on it.  Actually, only the veterans made it (along with some of their friends…yknow how that Stuy clique-ism works).  So all the girls that I beat out by LARGE MARGINS made the team…and I did not.  So a few of us approached him to protest.  And he just flat out said that the team was based on what he saw during tryouts…and those girls were the better runners.  One of my friends pointed out that some of us clearly beat out the girls that made the team.  In response, he said that if we wanted to get on the team, we would have to race this girl, (I’ll call her A, because i don’t know her name)…and if we could beat her, then we can be on the team.  OK…A was the best girl on the team…she had been running competitively since she was a kid.  So basically, we knew we couldn’t beat her.  And coach refused to let us on the team any other way…even though we had beat the majority of the girls there.  He did agree to let us run practices with them…and that he’d take that into consideration when picking next year’s team.  So i did that for about a month…and then SING! came along and I did that instead….I got sick of wasting my time on a lost and UNFAIR cause.

So, needless to say…Stuy’s track team sucked.  And i never tried out the next year because SING! was so much more worth my time.  Anyhow, i’m not BITTER or anything…..actually, i am…hahahhahaha.  But i got to do SING!, which i wouldn’t have gotten to do if i had joined the track team since practice times conflicted. 

But now i want to time myself….hee hee.  I’m thinking that i can run the 100m in under 15 seconds.  LET US SEE…

I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow.  dum dum dum.  I’m going back to the guy i went to last time….Dario….he was REALLY good…he got rid of those razored ends that asian haircutters love to put in.  My hair looks nasty with razored ends…it just makes it look like straw.   This guy cuts layers with scissors.  Anyhow, it’s been quite a while since i got my hair cut.  I’ve been holding off and holding off because he is expensive.  Twice the price of an asian hairstylist.  So i just decided that rather than getting crappy haircuts and having to have it trimmed every month (razored ends are hard to grow out because it starts looking mullet-ish), I would just wait twice as long before getting it cut.  So now, twice as long has arrived…plus my hair is growing into that poofy stage.  So YAY…i’m excited…i hope he does another good job.  YAY for gay white haircutters…they’re the best!

QUESTION:  Do the male gymnasts wear a leotard under their pants? or is it just a really tight shirt that never rides up?  And if indeed it is a leotard, how in the world is that comfortable for them?

So, i have started at Children’s…and it is SOOO different from nemc.  Now i know why people don’t slack off….because you CAN’T.  There’s no way…it’s non-stop work from 7 til noon.  Literally, non-stop…which sucks for me, because i’m usually starving by 10, no matter how big of a breakfast i eat (eating at 6:30AM can only last me so long).  And then because of my low blood sugar, i start feeling faint and I get a migraine.  So every day this week, I’ve had a migraine.  I don’t have time to stop and go grab something to eat…and I’m not allowed to keep food in that area…..SO, today, i bought a bag of chocolates, which i will stash in my pockets and eat on the sly.

But, the hospital is BIG…bigger than nemc…but it’s all kids.  It’s really really sad.  It’s kind of hard to fathom sometimes…the ENTIRE hospital is just full of sick kids.  And since pharmaceutics for kids is kinda tricky, there’s no “standard” dose for anything.  Everything is made patient specific….which is why it’s SOOO busy. 

But the people are cool so far, except for one biznatch of a phamacist, who made it her day’s goal to try to humiliate every tech working for her.  I mean, really, how NECESSARY is it for you to be a megalomaniac.  It’s such a disgusting characteristic….it just makes everyone hate you.  The other techs are cool…they like hip hop and so we have a good time in the “outback”, which is where all the drugs are kept and patient’s daily scrips are filled.  (it’s called the outback cuz it’s in the back of the pharmacy…so you go out back to get stuff).

The one bad thing is that they’re training me from scratch.  which sucks.  a lot.  I can’t do IV’s until i do all the “outback” stations….even though i’m already trained.  And even when i get to IV’s, Children’s splits the responsibilities into three stages.  A, B and C…C being the level bearing the most responsibilities and with the most difficult tasks.  Which is fine, except at NEMC, when you work the evening IV shift (which i did A LOT), you’re the only IV tech, so you do EVERYTHING.  So i’ve already done all the stuff in ALL the levels.  And i can only advance one level a year, after the yearly evaluation…but whatever, they’re paying me well…. $11.50 an hour…i’m SO RICH……

But i will keep you all posted…I’m sure drama will arise….

My schedule for Fall 2004 is finalized:

1) Medicinal Chemistry I (HARD and NOT FUN)

2) Pharmacokinetics II (HARD and NOT FUN)

3) IPEP (which is a one credit internship type class…mine will be at a VA outpatient clinic….we’ll see, but i’m guessing NOT FUN)

4) OTC/Self Care (not sure how hard, but NOT FUN)

5) Pharmacology I (Ahhhh….finally, somethng useful and practical….i think SOMEWHAT FUN)

6) Research Epidemiology (basically, a stats class….probably EASY but NOT FUN)

7) Immunobiology (my elective….YAY bio class. HARD but FUN FUN!!)

So in total, my next semester will be NOT FUN.  I’m debating whether or not i should keep doing that research project with my biochem professor.  I basically have not been doing any research.  I’d rather do something else…but i know the research will look really good when it come time to applying for residencies.  I want to volunteer at the MSPCA (mass. division of the aspca) instead…even tho it’s not pharmacy related at all.  i just want to pet the doggies….i should get allergies shots…before i die of anaphylactic reactions from the furrier animals, such as cats and rabbits.  it gets REALLY bad…literally nothing but whistling sounds coming out of my lungs.  But they’re SOOOOO cute….i can’t NOT pet them.

THe ipod is now sold to a Mr. Lucky IPod Owner.  THANKS LOUIS!

And thanks jeyi!! hee hee

Went to the Apple store yesterday to look at the ibook.  That is one AMAZING machine.  It is SOOOO beautiful.  And the slot loaded CD drive is SOOOO cool.  And it’s actually pretty fast…I was a little wary of the G4 1.0 GHz because I wasn’t sure what the pentium equivalent was.  But it’s fast enough for me.  The sales guy was this weirdo musician who works at Apple to make a living and he showed me everything the Apple could do.  He said his mom has had one for 3 years and has had no problems.  He also says he has 13,000 songs stored on his desktop mac (i forget what they’re called)!!

And he was telling me how people shouldn’t wash their hair everyday and how we do it because we’ve been brainwashed by the shampoo companies into doing so…..the more we wash our hair = the more money they make from shampoo sales.  INTERESTING.  But still, i must wash every day…i work in a hospital…i’d feel like germs would be building homes in my scalp if I didn’t.  ok major tangent…back to the computer…..

It’s been a while since i’ve used Mac OS so i kept clicking on the minimize/maximize button when i was trying to close the window.  But other than that, their OS has become VERY similar to windows.  YAY!

The 12″ ibook is very small…and cute…but perfect for when I’m traveling.  I hear it fits perfectly on the airplane/amtrak pull down table thing.  But the 14″ display is so much bigger. which one? which one? The 14″ is only like 1/2 pound heavier….but like $300 more for the same set up

I also saw the 17″ G4 Powerbook. April, how in the world do you lug that thing around? it’s HUUUUUUUUUUGE!! I could barely pick it up for the table.

DOES ANYONE WANT AN IPOD?!!!!

*edit* Not good.  While making an Etoposide (a chemo drug) IV, i poked my thumb with the needle.  Luckily, i was wearing heavy duty chemo gloves (they’re like the latex ones but they’re a good 3mm thick) and what could have been a stab, was just a scrape.  Nevertheless, i broke skin…and immediately started feeling nauseas thanks to my hypochondriac self.  I hope i don’t grow a mutant thumb.

Yesterday, I glanced out my kitchen window and see something swaying oh so gently in the wind.  Did a double take and saw that it was a DEAD PIGEON.  The poor birdie had gotten it’s neck caught in the netting that stretches across our rooftop to prevent, well, birdies from flying down and perching on fire escapes.  It was by far one of the most disgusting sights i have ever seen.  The construction workers in the apartment facing mine made a game out of trying to knock the pigeon down with a humongous piece of plywood.  After fifteen minutes, i heard their shouts of triumph.  poor pigeon.  I hope it died a quick and painless death…and I hope he/she is now in birdie heaven eating his/her fill of bird seeds and bread crumbs.

Does anyone want an ipod? there’s a $200 mail in rebate for the ibook if i buy an ipod with it.  But i have no need for the ipod…but i DO have a need for the rebate! someone PLEASE PLEASE buy it! it will be BRAND NEW…UNTOUCHED…i dunno the price…because i’m not sure how much they sell for. 

The Rules:
1. Bold what you’ve seen all the way through;
2. Italicize what you’ve seen part of;
3. Underline what you own;
4. Add three of your own.

01. Trainspotting
02. Shrek
03. M
04. Dogma
05. Strictly Ballroom
06. The Princess Bride
07. Love Actually
08. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
09. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
11. Reservoir Dogs
12. Desperado
13. swordfish
14. Kill Bill Vol. 1
15. Donnie Darko
16. Spirited Away
17. Better Than Sex
18. Sleepy Hollow
19. Pirates of the Caribbean
20. The Eye
21. Requiem for a Dream
22. Dawn of the Dead
23. The Pillow Book
24. The Italian Job
25. Goonies
26. Basketball
27. The Spice Girls Movie
28. Army of Darkness
29. The Color Purple
30. The Saftey of Objects
31. Can’t Hardly Wait
32. Mystic Pizza
33. Finding Nemo
34. Monsters Inc.
35. Circle of Friends
36. Mary Poppins
37. The Bourne Identity
38. Forrest Gump
39. A Clockwork Orange
40. Kindergarten Cop
41. On The Line
42. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
43. Final Destination
44. Sorority Boys
45. Urban Legend
46. Cheaper by the Dozen
47. Fierce Creatures
48. Dude, Where’s My Car?
49. Ladyhawke
50. Ghostbusters
51. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
52. Back to the Future
53. An Affair To Remember
54. Somewhere In Time
55. North By Northwest
56. Moulin Rouge
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
58. The Wizard of Oz
59. Zoolander
60. A Walk to Remember
61. Chicago
62. Vanilla Sky
63. The Sweetest Thing
64. Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead
65. The Nightmare Before Christmas
66. Chasing Amy
67. Edward Scissorhands
68. Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert
69. Muriel’s Wedding
70. Croupier
71. Blade Runner
72. Cruel Intentions
73. Ocean’s Eleven
74. Magnolia
75. Fight Club
76. Beauty and The Beast
77. Much Ado About Nothing
78. Dirty Dancing
79. Gladiator
80. Ever After
81. Braveheart
82. What Lies Beneath
83. Regarding Henry
84. The Dark Crystal
85. Star Wars: A New Hope
86. The Birds
87. Beaches
88. Cujo
89. Maid In Manhattan
90. Labyrinth
91. Thoroughly Modern Millie
92. His Girl Friday
93. Being John Malkovich
94. Run Lola Run
95. The Color of Paradise
96. While You Were Sleeping
97. Signs
98. The Count of Monte Cristo
99. Chocolat
100. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
101. Cold Comfort Farm
102. Titus
103. What’s Up, Tiger Lily?
104. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
105. Repo Man
106. Pretty in Pink
107. The Breakfast Club
108. Girl with a Pearl Earring  ( <– read the book though..before the movie was made)
109. Election
110. American History X
111. Emperor’s New Groove
112. Holes
113. Hunchback of Notre Dame
114. Empire Records
115. Mallrats
116. A Knight’s Tale
117. Velvet Goldmine
118. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
119. Pink Floyd’s The Wall
120. X2
121. Amelie
122. Bridget Jones’ Diary
123. Seabiscuit
124. Master and Commander
125. Jesus Christ Superstar
126. Moonlight Mile
127. In America
128. Y Tu Mama Tambien
129. Under the Tuscan Sun
130. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
131. Armageddon
132. South Park: Bigger Longer Uncut
133. Black Hawk Down
134. Road Trip
135. Once Upon A Time In Mexico
136. Ninth Gate
137. Emma
138. Red Dragon
139. Moonstruck
140. Shawshank Redemption
141. Hideous Kinky
142. Adaptation
143. American Gigolo
144. A Streetcar Named Desire
145. Spellbound
146. Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
147. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
148. Belle Epoque
149. Band of Brothers
150. Romeo and Juliet
151. Sense and Sensibility
152. The Basketball Diaries
153. Intolerable Cruelty
154. Casablanca
155. Steel Magnolias
156. Fried Green Tomatoes
157. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
158. Star Wars: Phantom Menace
159. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
160. Pearl Harbor
161. The Ring
162. Sweet November
163. Memento
164. Fahrenheit 9/11
165. Clerks
166. Eurotrip
167. Battle Royale
168. Infernal Affairs
169. Shrek 2
170. Ace Ventura
171. Mission Impossible
172. Die Hard
173. Friday
174. Spiderman 2
175. Pi
176. The Red Violin
177. Shakespeare in Love
178. Star Trek: First Contact
179. Star Trek: Nemesis
180. The Fifth Element
181. The Professional
182. The Talented Mr. Ripley
183. L’auberge Espagnole
184. Anchorman
185. I, Robot
186. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
187. Les Triplettes de Belleville
188. Hebrew Hammer
189. A Beautiful Mind
190. The Fast and the Furious
191. XXX
192. The Butterfly Effect
193. 50 First Dates
194. Harold and Kumar go to White Castle
195. The Bone Collector
196. MIIB
197. Life is Beautiful

198. The Pianist
199.Kujikiro
200. Together