Merry Christmas everyone! I just returned from my last interview at Kaiser! Now comes the hard part, to rank the programs. They all sound the same now. I updated pictures and videos from Lisa's birthday. I received my new phone that my mom got from Taiwan, the Glofiish X500. It has phone capabilities, as well as GPS, wifi, and bluetooth on a Pocket PC system. Now I just have to get used to this interface before getting rid of my trusty Palm Tungsten T3. Anyway, nothing much to add. Have a great new years. I'll post fun pictures later.

Added Universal Studios videos. Look at the menu at left.

I'm almost done with interviews. Cedars Sinai tomorrow and then Kaiser Sunset next week. My roommate, Allison, got engaged! She must be really excited now. Allison, Maria, Helen, Lisa, and I went to Universal Studios this weekend, since everyone had some free time. It was a lot of fun, and from the sound of it, we barely missed a storm that went through Los Angeles. Those unfortunate souls who went to Disneyland instead... We also went to Getty Museum. This would be my first time there, which is sad given that it opened while I was an undergrad at UCLA and I never found the time to go. Some of the pictures were pretty depressing, but makes me grateful for what I have. Happy holidays!

I just finished my first interview at UC Davis! It wasn't as bad as I had expected. It's also the start of my break, but I'll be spending half of it interviewing. It should be an exciting time as I go to the different hospitals to see how they work. UC Davis actually has a very good program, but we'll see how the other places match up. Meanwhile, last weekend, my friend, Jon, got married! Helen came down to LA with me, and we swung by Santa Monica on our way home. I have pictures of both the beach and the wedding. Enjoy! Hopefully, during this break, I'll have a chance to play some tennis and read the (now too many) books I have with me. I'll be home until the end of December, after which I'll be heading to Seattle for New Years and then start of my next rotation. Check out my pics!

It's November. Looking at when I last updated this site, I've been pretty bad about it. Nothing much happened during the last month. I just finished my PM&R rotation. It's a good field, but I don't feel challenged, and it doesn't seem like they do very much. But it is a specialty. We held a pre-Halloween pumpkin carving night. I realized that the last time we had people over was a year ago (my goodness!) for the same event. So now I can call it an annual thing. We had Randie, Jolene, Philbert, and Stephanie come over for BBQ. Once again, I was successful in fully cooking the chicken. I updated the pictures with the expertly crafted pumpkins. We also watched Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It was a funny movie. We were about to rent Stay Alive, which would make it 2 consecutive years of poor movie choice. Strong work Melissa! But this might be the last year of this pumpkin carving thing given that we'll be finishing up with medical school this year. Speaking of finishing up medical school, interviews are coming! My first one is in 2 weeks here at UC Davis. It should be exciting to visit other hospitals and checking out their programs. Next weekend, I'll be driving back down to LA to attend to a high school friend's wedding. He's younger than me, and already getting married!

I updated some pictures. Enjoy!

Happy first day of October. I just went home to Walnut this past weekend. My grandma came over from Taiwan for a few weeks, and she, along with my parents, are returning to Taiwan next Wednesday. I haven't seen my grandma in years now, so it was good to go home for a little bit. I am now on my Med-Psych rotation. Remember what I said about wanting to go into psychiatry? Well, I realized that I am more interested in the outpatient psychiatry than the ones you see at SCMHTC (ie, the psychotic, difficult to work with and understand, type of patient). I am now 100% sure that internal medicine is the route for me. Last week, I found out that 2 of my high school friends are getting married. Jon Lau, on Nov 11, and someone else (it's a secret for now). So many of my friends are popping the question... it's almost eerie. In LA, I also played golf. Although I haven't played in a while, I have to admit, it's more natural now. I think I'm really going to have to go out to the driving range at Sacramento one of these days. I also got into the mood of playing tennis. I have to restring my racquet and possibly play with Helen this weekend. Anyway, I just returned home from LA, and I should get some sleep... back to work tomorrow... Until then, listen to Dogbert!

One week down for nephrology rotation. It's actually a very good elective to take. Anyway, today turned out to be a busy day. I went to clinic this morning, got food at Macau Cafe and visited Tomio, Alice, and Topher with Philbert. The food was pretty good too! The baby is making noises now, I think it was trying to say my name. Later, I went to Steph's place to play tennis. It was the first time out for me since... probably 2-3 months ago. My goodness! Time flies by fast. We also played some blackjack. The house took all my money! I feel deprived of paperclips now. And now I'm back at home! It's nice to have another day off tomorrow, when I can do errands and stuff. I miss these two day weekends.

Last week was James's wedding. Congratulations! It was a pretty wedding, so check out some of my pictures. I also updated pictures from Vegas and other miscellaneous stuff.

Happy Labor Day! I got back from Las Vegas early this morning. It was a fun trip. 5 of us drove out there and met up with 2 more onsite. Official theme of the trip: "We're gonna do this!" This phrase was repeated way too many times on the very slow drive towards our destination, where Kevin was swerving back and forth in a rhythmic fashion as if he were drunk already. I suppose just the thought of the weekend could do that to you. We arrived right at midnight on Friday night, just in time for some drinks on our way to the first club: Tao at Venetian. Moses, in a smooth-talking, skin-exposing manner, was able to convince the male bouncer to get us in with the help of bribery. Last time I took overnight call was a week ago, but up clubbing until 5am was definitely more physically draining. The second night, we managed to get into Pure at Caesar's Palace. This club was more happenin', but it became too crowded and hot. Kevin, as usual, has way too many new stories to add to his repertoire in the haze of intoxication. We visited a spa on the morning of our departure, which was the perfect touch to the end of the weekend. All the soreness, sleeplessness, evaporated away as we sat in the steam room and sauna. The drive back home was a mixture of reminiscence of old days in college and new beginnings now. I need to be more honest and truthful, as there are and were too many secrets of the past that emerged during the conversation.

I have 1 more week prior to returning to Sacramento. Sept 9 is James's birthday. New beginnings.

2 weeks off! MICU was fun, but it was exhausting after a month. I went out to SF this weekend to catch the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which was a fun musical to attend. Can't imagine what all the little kids go through during the Bee. I am heading down to LA today, and will be taking the USMLE Step 2 CS on Thursday. Hopefully, I'll have enough time to study. After that, I'll be free for some relaxation before I start up again. Word has it that I'm going to be heading out to Las Vegas and learning how to golf. The rest of my rotations should be less stressful, and I should (finally) have all my weekends off. Yay! Applications for residencies start Sept 1, and I'm really looking forward to visiting other hospitals.

Oh yeah, we visited Tomio's baby last night. He's already 5 months old, and so big! I should have the pictures up, so check them out!

I'm on the MICU now. Yesterday, we got slammed with way too many patients! It's been a tiring week, 3 more to go! I found out that I passed my Step 2. My score wasn't as good as I had expected, but I'm glad I took it and am done with it already. I will have 2 weeks off after the end of MICU, so I'll be spending a little bit more time at home. Finally, earlier this week was Andy's and Helen's birthdays. I updated some pictures. Check them out!

My birthday came and went, and now we're already 2 weeks into 4th year. I realized that medicine is what I want to do. I forgot how interesting it is to diagnose patients and work with them; to see them get better (or worse like one guy). The hours are long, and that can get you down after a while (my last day off was July 4), and I'm glad I got to sleep in today.

Today, I donated blood again, first time in 6 months. It turned out to be ABC 10 blood drive day, so I got a t-shirt, as well as the usual pint of Baskin Robbins, and 2 Chipotle burrito coupons. I guess I hit the jackpot today!

My next day off will be next Saturday (hopefully). I'll see if I can make it to the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at San Francisco. If not, maybe we'll catch it in 2 months before they leave.

I updated some pictures. Check it out! Speaking of which, I need to go exercise...

I'm done with Step 2! It was one long test, but I'm glad I took it early (and
hope I won't have to retake that test). Now I can enjoy my next year (after my
AI's, that is). So a lot of things happened since I last updated, which was more
than 1 month ago! Let's go chronologically:

1. Allison's birthday June 9. Yay! You're now just a little bit older!


2. Our last day of third year was June 16. It was one busy year, but it did go by fast in retrospect. We all are going to be going off on different rotations, so it'll be hard to get everyone together again. There won't be a test at the end of every 2 months where we finally see people we haven't seen in ages. But we will be doing rotations we want (need) to do, and we actually might have more responsibilities, which makes next year something to look forward to. Someone sent an email saying that now that the 4th year students have graduated, we are the most highly trained students at UC Davis. How scary! But next year should be a lot of fun.


3. Jack (my younger brother) graduated from UCSD on June 18. We drove down there to attend. I wonder why no one pronounces our last name right. I didn't know there were other ways of saying it. Anyway, that's a rant for another time. He will be working with my dad in the arcade business, and probably eventually take over part (or most) of the business. This beats my dad selling the business. Now I'm the only one in the house not working yet. One more year!


4. Back up to Sacramento on June 19 for my brother and mom's trip to Seattle. They stayed at our humble home for the night and got to experience the heat of Sacramento.


5. Bernette had her wedding rehearsal and wedding on June 22-23. It was a really great site for a wedding. Perfect weather, great view, wonderful food. Another one takes the plunge! I guess it's about time that my friends starts to get married. Some food for thought...


6. And that takes us full circle back to the present. I finished the test, and it is great to have a day off. Ruth is coming down from Daly City tonight and we'll be heading to Solvang (Dutch Village) and Hearst Castle tomorrow.


7. 4th year starts on Monday. What happened to my 2 weeks off???

I uploaded a whole bunch of pictures and changed the menu a bit. Check them
out! I'll most likely be able to update the website weekly again, but don't hold
my word against me! Now if only something interesting happens in my life to
mention. Any news Helen?

Wow! Look at the lack of updates! It's been pretty busy recently, and now that I'm planning on taking Step 2 on June 29, I have even less free time. We are now half way through our last rotation, almost done with 3rd year! It's so exciting, but at the same time, the start of 4th year will be very stressful. Anyway, we have a court date on Saturday, which sounds really interesting. It'll give us a taste of how malpractice trials work. We also have a college picnic on Sunday. Hope the weather will hold up! It looks like it might rain this weekend. And now there goes my days of studying...

On a brighter note, I'm going home at the end of the month for Memorial Day weekend. I'll be home for 3 days! Looking forward to seeing how big the dogs are now. My brother also ordered a Toyota Prius and decided to go to OSU for Rheum fellowship. How exciting!

Alright, this has just been an installment of random events and news thrown together. Maybe next time I'll actually talk about something in-depth. Have a good day!

This past weekend I drove home to LA. I think I made it back in less than 6 hours, which was a first for me. We have a new dog at home, Bowser, so check out his pictures! Something interesting happened yesterday, or actually for the past week. I realized that psychiatry is a lot more interesting than I had expected, and now I'm reconsidering my career. I'll have to check in on this over the next weeks to see whether I am ready to give up the stethoscope though.

Good Monday everyone. Last week was one crazy week. It started out with a freak accident: Odie, one of our dogs at home, died 4/20/06 when he caught his collar on the fence. I'm sure he's off to a better place, making ruckus at every turn. I finished my pediatrics rotation the next day. The shelf exam was pretty tough, and I'm hoping for the best. The following day, we apparently got another dog: Bowser, Yoshi's new companion. You can see pictures at my brothers' websites. He looks just like Odie, and probably as mischievous too. So that's home news.

This weekend, I visited SF again and finally met up with James, Jerry, Yao, and Angell. The last time I was at SF, I ran into Angell, who consequently happened to know my high school friends. What a small world! And now James is engaged; congratulations! It is still such a pleasant surprise. Last night was the Paul Hom Asian Clinic Banquet. There was a great turnout, and the food was pretty good too!

But now it's back to work. I just started psychiatry rotation today. I'll probably be going home to Walnut next weekend, so I'll keep you guys (more like myself) updated of any new happenings. Peace out!

Happy Easter! 7% of the population believe in the Easter bunny.

What a day to sleep in! The past few weeks have been a blur, and now it's time to pick up the intensity and start studying for the shelf in 2 weeks. So much to do!

On the way back from Las Vegas, we stopped by Panda Express in Lancaster (or was it Palmdale?) and this is what I got:

I normally tell everyone what is happening with my life. There's nothing I feel ashamed to mention. But there seems to be something that I am missing here...

Happy April Fool's Day! So it's been a while since I've updated. It's been one busy week with the start of pediatric wards. The pediatric rotation is not as great as I thought it would be, first time in my 3rd year that I am not enjoying the rotation and not looking forward to the next day. I guess this is good to know, but I'm not sure how much motivation I have to stay interested.
In other news, we went to Las Vegas last weekend. It was a lot of fun to hang out with friends. Check out the pictures!

Happy first day of spring! It was a rainy day here in Sacramento, spring showers, I suppose. On St. Patrick's day, we had the Rebirth of Mirth, which was really fun. There were skits and parodies of different professors and doctors. It was surprisingly well done, and now I'm looking forward to next year! Other than that, not much happening, but looking forward to the Vegas trip this weekend!

Quick update: we visited Tomio's baby yesterday. Check out the pictures!

We had one of Philbert's famous BBQs last night. As always, the food was fantastic, company was fun, and evening lasted into the wee hours of the night. Speaking of wee hours, nowadays, it's more like midnight, but life changes and we become older. Afterwards, we stopped by Jolene's place and chatted for a good while. It's good to be able to sit down and not worry about waking up early the next day. I was just thinking, we had lunch at Leegacy cafe and MS1 and MS2 students had to run off early due to finals next week. It felt great to be able to have no worries, at least just for one day.

Today Helen booked the hotel at Las Vegas. So it's settled, we're going to Vegas March 24-26. It should be fun. This will be the first time back for me in a while, and the first time with friends. We might even watch Avenue Q, which is a raunchy puppet show, but supposed to be pretty good. I'm really looking forward to this weekend!

It's been very cold recently. I heard that it snowed in San Francisco 2 nights ago. It hailed in Sacramento, and I have some pictures from Walnut. Hail or snow, it means it's freezing out. Check out my pictures! I presume the groundhog saw his shadow.

Guess what happened? I was talking to Angell, a UCSF medical student I met at the conference, and realized that he knew a few of my high school friends who were up at San Francisco. It's such a cliché, but it really is a small world. The last time I saw them was before medical school started, more than 3 years ago! Yao is finishing up law school at Hastings and will soon be able to get me out of trouble when I need it. I visited him last night... he didn't change a bit! He looks like he's been working out though, so that gives me motivation to start hitting the gym again. I also talked to Jerry, the old sap who I used to hang out with the summer before medical school started. He used to slaughter me in basketball, forcing me to play smarter. I'm not quite certain, but I think I beat him once on a 1-on-1 game. We also used to play tennis, go running (he actually jogs while I'm huffing and puffing trying to keep up), and lift weights. I need to see how buff he is now. Anyhow, Jerry is now a 3rd year dental student at UCSF and has too much time on his hands. Finally, there's James, the genius that I always envied because he is better than me in every aspect, even on what I thought I was good at! However, I can beat him in basketball though. I will most likely be heading out to San Francisco again next weekend to meet up with James and Jerry. Kevin is also coming back to the bay area for the weekend from Portland. I'll also visit him if he can squeeze me into his schedule. I only added a few pictures from home and Yao. And thanks to Ruth for letting me stay at her place. It's probably been more than half a year since I've visited San Francisco, and it's good to finally drive out to the city.

Oh, almost forgot, Tomio had his baby! Christopher was born March 4, 2006 at 3:59am, weighing in at 6#9oz. We won't be able to see him until next week or the following week. This is such an exciting, not to mention busy, time for him! Congratulations, Tomio! We're all eager to finally meet the new addition.

It's March! Just thought that I'd provide a short update. I am now on pediatrics rotation, which is pretty busy. It's the first time I've handled a newborn, and now I am expected to do examinations! But this week is going by pretty fast. I had a great time at home, and I have a few pictures to put up, but probably won't get around to doing that until this weekend. I am going to the APAMSA conference at UCSF on Saturday, and probably hang out at the city for a little bit. However, I have to get back by Sunday for another day in the hospital. I am now officially 2/3 way through 3rd year... gosh the time is going by fast.

I updated some pictures of random stuff. One more week before I head home! The dogs should be pretty big by now... can't wait. My mom is coming home this week and returning to Taiwan next week with my dad for my aunt's funeral.

Happy Valentine's Day (tomorrow)! I got kind of sidetracked the other day, so it's been more than a week since I've updated this website. In other words, no one probably noticed, but I suppose it's good to have a place to type random stuff. Anyway, the other day I was mentioning that I watched the movie, In Her Shoes. Turns out to be an enjoyable movie. It's interesting to put yourself in another's shoes and see how they live, even for a day. That reminds me of how my mom must feel, all the sacrifices that she and my dad made when they first came to the States. Not only did they leave everything normal and familiar to them, they came to a place in the hopes of something better. They missed out on many major events at Taiwan throughout the years, but I'm certain that in the end, they don't have any regrets about what they did. She's at Taiwan now, tying the final knots for 美麗阿姨's cremation and funeral.

Interestingly, I talked to Helen a bit about this. I am glad she lent an ear for me, despite all the crazy (according to her) things I've done. You really are a wonderful person, so cheers to you!

One of our aunts in Taiwan is now really sick from her cancer. My mom will probably be flying to Taiwan in the next week. Although I had known about the cancer for a while, it still is a pretty big shock. She looked so well when we went to Taiwan just 2 months ago, it makes you wonder how fast things can change. It makes me question my own mortality too. She is still fairly young. She should be in the golden years of her life, taking care of her children and not the other way around. A mother should not be watching her daughter pass away. Many "what if's" come into play: what if she had annual physicals; what if she had gone to the doctor as soon as something wasn't right? Would we have caught the cancer at its early stages? A lot of things shouldn't be the way they are, but we still have to accept them for what they are. We will probably be withdrawing life support soon. She was and always will be my favorite aunt...

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of the dog. We celebrated the New Year's with a hotpot at Bernette's place. It turned out to be good food with good times. I have pictures, but unfortunately did not take pictures of the food. Check it out! Tomio's baby is due Feb 25. It's getting close!

Today we went shopping in preparation for the New Year's celebration tomorrow. It was a chilly day, but it was good to be carefree for one day. Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of the dog!

At this moment, I am leaning towards primary care, either family practice or internal medicine. I went over to Rocklin this past week and visited my previous preceptor. The conversation was very enlightening, but it all pretty much comes down to what I can see myself doing for a career. I love the outpatient setting. I do not mind the fast paced environment of 15 minute appointments, as long as I feel like I am doing something productive. However, someone once told me that internal medicine, or at least the rotation itself, does not provide much insight into how medicine is really like. The rotation only provides exposure to the wards, which is only a minute part of the spectrum of medicine. And speaking of perspective, Andy mentioned that he wants to do away rotations either at Vancouver or Australia. That got me thinking, next year will be an exciting year. I am planning on not only doing rotations at LA, but also at Taiwan and maybe take a month off to travel with Andy. Now, that's perspective. At any rate, speaking with my preceptor really helped me to start thinking about what field of medicine I want to pursue. I hope I'll be able to make up my mind soon!

Today was the first time this year that I had time to go to Paul Hom Asian Clinic. It's a lot of fun, bringing back memories of when I have the entire weekend off and can spend an entire day relaxing, hanging out with classmates and undergrads. The clinic will be closed next weekend for Chinese New Year, which falls on 1/29/06 this year. That also turns out to be the day for Tomio's baby shower! We'll be going to Bernette's place, hopefully she's a bit better at coordinating this event, because I have been slacking off recently. I'll get the entire weekend off next week, which will be a much needed break. One more week to go!

I remember the days back in junior high. The classes were just time fillers. But upon returning home, a group of my friends and I would just sit down in front of the TV. Everything is within reach in our carefree lives: cookies, milk, remote, video games. We could sit there and enjoy the times for hours on end until my mom calls me for dinner. These were some of my favorite childhood memories because they weren’t “important.” They were carefree and fun.

Now, it is hard to imagine that I could experience those kinds of days again. I constantly feel like there isn’t enough time in the day. There is always work to be done, friends to call, rooms to clean, laundry to wash. Where did the time go? I’m not sure at what point in my life I became busy. But even still, if life slows down, I feel like I am wasting my time, as if my days are useless and unproductive. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to just be able to sit on the couch or lie on the bed and ponder. Yet, I find myself thriving in the busy environment. I am learning, creating, and helping not only myself but others around me.

Sometimes I feel like I’m so focused on getting things accomplished that the things I want to appreciate are just passing by. I remember I used to compare myself to a turtle. It’s not the destination that mattered, but the path traveled. I did not mind being slow. As long as I have friends around me, I can enjoy the ride. I want to live a life where I can feel satisfied in what I have done, but also a life where I am able to appreciate and take in everything around me. Maybe that means I would have to give up part of the fast pace life, or I just need a summer break such as the one I have now. Perhaps that is why I am so eager to go off to the beach, where I could just sit … and sit.

Earlier this week was my dad's birthday, and yesterday was my younger brother's birthday. It sounds like they're having a great time eating out... wish I could be home too. Our two new dogs, Odie and Yoshi, should be a lot bigger this next time I return home, which will be at the end of February.

Today is the second day off for my rotation. I have a lot of errands to run, yet I have not had any time to read. So much to do and so little time to do it.

Happy New Year! I have decided to start a website. Maybe this will be something that I can keep updated on a weekly basis. I just started internal medicine rotation, and already a week has gone by. When they keep you busy, it seems like the time goes by a lot faster.

I just watched Citizen Dog, and I suddenly remember that life in the city goes by a lot faster than in the country. Maybe it is good to go out to the country once in a while, where time flows slower, so what normally takes a day to worry about now only takes half the day. It is a movie about dreams and where nothing is impossible. It reminds me of Bangkok, "the city that offers false dreams and real disillusionment."