Merry Christmas

The Neighborhood "Christmas Extravagansa"

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas full of family and friends. I must say that I found myself loving this Christmas... this, I think, was helped by the fact that I missed Christmas last year (well, missed it at home, as I was still in Thailand). And anyone who knows me knows that I'm BIG on holidays (just ask my students from last year... we decorated the room for each holiday). However, it was more than just that.

It started out right merely in that it is the longest Christmas break I've ever had, at least as a student... I think that last year's was longer, but that was different. So, that means more time with family, which is tres important pour moi. It was also helped by the fact that I had LOTS of time to relax, which has been increasingly important over this past year.

But Christmas cannot be summed up by this alone. I have felt so loved this Christmas, not only by my family, but also by my friends. I found myself taking stock of my life and realizing how blessed and lucky I have been. And I am utterly grateful for this!

I know that I made a list of things I'm thankful for at Thanksgiving, but I think that it is also appropriate now to list the things I'm thankful for from Christmas season:

• I'm so thankful for the opportunity I had to catch up with some of my most important friends in Chicago - the ones that know where I'm coming from and who know how I "work"
• I'm thankful for my long, restful break
• I'm thankful for my dog - who continues to love me more than I could ever need (I love her jumping into my bed and licking me in the morning... cause she's just so cute)
• I'm thankful for my brother - who, without ever telling me he loves me, shows it by just wanting to spend time with me
• I'm thankful for the wonderful role model I have in my mother, and for all that my mother has done
• I'm thankful for my father, who continues to love me, even when I pull his chain in all directions
• I'm thankful for Christmas at home with the family (all 25 of them)
• I'm thankful for my amazing best friend... there are no ways to explain how or why, she's just SO amazing
• I'm thankful for the post-celebration bubble bath (complete with candles, DMB, and a good book)

There's so much more, but I won't belabor the point. I hope that you all found yourselves grateful for the blessings in your life this holiday season. And may you find yourself celebrating through the New Year.

Things in the news

Staying on top of the news via Google reader has made my life so much more complete. Now many times I merely glance at headlines so I can look like I know what's going on in the world. However, if something looks interesting, I click it and actually read it. Below are three articles I found interesting:

1. Blair converts to Catholicism
I find it very interesting that Blair is just now coming out about religion. Seeing as he was the PM for 10 years he had a very long time to at least mention his beliefs. And I don't honestly think that people would have taken him for a "nutter" for mentioning them. What I find more interesting is that he was practicing in the Anglican church until now. Let's look at history a bit: Anglican church breaks off of the Catholic church so that King what's his face can divorce some queen because s/he is barren. Besides the fact that in the Anglican church the king can divorce, there really isn't that much of a difference. They are both high on the liturgical scale and both believe in sacraments, rather than acts of remembrance (I'm not so sure whether the Anglicans believe in the conversion of the elements to the real flesh and blood of Christ, if you know, please pass on the wealth of information). Seeing as they are so similar it makes me wonder: 1.) What's the reasoning behind the conversion? 2.) What Tony Blair not Catholic only so he could hold office?!? Interesting nonetheless.

2. Senate stays in session over holiday to thwart Bush
Once again I marvel at the amazing American democracy. Firstly, I find it funny that opening and them immediately closing the floor counts as a session (less than one minute?!). However, I do thank all those going in over their holiday to keep the system of checks-and-balances in check. I think it's wrong for any President to wait until no one can protest to elect someone into an influential position (it's just to slinky). And honestly, if the congress is willing to open the floor through their own holiday, it makes you think that the President would re-look at their concerns... yes, I know Democratic congress, uber-Republican President, but still.... remember that they too were elected by the people, which means that they represent the people. If the people want Democratic, have some courtesy to listen. (Sorry for that sounding a little judgemental.... but I would say it to anyone doing anything like that)

3. Nun's brains may help unlock secrets of Alzheimer's
Firstly, I must say that I liked how it showed up in Google reader better "Souls go to heaven, Brains go to science". Brilliant tag line in my opinion. Now back to the article: I think what these Sisters are doing is wonderful! To make such a sacrifice (or do such a "service" as one nun put it) is amazing and I commend each one for helping to make a difference. Alzheimer's is a sad and horrifying disease as I'm sure many of you know. For that reason I'm, adding a few links and a video pertaining to Alzheimer's... after which you will find comments relating to, but not really pertaining to this article.




Alzheimer's Association

Symptoms of Alzheimer's

Prevention


Now, I must be honest and say that the reason I first clicked this article was due to a conversation I overheard at a coffee shop in Chicago (I'm not generally an eavesdropper, but they were talking really loud and about some medical things). I've been meaning to comment on this conversation, but have forgotten until now.. really it was only one line that really caught my attention, but that one line made me want to run over and speak common sense into this lady. Here's the comment, "I've donated my body to science" (said in an energetic and excited manner).

Yes, this many sound like a good thing... really?!?! If there's one thing that I kept telling myself over the last few months its that I'm never donating my body to science (or, how does my school put it... "bequeathing" my body to science/ any medical school in the nation). The reason... I saw where some of those bodies went and how they ended up... in fact, I helped in the matter. It's called GROSS ANATOMY LAB. And after a week those bodies don't look like bodies any more. After 4 months it's just gross (skull cut open, muscles flayed to exposed deeper muscles, legs cut off to get a better picture of relationships, intestines and fat everywhere). Now, that being said, I'm very thankful for my opportunity to dissect... but there were many times I could not watch what my lab mates were doing and had to walk away until the dissection was over and I could sufficiently distance myself from the fact that these were in fact still humans.

If you want to make a difference... donate your organs! Seriously, I'm totally about that! It saves lives... and lots of them! So, unless you know exactly where your body is going (and what parts)... don't rush to announce proudly that you've donated your body to science. Save lives, donate organs!

Other random things.... I saw two movies yesterday:
The first movie I saw was with my mom and it was P.S. I Love You. Good movie, but I have some warnings. First, guys: If you're girlfriend wants to see this movie, tell her to go with another girl. You will not like this movie (almost guaranteed)... it is one of the biggest chick flicks ever created (read on to see why). Secondly, women: If you're going to see this movie, go with a box of Kleenex. My mom started crying after the first 10 minutes and cried the whole time (yes, mom, I teared up too, but no tears feel until the very end). As my mom put it: It was an exhausting movie to watch -- lots of emotions and lots of energy trying not to cry in the theatre. Otherwise, there were funny parts and I would recommend it to the women out there.




Now, I wasn't planning on seeing two movies yesterday. But when my brother got home (holiday break had just commenced) and came to me with the movie listings, I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd already gone to a movie that day (I waited for my mom to say something, which she didn't). So, John and I went to see this movie. It was good. I really enjoyed it!! But it wasn't exactly what I expected... I'll leave it at that. Go see the movie. It's good.



(Please note that I never go to the movies... the only time I go to the movies is when I'm home. Firstly, because the only theatre near me has only 4 screens and costs a lot; secondly, because I have no time. Therefore, when I'm home I tend to OD on going to the movies.... and I get really bummed about all the movies I had wanted to see that are now on DVD, leading me to want to get a Netflix subscription - but again, time becomes an issue. I'll stop babbling now.)



P.S. I'm super excited for tomorrow when my best friend gets back in town (I haven't seen her since July! So, it's going to be fun!)

Giving Some Holiday Cheer

Last year my mom sent me a "Pass the Cheer" e-card from Starbucks (if it wasn't her, it was someone). Well, this year I decided to send one to my friend as a pre-exam well-wish (it also came with a promise of Starbucks in her future... we now exchange Starbucks giving - one time she'll surprise me, the next time I'll surprise her... much to the chagrin of Bill, who looks sad every time we have Starbucks and he does not) . Now, I'm pretty sure she never passed it on... so it didn't go far. But it did make her smile, and that's what they're about anyway.

Today, however, I found out that Starbucks wants to do more than have its customers pass the cheer, it wants to pass on cheer itself. When I opened my email box what did I find? A gift certificate for $5!! Thank you Starbucks. That's one more study aid for me! :) I would say one more peppermint mocha, but I don't think I'll be getting the gift card until after all the peppermint is gone (boo).

So, for all you Starbucks fans out there... next year (or even this year, it might not be too late). Send cheer onto a friend and get some sent to yourself.

Mmmmmmh. Peppermint mocha!!!

An Asteroid, a New Movie, and Other Craziness

Craziness first... I feel bad for standing my mom up this morning. Let me expand: You see I have this dilemna... here in my home town I have no access to a gym (aka a real one with ellipticals, treadmills, and free weights). However, my mom belongs to Curves, yes... that's right the "gym for curvy (aka old) women". And, they are allowing them to bring their children. who are home for the holidays... So, yesterday I caved. I woke up and went with my mom to Curves. Only to be taught machines that I already knew how to use, and mistaught how to work my biceps (i want to tone my Biceps, not my brachioradialis.. thank you very much). There is so much more that I could say, but I'll leave it there (Mommy, I love you and am glad that you like curves... but I need cardio and free weights).

Another craziness. My brother has until recently refused to supply my mother with a Christmas list. Well, he finally did and on that list was "Levi's". Now, my mom being the good mom that she is asked my brother what size pants he wore. To which he responded, "Why do you need to know that?!" My mom replied, "You have Levi's on your Christmas list. If I'm going to get them, I need to know what size you need." Here is where is gets crazy. My brother (being the smart one that he is) doesn't go look at a pair he has in his room. No, no, no. He unbuttons, unzips, and depants himself in the middle of the kitchen (this being after dinner, the entire family is in the room). When we start looking at each other due to the hilarity of the situation, he responds (still standing in his boxers), "What?! We're all family." Classic John, classic.

Saw this article about the asteroid hitting Mars... and all I could think of what this.

"WTF Mate?!?! Weren't you supposed to hit Earth?! Why are you hitting me?" (If you don't understand please watch).

And finally, finally a rebuttal to Michael Moore's grotesquely biased SiCKO:

Anaesthetist Hymn...

Completely random... but funny nonetheless. And no, I've never been interested in this speciality.

(via many on the medical blogosphere... including over!my!med!body!)

"Cyberchondriacs"

While checking the wonderful world of Google Reader I found this little gem about "cyberchondriacs." I thought it would be fun to add my own take on article... aka, add snide comments (the article is in full).

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- First-year medical students are some of the biggest hypochondriacs around. Bombarded with information about every disease under the sun, they start to imagine they have them all. In their minds, every mole is skin cancer. A nosebleed is surely a sign of a tumor. Headache? Must be skyrocketing blood pressure.

Hmm, can kinda see where they are going... but here's the problem... first year is all normal anatomy/physiology/etc. It's not really until you hit second year that you start seeing the crazy stuff. That being said, yes, we have been exposed to some things... but don't think I'm rushing to diagnose myself with idiopathic thrombocytopenia, meningocoele, walker-walburg or xeroderma pigmentosa anytime soon. (The only thing I'm close to diagnosing myself with is hypothyroidism, for which there are many reasons) The diseases we see are things that 1.) you would NEVER want to diagnose yourself with (at least thus far), 2.) you would have been diagnosed with when you were a very young child, 3.) you could not have and maintain live.

"People get terribly anxious," says Dr. Arthur Barsky, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "One woman who came to see me was convinced she had melanoma. She brought in 20 pages of color photos of various skin lesions, trying to figure out which one looked most like hers."

Hey, at least she was watching her freckles... that's just good health maintaince. And maybe she was a little prone to hyperchondrianism. But hey, she might have a reason. Maybe she has a history of tanning and skin cancer in the family. You can't stop here and make her seem crazy. More story needed on that... it could be a very legitimate fear.

And now, because of the Internet, we can all be
first-year medical students. We can all develop what's called "medical student syndrome." We get basic information, and not necessarily a lot of context, and
we're off and running toward a conclusion that may be completely wrong.

No, no you cannot. Just because you have internet does not even begin to get you close to being a first-year medical student for many reasons:

1.) You did not make it through pre-med course work or take the 8-hour long MCAT

2.) You did not pay over $1000 to try and get into a school that make you feel nothing more than average

3.) You do not study 6 hours a day on top of 6 hours of class

4.) You actually have time to search for your random diseases on the internet, while med students only search for the things which they have to learn about

5.) Are "basic information" would take you at least twice as much time to read, let alone understand (unless you have some scientific background)

6.) You are not having 700 pages of notes crammed into your brain in 3 1/2 weeks.

So, no, you do not get to even begin to compare yourself to a 1st year medical student.

Of course, health information on the Internet can
be truly useful. But how do you know when you're using it constructively, and when you've gone off on a medical wild goose chase? "I think it's fairly easy to cross that line," says Robin DiMatteo, a professor of psychology at the
University of California, Riverside.

So how do you know when you've become a "cyberchondriac"?You may be a cyberchondriac if ...
... you feel worse
after Web surfing instead of better. "If research on the Internet helps to make you feel empowered, and engaged in a dialogue with your doctor, it's helpful," DiMatteo says. "But if it makes your heart rate go up, that's potentially
problematic."Or to put it another way: "If you feel more scared and confused after being on the computer for half an hour, that's not good," says Dr. Vicki Rackner, a surgeon and patient advocate.

Umm, duh!?!?! Let's use common sense here... why would you continue doing something that makes feel like you're about to keel over any second. That's just insane. If you do, you need more help than just a PCP... you need a psychiatrists. And why are they talking to a surgeon? I don't know many people who contact a surgeon with their first concerns... usually it's their family practioner.

... your doctor's reassurances don't help. "I don't have a
problem with people fishing around on the Internet to see what diseases they might have," Barsky says. "For most people, a doctor's reassurances that they're fine is adequate. I worry about the people for whom that isn't enough, and whose concerns persist and go right back on the Internet."

Yes, I agree with the doctor. You see there is thing called health literacy. Most people don't have it... so it is actually good to look online and get information. It makes you INFORMED. Just like when you go to do anything in real life, a little prior knowledge is helpful. It makes sure you know what's going on... it means you can ask the right questions.

... you move quickly from suspicion to conviction. If you quickly become convinced your shaking hands are Parkinson's disease, or your sore throat is an immune deficiency, you need to back away, our panel of experts says. Investigate your symptoms if you like, but leave the diagnosing to the doctors.

Amen... there's a reason we are going to school for 4+ years and getting paid almost nothing for the next 7+... it's called an MD. It means that we might actually have a little idea of what's going on when you go see a doctor. Remember, the internet does not mean you know more... we probably have a more complete knowledge base on the issue at hand, and if we don't we have lots of professional journals that explain it in more depth.

How to avoid becoming a cyberchondriac. Barsky suggests
putting limits on your surfing right from the start."Plan in advance what you want to find out, what the question is you're trying to answer, and how much time you're willing to spend on it," he says. "If you find yourself exceeding
those limits, you should ratchet it down."Rackner has advice based on her own experience as a medical student. "I was studying for an exam on the pancreas, and I became convinced I had a rare type of pancreatic tumor. I thought, 'I don't need to study because I'm going to die,' " Rackner remembers.

I think a lot of us would rather think we were dying than failing the exam the next day... but maybe that's just me. OR maybe we feel like the exam will kill us, so why not have a little pancreatic cancer to help it along. JUST KIDDING.

What snapped her out of it? A good night's sleep and an honest discussion with herself. "When you're off on a medical wild goose chase, you disconnect yourself from your intuition. Ask yourself, do you really have this disease? The answer will almost always be 'no.'

I have nothing else to add except overall... an okay article.

Thoughts

I wish that I could articulate what is going on in my head. But I can't.... it's starting to immobilize me.

Vitas goes too high

I don't know what is more amazing here: the chinese/russian subtitles, the orchestra in executioner garb, the people worshiping in the background, or the notes this guy can hit (this should not be physically possible):



There's the real music video for the song:



And for some reason, I'm really liking it. It makes me wish I had actually learned some Russian when I was there... oh well, I'll leave it to my friends who do speak Russian to translate for me (Frenchy? Jessi? Any help?)

This might...

make me afraid of Christmas...

either that, or the really creepy card that my mom got for Christmas (wish I could elaborate, but let's just say that it was the most depressing Christmas card ever... if you want to know, email me).

Making a difference through books

This book was the basis for the Saks Fifth Avenue store windows in NYC. But there's more to the story than that... For each purchase of this book $2 goes to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, a place where all children with cancer can be treated no matter a family's ability to pay.

If you see this book while you are out shopping, pick it up for yourself or a child you know and make a difference in the lives of children who need hope.

Go here to hear the story read to you (just like bedtime stories from your childhood) and call this number to order the book: 1.887.551.SAKS

One of Sak's Holiday Window

"I'll Be Home for Christmas"

I cannot begin to describe how great it is to be home for Christmas. This feeling comes from many things: 1) last year I was in Thailand for Christmas, and although my mom came to visit, it just wasn't the same as being home, 2) the last set of exams rocked me hard, being away from school is a way of forgetting, 3) I LOVE my house at Christmas.... my mom has a huge Christmas tree with all these funky ornaments, along with about 15 other "themed trees" around the house (my room is the white, snowman and angel themes... my new favorite addition is the black and pink themed tree).

The Main Christmas Tree

The Tree in My Room






























The Pink and Black Themed tree/ decorations


Funny story... you know how I was super excited about post-exam parties?!? Well, let me tell you the little tale of post-exam stress. When I got home I was trying to figure out how much money I actually had in the bank (1st semester loans are running REALLY low making Christmas a little difficult, but that's besides the point..). In trying to figure out how much money I had I realized that I could not find my checkbook (I've learned that I'm really bad about losing things lately... I must work on this... p.s. my keys ended their vacation and are now safely back in my possesion). This stressed me out more than probably necessary... but I had these visions of sketchy people of the D finding it and depleting my already low funds to 0, or even worse, into the red. AHH. Well, needless to say this stress (along with a phone call from a friend) convinced me not to go to the skating (boo, wish I had) and just go to the party that night.

Well, in order to relieve the stress I decided to sit down and watch some TV... I fell asleep and woke up the next morning at 11 am. Oops... (Which reminds me of the CNN article on all-nighters that I've been meaning to post... I don't pull all nighters, I pull 5 hours of sleep for multiple nights in a row, probably having nearly the same effect). Then my mom called saying, "GET OUT OF THE D BEFORE YOU CAN'T COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!" Just kidding, she was calling to notify me of a blizzard that supposedly dumped at least a foot of snow on SE MI... I got out and got home instead.

Sad story... on the way home I stopped by the mall to pick up one of my Christmas presents that my mom had on hold.... which they apparently decided not to keep on hold. While at the mall I ran by the Apple store to have them check out my computer (it's doing this funky thing where if it goes into sleep mode the keyboard and mouse become non-functional). Anyways, looks like I'm going to have to back up my entire computer and give to them for a few days to fix whatever "corrupted HD" thing that is going on... Boo, I thought Macs didn't do this. Picture me crying on having to spend money I don't have on a computer that's not supposed to do this kind of crap.

That being said, happy new on the Chiang Mai front. I forgot to post this earlier, but my roommate's brother is trying to sponsor all the kids in one of the orphanages in CM... the happy news is that all 125 kids are sponsored!!! If you want to read about what they are doing, here's the link to the original story and the post about meeting the goal. All I have to say is HALLELUJAH!

And now for other random things making me happy:

Christmas carols on crack (not really... it's the same song that my undergrad choir sang, I think, or at least is very similar)


Daft hand (My friend posted this, I've seen it before... but it still makes me laugh)


Room for Marys and Josephs at the Inn...

Post-Secret (if you don't read it, you should... or buy the book... I have my own secret I want to send in, just haven't had the time yet)

My New Talent

The above picture is the peel from a clementine. Now you may be asking yourself "Why does she have a picture of a clementine peel?" It is my new talent.... not just getting the peel off in one piece (lots of people can do that).... getting the peel off ONE HANDED!!!

Now you might be wondering, who comes up with these things? How did she find out this completely random talent?

Well, it comes down to the fact that one the way to Chicago I was calling my best friend in medical school about some questions concerning phys... While talking to her I decided that I wanted to eat my clementine... I started peeling one handed (my other hand was in use holding the phone) and before I knew it I had a peel in one piece.

Since that time I have tested my abilities: I can do it left handed (as the picture above shows; this is handy for when I need to write and peel a clementine at the same time) and peel two clementines at once... still managing to have 1 peel (the peels are mirror images cause I can't control my abilities yet).

Be amazing... or very concerning for my mental state.

Google Notebook and Christmas

So my mom keeps asking what I want for Christmas... I told her I need Clin. Med. clothes (aka professional clothes for when in the hospital and clinics). However, I was putting off actually having to make an email.

Then it dawned on me.... use Google Notebook.... you don't even have to leave the sites you're looking at... just hit "Clip" and it shows up in your list when you load it. My mom can now print off, rearrange, etc my list for her holiday shopping needs.

This could have just changed my whole anti-Christmas list paradigm.

If you have a Christmas list... post it and share it (esp. my family - cause I have NO idea what to get you all... remember, I'm broke and living off of loans).

Did they realize it was a real word??

Omentum (from Latin, meaning "apron") can refer to two different components of the peritoneum:

• Greater omentum: The greater omentum (also the great omentum, gastrocolic omentum, or epiploön) is a large fold of peritoneum that hangs down from the stomach, and extends from the stomach to the posterior abdominal wall after associating with the transverse colon.

• Lesser omentum: The lesser omentum (small omentum; gastrohepatic omentum) is the double layer of peritoneum that extends from the liver to the lesser curvature of the stomach and the start of the duodenum. (Wikipedia)
  

I wonder if Oprah knows she's being compared to a fatty connective tissue?? In the meantime, I'll just continue to laugh... a lot.

(via Kevin M.D.)

The Completely ADD Update

Randomly heard on radio... Detroit is listed above London, England as a destination point for NYers due to it's great casinos, food, etc. Again... high ratings for one of the most dangerous cities... anyone else getting mixed reviews??!!

The Weekend

So, this weekend I went to Chicago. In fact, I took the train to Chicago, which is the first time I've ever taken a train... However, I'm not impressed with the punctuality of the train (or lack thereof). We didn't get in to Chi-town until almost 11:30 pm.... or 12:30 pm MI time.

However, all this was made up for by the fact that I got to see some of my favorite people of all time, starting with Ben... who graciously gave me his bed and slept at his parent's house. We stayed up until about 2 (3 am MI) talking with two of his friends and then called it a night.

The next day I went to the coffee shop to study (what else would I possibly do?!) while waiting for Ben to get back from an appointment and ended up talking to friends most of the time (we were trying to plan out how to see each other). All this lead to a very social day; we started off mid-afternoon by meeting up with Amanda and Peter (who was shortly followed by Angela -- Amanda and Angela are some of my really good friends from HS)... this included coffee, but mostly just hanging around talking.

Angela, Me, and Amanda back at Ben's place, catching up on old times.

After they left Ben and I met up with Kristen (my freshman roommate) and Mitch (her husband/ my friend). It was late so we decided to go get food, the problem was that there was NO parking (surprise!). So, Ben pulled some strings and found us parking at one of the safest places in the area:

Me and Kristen on the way to dinner at our "special" parking spot.

Dinner was SO enjoyable. It was great catching up with Kris and Mitch, and our waiter was so funny (besides the fact that the food was amazing). We then decided to go out for drinks... the problem with that arose when we walked into one of the bars and found ourselves as the only patrons at that time. We walked out and went to the hookah bar instead... definitely the better choice.

Ben and Mitch at the hookah bar.

That brings us up to Sunday: I went with Ben to church and then got back on the train (the weekend went WAY too fast, and now I want to live in Chicago). The train ride was uneventful until I realized that I couldn't find my keys. Yes, that is right... no keys in my purse. Rather, my keys decided that they needed a bit more vacation and decided to stay with Ben. Oops.

Luckily, I have amazing friends - one who came to pick me up at the train station (during slick driving conditions) and a roommate who came home, rather than studying at school, to let me into the apartment (and drove me back to get my car this morning - Praise the Lord I gave her my spare at the beginning of the school year).

All I can say is, this weekend was amazing. And school is now driving me crazy again (I'm really scared about my upcoming tests... I'm aiming to pass right now and that's about it...)

Random Pictures from School (lab stuff):

ECGs and the effects of inspiration/expiration, sudden standing, cold pressor tests on blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse (pictures taken on my camera - my favorite pic will not send, it's making me very sad). Yay, for being nerds.

Facebook Voters

	Facebook Supporters*	ABC News Poll**
Democrats:
Barack Obama	57.59%	26%
Hillary Clinton	18.79%	49%
John Edwards	8.59%	12%
Dennis Kucinich	6.06%	2%
Joe Biden	2.91%	3%
Bill Richardson	2.73%	2%
Mike Gravel	2.54%	NA
Chris Dodd	0.79%	1%
Republicans:
Ron Paul	38.19%	3%
Mitt Romney	19.39%	11%
Fred Thompson	16.60%	16%
John McCain	12.84%	19%
Rudy Giuliani	10.64%	33%
Thomas Tancredo	1.15%	1%
Duncan Hunter	1.08%	2%
Raymond Mckinney	0.10%	NA

What you see above is the stats from the US Politics widget from Facebook. I've highlighted something I find very interesting.... 57% of Facebook users (using the application) are in support of Obama, whereas the ABC Polling finds that 49% of Americans are in support of Clinton for the '08 election. It makes me wonder what percent of the Obama voters from the ABC poll were also on Facebook.

Now, imagine what a difference the Facebook community could make if they actually got off their computers and voted in the upcoming election.

Wenckebach Sexyback

This is so much better than learning from my notes.

(Thanks to Erin for sending that out!)

Amazing commercial

Brilliant commercial... even though I never eat McDonald's, this commercial made my studying so much better.

WALKABILITY RANKINGS

1. Washington
2. Boston, Massachusetts
3. San Francisco, California
4. Denver, Colorado
5. Portland, Oregon
6. Seattle, Washington
7. Chicago, Illinois
8. Miami, Florida
9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
10. New York
11. San Diego, California
12. Los Angeles, California
13. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
14. Atlanta, Georgia
15. Baltimore, Maryland
16. St. Louis, Missouri
17. Minneapolis, Minnesota
18. Detroit, Michigan
19. Columbus, Ohio
20. Las Vegas, Nevada
21. Houston, Texas
22. San Antonio, Texas
23. Kansas City, Missouri
24. Orlando, Florida
25. Dallas, Texas
26. Phoenix, Arizona
27. Sacramento, California
28. Cincinnati, Ohio
29. Cleveland, Ohio
30. Tampa, Florida

Source: Brookings Institution (via CNN)

Good Lord... are they serious?!? 18th?!?! I was thinking it was going to be listed as one of the worse cities to walk in. Besides the fact that it's the most dangerous city in the nation, and it's frickin' cold, there is no where to walk. Unless of course they are including the suburbs, but they don't count as the D.

Leinberger counted only places where significant subsidies are no longer required to spur development. He predicted that many more -- such as downtown Detroit, Michigan, and Crossroads in Kansas City, Missouri -- would reach that point within the next decade.

Well... I guess I could give the D a few points, you know with the whole Riverfront project and the walk from the Riverfront to the huge Farmer's market (which they are still jackhammering for, at least now they are not starting until 7:30 or 8am)

But still, I don't believe them.

HAPPY DECEMBER!

All I gots to say... it's about time for December to get here!

Well, seeing as I haven't really given an real update in awhile I thought I would do that now (as my procrastination skills have manage to hijack my entire day).

For those of you wondering how med school is going, I have to admit that things are going well. Biochem and physio are well under way, with our first test for them in about 2 weeks (yikes!). And to be honest, that's pretty much were my time has been going... we covered more than 240 pages of physio notes in about 5 days (and there's 500+ pages of types notes for physio alone this unit). Needless to say, I'm kind of understanding stuff... I just have to work on all the details.

However, life's not all work: There's a Christmas party tonight at my friends. I'm bringing chocolate fundue w/strawberries, pineapple, banana, brownie, and pound cake. And next weekend I'm taking the train (first time ever!!) to another major city to visit friends (I cannot wait for next weekend!!!).

All in all, I can say that I'm loving life right now, even with school.

That being said, I should probably try to accomplish something in my studies today.

God Bless!