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Welcome to my home page! Here, you can learn about me and my interests. Hmm, well about me: I'm a University of Toronto student native of Vancouver. I'm interesting enough to type more stuff about me, but lazy enough not to as well, so just message me if you want.
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| Click on any picture for a few thoughts (sorry, not written yet since I don't think that often). | ||
The Home Stretch
Update
Three weeks until NOTHING stands between me and my MD. Isn't that scary?
Gonna be in Taipei visiting friends... for a whole month! I leave May 8 and return to Toronto June 7, just in time to graduate. Will Blog here as usual when the time comes.
Addicted to the music playing again? Me too. It's Juanes - Volverte a Ver (Returning to You).
Kiss my marshmallow butt!!
Update
I won't apologize for the purposefully rude title of this post, the picture just inspired me. Make sure you put your mouse cursor over the picture too. A lot's happened since I came back from Costa Rica in December. I spent January interviewing in 7 different cities across Canada, only to wind up matching for a residency position in Toronto.
I've made some updates for you pic-hungry voyeurs out there. First of all, you may download the my Costa Rica Blog in .doc format here. 95% of the Costa Rica pics can be found here. Lastly, some pics from Toronto last year. Dang I really need a digital camera, low-tech me is sick of scanning prints... Lastly, for those of you who don't know already, I update a Xanga fairly regularly (i.e. more than never, and certainly more than this web page) so I can help inspire the world - feeling depressed and/or suicidal? Take a look and I assure you will find new meaning in life with such classic posts as "I like curry" and "Clubbing was fun yesterday."
Addicted to the music playing? Me too. It's Juanes - A Dios le pido (I ask of you God).
And I'm off!
Update
Sorry I haven't updated since Family Medicine block! Here's a summary of what happened since then: (1) did Surgery, (2) did Medicine, (3) went back to Van for 2mos doing Rehab + Nephro, (4) came back to TO and did Medicine again, (5) did Emerg, and now I'm on a 2-week Psych/Addiction Medicine. It's a sleeper elective - I can basically fall asleep and my residents won't even notice - I feel rolly-poly now just like my friend doing the log rolls above this post..
You might be interested to know I'll be basically out of the country until 2005 - to live in Latin America in order to achieve my lifelong dream to become a SALSA KING! However, I will be continuously posting my thoughts here. If you'd like to message me, I can be best reached via that link or by e-mail, which I'll also be checking regularly.
Peds Rotation and Other Mucho Cool Stuff
Update
Sorry I haven't updated for so long. January and February were just BRUTAL months for me, partly because of my rotten luck, and partly actually cuz I made so many freaking New Year's resolutions that it was hard to keep up. I started off the year w/ 6 weeks of pediatrics at North York General. I felt like my whole life was on the TTC, plus there were so many STUPIDASS clinics in nowheresville so I got lost like every 2nd day. I even skipped one clinic completely cuz if I went then it'd be about 1h on TTC there and 1.5h on TTC back home, and this is for a clinic that's only 3h long! Plus, I figured out that I don't really like kids that much - I can play with them, but they are a real b*tch to examine. Seriously.
Then were 2 weeks of ophtho (eye) ENT (ear nose throat) training, culminating in 4 hours of exams at the end of the 2 weeks. Why, that's like a 16:1 lecture:exam time ratio. Eh, at least I survived. Now luckily I am in the most kickass rotation ever, FAMILY MEDICINE, where you learn things the way they were meant to be learned, and where it is not a surprise when you find that all the staff you talk to are happy and not popping aneurysms left and right.
There are a number of updates I wanted to make on this posting. (1) The new music is David Tao's "Melody". Good song, too bad the guy's a cocky jerk... (2) I added some captions to the China 2002 section, as well as some of my diary entries from that trip. (3) I added pics from the end of the Cambodia trip (Angkor, Khmer Fun), Van family/Van friends, and some pics from my rotations under "clerkship". (4) I updated my "links" section.
Melody 作詞：陶屁屁/娃娃 作曲：陶屁屁 ;) 終於明白你以變成回憶 沒有言語能夠說明當別人問起 普了一段旋律沒有句點 也無法再繼續 像埋伏在街頭的某種氣息 無意間經過把往日笑與淚勾起 忽然心痛的無法再壓抑 原來從未忘記 Melody 腦海中的旋律轉個不停 愛過你 有太多話忘了要告訴你 Melody 無數動人音符在我生命 愛過你 失去你我才知道要珍惜 當時無法為你寫的那首歌 都是我永遠的遺憾 當愛逝去 如果所有的錯重來一次 能否改變結局 終於落下休止符的那首歌 我聽著每一個音符流過的回憶 為什麼在那麼多年以後 還不能說再見 Melody 腦海中的旋律如此熟悉 愛過你 在我心裡只能輕輕嘆息 Melody 無數動人音符在我生命 愛過你 失去你我才知道要珍惜 Melody oh Melody 我永遠不能忘記 你是多麼的美麗 讓這音樂一直不停響起 Melody oh Melody 我捨不得去忘記 我們快樂的過去 請別讓我從這夢境清醒 Melody 腦海中的旋律如此熟悉 愛著你 求你聽我唱完這一段旋律 請不要離去 Melody 你是在我腦海不停的旋律 愛過你 我的心理只能無言嘆息 Melody 無數動人音符在生命裡 愛過你 失去後我才知道要珍惜你
Vancouver
Update
So I just came back from a 12-day trip home to Vancouver. So refreshing! Each time I go back I'm able to appreciate the city a little more. I've come to the realization that lifestyle-wise, Vancouver is superior to Toronto is every imaginable way - it's not like I didn't know that before, but it's hard to get a grasp on the actual distinction between the two unless you've lived in both...
Random vacation stats: Times went to sushi = 3, times went for bubble tea = 3, times went for dim sum = 1, times went for hotpot = 1, times went for BBQ = 1, family parties = 2, friend parties = 3 (counting pseudo-parties), number of 十分's seen = 3 (及無數的八分以上), winter sports = snowboarding, skating.
New Year's Resolutions: (1) exercise >3x/wk (2) learn Spanish every day (3) be more honest to myself (seems sappy but actually applies to me believe it or not). The new music you're hearing as you read this is actually from 2002 - it's Lee Soo Young's "La La La".
Taking a breather from THOSE $%@# BABIES!
Update
So my psychiatry rotation finished 3 weeks ago without a hitch. Except for some evaluations which I don't exactly agree with... all kinds of people in this world I guess!
You might notice some changes in this page. I finally FOUND TIME to scan my awesome pics from summer vacation 2 years ago! 80% of them are scanned at present and I've put Alex to the task of helping me caption them. I also have some great e-mail "updates" leftover in my Inbox that Alex and I wrote when we were in China - these should be up as soon as I finish scanning the last album. It's great to look back at pics and reminisce... and read all the crazy signs that I couldn't decipher when I was there...
I also updated the music - right now you're hearing Jo Sung Mo (Korean ballad king) - "To Heaven". It was extremely popular in Asia in 2002. I have seen the music video to go with this song but have only been able to stream it... it's OK but kinda confusing.
Right now I'm on a rotation called "Obs/Gyn" which to the uninitiated means delivering babies and fixing women's problems. Which isn't easy, mind you. However, delivering babies is easier than I thought it'd be - 99% of the work is done by the mother anyway, and the way it works is that she is usually in labour for minutes to hours on end, then when she is finally "pushing" (what we call 2nd stage labour), the medical team basically rushes in, catches the baby, writes a note, and then runs back to whatever they were doing before. (In fact, you could just deliver fine with nurses, I don't see why medicine has to be there unless there are medical complications) I take call once every about 5 days, which means I'm at the hospital all night... I barely even need a cell phone anymore cuz I never turn it on! :(
Hmm one more thing, congratulations to newlyweds LAURA and STEPHEN (just in case you're reading this)!
你們店裡有啥好吃的﹖﹗
Intro
I'm already 2 weeks into my first rotation, Psychiatry, at St. Michael's Hospital. It's a bit of a rude awakening to me, because I was starting to enjoy life like a regular person when I stumbled into this full-time committment. Anyway, most of my weekdays are now pretty full.. 9-5 deal (to get much worse with subsequent rotations), so if you feel like calling me any time you'll have to try my pager instead. I'm putting on some web page music (張學友 - 我真的受傷了), I hope all you peops like my taste.
I'm going to try to get some regular updates on this page in the next bit cuz, to tell you the truth, I have nothing better to do since I'm just running between home and hospital all the time. My life is forfeit for the next couple years... oh well, at least I'm finally LEARNING like I should be. Now at least I finally get to see whether I am as smart as I thought I was 2 long years ago when I cut my undergrad short to play in the big leagues...
Don't expect this to be updated as often as one of those crazy Xangas though, 我真的沒有那麼多時間﹗
I think I'm undergoing a "withdrawal of all places not Toronto." 你們說﹐我為何一直念念不忘非多倫多的地方﹖可能是因為我總想取得不能擁有的東西﹐還想去不可去的地方。It's a fact of life I guess. I think over the last few days I've diagnosed myself with more psychiatric disorders than I care to remember. 我已經發覺自己變化﹐太恐怖了吧﹗
I've lately been listening to a lot of Jacky Cheung. He's pretty outdated nowadays, but I can't believe his talent - I'm not a vocalist, but as a layman with some musical background I can't find fault in his technique. Too bad I pissed the 90's away listening to other stuff and doing math problems. I've also been listening to a bit more of Harlem Yu (庾澄慶), and have come to respect him as not only a decent vocalist but a great personality. Here's one of his newest songs, which is the first Mandarin rap I've heard that actually kinda works!
蛋炒飯 作詞：彭承吉 作曲：彭承吉 編曲：鍾成虎 屈指一算 這滿漢樓 我已經待了三年半 Counting on my fingers, I've spent 3 and a half years in this Chinese restaurant, 每天挑水 劈柴 可沒偷懶 端盤子 掃地 洗碗 我可勤快 Each day carrying water, firewood (pi3chai2), no loafing on the job, holding and balancing dishes, sweeping the floor, washing dishes, I'm really diligent! 師傅說我是塊料兒 傳授我中國菜的精髓所在 The boss said I'm his successor, passing onto me the essence of Chinese cuisine 日日苦練 夜夜苦練 基本功不曾間斷 Every day practising hard, every night practising hard, the basic work is unstoppable. 到現在 我的刀法精湛 三兩肉 飛快 我已鋪滿一大盤 Now, my mastery (jing1zhan4) of the knife, three lbs. of meat, very fast, I've already spread (pu1man3) it across the pan. 到現在 我的手勁兒實在 鐵鍋甩 十斤小石子在鍋裡翻 Now, my hand strong and true, iron wok flings, 5 kg of small bits flip in the wok, 師傅說 能不能出師 要過他那關 他叫我炒一盤 嗄?! 蛋炒飯 The boss said, in order to pass my apprenticeship, I must first surpass him; he asked me to make a plate of… huh? Egg fried rice! 搞什麼 這會不會太太…難啦!!! 少囉唆 師傅叫你做 你就做唄!!! "WTF? Won't this be t.. too.. difficult?" "Don't bullshit (luo2suo1)! The boss told you to make it, so just make it!" 嘿 蛋炒飯 最簡單也最困難 飯要粒粒分開 還要沾著蛋 Hey, egg fried rice! The easiest and hardest dish, rice isn't the same as noodles; it's moistened (zhan1) by the egg! 嘿 蛋炒飯 最簡單也最困難 鐵鍋翻不夠快 保證砸了招牌 Hey, egg fried rice! The easiest and hardest dish; if you don't flip the wok fast enough, you're guaranteed to ruin (za2) your restaurant's name! 嘿 蛋炒飯 最簡單也最困難 這題目太刁鑽 可我手藝並非泛泛 Hey, egg fried rice! The easiest and hardest dish; this subject is too tricky (diao1zuan1), and my culinary skills not very deep (fan4fan4)! 嘿 蛋炒飯 最簡單也最困難 中國五千年 火的藝術 就在這一盤 Hey, egg fried rice! The easiest and hardest dish; 5000 years Chinese culinary art is right in this dish! 滿漢樓裡 高手雲集 放眼中國 享譽盛名 Inside a Chinese restaurant, masters crowd together, look at China from afar, enjoying (xiang3yi4) their great reputation (cheng2ming2), 傳至我輩 精益求精 若非庖丁 無人可比 Passed down to our generation (bei4), to get the essence, if it weren't for chefs (pao2ding1), nobody would compare! 客官：小二ㄟ Xiao'Er? 小二：來ㄟ 客官要點什麼？ Come in! What would our wonderful guest like to order? 客官：你們店裡有啥好吃的？ What things taste good at this place? 小二：客官 咱們滿漢樓遠近馳名 什麼菜都好吃 Sir, our Chinese restaurant is renowned near and far; everything here is good! 客官：好唄！那給我來一盤蛋炒飯 Good! Then bring a plate of… egg fried rice! 小二：嗄?! Huh?!
Hahahaha
Intro
LOL! In case you haven't been following the news, Arnold Schwartzenegger is running for California governor. I'd vote for him! He's so hilarious la~...
"You guys have an addiction problem. You should go to an addiction place because you cannot stop spending." - Arnie to everybody, in his only campaign debate.
"I would just like to say that I just realized that I have a perfect part for you in 'Terminator 4.' "(You might need) more decaf." - Arnie to Huffington.
Cambodia Update
Intro
Hey everybody! Over 90% of my pics from Cambodia are up now (most not annotated though). Also, feel free to download my entire Blog, linked below.
File Postings
Intro
For files that I can't send to people any other way.
ROCSAUT 881 Drama Club
Intro
This is just something I do on the side because... well, it really beats studying. I think everyone should be involved in some kind of activity on the side, lest you go INSANE and start running around the room thinking you're a chicken, 用最大聲音喊"我是雞﹐你是雞﹐這是不能改變的事實﹗". 我一定會貼出幾張相片﹐一開始照相就這樣 (... pleh).對啊, ROCSAUT 代表 "多倫多大學台灣同學會," so it's a Taiwanese club. For now we will forego the explanation why I'm in this club in the 1st place :p.
Drama
Tennis anyone? 順便說說﹐我也是ROCSAUT演劇會的樂隊指揮家(I think that's how you say it). 這些下面被貼的MP3文件就是為我們樂隊人員下載聽聽的。求求你們﹐把這些聽一下﹐練習些﹐and we will be golden! The following songs are in the order they were in the play:
My thoughts on the Beijing Games
Human rights
Since this is an issue that always comes up, I thought I'd get it out of the way. Despite what Amnesty International or anybody else might say, I don't think human rights is a significant issue in awarding the Olympic Games. Historically, the Olympics have been in several venues of political instability, such as Sarajevo and Nazi Germany. Secondly, in my opinion, I can't say for sure that China still has a human rights problem at all, certainly not as large as us foreigners like to make it out to be. China is a huge nation, and democracy will not come overnight - us Westerners tend to think we are enlightened to have such a free society, where the accused are defended just as vigorously as the innocent, and criminals have TVs, exercise programs, and excellent food in prison. Many southeast Asian countries do not want to be the U.S., and don't consider the U.S. as being an ideal country. Heck, in some 2nd and 3rd world countries, a lot of people would love to live like they live in jail here in Canada. Although I am all for democracy, I can see how it can be seen as not a cure-all for every nation. Sure, China executes many criminals. But this says NOTHING about human rights, because capital punishment is a controversial issue - I mean, the U.S. does it too (just ask President Bush!), for Pete's sake. Execution in its own right isn't wrong (although I'm against capital punishment), it's the judicial process that must be questioned.
As for religious rights, I don't see why there is so much criticism about the persecution of the Falun Gong. It's not a religious issue at all, the Falun Gong (according to Beijing) poses a political threat. China clearly has no problem with religion itself - I read somewhere that 10% of Chinese take up Western religions, mostly denominations of Christianity. Christians aren't persecuted in China. Nor are Buddhists and practitioners of Qi Gong, two components integrated into Falun Gong. Thus non-Chinese should least learn more about this alleged "political threat" before they blindly and arrogantly accuse the Chinese government of religious intolerance. Until I see strong evidence indicating otherwise, I must allow that Beijing has a purely political reason for taking action against these people.
The only thing I can say I truly hate about China's most recent human rights record is the Tibetan occupation. But let me say it again, the accusations of China's human rights record being awful are all moot. They don't affect the Olympics, and certainly the safety of the athletes and the international tourist community will not be in jeopardy. It is up to the world community now to accept the IOC's decision, because a glut illegal protesting could undoubtedly force the government to crack down - the only ones who can truly screw up the 2008 Games is us, not China.
Toronto: "What did we do wrong?"
Well, actually Toronto bidded for the Olympics perfectly. Mel Lastman's stupid quote makes him a handy scapegoat, but in light of China's past, this issue is moot as well because his quote has nothing to do with the Olympics. It's not like he said, "God, I hate Africans," or, "Olympics shmolympics, who cares." Why did Toronto lose then? Well, because Beijing didn't screw up their bid either. Also, Beijing is richer, and China basically kicked Canada's butt in every Olympics in recent memory - China's medal counts have also been getting much higher, while Canada's peaked in Barcelona and wasn't as good at all in Sydney, indicating that Beijing has much more capacity to improve their sporting community and facilities. Overall, China's a bigger and more sustained international sporting presence than Canada.
Final words
I like the result. Sorry Toronto, but the bottom line is that your loss is Vancouver's gain for 2010. The Olympics would be a boon for Vancouver, I don't care what everybody says about how so many Vancouverites say money could be spent on better things - this truly is becoming a no-fun zone! And I think it's about time for China, I mean for crying out loud, over 1/6th of the people in the world live there! Give'em a break!