Saturday, March 29, 2003

More good news: I just opened an acceptance letter from Yale's Public Health program. Now I have to make a decision!

Friday, March 28, 2003

Here are some spectacular photos from the "Two Micron All Sky Survey" (2MASS) led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Thursday, March 27, 2003

I spent a lot of last weekend volunteering in the ER. It was quite a powerful experience.

Saturday had my first straight-out-of-a-movie incident. A car pulled up to the ER ambulance bay at high speed, honking repeatedly, and screeched to a halt. "Somebody help!" the driver shouted. "My friend has been shot!" Several firefighters and I transfered the victim to a gurney and pulled him into the ER. He was in the operating room soon thereafter, but I heard that he didn't make it through surgery. Several times that night, I ran (literally) to the blood bank unit of the hospital to get blood for incoming trauma patients. On Saturday I also saw my first patient with eye trauma. Ugh. I can handle a lot of disgusting scenes, but I don't think I'm meant to be an opthomologist.

Sunday was even more intense. Another shooting victim was brought, and the paramedics were performing CPR when the ambulance arrived. The patient died in the ER trauma room, just a few minutes after he arrived. Apparently one of the bullets had nicked his heart, and there was very little that the trauma team could do.

Despite the pain and suffering inherent in the emergency room, I almost always leave in a good mood. Or maybe an optimistic mood. I have two reasons for this. First, I am continually impressed by the dedication and emotional stamina of the ER staff. More importantly, I think I could work in that environment. The controlled chaos of the ER is a spectacular sight. I've never seen a dozen people work so effectively side-by-side in such a stressful environment.

Wednesday, March 19, 2003

I just got a call from Johns Hopkins -- they accepted me into their Masters degree program in Health Policy! Yay!

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Soooo much to write about!

First, the ER. My shift last Sunday was really exciting! And educational! We had an unusually busy Sunday night, including several stabbings. I participated in my first trauma cases -- helping unload patients from ambulances, setting up and placing the oxygen masks on patients, and calling the CT department to prepare them for patients. I also saw a doctor repair a large laceration on a patient's arm by using a medical staple gun. Cool stuff.

Newsweek's cover article this week is an excellent summary of why I am so disgusted with our President:
  • "In fact, while the United States has the backing of a dozen or so governments, it has the support of a majority of the people in only one country in the world, Israel. If that is not isolation, then the word has no meaning."
  • "The crucial measure of military might in the early 20th century was naval power, and Britain ruled the waves with a fleet as large as the next two navies put together. By contrast, the United States will spend as much next year on defense as the rest of the world put together (yes, all 191 countries)."
  • "The administration claims that many countries support the United States but do so quietly. That signals an even deeper problem. Countries are furtive in their support for the administration not because they fear Saddam Hussein but because they fear their own people. To support America today in much of the world is politically dangerous. Over the past year the United States became a campaign issue in elections in Germany, South Korea and Pakistan. Being anti-American was a vote-getter in all three places."
  • "President Bush’s favorite verb is “expect.” He announces peremptorily that he “expects” the Palestinians to dump Yasir Arafat, “expects” countries to be with him or against him, “expects” Turkey to cooperate. It is all part of the administration’s basic approach toward foreign policy, which is best described by the phrase used for its war plan—”shock and awe.” The notion is that the United States needs to intimidate countries with its power and assertiveness, always threatening, always denouncing, never showing weakness. Donald Rumsfeld often quotes a line from Al Capone: “You will get more with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.”
    But should the guiding philosophy of the world’s leading democracy really be the tough talk of a Chicago mobster? In terms of effectiveness, this strategy has been a disaster. It has alienated friends and delighted enemies. Having traveled around the world and met with senior government officials in dozens of countries over the past year, I can report that with the exception of Britain and Israel, every country the administration has dealt with feels humiliated by it."


And now for the ridiculous link of the week: www.cool-2b-real.com. As described by Business 2.0, it is "a site designed to 'steer' young girls away from vegetarianism. Featuring enlightening articles and insightful quizzes ("What type of beef do you most like to eat with your friends?"), the tweener-empowerment site also has recipes for snacks like Easy Beef Chili, Nacho Beef Dip, and Beef on Bamboo." Finally, a website with fewer hits than mine.

Friday, March 14, 2003

It has been a tough week -- lots of depressing stuff going on around here. I have a friend visiting from Seattle this weekend, though, and that ought to be a nice break.

I started a new book yesterday -- Graham Greene's "The Human Factor." It's a spy novel.

I wish I had kept more pictures during my junior and senior years at Stanford. I kept photos albums during freshman and sophomore year, but I only have scattered photos from the last two years. Admittedly, I was so busy during those two years that I'm not surprised I didn't take more pictures. Senior year was my best year at Stanford, and yet I have so few pictures of it!

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Good things can happen -- Elizabeth Smart was found alive today in a suburb of Salt Lake City.

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

There's nothing quite like a vacation to Hawaii to make you want to quit your job.
Two Republican lawmakers spearheaded an effort to change the name of "french fries" and "french toast" on cafeteria in House office building to protest France's position on Iraq.

Thursday, March 06, 2003

I can't find an online article about it yet, but CNN's "American Morning with Paula Zahn" just had a segment about two identical twin sisters who were adopted by different families, raised without knowledge of the other twin, and, now college students, were finally introduced to each other last week after hearing stories from friends-of-friends about the other twin's similarities.
Thursday, March 6th. 4:49am. I have an hour and a half until I have to catch my train to the airport. Haven't slept yet. Do I go to bed, and catch the later (6:53am) train?

Sooooooo tempting.

(pause)

Nope. Who am I kidding? There is no way I would wake up in time. I can sleep on the plane. I think it's 5 hours to Honolulu...that ought to be enough.

Tuesday, March 04, 2003

A leaked NSA memo indicates that the US government plans to bug phones and emails of key Security Council members in order to learn their plans for the upcoming Iraq resolution. Whoops!

Monday, March 03, 2003

Apparently there is a "bad bunch of speed" for sale on the streets of San Francisco, or at least that's what the police said at the ER last night. We had at least six patients brought in last night, all very much high on amphetamines. It was quite a sight. Despite the fact that they were in restraints and weren't moving much, most of them had heart rates of 140-160 beats per minute for 2-3 hours. To put that in perspective, that is the same rate I aim for during hard running workouts.
"Accused of irrelevance and deeply divided over Iraq, the United Nations has never mattered more."