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Friday, December 5th, 2008
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11:03 am
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San Diego- The sunshine after the rain
After the disappointment in Chicago, I desperately needed something to restore my confidence level-- my trip to San Diego 2 days later achieved just that.
It was a peaceful morning when I jumped onto the bart, and arrived at the San Francisco International Airport. There was a shuttle rail system that took me from one terminal to the other, which is convenient, even though the frequent electronic voice--"Please hold on, Please set your luggage breaks to on"--annoyed me in the end.
My airline was Virgin America, and the flight experience turned out to be one of the best I've ever had. Virgin America is like Jetblue with class. Cheap fares, comfortable seats, and the interior is illuminated with blue and purple lights, creating an atmosphere you'd find in an evening bar. There is a mini TV/gaming system known as "Red" in the back of every seat, and what's more? It's touch screen! Finally, Virgin America introduced an animated safety instruction video in the style of a comic book. It's very funny and has successfully captured my attention throughout its entirety.
The city of San Diego welcomed my arrival. As I walked out of the airport, a breeze of warm air embraced me, as the relaxing feeling of summertime rose from my spines, and comfortably spread throughout my body. The streets, the sidewalks, the buildings... all seemed new and fresh; the cars, the buses, and the pedestrian, all moved at a slackened pace, seemingly complacent with their daily lives. But I could not blend into the atmosphere around me, I was worried about my interview the day after, and needed to make sure that I was ready.
So after wondering around the Airport Parking Lot like a headless fly (a Chinese expression) trying to find the 992 bus stop, buying a $5 daypass tickets that took 15 minutes and a phone call to get out of the ticket machine, and waiting almost an hour for the 150 bus, I took out my Interview-Answer Sheet and started talking to the interviewer of my imagination on the bus. Many people looked at me, but it's quite easy to see that i'm not crazy. I had no ideas which stop to get off, so I decided to follow the other UCSD students that by now had populated the bus. As I stepped onto the land of La Jolla, a big sign appeared next to me-- "UCSD School of Medicine". Hmmm it must have been my lucky day.
After I got off the bus, I suddenly realized that I have nowhere to go. Sam (from orchestra) was supposed to be my host for that night, but I don't have his phone numbers. The only phone number I have is Jackie's but she would be in class till 2pm! Having nothing to do I sat on the grass in front of the Medical School, and did some additional practice for my interview. The weather was nice and three hours went by fast. And soon enough, I was no longer stranded in an unfamiliar place.
Thanks Jackie! You totally saved me! :-)
For the next hour or so, I had a chance see and experience UCSD myself. The campus is big and rather asymmetrical; school architectures are designed with such modernistic style that I find extremely intriguing. If UC Berkeley represents the beauty of classicism, UCLA demonstrates the grandeur of the Renaissance, then UCSD contains the wonder and creativity of the modern age.
Having no idea where I should go next, I dragged my heavy luggage into Jackie's engineering discussion class at 3pm. The GSI was lecturing about some problem, involving some fluid dynamics theories. So I tried to comprehend what he was saying, but failed miserably, and soon found myself falling asleep, and getting waken up twice by Jackie. I'm such a shame for Berkeley. :P
Because Jackie has Sam's cellphone number, and magically knows exactly which dorm room Sam lives in, I arrived swiftly at my "home" for the night. UCSD's dorms are like little houses, and each spacious suite is equipped with a huge kitchen (Foothill has nothing in comparison). Sam's living room contains a TV, an Xbox, an electronic keyboard, a large couch, and a Dart Board! and guess what I've done for the next few hours? Shooting darts with Jackie and Javier, the RA of the suite.
Sam is still very much the little boy I remember from high school. After chatting a bit, he treated me to a chicken wrap (a burrito like thingie) from the nearby school cafe. Sam's suite mates are very very nice people. Even though they all had midterms to study for, they still asked me whether I was hungry or thirsty or bored intermittently. It's sad that I don't recall their names anymore, I guess my memory has its limits...
With some dart shooting, some interviewing practices, a rejuvenating shower, and a deep sleep, my first day in UCSD came to an end. Awaiting for me was a new day at La Jolla, and an exciting medical school interview.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, December 4th, 2008
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10:14 am - A tribute to Dr. Winer
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"I'm a reductionist. I only believe in the things I can see, and the concepts I can prove through experimentation."
"There are many things I do not know about neuroanatomy, and if you ask me a question about one of those things, I will say 'I don't know.'"
"My life is over, I'm done! but you are still in the beginning of your life. You will become the leading scientists and the doctors of the future, and it's my job to make sure you succeed. So one day you might just see me standing outside your window at night, and ask you, what is the function of the raphe nucleus."
"You want research topic to pursue for the next 20 years? Try Tay sach's disease...Punch Drunk...Minamata Disease...Meniere's Disease..., etc. And if you have no idea what these are, you know where to go, PUBMED."
Dr. Winer has taught neuroanatomy in Berkeley for the past I-don't-know-how-many years. Before October 2008, he has never missed a single lecture. He's got a geeky sense of humor, and his office hours are always filled with students, so many that they can't fit in the tiny office space and had to line along the hallway.
Today, the substituting postDoc announced that Dr. Winer has just been diagnosed with a form of cancer, and has 3-4 weeks left...
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, November 29th, 2008
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10:48 pm
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Friday at Chicago
I woke up at 6am sharp, got into the suit that Mr. Welch bought me a long time ago, and did some Linklater Exercises. With a mixture of nervousness and excitement I walked toward Morton Hall, the main teaching building of Northwestern Medical School, and quickly found my way to the Office of Admissions by 7:40AM.
A breakfast was served, which allowed me to meet all the other fellow interviewees for that day. There were a total of 18 applicants, 3 black, 6 Asian, and the rest are white. Two of them came from UCLA, about 1/3 are currently seniors in college, most of them have been to more than 6 interviews already, 1 had served in the navy for 5 years, and another can play Mozart on his cheeks.
Then came the Orientation, led by Dr. Wallace, the Dean of Northwestern Medical School. A big man with a lot of white facial hair, Dr. Wallace tried to sell his school to the applicants in a friendly way. But because he has a strong voice on who gets accepted in the end, the competition between the interviewees has already began at this time. There were constant raising of hands, constant asking of good questions, and as a noob in medical school interviews, I felt utterly intimidated. I squeezed a few questions out of my panicking brain, but by some strange luck, someone else with the same exact question would be called on the very moment I raised my hand.
Following the orientation was the infamous panel interview unique to Northwestern. Basically, 3 interviewees would go into a room together and be interviewed by 2 or 3 faculty/4th year med student of Northwestern at the same time. So what does this mean? MORE COMPETITION. As one question after another were thrown at me by my interviewers, my nervousness kicked in and my English becomes less and less understandable-- in two instances one of my interviewer couldn't hear me and asked me to repeat what I've said. And the questions were just getting harder and more negative... "What's your biggest failure or mistake in your life?" "What is the hardest decision you've ever faced?" "If you can't be a doctor, what would you do?" As I stumbled and BSed through my answers, my two competitors demonstrated their expert communication skills and well-organized train of thoughts, all the while showing off their numerous achievements in life. It seemed almost if I'm not in the same league as them.
I made up some grounds in the second half of panel interview, in which the three of us must work together to design a TV reality about how to choose medical school students. I introduced most of the ideas, including using lie detectors, hidden cameras, fake patients, stressed-out interviewers and other outrageous ways to test if a med school applicant has the qualities of a good doctor. But I screwed up again during the presentation of our proposal, meh, whatever.
After the panel interview, there comes the individual interview. My interviewer was... Dr. Wallace... I tried my best, but from the look of his face I know that he wasn't impressed.
Finally, the interviews are over, but the day at Northwestern continues with a lunch. Using the ticket i got from the admissions office, I got a bottle of grapefruit juice and a small chicken topping pizza. I was trying to be healthy and get a bowl of fruits too, but apparently it's outside the coverage of my food ticket. I found it difficult to talk to the other applicants, especially when their topic centered around either football or tv shows like ER, Gray's Anatomy, and House. So I just sat their, and ate my pizza with a fork and a knife. The plastic fork broke before i could finish the pizza... so I shoved the last piece into my mouth with the knife...bleh
Then there was a tour of the Northwestern campus with second year med student as our guides. The facilities were top class, the use of patient actors is pretty awesome, but at this point I was tired and disappointed at my unfortunate interviews, and could barely maintain my concentration.
After a short and boring session on joint degrees, I finally obtained my freedom at 2:45pm. Since my flight leaves O'hare international airport at 5:00pm, I rushed back to my hotel to pack up, only to discover that my suit hanger was accidentally taken by the hotel custodian. The problem was not resolved till 3:20, and I was lucky to arrive at the airport right before boarding time.
My flight back to Oakland was a torture, I had to transfer 2 times, with a total waiting time of over 2 hours. And the trip took from 5:00pm Chicago time to 11:00 pm Oakland time, or 8 freaking hours! United Airline planes have no entertainment of any sort, but my broken ipod saved the day, as it performed its ultimate concert before its battery ran dry.
Northwestern + Chicago = Disappointment + Stress
But through failure I've realized that I need to spend more time preparing for every single possible question that an interviewer may ask. I had two days to do just that, before I departed for my next interview, in San Diego.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, November 21st, 2008
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12:06 am
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| Thursday, November 20th, 2008
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9:29 pm
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With Medical School Interviews come the opportunity to travel, a chance for me to witness things that I haven't seen before. Even though my times are limited and the stress of interviews are bothering me, I nevertheless tried to remember the interesting things I've noticed in my trips, as the photographs shown below.
The Snowy peaks of the Rockies???
The Great Plains... the earth below me was completely flat from colorado to illinois
So it was a long trip to Chicago by plane. To save money I had to fly to Denver and then take another plane to Chicago. The trip was alright, though I have to say United is really a dying airline. The seats aren't comfy, there is no entertainment system and checking in 1 bag cost $15. Oh wells, it's the only way I can get to Chicago, so I shouldn't complain.
Ah, Denver. All i can say is that this place has a GIGANTIC AIRPORT. It took me over 15 minutes power walking on those flat rolling escalators just to get from one side of the terminal to the other. There were about 60 gates per terminal...
When I got to Chicago, It was 4pm local time, so it took about 7 hours to get there. The Chicago Airport is an interesting place with a lot of colors. There were a row of flags from many different countries hanging in the hall way, each with cities that have established friendly connections with Chicago in the past. Also, there were the lights. Check these out!
The Lights at Chicago Airport
From the Airport I decide to take the subway to downtown. Chicago has a pretty good public transportation system, the train cost $2 and you can ride it to anywhere you like. However, the Buses cost $1.75 and the traffic is very very bad there, as I soon discovered.
Coming out of the subway I found myself right in the middle of downtown Chicago. As a chilling breeze pierced through my jacket, and the hussle and bussle of a Major City entered my eyes, I felt a bit amazed, a bit excited, and a bit lost. The buildings are tall and numerous, and together they cover 70% of the sky that would otherwise enter my view. Not that the sky was anything interesting to look at, because it was simply gray, no clouds, no sun... pure grayness, surrounded by the darker shades of the buildings. The roads were a bit narrow in comparison, and there are a lot of cracks that are being filled in by construction workers. People, lots of people, mostly in business uniforms, tense, serious, fast-walking, as if they have all been stressed out somehow. There was pictures of Obama on the streetlights, and invisible bus stop signs, that took me an awful amount of time to find. For a while I thought I'm in the town that batman lived in, oh wells, i guess it's not that bad... just very different.
After getting myself lost a little bit thanks to the invisible street signs. I've finally found my hotel. The cheapest in town and with horrible google reviews. To my pleasant surprise it wasn't too bad at all. Everything seemed clean, there was a timer, an iron, a tv, a table, and a queen sized bed... All i can really ask for, isn't it?
After relaxing a bit, I went out to get a better sense of Chicago, and more importantly, to hunt for food. For $7 I got myself a Pizzeria from some place whose name I have forgotten, It took 1 hr for the Pizzeria to be baked, but it tasted good, at least.
While waiting for my food, I went scouting around Northwestern Campus. It's right in the middle of downtown, and is not confined by any noticeable campus boundaries. There was the main memorial hospital, as well as the three in one Northwestern teaching building. And that was about all I could find, the rest of the buildings had the word "Law School" scripted on them.
A sculpture I found outside Northwestern
Not far from Northwestern is a mini castle-like structure known as the Water Tower. I have no idea what it supposed to do, maybe a memorial for certain historical events perhaps.
There was the magnificent mile, a part of a river that flows right through Downtown Chicago, but by this point I was too tired to walk there, and have lost faith in the buses. So I returned to my Hotel Room, watched a rather disturbing documentary on Jim Jones and Jonestown, reviewed a few answers about my interview tomorrow, and went to bed.
Argh, this entry is getting too long... I guess it'll be the first of a series of my traveling experiences on livejournal. So if you wanna know what happens next day, stay tuned! ^_^
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Sunday, October 21st, 2007
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8:19 pm
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心灵的节拍，思想的旋律，
神圣的音符，高昂的歌唱。
音乐，多么美妙，
音乐家，多么伟大。
然而，一个没有知音的音乐家，
只能面对痛苦和悲伤。
再美丽的作品，
得不到接受，得不到赞赏，
只能成为一个被遗忘的梦，
一个不真实的想象。
知己，知音，何处寻？
有谁能阅读我心中的音符，
将之谱成生命的乐章？
追逐，期待，渴望，梦想，
我心如烟，我魂如殃。
白阳
current mood:  depressed
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, September 15th, 2007
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1:27 pm - 生活的滋味
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酸，心酸。知恩不报，情谊何在？
苦，痛苦。人只为几，淡漠关怀。
辣，辛辣。黑暗世界，正以消散。
咸，盐咸。看破红尘，热情不见。
甜，无甜。一闪即灭，不入胸来。
current mood: disappointed
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
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2:50 pm
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| Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
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11:37 am - choice
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Yesterday was one of the darkest days in the history of the US; 33 innocent lives ended admist the raging gunfire of one troubled Virginia Tech student. As i express my condolence for the family and friends of those who died, a thought capturned my mind. What if something like that happened in Berkeley? What if a gunman break into my classroom and start shooting at my classmates mercilessly? What if some one i love and care about is in danger, and I have a small chance of saving him or her? Would I selfishly hold on to my own life and flee in cowardice? or would I have the courage to stand up to the gunman, to put my life on the line for the sake of others?
Sigh... What would you do?
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
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4:21 pm - Random Comments
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By popular demand, i hereby restore my deadjournal back to life...
But what is there to say???
I guess my life is just boring and cyclical: waking up, going to school, sleeping in class, eating, daydreaming, homeworking, and sleeping again... Nothing interesting really happens around me, except for the few hours I spend hanging around with friends in person or on aim. School is surely stressful, but I've developed this laid back, "don't worry" life style and procrastinate everything till the very end; oh well, i guess that's all it takes to do well in the classes that i'm taking...
I think I am just not interested in myself, or discussing things going on in side of me... at least not on livejournal. But I do believe that goodness and forgiveness are something that each and every human being has, so why don't we all express these qualities, and let them govern the way we behave toward others. The world needs love; a selfless, caring love, but not hate. Afterall, hate can never produce pleasure, it only fills the giver with pain, the receipient with anger.
Sigh... I guess i'm in the philosophical mode right now...not good...ER Problem Set Due tomorrow......I'll post more on this subject matter when I've got the time.
Quarter Students! Don't stress out too much with the final studying! Allocate your time wisely, and trust yourself! You'll do GREAT on the finals!!! :-)
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
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12:14 pm
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茫茫苍天，滔滔碧海。
金色的夕阳，停泊在海天交界线上。
波澜闪闪，浪花飞舞。
一对对海鸥，在波浪上空飞翔。
在这幅画的中央，呆立着一个男孩，
他一动也不动，好似一尊石像。
他的心以被这尊严而壮丽的景象吸住，
充满了对大自然的敬仰与神往。
他张开了小嘴，提起了嗓子，
对大海倾诉他梦寐以求的理想。
闯天下，积学问，
观万物，遍迹四方！
-白阳
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, December 25th, 2006
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6:04 am
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Merry Christmas everybody! Enjoy your winter vacation! ^_^
current mood:  cheerful
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, December 18th, 2006
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12:43 am
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离开了喧闹的电报大街
步入那宁静美丽的校园
往日的繁忙已经消失
在期末结束后的这一天
存在的只有欢乐与安详
温暖的阳光
照耀着大地上的生命
青翠的松树
衬托着洁白耀眼的墙壁
一对松鼠
在草木中自由自在的玩耍
一队海鸥
在半空中无忧无虑的飞翔
络绎不绝的游客
向远方的金门大桥行礼
理想的学生
在大自然的怀抱中成长
-to be continuous
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, November 24th, 2006
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7:48 am
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寒风侵室镜满霜
羽衣热水励心强
感恩静夜习如忙
幻视朝阳念故乡
-白阳
Dedicated to a very dedicated friend
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
current mood: cheerful
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Saturday, November 18th, 2006
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10:53 am
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黑云遮日，天地黯茫
暴雨狂风，吹打身心
我跋山涉水，步踏千里
只盼能见到你，认识你
你在哪里，我的知己？
人世情愁，无言苦衷
郁闷妒嫉，孤单空虚
我已被卷入烦恼的漩涡
能解救我的，只有你
我需要你，我的知己！
坎坷生活，关切何在
自利社会，理解何去
人群中，新的希望升起
熟悉的笑脸，震我声息
真的是你，我的知己？
气血沸腾，热情流转
定睛一望，你以不见
一声霹雳，砸碎了美梦
一束火花，焚烧了幻觉
风雨依旧，知己难寻。。。
--白阳
current mood:  pessimistic
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, October 31st, 2006
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1:45 am
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花香飘满亭，
草生千状型。
树展碧玉枝，
藤盘三丈青。
遥望夕阳碧水映，
叹识万物染激情！
--白阳
Inspired by the beauty of nature after a trip to the Berkeley Botanical Garden.
current mood: cheerful
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, October 14th, 2006
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1:05 pm
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Well... I guess i need to write more poems and update my livejournal more... Here is a recent one in Chinese. If you can understand it, give me some feedback.
电闪雷鸣天地映，
风雨激流逆我行。
人生旅程何无此？
奋勇向前展英明。
-白阳，10/14/06
current mood:  creative
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, June 7th, 2006
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10:56 pm
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The first year of Berkeley passed away.
It is the dawn of a new day.
With schools and studies in the past,
Jobs and working opportunities come fast.
Easy come, easy go,
Fired on the first day.
No experiences, no know,
Trying hard to find another way.
It's the third week and i'm happy.
Three part-time jobs give me days of busy.
Lottery Selling, Tutoring and Teaching,
Six days a week and relatively rewarding.
Money and experiences are what i need
to become successful in college indeed.
For those in the semester system, enjoy your vacation!
For those in the quarter system, good luck on your examination!
current mood:  contemplative
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Saturday, December 31st, 2005
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10:22 pm
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Happy New Year Everyone!!!
sorry...no poetry today. :P
current mood: cheerful
current music: We wish you a happy New Year
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, December 7th, 2005
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2:13 pm
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Swarthmore snows, berkeley rains,
and I stare at the Golden Bear.
class goes, final comes,
as I plan for my next year.
Nineteen units again, sounds good:
they will keep me busy.
Thinking about it, hey dude!
it's not going to be easy.
Math should be okay,
but i don't like chem.
and I must pray
for success in ESPM.
Physics is going to be hard,
and it will leave me in confusion.
Geography is for laggard,
who excels in the art of procrastination.
Anyway, I am tired,
have to go back to study.
My rhimes here end,
wishing you all a fantastic school finale!
current mood: contemplative
current music: Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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superbai's journal
