Did anyone get an email from UBC saying that “one of your classmates may have Tuberculosis?” And that we should get ourselves checked???
We have a PLAGUE among us! Haha it’s easily treatable… I think. Is it? 9 month treatment course of Isoniazid, last time I remember.
But I wonder how that student got it in the first place. It’s not like TB is common here in North America. Maybe he/she went to Go Global.
whether it be friends, family, co-workers, in academia, or just random people I meet for the first time. I have a rather nasty schedule that prevents me from doing so. I’ve been reading a good friend of mine’s blog which I haven’t read since last year. Yes, sorry MJ I’ve been meaning to read it for a while… But I read it now! Anyways, I read something from his blog that prompted me to write this post.
About 8 months ago he wrote a very sobering post on how relationships with anyone can really influence the course of your life… How just a simple meet and catching up with someone can make an impact, even though it doesn’t seems like it. And how much of an impact will it make then, when you lose that someone?
It was painful trying to imagine losing close friends… Those who made my first two years of UBC so memorable; hour long phone calls, study parties, birthday parties, drinking parties, parties in general, eating at new restaurants, playing Mahjong and Brawl.. Though to be honest, I feel like my good friends are slowly drifting away. I’ve only seen them once since winter break because of a lot of stuff that’s been going… And I should make the effort to hang out with them, but it is getting progressively difficult as the term goes on. I feel weird because some of my friends actually read my blog >_< haha well I feel like I owe it to them to explain myself.
OK my goal this week is to make the best conversations to anyone I meet! This… may include strangers 
But most particularly I miss seeing my friends on the bus and having conversations all the way to UBC… SV about how first year science is going so far and his entrance to the pre-med life, EZ about classical music particularly Beethoven and piano quartets, TinyT about her days as a pharmer, LS (Rusalka) about her days as a pharmer-cologist, and of course the guy who inspired me to write this: MJ. There’s only a finite time in which I’ll stay in contact with all of them right?… I must. make. the. most. of. it. and… cherish.
Excuse my French
So right when I got back: no social life, <6 hours of sleep everyday, and spent most of my entire week at the silent upstairs floor of Woodward Library while feeding on granola bars and the 8PM special at the village. Never had something this bad before in my life.
Anyone else have tough weeks like this? Compounding midterms? Work issues? Share via comments! Rant here plz. I know there are others out there who have had worse situations (cough cough DC and his 3 day no-sleep-spree from coffee).
Today we had the SCI Team interviews at the CSI to hire the next generation of science event planners! It was similar to the MUG Leader interviews where we had three different stations: a group activity involving constructing a tower, one-on-one interviews, and event discussion. I’ll have to say, it’s interesting being on the other side of the table and being an interviewer because then you actually scrutinize their speech, body language, and eye contact and look for certain things that go hand in hand with events. 86 applications for 10 spots… Tough choice. Luckily, I don’t decide; I just help out with the process, difficult as it may be. Though I’m excited to work with the new SCI Team members! They all seem into it and seem to know what to do.
Right after my interviews on Saturday at 5, I seriously just crashed at my bed and fell asleep but didn’t bother changing out of my suit because I was so tired… Let me tell you the schedule of the day.
11:45 – check in
12:00 – Mingle with other interviewees and interview volunteers (who were mainly first year med students)
12:30 – Brief info about what will happen to us. Information about the most important interviews that will determine our future was condensed enough to talk about for five minutes by the Associate Dean of admissions.
12:45 – The MMIs. 11 stations with 2 rest stations. 2 minutes to read the prompt and 7 minutes to talk.
2:25 – Break. Talk with friends and find out how they did. Lose confidence in own answers.
2:40 – Essay Writing Session
3:00 – Info session on the different UBC med sites. There’s one here (VFMP), one in Victoria (IMP), one up in Prince George (NMP), and one in Kelowna (SMP).
I really did enjoy listening to the info session. They had med student from each respective site and talked about their experiences. Personally I really didn’t want to move out of Vancouver because it would be a hassle (if I were to get accepted to a site other than VFMP), but after listening to the one from Kelowna, I felt enticed to put that up in the preference form. The SMP is brand new and it just started one year ago. The student:prof ratio is really low and I heard that the profs are really friendly and makes an effort to get along with the students. So friendly that the profs invite the students over for dinner and wine. LOL. But they made a good point that getting to know them well will be helpful for clinical rotations… Argh I’m having trouble deciding between VFMP and SMP… Probably doesn’t help that the site preference form is due in less than 12 hours…
A common question I always get now is “how did you think you did/how was it?” Well right when I finished, I felt really good about it. Brimming with confidence. But after talking with some friends and thinking about it, I didn’t feel so good. The more I thought about it, the more I thought of additional points I could have said, and the more I began remembering the mistakes I made. The questions weren’t too bad, but I have to realize that how I do depends on the rest of the applicants’ interviews. No confidence now. I’ll have to wait 3 months for the results…
Again, I’m sorry but I can’t really mention anything about the interview questions themselves… But really, if you practice with your friends and come up with some ethical dilemmas, you can come pretty close.
The website for MUG Leader applications CRASHED yesterday due to the overwhelming number of applications done in the last minute! Haha I was once guilty of that too… But the good news is that the application deadline is extended till tonight at 11:59 PM for those people who couldn’t apply in the end. Apply here: http://www.involvement.ubc.ca/2012-student-leader-opportunities/
HURRY. Training and selection for the war against freshmen starts very soon…
I am calling out to all fellow undergrads… we need your help. On September 4th 2012, there will be a force that threatens the very foundations of our place of mind… A legion so dangerous that UBC must cease all classes and operations in order to call arms and prepare for battle. We will safeguard and protect our home. We will muster every available student; part-time or full-time, grad or undergrad; to face an army that is beyond anything we ever encountered.
There will be deaths. Brave, valiant, and worthy students all alike will fall in the hands of the enemy. Others may see this as a suicide mission. They think this is impossible. But we will not give up. We will not lose our place here in UBC.
Or we will die trying.
We cannot do it alone. Every working hand will help available will help our cause. Enlist here: http://www.involvement.ubc.ca/2012-student-leader-opportunities/
Godspeed.
And that’s exactly what I did in my last class. I start at 10 and end at 5. And yes I am aware there are people worse off than me (like 2nd year biochem and chem majors) but it’s just… I’m spoiled…
Had a different assignment at work today. Instead of our usual stuff, we had to write an assignment for a new course so that it can be a model of what a good, bad, or satisfactory assignment looks like. To be honest, it reminds me of English class… And I can’t write… And I’m supposed to be the good paper…
Stayed late today at UBC (I think ~10?) because of a massive MMI practice group. It’s physically and mentally draining… I can’t wait to just get this over with but at the same time I wish I have more time to prepare. Some of my friends have it this weekend, hopefully they feel confident enough.
As you can see, my post isn’t very enthusiastic. I am just dead tired right now, forgive me. I had to stay up (till… what time is it right now… wow it’s 4) to finish some homework and read my assigned readings. I seriously cannot wait till the weekend.
Let my pictures do the talkin’
The gates...
A shuffle of truffles
Croissants, Strudels, Danishes, and Scones
What my friend ordered: Almond encrusted croissant and green matcha tea.
Went to Thomas Haas patisserie with AW and RZ. I sincerely recommend this place for all those people with sweet tooths. I ordered chocolate almond croissant (which was quite big), and it was only $5. The taste is certainly something I’ve never had before, slight hint of salt from the croissant pastry mixed with a deep embodiment of chocolate while maintaining that creamy texture. Though it was quite a mess when I ate it because it just FELL APART. It was that fresh.
Also bought some truffles for my co-worker. See, usually when I have some bad news to give him, I first give him some treats and then afterwards tell it to him when he’s in a good mood. Last time it was Chinese egg tart. Today was Jamaican-rum infused dark chocolate with powdered sugar on top. He knew that bad news as soon as he saw my bag from Thomas Haas…
like not attending all the Scienceweek events! Darn school and work, had to miss out on a lot of events. But fortunately I did attend one that mattered…
LOL okay I really wanted to go to Coldfusion more but this was fun too. Haha would’ve been fun cheering for my boss, but unfortunately I was late… She did bake cookies as her talent. And apparently her Q&A session was interesting… I wished there was a video. Jackie ended up winning!
Kelvin Choi