Substantia Innominata

Emmy's Boyfriend

Tue, 06 May 2008 01:05:09 GMT

Nope, there is no screen between them!

Shrooms!

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:56:25 GMT

Mm, that MAGIC taste!

I found these in the woods this weekend at kesil's. I've been handing them out, spreading the joy and bugs that they bring.

Close up

Oreos in Britain

Fri, 02 May 2008 20:08:21 GMT

Can Oreo win over British biscuit lovers?

"The British biscuit is more than a sweet snack - it is one half of a venerable institution. And chief among the affections of British biscuit lovers is the custard cream, which last year was voted the nation's favourite.

Down Under, the Tim Tam has a similar grip on public affections while in America it's the Oreo cookie that holds sway.

But Oreo's makers, Kraft, have broader ambitions. What's become the biggest biscuit brand in China is now threatening to colonise British biscuit tins.

For a few years the black and white "sandwich cookie" has been available in Sainsbury's. Now it's being launched across the UK, on the back of its first (£4.5m) UK advertising campaign."

Matcha Cream Puffs and the Cubs

Fri, 02 May 2008 19:13:15 GMT

I’ve got finals next week, so I’m pretty busy reviewing right now...but I still had to pour some info out of brain on here, as you can see. I’ll post more about school when I’m officially done.

I did take a break to do something very strange for me…I BAKED! I had a hankering for cream puffs after watching a live action J-drama of Zettai Kareshi (really cute show, btw--thanks for the tip, chidorichan!) in which cream puffs are a part of the storyline, so I did my best to make some matcha flavored ones. ^_^ Here is what I came up with:

Matcha Cream Puff

It’s pathetic-looking, I know. I’m not about to start my own Beard Papa branch or anything, but still...IT LOOKS A LOT MORE LIKE A CREAM PUFF THAN I EVER WOULD HAVE EXPECTED IT TO!! I’m so proud! *wipes tear from eye* It actually TASTES GOOD, too. As for a recipe…well, it was kind of trial and error. I had a great deal of trouble getting the CREAM thick enough, so I just kept adding butter and egg yolk (which I first spelled as “elk yolk”) until it became more gloppy and less runny. The green tea flavor is from real matcha that I bought in Indy. Almy says that it looks like Pseudomonas pus. Mmm...greenish-blue pus.

My next project will be to make Mont Blanc, if I can find some chestnut puree somewhere...

Tomorrow I’m taking a little break to go mushroom hunting at kesil's, since he’s in town from doing the doctor thing in the Big Apple. His family better be ready to help me with zeh cream puffs.

While I remember...
On April 19th, which feels like a million years ago, I went to my first Cubs game! ^_^ I wore a Fukudome jersey, courtesy of bluebythebook, and was shocked to see all the Fukudome fan boys (and girls) running around. Rain was in the forecast, but it actually only sprinkled a little toward the end of the game. Plus, my Neuroanatomy prof got us seats under a huge beam, so we were well protected from the rain. It did get pretty chilly though, so I had to get some hot chocolate to warm me up.

The Cubs slaughtered their opponents, the Pirates. There was a lot of socializing among our group, and I was actually tempted to shush people so that I could follow the action! I was actually getting into it. *shock* The attendees were from both the Gary and South Bend campuses of IU School of Medicine…more profs turned up than students though because the Gary kids and our first years had exams, and Notre Dame was having their Blue/Gold game so none of my classmates, besides Tiffy and Almy, came either.

After the game (we drove, btw), Almy was hankering for some Armenian food, and since she was the driver that day we let her take us downtown to get some. It was tasty, of course, and afterward we walked around, shopped at Forever 21 and Trader Joe’s, then hauled ass back to SB to do some studying.

I had to post this because it is awesome.

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:20:15 GMT

"He comes to town as a stranger, a silhouetted superhero ready to save the world. He’s dark, he’s moody and he deals in miracles. He is Christ."

Jesus Christ Manga

You don't have to be a Christian to love some Jesus. <3

Goofing off...

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:37:56 GMT

*sniff* My downstairs neighbor is very predictable with his pot usage. 5:30 PM, every evening...

Tonight there is new Grey's Anatomy/Ugly Betty/Office on, so I will be watching TV for the first time in months! My class is having a fondue party to boot, and I hear that there may be Jello shots, too. Look at us; we're so classy. :P

This weekend, I'll be attending my first Cubs game! bluebythebook sent me a Fukudome shirt (an aside: do they call them JERSEYS with baseball too, or is that only for basketball?), plus a very thorough and helpful guide to Cubs Fandom, so that my friends and I won't be totally clueless! We're meeting up with the Northwest campus of IU School of Medicine and our Neuroanatomy prof, so it should be a lot of fun! We're the only students from the Notre Dame campus to go, but a couple of professors and secretaries will be attending with us as well. Dr. P was hoping to go, but he has some important case (?) so he can't...but his wife and their 5 children will be there!

I made the top score on our Hematology/Oncology exam today, so I'm feeling pretty good about taking the night and Saturday off. I actually discovered this year that I have an interest in cancer that I didn't know that I had...and it's moved up on my list of possible career choices. ^^ If you would have told me a year ago that I'd be seriously considering Oncology, I'd have blown you off. I think that it's because it's so SCARY that I want to know as much about it as I can! :/ So has Cardio, actually...and Primary Care because you get to do EVERYTHING! My mom wants me to be a Cardiologist or Pathologist, and my dad is voting for surgeon...so we'll see how I turn out. (Not that their input has much influence on the matter :p)

Oh yeah, I talked to my mom on the phone yesterday about my neighbor's pancreatic cancer. Initially, he started pulling away from everyone and began to isolate himself after they couldn't do the Whipple procedure, which is a big problem with people who are given a death sentence like he was, but he invited my dad to go to his chemotherapy treatments with him, so that's what my dad has been doing lately...Oh yes, my mom has a 30-year-old coworker who has Stage 4 breast cancer, so she has been making friendship bracelets and earned $600 so far for donations. Mom has never done anything like this before so she's ON FIRE...a veritable bracelet-making MACHINE. She's even got bracelets on BACKORDER (people have been ordering 4 at a time) because there's been such a response from the hospital community to support this girl...

One last thing! I changed my mood icons to a Bruce Campbell theme. I'm in love with that man. What a curious coincidence that he and I are both doing the same pose with a flower...! Bruce will only be here until I can find a Dexter theme so that I can stare at Michael C. Hall though, I'm afraid...

Daddy Due to Give Birth to Daughter

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:31:25 GMT

I'm sure you all have read about this already, but there's a lot of buzz about a transgendered female-to-male who is currently pregnant. Here is a video from Oprah showing his reaction to his Ultrasound.

From Yahoo! News: "It's not a male or female desire to have a child. It's a human desire," a thinly bearded Thomas Beatie said. "I have a very stable male identity," he added, saying that pregnancy neither defines him nor makes him feel feminine.

Beatie, 34, who lives in Oregon, was born a woman but decided to become a man 10 years ago. He began taking testosterone treatments and had breast surgery to remove glands and flatten his chest.

"I opted not to do anything with my reproductive organs because I wanted to have a child one day," he told the talk show host. Beatie's wife Nancy said she inseminated him with a syringe using sperm purchased from a bank.

Now, he said, his size 32 jeans are getting a bit tight and his shirts are a bit stretched.

Nancy, to whom he has been married for five years and who has two grown daughters by a previous marriage, also appeared on the show, saying the couple's roles will not change once the baby is born.

"He's going to be the father and I'm going to be the mother," she said. Their marriage is legal and he is recognized under state law as a man.

The couple was shown on video provided by People Magazine, which collaborated with Winfrey on the show, showing the room that will be the baby's nursery. Beatie said the little girl was going to be "daddy's little princess."

I'm sure his doctor is on top of things, but he shouldn't be taking any male hormonal therapy right now or it can damage the baby. :o

I dunno why, but I've always found intersexed and transgender people fascinating. I also found an interesting v-blog page about a girl with Swyer XY Reversal Syndrome.

Oh, and in case you couldn't get that link to the movie that I posted about the Neuroanatomist who had a stroke...I fixed it, so go watch it, ya bums. ;)

Okay, enough procrastination for me! Back to studying Genetics.

When a Brain Scientist Suffers a Stroke

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:37:39 GMT

A very interesting video by a Neuroanatomist from Indiana who engagingly tells her story of when she experienced a cerebral hemorrhage/stroke. It's interesting! She's very geeky and lively. :3

Busy busy busy! Will post when I have time!

April Fool's Zelda Movie Trailer

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:23:18 GMT

If only a real Zelda movie was coming out! Although I'm pretty glad that it's not this one.

I will update on a few things in a few days, after I get some exams out of the way first.
1.) I saw an autopsy last week
2.) I got my schedule for next semester!

Neighbor's Pancreatic Cancer

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 00:56:55 GMT

UPDATE:
On my neighbor's pancreatic cancer: He underwent the scalpel to have the Whipple done, but they didn't wind up doing it. That's not good. They opened him up and did what they could, but from what he knows so far, it was dangerously close to some very important vessels. He's supposed to find out "the gruesome details" of what went on during the surgery this week.

CUTE

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 03:50:02 GMT

Charlie Bit Me!!

A video of Emmy

That rascally Trent Reznor...

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:18:10 GMT

I go a week without checking the The NIN Hotline, and here he goes and releases a new album!! Normally when he speaks vaguely of a new album that is set to be released "within the next few months," he generally means "within the next 5 years," but I'll be damned if he wasn't right this time!

It's currently available for download from www.nin.com, and you can take a listen on their myspace.

It's all atmospheric instrumentals, which means that it's perfect for studying. I've been waiting for him to release an album like this for years. He's stated several times that he's also been wanting to shift from producing rock music with vocals, which he apparently despises writing, to creating movie soundtracks...now that he's free from his music contract, he can make as much of the kind of music that he wants to, and then release it at his own price on the Internet. Something tells me that many of these 36 tracks will wind up on movie trailers/soundtracks, like "Just Like You Imagined" did on the infamous 300 movie trailer, nearly a decade after its initial release...

American-born Enka Singer

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:35:24 GMT

I am really behind in all my comments/responses to peeps, for which I apologize. It's been a test-heavy last few weeks, which will continue like this until spring break at the beginning of March. (WHY SO EARLY, WHY!? That's not spring!) Don't be surprised to see a comment to your a couple of weeks from now. :P

Anyway, I came across something nifty on the Internets. There is a young African American man named Jero who moved to Japan to become an enka singer, and he's GOOD!! (His grandmother was Japanese, btw.) Here's his profile! (Enka, by the way, is a dramatic style of music that is well-loved by older Japanese people.

Hello Kitty Grandma

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:38:56 GMT

Over Christmas break, I went through my closet at home, which is full of clothes that I haven't worn for years, and sorted out what I could give away to my cousins, what could go to charity, and then the stuff that just plain needed to be burned. My 7-year-old cousin got the bulk of my wardrobe (shows my grown-up taste, eh?), while my mom absconded with my Hello Kitty and Keroppi sweatshirts. She wore the Hello Kitty one when we went to go visit my Grandma Jean, whose eyes lit up when she saw it, and she cooed, "Aw, isn't that cuuuute?" Her reaction was so adorable that my mom gave the shirt to her then and there. (She had on another shirt underneath, and it was hot in the nursing home, fyi.)

We pass clothes up the tree in my family. :P

Dr. Zelda!

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:41:20 GMT

Check out this awesome illustration of Dr. Zelda and Nurse Link that my friend lroy did for me! ^_^

I loves it!

My famous Hollywood friend

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:37:15 GMT

My friend Jessie has a dream job of many Japanese majors--she is working as a translator for Studiopolis, a company that translates Naruto and other popular anime for domestic release. I may have mentioned her to a few of you before, but this girl just has that something about her that people who go on to be successful in the entertainment business have, in addition to infallible dedication. I know that she will go even farther. She and I were conversation partners in Japanese class, and I still crack up at the skits that we wrote together for that class.

Here's an article about her, if you'd like to read it!

Oh yeah, the "two friends" who she mentions are Jan and I. :)

Well, here I go, back to the grind. I've already got a quiz in Pulmonary Medicine on Wednesday over COPD, and a Pathology quiz over lung dz on Thursday. At least they overlap, sort of.

My first voice post!

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:43:21 GMT

1) What's your name?
2) How old are you?
3) Where are you from? Are you living there right now?
4) Is it cold where you are?
5) What's the time?
6) What are you wearing?
7) What was the last thing you listened to?
8) What was the last thing you ate?
9) What was the last thing you watched on tv?
10) What's your favorite tv show? Why?
11) Quick! Find a book, or something with text on it! Flip to a random page and read some of it! GO!
12) What was the last movie you saw? How was it?
13) Do YOU think you have an accent? Talk about that.

Wow, that was fun! I may have to start dictating more. :3

When Pirates Need Heart Surgery, and Other Weird Comics

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:45:04 GMT

Yarteries

Jhonen Vasquez recommends this webcomic site, the Perry Bible Fellowship. They're funny (and many of them are dirty), but it's waaay too easy to waste time on there. XD

In other not-cramming-my-brain-full-of-information-news, I've been addicted to Grey's Anatomy (yay Izzie!!) and House, as always, as well as that new series Pushing Daisies. I'm also loving Dexter, which I've been watching via Netflix. Curse you television, and all your vile temptation!!

Snagged this from sleep_desirous

Okay, time to get back to reading ECGs...

Look what I got!

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 17:20:33 GMT

My first tattoo!

I've been wanting to get this done for at least two years now. The symbol is a mitsu-domoe. It's right over my left McBurney'Point, so if I ever have to get an appendectomy, it shouldn't be in the way since the appendix is on the right side, unless you have situs inversus. I picked this spot because it's easy to conceal, and a doctor really shouldn't have visible tattoos. Our dean would probably have a little talk with me if he found out. :P

The tattoo artist was a lady from Brooklyn, and she was fun to talk to. She was watching the new Ninja Turtle movie, so we talked about the original comic books. Her favorite was Raphael, natch.

Pain-wise, it wasn't horrible; since it was in a sensitive spot and she had to apply pressure to get the ink in, it was a little eerie having something sharp pushed in so close to my squishie organs. ^^ She said, "Wow, you're not moving at all--most people who have this spot done jump right out of the chair!" Heh heh, that was exactly what my mind was wanting to do! If it had been on my back, I don't think that it would have bothered me at all. It was also the first time any of the tattoo artists had seen that symbol tattooed on anyone, which makes me glad.

Isn't she pretty? She was about a foot away from me in this picture! Thank goodness for that very sturdy glass panel being there!

Hallows in the OR

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:16:46 GMT

All the hubbub about the final HP book extends into the OR as well. (I saw tons of stuff since my last HME post, and it's going to take a while to put a post together.) While watching a cardiothoracic surgeon perform a lung biopsy yesterday, a nurse who had read the book mischievously said, "Does anyone want to know how it ends?" The entire room, including all the nurses plus the surgeon and anesthesiologist, shouted, "NO!!" It was hilarious. The neurosurgeon I followed is also a fan, since he read the first books as bedtime stories for his daughter. :P

Speaking of HP, I have finished the 7th book today! I hate spoilers, and will not spoil it for you if haven't yet finished it.

I laughed, I cried, and after reading it, I was in a good mood for the rest of the day. I wasn't surprised really by anything, but I'm fine with that. What I thought about Snape was right, and that's why he's always been a favorite character of mine. I'm excited for the movie version to come out (after the 6th one, of course).

Crimestoppers

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 03:08:42 GMT

From sleep_desirous

An Invisible Hate Crime. This is very sad, so be forewarned.

In other news...they caught the arsonists of my apartment complex!!

"Three men charged with arson on Tuesday confessed to knowing people were sleeping in homes when the men started three fires at Park Jefferson Apartments.

William O. Glover, one of the men charged, said he “knew he should not be doing this, but that he was doing this mostly as pranks,” according to court papers."

Kitty Post

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:56:24 GMT

Here is that little Hitl--I mean, Charlie, who I posted about earlier.

Almy and Charlie

Emmy time! Feel free to LOLCAT her!

Emmy enjoys doors and bathroom floors

Emmy pushing my grandma's wheelchair:

Emmy under the sheets:

Monster under my bed:

OW!

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:10:42 GMT

Emmy has taken to trying to pry my eyes open now while I sleep. >.O I clipped her "talons" down a little, but if she tries that again...someone is losing her bed privileges! She sometimes tries to wake me up in the middle of the night while she sleeps on my pillow by messing with my hair, but she's never messed with my eyes before!

In other kitty news, Almy and I found a little stray, around 7 weeks old, who someone had cruelly dumped off in the parking lot of my apartment complex a couple of nights ago. We asked some residents who were witnesses about it, and they watched someone just toss him (and maybe more, though we could find only one) kittens out of their car and kept going. What if they had gotten squished by the traffic in the parking lot? It was pitch black. :( The people who dumped the kitten(s) were bad enough; the witnesses didn't seem inclined at all to help the poor kitten, who was terrified and crying for his mommy in the darkness. They acted the same as though he were just an aluminum can that someone had disposed of, not a living being! It breaks my heart. :(

Emmy wasn't going to let him stay in HER apartment, especially not after he hissed at her (which she responded to in a similar vein), so Almy called Belinda, her landlady, and was given permission to bring him home with her. Belinda seems to be quite taken with the little fellow, so it looks like Almy's got her own cat now (her first pet)! Almy gets along very well with Emmy, and was thinking of getting one of her own, so now that's solved. He's a tuxedo cat with white around his face, and a black mustache that is kind of off-kilter, like he was wiggling his nose. We thought he looked a little like Hitler, but Almy wisely chose to call him "Charlie" instead. :) He's all legs! He was pretty traumatized when we first found him and wouldn't stop crying, but the next day, he was scampering all over the place and would clumsily crawl in our laps whilst purring to bat at our hair. He's hilarious! Even better is after we called the Pet Refuge center, they offered to give him his shots and neuter him for free since we "rescued" him. :) All those donations paid off!

(I swear...if I wasn't going to become a "human" doctor, I would have become a vet. I'm sort of frightened by *most* dogs though, so that sort of dissuaded me! Jasmine sort of changed that a little, but she never jumped up on me or licked me, which I hate!)

In other news...Elvira is searching for a replacement. I've always loved Elvira, and I'm not sure why. It could be entertaining to see what sort of characters will be on this new reality show of hers!

Wig Madness!

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 04:06:25 GMT

This is kind of funny. I e-mailed Prichara, the Japanese wig company that makes the darling wig that I'm wore for my Lum costume (see icon), to ask them if they know a place that sells their wigs overseas; I also asked them if they'd consider making some more wigs in shades of purple, since lilac is the closest color to purple that they currently offer and it's far too light for what I need it for. (I'm planning to do a Shampoo cosplay.) ANYWAY, I told them about the positive reception that their wig kept getting at A-CEN, like how people would ask me if it was my real hair...and they were tickled, to say the least. They posted a picture of my friends and I, Jan and Suzie, on their company Blog, as well as a quote from me. They have me as listed as someone from Kyushu since the comment wizard didn't know how to recognize someone from outside of Japan, and that's where I got the wig in the first place. :P

Oh yeah, the link is here.

Getting the heck outta here

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 21:51:48 GMT

I talked with my friend Almy, and it looks like she and I are going to find a place together once we're finished with our Micro final. I don't feel safe here, and it would be better to find a place closer to school and where Tiffany lives, anyway. She was thinking about moving too, but she lives in a house not even a block away from school and was worried about breaking it to her landlady (who she's become friends with) that she was wanting to move...but then her landlady actually suggested me getting a place with Almy since she's concerned about my safety. :) Almy doesn't have a car or furniture, so it would work perfectly since we have the exact same places and times that we need to be anywhere. Plus, she could still visit her landlady and take Max (their dog) for walks since it's right next to our school. She and I are both health food nuts, so we can share groceries (we kind of do anyway, when we have study sessions over here)...Oh yeah, Almy and Emmy get along really well, too. Emmy likes her long hair.

Somehow, with all this crazy stuff going on (and my recent distractions...notes new layout), I managed to make the highest score on our Micro test on Tuesday due to pure dumb luck. Our prof decided to ask about 10 questions in a row that were all about antibiotics, which pretty much creamed everyone else; however, somehow, I didn't even miss one because my strategy was this: "I like erythromycin because its name is pretty, and I know you use it to treat pertussis because I paid attention to that bit, having fought pertussis (whooping cough) myself when I was a neonate (pre-immunization at one month of age). I don't like streptomycin because I remember it doing something bad (ototoxicity in certain populations), but I don't like Francisella because she makes rabbits sick, so I will annihilate her with streptomycin." I don't recommend this strategy for future exams, though. :)