Halloween = Old

I carved a pumpkin for the first time today. And although it was my first time, I was a bit ambitious (maybe over ambitious) and decided to carve not just any classic jack-o-lantern face, but the silhouette of Frankenstein's face. The face came out, but the facial features were a tad off centered, well maybe more than just a little. It was also my first time passing out candy to the kids. It was this that made me realize how old I am getting. There was one really cute boy in a police costume who was probably around 4 or 5 years old, and he mumbled, "I can arrest you!" to us when we joked about him being a police. But anyways, another realization I had was that kids can be so greedy! There were kids who were super polite, saying "Happy Halloween," and "thank you." On the other hand, there were kids, who I'd tell them to pick ONE, and they would grab a huge handful. And then there were kids who came up didn't say anything, and went directly for the candy, or would try to sneak an extra one. I wonder whether their parents know that they're being greedy and aren't disciplining their kids or just simply do not know! I remember when I used to trick-or-treat, my parents made sure I didn't just run up and grab whatever I wanted. More than anything, I was more hesitant to just grab from a bowl full of candy sitting around than to recieve one being handed out. So in conclusion, in the future, if you have kids, make sure they're not greedy and discipline them!!

I <3 NY

Ah! I don't know how to put pictures on this blogspot! But anyways, this is a picture of the city outside of the gigantic 2 or however many stories high Apple store! I just noticed the guy in the foreground of the picture. Almost looks like I meant to include him in the picture! haha.
This above is a picture of a bridge in the famous Central Park! We sat on the grass, eating Magnolia's cupcakes while people watching.
Of course, any trip wouldn't be a trip with out a food journey to Tom's Restaurant. Recognize where that is from? It's filmed in Seinfeld as the restaurant they'd go to!
And of course, Serendipity, the place made famous by the movie itself. Supposedly they're known for their frozen hot chocolate. It was actually rather disappointing to wait for 2 hours and pay 10 bucks for what tasted a lot like Coffee Bean's Pure Chocolate Ice Blended drink!

Megabus might be one thing, but the Chinatown bus to NYC is definitely another thing. The bus left at 12:30 AM and we got into the city around 5:45 AM. One of the most memorable parts of the trip was the Banksy Exhibit. It was the first exhibit, since most of his other art is street art. This "Pet Shop" exhibit is super cool. Here are some pictures from it:You can read more about the exhibit by googling "Banksy Pet Shop" exhibit. Basically though, he's commenting on our society's views of animals as meat, particularly processed meats and pets. In the above picture, it's an image of fish sticks swimming in the fishbowl. Check out this video:
And as to the rest of the trip, we walked around NYU's campus, walked around Saks Fifth Avenue, and ate dim sum in Chinatown! Okay, goodbye until the next anatomy exam!

NYC!

I'm going to NYC next weekend! I'm taking some shady bus to NYC, similar to mega bus. haha

Free Health Clinics

Having an 8AM-10PM day has left me tired, worn out, burnt..and frustrated. It was my first time volunteering at a free clinic. I practiced doing histories on patients, as well as vitals and physical examination. The patient interviews and write-ups took a while, so I only saw two cases and they focused on male genitalia problems. I think the patients were uncomfortable initially to show their problem area on front of me, more so than my partner, an M2 male student. Although free clinics somewhat help individuals who do not have or can not afford health insurance, the extent of the help can only go so far. At the end it boils down to insurance or having money, which basically are interchangeable concepts. The attending doctor that I would present my cases to would make decisions that were always dependent on what the patient could afford as a treatment option. It didn't matter too much whether or not a name was given to the ailment, disease, or condition. It was whether or not the patient had the means to afford treatment. Over the counter meds, cheap home remedies, and time are not always feasible solutions to every problem. At the end, patients go home not any better than they were before, well except maybe a little enlightenment on what they have, or why they might be in pain, but not any better than the few hours they spend waiting at the clinic. Sadly, the clinic may come up with solutions, but the best ones are not always affordable.

Virginia State Fair

Ah my stomach hurts so much, I can barely type right now. I ate ginormous amounts of fair food. So full that I didn't get a chance to pet the animals nor ride the rides! Everything at the fair is fried..fried corn on the cob, pork parfaits, fried pickle slices, fried twinkies. They even have something literally called "diabetic funnel cake"! Dude, I don't know how I'm going to the Italian Street Festival tomorrow. No more food! Oye Chan!

OMG, Totoro is so cute! I'm watching it right now, first time seeing it.

HALLOWEEN is coming.

Guess one of the things I'm going to be for Halloween? A VIKING! GRRRRR. Can you guys see me as a Viking? hehe. I was on my way to study at the coffee shop near my house this weekend with a friend, and I ran into my neighbor's yard sale. They were selling the Viking costume and this really slutty Taxi driver costume. One of my neighbors, Justin, said I should go for the Taxi driver costume. -_- I opted to go for the less slutty Viking costume. It even comes with fuzzy fur cuffs for my arms. LOL. I need to get a Viking helmet though. I'm excited for Halloween, because it's supposedly a big thing here. I'm going to go to a pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin for the first time and carve it! Apparently, the Edgar Poe museum is having a special Halloween themed event as well!